Ezekiel 22, 1 Timothy 3 - 4, Psalms 149 - 150

The Abominations of Israel

22Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ²“Now as for you, son of man, will you judge, will you judge the city of blood? Then you shall cause her to know all her abominations. ³“And you shall say, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “A city ^ashedding blood in her midst, so that her time will come; and she makes idols against herself for defilement! ⁴“You have become ^aguilty by ¹the blood which you have shed, and defiled by your idols which you have made. Thus you have brought your ²day near and have come to your years; therefore I have made you a ^breproach to the nations and a mocking to all the lands. ⁵“Those who are near and those who are far from you will mock you, you of unclean name, full of ^aturmoil.

⁶“Behold, the ^aprinces of Israel, each according to his ¹power, have been in you for the purpose of shedding blood. ⁷“They have ^atreated father and mother with contempt within you. The ^bsojourner they have oppressed in your midst; the ^cfatherless and the widow they have mistreated in you. ⁸“You have ^adespised My holy things and ^bprofaned My sabbaths. ⁹“Slanderous men have been in you for the purpose of shedding blood, and in you they have eaten at the mountain shrines. In your midst they have ^adone acts of lewdness. ¹⁰“In you ¹they have ^auncovered their fathers’ nakedness; in you they have humbled her who was ^bunclean in her menstrual impurity. ¹¹“One has also done what is an abomination with his ^aneighbor’s wife, and another has lewdly defiled his ^bdaughter-in-law. And another in you has ^cviolated his sister, his father’s daughter. ¹²“In you they have ^ataken bribes for the purpose of shedding blood; you have taken ^binterest and profits, and you have injured your neighbors for gain by ^coppression, and you have ^dforgotten Me,” declares Lord Yahweh.

¹³“Now behold, I have struck My hand at your ^agreedy gain which you have acquired and at ¹the bloodshed which is among you. ¹⁴“Can ^ayour heart stand, or can your hands be strong in the days that I will act against you? ^bI, Yahweh, have spoken and will act. ¹⁵“I will ^ascatter you among the nations, and I will disperse you through the lands, and I will ^bput an end to your uncleanness from you. ¹⁶“You will profane yourself in the sight of the nations, and you will ^aknow that I am Yahweh.”’”

¹⁷And the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ¹⁸“Son of man, the house of Israel has become ^adross to Me; all of them are ^bbronze and tin and iron and lead in the ^cfurnace; they are the dross of silver. ¹⁹“Therefore, thus says Lord Yahweh, ‘Because all of you have become dross, therefore, behold, I am going to gather you into the midst of Jerusalem. ²⁰‘As they gather silver and bronze and iron and lead and tin into the ^afurnace to blow fire on it in order to melt it, so I will gather you in My anger and in My wrath, and I will lay you there and melt you. ²¹‘And I will collect you together and blow on you with the fire of My fury, and you will be melted in the midst of it. ²²‘As silver is melted in the furnace, so you will be melted in the midst of it; and you will know that I, Yahweh, have ^apoured out My wrath on you.’”

²³And the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ²⁴“Son of man, say to her, ‘You are a land that is ^anot cleansed or rained on in the day of indignation.’ ²⁵“There is a ^aconspiracy of her prophets in her midst like a roaring lion tearing the prey. They have ^bdevoured lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many ^cwidows in the midst of her. ²⁶“Her ^apriests have done violence to My law and have ^bprofaned My holy things; they have made no ^cseparation between the holy and the profane, and they have not made known the difference between the ^dunclean and the clean; and they hide their eyes from My sabbaths, and I am profaned among them. ²⁷“Her princes within her are like wolves tearing the prey by shedding blood and ^adestroying lives in order to get ^bgreedy gain. ²⁸“And her prophets have smeared whitewash for them, beholding ^aworthless visions and divining lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh,’ when Yahweh has not spoken. ²⁹“The people of the land have practiced ^aoppression and committed robbery, and they have mistreated the afflicted and needy and have ^boppressed the sojourner without justice. ³⁰“And I ^asearched for a man among them who would ^bbuild up the wall and ^cstand in the breach before Me for the land, so that I would not bring it to ruin; but I found ¹no one. ³¹“Thus I have poured out My ^aindignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My fury; ^btheir way I have brought upon their heads,” declares Lord Yahweh.

