Punishment, Repentance, and Hope (LAM 3:1-66)

[3:1] I am one who knows what it is to be punished by God.

[3:2] He drove me deeper and deeper into darkness

[3:3] And beat me again and again with merciless blows.

[3:4] He has left my flesh open and raw, and has broken my bones.

[3:5] He has shut me in a prison of misery and anguish.

[3:6] He has forced me to live in the stagnant darkness of death.

[3:7] He has bound me in chains; I am a prisoner with no hope of escape.

[3:8] I cry aloud for help, but God refuses to listen;

[3:9] I stagger as I walk; stone walls block me wherever I turn.

[3:10] He waited for me like a bear; he pounced on me like a lion.

[3:11] He chased me off the road, tore me to pieces, and left me.

[3:12] He drew his bow and made me the target for his arrows.

[3:13] He shot his arrows deep into my body.

[3:14] People laugh at me all day long; I am a joke to them all.

[3:15] Bitter suffering is all he has given me for food and drink.

[3:16] He rubbed my face in the ground and broke my teeth on rocks.

[3:17] I have forgotten what health and peace and happiness are.

[3:18] I do not have much longer to live; my hope in the Lord is gone.

[3:19] The thought of my pain, my homelessness, is bitter poison.

[3:20] I think of it constantly, and my spirit is depressed.

[3:21] Yet hope returns when I remember this one thing:

[3:22] The Lord's unfailing love and mercy still continue,

[3:23] Fresh as the morning, as sure as the sunrise.

[3:24] The Lord is all I have, and so in him I put my hope.

[3:25] The Lord is good to everyone who trusts in him,

[3:26] So it is best for us to wait in patience—to wait for him to save us—

[3:27] And it is best to learn this patience in our youth.

[3:28] When we suffer, we should sit alone in silent patience;

[3:29] We should bow in submission, for there may still be hope.

[3:30] Though beaten and insulted, we should accept it all.

[3:31] The Lord is merciful and will not reject us forever.

[3:32] He may bring us sorrow, but his love for us is sure and strong.

[3:33] He takes no pleasure in causing us grief or pain.

[3:34] The Lord knows when our spirits are crushed in prison;

[3:35] He knows when we are denied the rights he gave us;

[3:36] When justice is perverted in court, he knows.

[3:37] The will of the Lord alone is always carried out.

[3:38] Good and evil alike take place at his command.

[3:39] Why should we ever complain when we are punished for our sin?

[3:40] Let us examine our ways and turn back to the Lord.

[3:41] Let us open our hearts to God in heaven and pray,

[3:42] “We have sinned and rebelled, and you, O Lord, have not forgiven us.

[3:43] “You pursued us and killed us; your mercy was hidden by your anger,

[3:44] By a cloud of fury too thick for our prayers to get through.

[3:45] You have made us the garbage dump of the world.

[3:46] “We are insulted and mocked by all our enemies.

[3:47] We have been through disaster and ruin; we live in danger and fear.

[3:48] My eyes flow with rivers of tears at the destruction of my people.

[3:49] “My tears will pour out in a ceaseless stream

[3:50] Until the Lord looks down from heaven and sees us.

[3:51] My heart is grieved when I see what has happened to the women of the city.

[3:52] “I was trapped like a bird by enemies who had no cause to hate me.

[3:53] They threw me alive into a pit and closed the opening with a stone.

[3:54] Water began to close over me, and I thought death was near.

[3:55] “From the bottom of the pit, O Lord, I cried out to you,

[3:56] And when I begged you to listen to my cry, you heard.

[3:57] You answered me and told me not to be afraid.

[3:58] “You came to my rescue, Lord, and saved my life.

[3:59] Judge in my favor; you know the wrongs done against me.

[3:60] You know how my enemies hate me and how they plot against me.

[3:61] “You have heard them insult me, O Lord; you know all their plots.

[3:62] All day long they talk about me and make their plans.

[3:63] From morning till night they make fun of me.

[3:64] “Punish them for what they have done, O Lord;

[3:65] Curse them and fill them with despair!

[3:66] Hunt them down and wipe them off the earth!”

Jerusalem after Its Fall (LAM 4:1-22)

[4:1] Our glittering gold has grown dull; the stones of the Temple lie scattered in the streets.

[4:2] Zion's young people were as precious to us as gold, but now they are treated like common clay pots.

[4:3] Even a mother wolf will nurse her cubs, but my people are like ostriches, cruel to their young.

