Ezekiel 13, Colossians 3 - 4, Psalm 143

Yahweh’s Wrath Against Lying Prophets

13Then the word of Yahweh came to me saying, ²“Son of man, prophesy against the ^aprophets of Israel who prophesy, and say to those who prophesy from their own heart, ‘^bHear the word of Yahweh! ³‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “Woe to the ^awickedly foolish prophets who are walking after their own spirit and have ^bseen nothing. ⁴“O Israel, your prophets have been like foxes among waste places. ⁵“You have not ^agone up into the ^bbreaches, nor did you build the wall around the house of Israel to stand in the battle on the ^cday of Yahweh. ⁶“They behold ^aworthlessness and lying divination who are saying, ‘Yahweh declares,’ when Yahweh has not sent them; ^byet they wait for the establishing of their word. ⁷“^aDid you not see a worthless vision and speak a lying divination when you said, ‘Yahweh declares,’ but it is not I who have spoken?”’”

⁸Therefore, thus says Lord Yahweh, “Because you have spoken worthlessness and beheld a lie, therefore behold, ^aI am against you,” declares Lord Yahweh. ⁹“So My hand will be against the ^aprophets who see worthless visions and utter lying divinations. They will not be in the council of My people, ^bnor will they be written down in the register of the house of Israel, nor will they enter the land of Israel, ¹that you may know that I am Lord Yahweh. ¹⁰“It is definitely because they have ^amisled My people by saying, ‘^bPeace!’ when there is ^cno peace. And when anyone builds a wall, behold, they plaster it over with whitewash; ¹¹so tell those who plaster it over with whitewash that it will fall. A ^aflooding rain will come, and you, O hailstones, will fall; and a stormy wind will break out. ¹²“Now behold, the wall will fall. Will it then not be said to you, ‘Where is the plaster with which you plastered it?’” ¹³Therefore, thus says Lord Yahweh, “I will make a stormy wind break out in My wrath. There will also be in My anger a flooding rain and ^ahailstones to consume it in wrath. ¹⁴“So I will pull down the wall which you plastered over with whitewash and bring it down to the ground, so that its ^afoundation is laid bare; and it will fall, and you will be ^bconsumed in its midst. And you will ^cknow that I am Yahweh. ¹⁵“Thus I will spend My wrath on the wall and on those who have plastered it over with whitewash; and I will say to you, ‘The wall ¹is gone, and its plasterers are gone— ¹⁶the prophets of Israel who prophesy to Jerusalem and who ^asee visions of peace for her when there is ^bno peace,’ declares Lord Yahweh.

¹⁷“Now as for you, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people who are ^aprophesying ^bfrom their own heart. Prophesy against them ¹⁸and say, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “Woe to the women who sew magic bands on ¹all wrists and make veils for the heads of persons of every stature to ^ahunt down ²souls! Will you hunt down My people’s souls, but preserve your own souls? ¹⁹“^aFor handfuls of barley and fragments of bread, you have profaned Me to My people to put to death souls who should not die and to ^bkeep other souls alive who should not live, by your lying to My people who listen to lies.”’”

²⁰Therefore, thus says Lord Yahweh, “Behold, I am against your magic bands by which you hunt souls there as ¹birds, and I will tear them from your arms; and I will let their souls go, the very souls whom you hunt as ²birds. ²¹“I will also tear off your veils and ^adeliver My people from your hands, and they will no longer be in your hands to be hunted; and you will know that I am Yahweh. ²²“Because you ^adisheartened the righteous with falsehood when I did not cause him grief, but have ^bstrengthened the hands of the wicked not to ^cturn from his evil way and preserve his life, ²³therefore, you women will no longer see ^aworthless visions or practice divination, and I will ^bdeliver My people out of your hand. Thus you will ^cknow that I am Yahweh.”

Put On the New Man

3Therefore, if you have been ^araised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, ^bseated at the right hand of God. ²¹^,^aSet your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. ³For you ^adied and your life has been hidden with Christ in God. ⁴When Christ, ^awho is our life, is manifested, ^bthen you also will be manifested with Him in glory.

⁵^aTherefore, ¹consider ^bthe members of your earthly body as dead to ^csexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which is idolatry. ⁶On account of these things, ^athe wrath of God is coming ¹upon the sons of disobedience, ⁷and ^ain them you also once walked, when you were living ¹in them. ⁸But now you also, ^alay them all aside: ^bwrath, anger, malice, slander, and ^cabusive speech from your mouth. ⁹¹^,^aDo not lie to one another, since you ^bput off the old man with its evil practices, ¹⁰and have ^aput on the new man who is being ¹^,^brenewed to a full knowledge ^caccording to the image of the One who ^dcreated him— ¹¹a renewal in which ^athere is no distinction between Greek and Jew, ^bcircumcised and uncircumcised, ¹^,^cbarbarian, Scythian, ^dslave, and freeman, but ^eChrist is all and in all.

