Ezekiel 24, 2 Timothy 1 - 2, Proverbs 2

The Parable of the Boiling Pot

24And the word of Yahweh came to me in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth of the month, saying, ²“Son of man, write the name of the day, this very day. The king of Babylon ¹has ^alaid siege to Jerusalem this very day. ³“Speak a ^aparable to the ^brebellious house, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “Put on the ^cpot, put it on and also pour water in it;

⁴¹^,^aPut in it the pieces,Every good piece, the thigh and the shoulder;Fill it with choice bones.⁵“Take the ^achoicest of the flock,And also pile ¹wood under ²the pot.Make it seethe vigorously.Also boil its bones in it.”

⁶‘Therefore, thus says Lord Yahweh, “Woe to the ^acity of blood,To the pot in which there is rustAnd whose rust has not gone out of it!Take out of it piece after piece,¹Without making a choice.

⁷“For her blood is in her midst;She placed it on the bare rock;She did not ^apour it on the groundTo cover it with dust.⁸“That it may ^acause wrath to come up to take vengeance,I have put her blood on the bare rock,That it may not be covered.”

⁹‘Therefore, thus says Lord Yahweh, “^aWoe to the city of blood!I also will make the pile great.

¹⁰“Heap on the wood, kindle the fire,Completely cook the fleshAnd mix in the spicesAnd let the bones be burned.¹¹“Then ^astand it empty on its coalsSo that it may be hotAnd its bronze may ¹glowAnd its ^buncleanness may be melted in it,Its rust brought to a complete end.¹²“She has ^awearied Me with toil,Yet her great rust has not gone from her;Let her rust be in the fire!¹³“In your uncleanness is lewdness.Because I would have cleansed you,Yet you are ^anot clean;You will not be cleansed from your uncleanness againUntil I have ¹^,^bcaused My wrath against you to be at rest.

¹⁴“I, Yahweh, have spoken; it is ^acoming, and I will act. I will not regret, and I will not ^bpity, and I will not ¹relent; ^caccording to your ways and according to your deeds ²I will judge you,” declares Lord Yahweh.’”

Ezekiel’s Wife Dies as a Sign

¹⁵And the word of Yahweh came to me saying, ¹⁶“Son of man, behold, I am about to take from you the ^adesire of your eyes with a ^bblow; but you shall not ^cmourn, and you shall not weep, and your ^dtears shall not come. ¹⁷“Groan silently; make ^ano mourning for the dead. Bind on your headdress and put your shoes on your feet and do not cover your mustache and ^bdo not eat the bread of men.” ¹⁸So I spoke to the people in the morning, and in the evening my wife died. And in the morning I did as I was commanded. ¹⁹The people said to me, “Will you not tell us what these things that you are doing mean for us?” ²⁰Then I said to them, “The word of Yahweh came to me saying, ²¹‘Say to the house of Israel, “Thus says Lord Yahweh, ‘Behold, I am about to profane My sanctuary, the pride of your strength, the ^adesire of your eyes, and the delight of your soul; and your ^bsons and your daughters whom you have left behind will fall by the sword. ²²‘And you will do as I have done; you will not cover your mustache, and you will not eat the bread of men. ²³‘And your headdresses will be on your heads and your shoes on your feet. You ^awill not mourn, and you will not weep, but ^byou will rot away in your iniquities, and you will groan ¹to one another. ²⁴‘Thus Ezekiel will be a ^awondrous sign to you; according to all that he has done you will do; when it comes, then you will know that I am Lord Yahweh.’”

²⁵‘Now as for you, son of man, will it not be on the day when I take from them their ^astrong defense, the joy of their beauty, the desire of their eyes, and what lifts up their soul, their sons and their daughters, ²⁶that on that day he who ^aescapes will come to you with a report for your ears? ²⁷‘On that day your ^amouth will be opened to him who escaped, and you will speak and be mute no longer. Thus you will be a wondrous sign to them, and they will know that I am Yahweh.’”

Guard the Treasure Entrusted to You

1Paul, ^aan apostle of ^bChrist Jesus ¹^,^cby the will of God, according to the promise of ^dlife in Christ Jesus,

²To ^aTimothy, my beloved ^bchild: ^cGrace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

³^aI am grateful to God, whom I ^bserve with a ^cclear conscience ¹the way my forefathers did, ^das I unceasingly remember you in my ²prayers night and day, ⁴^alonging to see you, ^bhaving remembered your tears, so that I may be filled with joy, ⁵¹being reminded of the ^aunhypocritical faith within you, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and ^byour mother Eunice, and I am convinced that it is in you as well. ⁶For this reason I remind you to kindle afresh ^athe gift of God which is in you through ^bthe laying on of my hands. ⁷For God has not given us a ^aspirit of ¹timidity, but of power and love and ²self-discipline.

⁸Therefore ^ado not be ashamed of either the ^bwitness about our Lord or me ^cHis prisoner, but join with me in ^dsuffering for the ^egospel according to the power of God, ⁹who has ^asaved us and ^bcalled us with a holy ^ccalling, ^dnot according to our works, but according to His own ^epurpose and grace which was given to us in ^fChrist Jesus from ^gall eternity, ¹⁰but ^anow has been manifested by the ^bappearing of our Savior ^cChrist Jesus, who ^dabolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, ¹¹^afor which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher. ¹²For this reason I also suffer these things, but ^aI am not ashamed; for I know ^bwhom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to ^cguard what I have entrusted to Him ¹until ^dthat day. ¹³¹^,^aHold to the ^bstandard of ^csound words ^dwhich you have heard from me, in the ^efaith and love which are in ^fChrist Jesus. ¹⁴Guard, through the Holy Spirit who ^adwells in us, the ¹^,^btreasure which has been entrusted to you.