[4:4] They let their babies die of hunger and thirst; children are begging for food that no one will give them.

[4:5] People who once ate the finest foods die starving in the streets; those raised in luxury are pawing through garbage for food.

[4:6] My people have been punished even more than the inhabitants of Sodom, which met a sudden downfall at the hands of God.

[4:7] Our princes were undefiled and pure as snow, vigorous and strong, glowing with health.

[4:8] Now they lie unknown in the streets, their faces blackened in death; their skin, dry as wood, has shriveled on their bones.

[4:9] Those who died in the war were better off than those who died later, who starved slowly to death, with no food to keep them alive.

[4:10] The disaster that came to my people brought horror; loving mothers boiled their own children for food.

[4:11] The Lord turned loose the full force of his fury; he lit a fire in Zion that burned it to the ground.

[4:12] No one anywhere, not even rulers of foreign nations, believed that any invader could enter Jerusalem's gates.

[4:13] But it happened, because her prophets sinned and her priests were guilty of causing the death of innocent people.

[4:14] Her leaders wandered through the streets as though blind, so stained with blood that no one would touch them.

[4:15] “Get away!” people shouted. “You're defiled! Don't touch me!” So they wandered from nation to nation, welcomed by no one.

[4:16] The Lord had no more concern for them; he scattered them himself. He showed no regard for our priests and leaders.

[4:17] For help that never came, we looked until we could look no longer. We kept waiting for help from a nation that had none to give.

[4:18] The enemy was watching for us; we could not even walk in the streets. Our days were over; the end had come.

[4:19] Swifter than eagles swooping from the sky, they chased us down. They tracked us down in the hills; they took us by surprise in the desert.

[4:20] They captured the source of our life, the king the Lord had chosen, the one we had trusted to protect us from every invader.

[4:21] Laugh on, people of Edom and Uz; be glad while you can. Your disaster is coming too; you too will stagger naked in shame.

[4:22] Zion has paid for her sin; the Lord will not keep us in exile any longer. But Edom, the Lord will punish you; he will expose your guilty acts.

A Prayer for Mercy (LAM 5:1-22)

[5:1] Remember, O Lord, what has happened to us. Look at us, and see our disgrace.

[5:2] Our property is in the hands of strangers; foreigners are living in our homes.

[5:3] Our fathers have been killed by the enemy, and now our mothers are widows.

[5:4] We must pay for the water we drink; we must buy the wood we need for fuel.

[5:5] Driven hard like donkeys or camels, we are tired, but are allowed no rest.

[5:6] To get food enough to stay alive, we went begging to Egypt and Assyria.

[5:7] Our ancestors sinned, but now they are gone, and we are suffering for their sins.

[5:8] Our rulers are no better than slaves, and no one can save us from their power.

[5:9] Murderers roam through the countryside; we risk our lives when we look for food.

[5:10] Hunger has made us burn with fever until our skin is as hot as an oven.

[5:11] Our wives have been raped on Mount Zion itself; in every Judean village our daughters have been forced to submit.

[5:12] Our leaders have been taken and hanged; our elders are shown no respect.

[5:13] Our young men are forced to grind grain like slaves; boys go staggering under heavy loads of wood.

[5:14] The old people no longer sit at the city gate, and the young people no longer make music.

[5:15] Happiness has gone out of our lives; grief has taken the place of our dances.

[5:16] Nothing is left of all we were proud of. We sinned, and now we are doomed.

[5:17] We are sick at our very hearts and can hardly see through our tears,

[5:18] because Mount Zion lies lonely and deserted, and wild jackals prowl through its ruins.

[5:19] But you, O Lord, are king forever and will rule to the end of time.

[5:20] Why have you abandoned us so long? Will you ever remember us again?

[5:21] Bring us back to you, Lord! Bring us back! Restore our ancient glory.

[5:22] Or have you rejected us forever? Is there no limit to your anger?

God's Throne (EZK 1:1-28)

[1:1] On the fifth day of the fourth month of the thirtieth year, I, Ezekiel the priest, son of Buzi, was living with the Jewish exiles by the Chebar River in Babylonia. The sky opened, and I saw a vision of God. (

[1:2] It was the fifth year since King Jehoiachin had been taken into exile.)

[1:3] There in Babylonia beside the Chebar River, I heard the Lord speak to me, and I felt his power.