¹²So, as the ^aelect of God, holy and beloved, ^bput on a ^cheart of compassion, kindness, ^dhumility, gentleness, and ¹^,^epatience; ¹³^abearing with one another, and ^bgraciously forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone, ^cjust as the Lord graciously forgave you, so also should you. ¹⁴Above all these things put on love, which is ¹^,^athe perfect bond of ^bunity. ¹⁵And let ^athe peace of Christ ¹rule in your hearts, to which ²indeed you were called in ^bone body, and ³be thankful. ¹⁶Let ^athe word of ¹Christ dwell in you richly, ²with all wisdom ^bteaching and admonishing ³one another ^cwith psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, ^dsinging ⁴with gratefulness in your hearts to God. ¹⁷^aAnd whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, ^bgiving thanks to God the Father through Him.

Family and Work

¹⁸^aWives, ^bbe subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. ¹⁹^aHusbands, love your wives and do not be embittered against them. ²⁰^aChildren, obey your parents in all things, for this is pleasing ¹to the Lord. ²¹^aFathers, do not exasperate your children, so that they will not lose heart.

²²^aSlaves, in all things obey those who are your masters ¹according to the flesh, ^bnot with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but with ²integrity of heart, fearing the Lord. ²³Whatever you do, do your work ¹heartily, ^aas for the Lord ²rather than for men, ²⁴^aknowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward ¹of ^bthe inheritance. ²^,^cServe the Lord Christ. ²⁵For ^ahe who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and ¹^,^bthat without partiality.

Final Instructions and Greetings

4Masters, show to your slaves what is right and fair, ^aknowing that you too have a Master in heaven.

²^aDevote yourselves to prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving; ³praying at the same time ^afor us as well, that God will open up to us a ^bdoor for ^cthe word, so that we may speak ^dthe mystery of Christ, for which I have also ^ebeen bound, ⁴that I may make it ^amanifest ^bin the way I ought to speak.

⁵^aWalk in wisdom toward ^boutsiders, ^credeeming the time. ⁶^aLet your ¹words always be ²with grace, seasoned with ^bsalt, so that you will know how you should ^canswer each person.

⁷^aTychicus, our ^bbeloved brother and faithful servant and fellow slave in the Lord, will make known to you ^call my affairs, ⁸^awhom I have sent to you for this very purpose, that you may know about our circumstances and that he may ^bencourage your hearts; ⁹¹and with him ^aOnesimus, our faithful and ^bbeloved brother, ^cwho is one of you. They will inform you about the whole situation here.

¹⁰^aAristarchus, my ^bfellow prisoner, sends you his greetings; and also Mark, the cousin of ^cBarnabas (about whom you received ¹instructions; ^dif he comes to you, welcome him); ¹¹and also Jesus who is called Justus. These are the only ^afellow workers for the kingdom of God ^bwho are from the circumcision, and they have proved to be a comfort to me. ¹²^aEpaphras, ^bwho is one of your number, a slave of Christ Jesus, sends you his greetings, always ^cstriving for you in his prayers, that you may stand ¹^,^dcomplete and ^efully assured in all the will of God. ¹³For I testify for him that he has ¹a deep concern for you and for those who are in ^aLaodicea and Hierapolis. ¹⁴^aLuke, the beloved physician, sends you his greetings, and also ^bDemas. ¹⁵Greet the brothers who are in ^aLaodicea and also ¹Nympha and ^bthe church that is in ²her house. ¹⁶^aAnd when ¹this letter is read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and you, for your part ^bread ²my letter that is coming from ^cLaodicea. ¹⁷And say to ^aArchippus, “Take heed to the ^bministry which you have received in the Lord, that you may ¹fulfill it.”

¹⁸^aThe greeting is in my own hand—¹Paul. ^bRemember my ^cchains. ^dGrace be with you.

My Soul Reaches for You

143

A Psalm of David.

O Yahweh, hear my prayer,^aGive ear to my supplications!Answer me in Your ^bfaithfulness, in Your ^crighteousness!²And ^ado not enter into judgment with Your slave,For ^bno one living is righteous in Your sight.³For the enemy has pursued my soul;He has crushed my life ^ato the ground;He ^bhas made me inhabit dark places, like those who have long been dead.⁴Therefore ^amy spirit was faint within me;My heart was ¹^,^bappalled within me.⁵I ^aremember the days of old;I ^bmeditate on all You have done;I ^cmuse on the work of Your hands.⁶I ^astretch out my hands to You;My ^bsoul reaches for You like a weary land. ¹ Selah.⁷^aAnswer me quickly, O Yahweh, my ^bspirit wastes away;^cDo not hide Your face from me,Or I will become like ^dthose who go down to the pit.⁸Cause me to hear Your ^alovingkindness ^bin the morning;For I trust ^cin You;Cause me to know the ^dway in which I should walk;For to You I ^elift up my soul.⁹^aDeliver me from my enemies, O Yahweh,I have concealed myself in You.¹⁰^aTeach me to do Your will,For You are my God;Let ^bYour good Spirit ^clead me on level ¹ground.¹¹^aFor the sake of Your name, O Yahweh, ^brevive me.^cIn Your righteousness bring my soul out of distress.¹²And in Your lovingkindness, ¹^,^acut off my enemiesAnd cause all those who assail my soul to ^bperish,For ^cI am Your slave.