Overseers and Deacons

3^aIt is a trustworthy saying: if any man aspires to the ^boffice of ¹overseer, he desires a good work. ²¹^,^aAn overseer, then, must be above reproach, ^bthe husband of one wife, ^ctemperate, sensible, respectable, ^dhospitable, ^eable to teach, ³^anot addicted to wine ¹or pugnacious, but considerate, peaceable, ^bfree from the love of money; ⁴^aleading his own household well, having his children in submission with all dignity ⁵(but if a man does not know how to lead his own household, how will he take care of ^athe church of God?), ⁶and not a new convert, so that he will not become ^aconceited and fall into the ^bcondemnation of the devil. ⁷And he must ^ahave a good reputation with ^bthose outside the church, so that he will not fall into reproach and ^cthe snare of the devil.

⁸^aDeacons likewise must be dignified, not ¹double-tongued, ^bnot indulging in much wine, ^cnot fond of dishonest gain, ⁹^abut holding to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. ¹⁰^aAnd these men must also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons if they are beyond reproach. ¹¹¹Women must likewise be dignified, ^anot malicious gossips, but ^btemperate, faithful in all things. ¹²^aDeacons must be ^bhusbands of only one wife, ^cleading their children and their own households well. ¹³For those who have served well as deacons ^aobtain for themselves a ¹high standing and great boldness in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.

¹⁴I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you soon, ¹⁵but ¹in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how ²one ought to conduct himself in ^athe household of God, which is the ^bchurch of ^cthe living God, the ^dpillar and support of the truth. ¹⁶And by common confession, great is ^athe mystery of godliness: He who was ^bmanifested in the flesh,Was ¹^,^cvindicated ²in the Spirit,^dSeen by angels,^eProclaimed among the nations,^fBelieved on in the world,Taken up in glory.

Some Will Fall Away

4But ^athe Spirit explicitly says that ^bin later times some will ¹fall away from the faith, paying attention to ^cdeceitful spirits and ^ddoctrines of demons, ²by the hypocrisy of liars, who have been ^aseared in their own conscience, ³who ^aforbid marriage and advocate ^babstaining from foods which ^cGod created to be shared in ^dwith thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. ⁴For ^aeverything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is ^breceived with thanksgiving, ⁵for it is sanctified by ^athe word of God and prayer.

A Good Minister’s Discipline

⁶In pointing out these things to ^athe brothers, you will be a good ^bservant of Christ Jesus, being nourished on the words of the faith and of the ¹^,^csound doctrine which you ^dhave been following. ⁷But refuse ^agodless ^bmyths fit only for old women. On the other hand, train yourself for the purpose of ^cgodliness, ⁸for ^abodily training is only of little profit, but ^bgodliness is profitable for all things, since it ^cholds promise for the ^dpresent life and also for the life to come. ⁹^aIt is a trustworthy saying and deserving full acceptance. ¹⁰For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed ^aour hope on ^bthe living God, who is ^cthe Savior of all men, especially of believers.

¹¹^aCommand and teach these things. ¹²^aLet no one look down on your youthfulness, but show yourself as ^ba model to those who believe in word, conduct, ^clove, faith, and purity. ¹³^aUntil I come, give attention to the public ^breading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching. ¹⁴Do not neglect the gift within you, which was given to you through ^aprophetic utterance with ^bthe laying on of hands by the ^ccouncil of elders. ¹⁵Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all. ¹⁶^aPay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ^bsave both yourself and those who hear you.

Yahweh Takes Pleasure in His People

149¹Praise Yah!Sing to Yahweh a ^anew song,His praise ^bin the assembly of the holy ones.²Let Israel be glad in ^ahis Maker;Let the sons of Zion rejoice in their ^bKing.³Let them praise His name with ^adancing;With ^btambourine and lyre let them sing praises to Him.⁴For Yahweh ^atakes pleasure in His people;He will ^bbeautify the afflicted ones with salvation.⁵Let the ^aholy ones exult in glory;Let them ^bsing for joy on their beds.⁶Let the ^aexaltations of God be in their throats,And a ^btwo-edged ^csword in their hand,⁷To ^aexecute vengeance on the nationsAnd punishments on the peoples,⁸To bind their kings ^awith chainsAnd their ^bhonored men with fetters of iron,⁹To ^aexecute on them the judgment written;This is the ^bmajesty of all His holy ones.¹Praise Yah!

Praise Him, Praise Yah!

150¹Praise Yah!Praise God in His ^asanctuary;Praise Him in His mighty ²^,^bexpanse.²Praise Him for His ^amighty deeds;Praise Him according to the abundance of His ^bgreatness.³Praise Him with ^atrumpet blast;Praise Him with ^bharp and lyre.⁴Praise Him with ^atambourine and dancing;Praise Him with ^bstringed instruments and ^cpipe.⁵Praise Him with resounding ^acymbals;Praise Him with clashing cymbals.⁶Let ^aeverything that has breath praise Yah.¹Praise Yah!