[1:4] I looked up and saw a windstorm coming from the north. Lightning was flashing from a huge cloud, and the sky around it was glowing. Where the lightning was flashing, something shone like bronze.

[1:5] At the center of the storm I saw what looked like four living creatures in human form,

[1:6] but each of them had four faces and four wings.

[1:7] Their legs were straight, and they had hoofs like those of a bull. They shone like polished bronze.

[1:8] In addition to their four faces and four wings, they each had four human hands, one under each wing.

[1:9] Two wings of each creature were spread out so that the creatures formed a square, with their wing tips touching. When they moved, they moved as a group without turning their bodies.

[1:10] Each living creature had four different faces: a human face in front, a lion's face at the right, a bull's face at the left, and an eagle's face at the back.

[1:11] Two wings of each creature were raised so that they touched the tips of the wings of the creatures next to it, and their other two wings were folded against their bodies.

[1:12] Each creature faced all four directions, and so the group could go wherever they wished, without having to turn.

[1:13] Among the creatures there was something that looked like a blazing torch, constantly moving. The fire would blaze up and shoot out flashes of lightning.

[1:14] The creatures themselves darted back and forth with the speed of lightning.

[1:15] As I was looking at the four creatures I saw four wheels touching the ground, one beside each of them.

[1:16] All four wheels were alike; each one shone like a precious stone, and each had another wheel intersecting it at right angles,

[1:17] so that the wheels could move in any of the four directions.

[1:18] The rims of the wheels were covered with eyes.

[1:19] Whenever the creatures moved, the wheels moved with them, and if the creatures rose up from the earth, so did the wheels.

[1:20] The creatures went wherever they wished, and the wheels did exactly what the creatures did, because the creatures controlled them.

[1:21] So every time the creatures moved or stopped or rose in the air, the wheels did exactly the same.

[1:22] Above the heads of the creatures there was something that looked like a dome made of dazzling crystal.

[1:23] There under the dome stood the creatures, each stretching out two wings toward the ones next to it and covering its body with the other two wings.

[1:24] I heard the noise their wings made in flight; it sounded like the roar of the sea, like the noise of a huge army, like the voice of Almighty God. When they stopped flying, they folded their wings,

[1:25] but there was still a sound coming from above the dome over their heads.

[1:26] Above the dome there was something that looked like a throne made of sapphire, and sitting on the throne was a figure that looked like a human being.

[1:27] The figure seemed to be shining like bronze in the middle of a fire. It shone all over with a bright light

[1:28] that had in it all the colors of the rainbow. This was the dazzling light which shows the presence of the Lord.

God Calls Ezekiel to Be a Prophet (EZK 1:28-3:15)

[1:28] When I saw this, I fell face downward on the ground. Then I heard a voice

[2:1] saying, “Mortal man, stand up. I want to talk to you.”

[2:2] While the voice was speaking, God's spirit entered me and raised me to my feet, and I heard the voice continue,

[2:3] “Mortal man, I am sending you to the people of Israel. They have rebelled and turned against me and are still rebels, just as their ancestors were.

[2:4] They are stubborn and do not respect me, so I am sending you to tell them what I, the Sovereign Lord, am saying to them.

[2:5] Whether those rebels listen to you or not, they will know that a prophet has been among them.

[2:6] “But you, mortal man, must not be afraid of them or of anything they say. They will defy and despise you; it will be like living among scorpions. Still, don't be afraid of those rebels or of anything they say.

[2:7] You will tell them whatever I tell you to say, whether they listen or not. Remember what rebels they are.

[2:8] “Mortal man, listen to what I tell you. Don't be rebellious like them. Open your mouth and eat what I am going to give you.”

[2:9] I saw a hand reaching out toward me, and it was holding a scroll.

[2:10] The hand unrolled the scroll, and I saw that there was writing on both sides—cries of grief were written there, and wails and groans.

[3:1] God said, “Mortal man, eat this scroll; then go and speak to the people of Israel.”

[3:2] So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat.

[3:3] He said, “Mortal man, eat this scroll that I give you; fill your stomach with it.” I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey.

[3:4] Then God said, “Mortal man, go to the people of Israel and say to them whatever I tell you to say.

[3:5] I am not sending you to a nation that speaks a difficult foreign language, but to the Israelites.

[3:6] If I sent you to great nations that spoke difficult languages you didn't understand, they would listen to you.

[3:7] But none of the people of Israel will be willing to listen; they will not even listen to me. All of them are stubborn and defiant.