¹⁵You are aware of this: that all who are in ^aAsia ^bturned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes. ¹⁶The Lord give mercy to ^athe house of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and ^bwas not ashamed of my ¹^,^cchains, ¹⁷but when he was in Rome, he eagerly searched for me and found me— ¹⁸the Lord ¹grant to him to find mercy from the Lord on ^athat day—and you know very well what services he rendered at ^bEphesus.

Remember Jesus Christ

2You therefore, my ^achild, ^bbe strong in the grace that is in ^cChrist Jesus. ²And the things ^awhich you have heard from me in the presence of ^bmany witnesses, ^centrust these to ^dfaithful men who will be ^eable to teach others also. ³^aSuffer hardship with me, as a good ^bsoldier of ^cChrist Jesus. ⁴No soldier in active service ^aentangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier. ⁵And also if anyone ^acompetes as an athlete, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. ⁶^aThe hard-working farmer ought to be the first to receive his share of the crops. ⁷Understand what I say, for the Lord will give you insight in everything.

⁸Remember Jesus Christ, ^arisen from the dead, of the ^bseed of David, ^caccording to my gospel, ⁹¹for which I ^aendure hardship even to ^bchains as a ^ccriminal. But ^dthe word of God ^ehas not been chained. ¹⁰For this reason ^aI endure all things for ^bthe sake of the elect, ^cso that they also may obtain the ^dsalvation, which is in ^eChrist Jesus, with ^feternal glory. ¹¹^aIt is a trustworthy saying: For ^bif we died with Him, we will also live with Him;

¹²If we endure, ^awe will also reign with Him;If we ^bwill deny Him, He also will deny us;¹³If we are faithless, ^aHe remains faithful, for ^bHe cannot deny Himself.

Accurately Handle the Word of Truth

¹⁴Remind them of these things, solemnly ^acharging them in the presence of God not to ^bdispute about words, which is useless and leads to the ruin of the hearers. ¹⁵Be diligent to ^apresent yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling ^bthe word of truth. ¹⁶But ^aavoid ^bgodless and empty chatter, for ¹it will lead to further ungodliness, ¹⁷and their word will spread like ¹gangrene. Among them are ^aHymenaeus and Philetus, ¹⁸who have gone astray from the truth saying that ^athe resurrection has already taken place, and they upset ^bthe faith of some. ¹⁹Nevertheless, the ^afirm foundation of God stands, having this ^bseal, “^cThe ¹Lord knows those who are His,” and, “^dEveryone who names the name of the ²Lord is to ^edepart from wickedness.”

²⁰Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of clay, and ^asome to honor and some to dishonor. ²¹Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from ^athese things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, having been ^bprepared for every good work. ²²Now ^aflee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, ^bfaith, love, and peace, with those who ^ccall on the Lord ^dfrom a pure heart. ²³But refuse foolish and ignorant ^aspeculations, knowing that they ^bproduce ¹quarrels. ²⁴^aAnd the Lord’s slave must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, ^bable to teach, patient when wronged, ²⁵^awith gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, ^bif perhaps God may give them repentance leading to ^cthe full knowledge of the truth, ²⁶and they may come to their senses and escape from ^athe snare of the devil, having been ^bheld captive ¹by him to do his will.

Yahweh Gives Wisdom

2My son, if you will ^areceive my wordsAnd ^btreasure my commandments within you,²^aTo make your ear pay attention to wisdom,Incline your heart to discernment;³For if you call out for understanding,Give your voice for discernment;⁴If you seek her as ^asilverAnd search for her as for ^bhidden treasures;⁵Then you will understand the ^afear of YahwehAnd find the knowledge of God.⁶For ^aYahweh gives wisdom;From His mouth come knowledge and discernment.⁷He stores up sound wisdom for the upright,A ^ashield to those who walk in integrity,⁸To guard the paths of justice,And He ^akeeps the way of His holy ones.⁹Then you will understand ^arighteousness and justiceAnd equity—every ^bgood track.¹⁰For ^awisdom will enter your heartAnd ^bknowledge will be pleasant to your soul;¹¹Discretion will ^akeep you,Discernment will guard you,¹²To ^adeliver you from the way of evil,From the man who speaks ^bperverse things;¹³From those who ^aforsake the paths of uprightnessTo walk in the ^bways of darkness;¹⁴Who are ^aglad to do evilAnd they rejoice in the perversity of evil;¹⁵Whose paths are ^acrooked,And who are devious in their tracks;¹⁶To deliver you from the ¹^,^astrange woman,From the ²^,^bforeign woman who flatters with her words;¹⁷Who forsakes the close ^acompanion of her youthAnd forgets the ^bcovenant of her God;¹⁸For ^aher house ¹sinks down to deathAnd her tracks descend to the ²dead;¹⁹All ^awho go to her will not return,And they will not reach the ^bpaths of life.²⁰So that you will ^awalk in the way of good menAnd keep to the ^bpaths of the righteous.²¹For ^athe upright will dwell in the landAnd ^bthe blameless will remain in it;²²But ^athe wicked will be cut off from the landAnd ^bthe treacherous will be ^ctorn away from it.