[3:8] Now I will make you as stubborn and as tough as they are.

[3:9] I will make you as firm as a rock, as hard as a diamond; don't be afraid of those rebels.”

[3:10] God continued, “Mortal man, pay close attention and remember everything I tell you.

[3:11] Then go to the people of your nation who are in exile and tell them what I, the Sovereign Lord, am saying to them, whether they pay attention to you or not.”

[3:12] Then God's spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me the loud roar of a voice that said, “Praise the glory of the Lord in heaven above!”

[3:13] I heard the wings of the creatures beating together in the air, and the noise of the wheels, as loud as an earthquake.

[3:14] The power of the Lord came on me with great force, and as his spirit carried me off, I felt bitter and angry.

[3:15] So I came to Tel Abib beside the Chebar River, where the exiles were living, and for seven days I stayed there, overcome by what I had seen and heard.

The Lord Appoints Ezekiel as a Lookout (EZK 3:16-21)

[3:16] After the seven days had passed, the Lord spoke to me.

[3:17] “Mortal man,” he said, “I am making you a lookout for the nation of Israel. You will pass on to them the warnings I give you.

[3:18] If I announce that someone evil is going to die but you do not warn him to change his ways so that he can save his life, he will die, still a sinner, but I will hold you responsible for his death.

[3:19] If you do warn an evil man and he doesn't stop sinning, he will die, still a sinner, but your life will be spared.

[3:20] “If someone truly good starts doing evil and I put him in a dangerous situation, he will die if you do not warn him. He will die because of his sins—I will not remember the good he did—and I will hold you responsible for his death.

[3:21] If you do warn a good man not to sin and he listens to you and doesn't sin, he will stay alive, and your life will also be spared.”

Ezekiel Will Be Unable to Talk (EZK 3:22-27)

[3:22] I felt the powerful presence of the Lord and heard him say to me, “Get up and go out into the valley. I will talk to you there.”

[3:23] So I went out into the valley, and there I saw the glory of the Lord, just as I had seen it beside the Chebar River. I fell face downward on the ground,

[3:24] but God's spirit entered me and raised me to my feet. The Lord said to me, “Go home and shut yourself up in the house.

[3:25] You will be tied with ropes, mortal man, and you will not be able to go out in public.

[3:26] I will paralyze your tongue so that you won't be able to warn these rebellious people.

[3:27] Then, when I speak to you again and give you back the power of speech, you will tell them what I, the Sovereign Lord, am saying. Some of them will listen, but some will ignore you, for they are a nation of rebels.”

Ezekiel Acts Out the Siege of Jerusalem (EZK 4:1-17)

[4:1] God said, “Mortal man, get a brick, put it in front of you, and scratch lines on it to represent the city of Jerusalem.

[4:2] Then, to represent a siege, put trenches, earthworks, camps, and battering rams all around it.

[4:3] Take an iron pan and set it up like a wall between you and the city. Face the city. It is under siege, and you are the one besieging it. This will be a sign to the nation of Israel.

[4:6] When you finish that, turn over on your right side and suffer for the guilt of Judah for forty days—one day for each year of their punishment.

[4:7] “Fix your eyes on the siege of Jerusalem. Shake your fist at the city and prophesy against it.

[4:8] I will tie you up so that you cannot turn from one side to the other until the siege is over.

[4:9] “Now take some wheat, barley, beans, peas, millet, and spelt. Mix them all together and make bread. That is what you are to eat during the 390 days you are lying on your left side.

[4:10] You will be allowed eight ounces of bread a day, and it will have to last until the next day.

[4:11] You will also have a limited amount of water to drink, two cups a day.

[4:12] You are to build a fire out of dried human excrement, bake bread on the fire, and eat it where everyone can see you.”

[4:13] The Lord said, “This represents the way the Israelites will have to eat food which the Law forbids, when I scatter them to foreign countries.”

[4:14] But I replied, “No, Sovereign Lord! I have never defiled myself. From childhood on I have never eaten meat from any animal that died a natural death or was killed by wild animals. I have never eaten any food considered unclean.”

[4:15] So God said, “Very well. I will let you use cow dung instead, and you can bake your bread on that.”

[4:16] And he added, “Mortal man, I am going to cut off the supply of bread for Jerusalem. The people there will be distressed and anxious as they measure out the food they eat and the water they drink.

[4:17] They will run out of bread and water; they will be in despair, and they will waste away because of their sins.”

Ezekiel Cuts His Hair (EZK 5:1-17)

[5:1] The Lord said, “Mortal man, take a sharp sword and use it to shave off your beard and all your hair. Then weigh the hair on scales and divide it into three parts.

[5:2] Burn up a third of it in the city when the siege is over. Take another third and chop it up with your sword as you move around outside the city. Scatter the remaining third to the winds, and I will pursue it with my sword.

[5:3] Keep back a few hairs and wrap them in the hem of your clothes.

[5:4] Then take a few of them out again, throw them in the fire, and let them burn up. From them fire will spread to the whole nation of Israel.”

[5:5] The Sovereign Lord said, “Look at Jerusalem. I put her at the center of the world, with other countries all around her.

[5:6] But Jerusalem rebelled against my commands and showed that she was more wicked than the other nations, more disobedient than the countries around her. Jerusalem rejected my commands and refused to keep my laws.

[5:7] Now listen, Jerusalem, to what I, the Sovereign Lord, am saying. By not obeying my laws or keeping my commands, you have caused more trouble than the nations around you. You have followed the customs of other nations.

[5:8] And so I, the Sovereign Lord, am telling you that I am your enemy. I will pass judgment on you where all the nations can see it.

[5:9] Because of all the things you do that I hate, I will punish Jerusalem as I have never done before and will never do again.

[5:10] As a result, parents in Jerusalem will eat their children, and children will eat their parents. I will punish you and scatter in every direction any who are left alive.

[5:11] “Therefore, as I am the living God—this is the word of the Sovereign Lord—because you defiled my Temple with all the evil, disgusting things you did, I will cut you down without mercy.

[5:12] A third of your people will die from sickness and hunger in the city; a third will be cut down by swords outside the city; and I will scatter the last third to the winds and pursue them with a sword.

[5:13] “You will feel all the force of my anger and rage until I am satisfied. When all this happens, you will be convinced that I, the Lord, have spoken to you because I am outraged at your unfaithfulness.

[5:14] Everyone from the nations around you who passes by will sneer at you and keep their distance.

[5:15] “When I am angry and furious with you and punish you, all the nations around you will be terrified. They will look at you with disgust and make fun of you.

[5:16] I will cut off your supply of food and let you starve. You will feel the pains of hunger like sharp arrows sent to destroy you.

[5:17] I will send hunger and wild animals to kill your children, and will send sickness, violence, and war to kill you. I, the Lord, have spoken.”

The Lord Condemns Idolatry (EZK 6:1-14)

[6:1] The Lord spoke to me.

[6:2] “Mortal man,” he said, “look toward the mountains of Israel and give them my message.

[6:3] Tell the mountains of Israel to hear the Sovereign Lord's word—to hear what I, the Sovereign Lord, am telling the mountains, the hills, the gorges, and the valleys: I will send a sword to destroy the places where people worship idols.

[6:4] The altars will be torn down and the incense altars broken. All the people there will be killed in front of their idols.

[6:5] I will scatter the corpses of the people of Israel; I will scatter their bones all around the altars.

[6:6] All the cities of Israel will be destroyed, so that all their altars and their idols will be smashed to pieces, their incense altars will be shattered, and everything they made will disappear.

[6:7] People will be killed everywhere, and those who survive will acknowledge that I am the Lord.

[6:8] “I will let some escape the slaughter and be scattered among the nations,

[6:9] where they will live in exile. There they will remember me and know that I have punished them and disgraced them, because their faithless hearts deserted me and they preferred idols to me. And they will be disgusted with themselves because of the evil and degrading things they have done.

[6:10] They will know that I am the Lord and that my warnings were not empty threats.”

[6:11] The Sovereign Lord said, “Wring your hands! Stamp your feet! Cry in sorrow because of all the evil, disgusting things the Israelites have done. They are going to die in war or of starvation or disease.

[6:12] Those far away will get sick and die; those nearby will be killed in war; those who survive will starve to death. They will feel all the force of my anger.

[6:13] Corpses will be scattered among the idols and around the altars, scattered on every high hill, on the top of every mountain, under every green tree and every large oak, in every place where they burned sacrifices to their idols. Then everyone will know that I am the Lord.

[6:14] Yes, I will reach out and destroy their country. I will make it a wasteland from the southern desert to the city of Riblah in the north, not sparing any place where the Israelites live. Then everyone will know that I am the Lord.”