03 September - Ezekiel 22-23

Jude Fri Aug 31, 2018 3:59 am

My soul doth magnify my YAH, and my spirit hath rejoiced in EL my Saviour; For HE that is mighty hath done to me great things; and Holy is HIS Name. Now unto HIM who is ever present in my helpless estate; who is able to keep me from falling and to present me faultless before the presence of His Glory with exceeding joy, unto the King Eternal, Immortal, Invisible, the only wise EL our Saviour be honour and glory and majesty, dominion and power both now and for ever Halleluyah!

EZEKIEL 22

1And the word of יהוה came to me, saying,

2“And now, son of man, judge, judge the city of blood! And you shall show her all her abominations!

3“And you shall say, ‘Thus said the Master יהוה, “The city sheds blood in her midst, that her time might come. And she has made idols within herself to become defiled.

4“You have become guilty by the blood which you have shed, and have defiled yourself with the idols which you have made. Thus you have brought your days near, and have come to the end of your years. Therefore I shall make you a reproach to the gentiles, and a mockery to all lands.

5“Those near and those far from you mock you – defiled is your name and great the confusion!

6“See the leaders of Yisra’ĕl: each one has used his arm to shed blood in you.

7“They have despised father and mother within you. They have oppressed the stranger in your midst. They have wronged the fatherless and the widow within you.

8“You have despised that which is set-apart to Me, and you have profaned My Sabbaths.

9“Slanderous men have been in you to shed blood. And in you are those who eat on the mountains. They have done wickedness in your midst.

10“In you they have uncovered the nakedness of a father. In you they have humbled women who are defiled during their uncleanness.

11“And the one has done abomination with his neighbour’s wife. And another has wickedly defiled his daughter-in-law. And another within you has humbled his sister, his father’s daughter.

12“In you they have taken a bribe to shed blood. You have taken interest and increase. You have cut off your neighbour by extortion. And you have forgotten Me,” declares the Master יהוה.

13“And see, I shall smite My hand because of your greedy gain which you have made, and at the bloodshed which has been in your midst.

14“Would your heart stand, your hands remain strong, in the days when I deal with you? I, יהוה, have spoken, and shall do it.

15“And I shall scatter you among the gentiles, and shall disperse you throughout the lands, and shall consume your filthiness out of you.

16“And you shall profane yourself before the eyes of the gentiles. And you shall know that I am יהוה.” ’ ”

17And the word of יהוה came to me, saying,

18“Son of man, the house of Yisra’ĕl has become dross to Me. All of them are bronze, and tin, and iron, and lead, in the midst of a furnace – they have become the dross of silver.

19“Therefore thus said the Master יהוה, ‘Because all of you have become dross, therefore see, I am gathering you into the midst of Yerushalayim.

20‘As they gather silver, and bronze, and iron, and lead, and tin into the midst of a furnace, to blow fire on it, to melt it, so I gather you in My displeasure and in My wrath. And I shall blow and melt you.

21‘And I shall gather you and blow on you with the fire of My wrath, and you shall be melted in its midst.

22‘As silver is melted in the midst of a furnace, so are you melted in its midst. And you shall know that I, יהוה, have poured out My wrath on you.’ ”

23And the word of יהוה came to me, saying,

24“Son of man, say to her, ‘You are a land that is not cleansed or rained upon in the day of displeasure.’

25“There is a conspiracy of her prophets in her midst, like a roaring lion tearing the prey. They have devoured life, they have taken wealth and precious matters, they have made many widows in her midst.

26“Her priests have done violence to My teachinga and they profane My set-apart matters. They have not distinguished between the set-apart and profane, nor have they made known the difference between the unclean and the clean. And they have hidden their eyes from My Sabbaths, and I am profaned in their midst.

27“Her leaders in her midst are like wolves tearing the prey, to shed blood, to destroy lives, and to get greedy gain.

28“And her prophets have coated them with whitewash, seeing a false vision, and divining a lie for them, saying, ‘Thus said the Master יהוה,’ when יהוה had not spoken.

29“The people of the land have practised oppression, and committed robbery, and have wronged the poor and needy. And they oppressed the stranger without right-ruling.

30“And I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the breach before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it – but I did not find one!

31“Therefore I have poured out My displeasure on them, I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath. And I have put their way on their own head,” declares the Master יהוה.

EZEKIEL 23

1And the word of יהוה came to me, saying,

2“Son of man, there were two women, daughters of one mother.

3“And they whored in Mitsrayim, they whored in their youth. There their breasts were handled, and there their maiden nipples were squeezed.

4“And their names were: Oholah the elder and Oholiḇah her sister. And they were Mine, and they bore sons and daughters. And their names: Shomeron is Oholah, and Yerushalayim is Oholiḇah.

5“And Oholah whored while she was Mine. And she lusted for her lovers, the neighbouring Ashshurians,

6dressed in purple, officers and rulers, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding on horses.

7“So she gave her whorings on them, all of them choice sons of Ashshur. And with all for whom she lusted, with all their idols, she defiled herself.

8“And she did not forsake her whorings from Mitsrayim, for in her youth they had lain with her, and they squeezed her maiden nipples, and poured out their whorings on her.

9“Therefore I have given her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the Ashshurians, for whom she lusted.

10“They uncovered her nakedness, they took away her sons and daughters, and slew her with the sword. And she became a byword among women, and they executed judgments on her.

11“And her sister Oholiḇah saw this, yet she became more corrupt in her lust than she, and in her whorings more corrupt than her sister’s whorings.

12“She lusted for the sons of Ashshur, officers and rulers, the ones near, perfectly dressed, horsemen riding on horses, all of them desirable young men.

13“And I saw that she was defiled, they both took the same way.

14“But she increased her whorings, and she looked at men carved on the wall, images of Chaldeans portrayed in red,

15girded with belts around their loins, flowing turbans on their heads, all of them looking like officers, like the Baḇelians of Chaldea, the land of their birth.

16“As soon as her eyes saw them, she lusted for them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea.

17“And the Baḇelians came to her, into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their whorings. And she was defiled by them, and her being turned from them in disgust.

18“And she uncovered her whorings and uncovered her nakedness. Then I turned My being from her in disgust, as My being had turned from her sister in disgust.

19“And she increased her whorings, remembering the days of her youth, when she whored in the land of Mitsrayim.

20“And she lusted after her lovers, whose flesh is like the flesh of donkeys, and whose emission is like the emission of horses.

21“Thus you longed for the wickedness of your youth, when the Mitsrites squeezed your nipples because of the breasts of your youth.

22“Therefore, Oholiḇah, thus said the Master יהוה, ‘See, I am stirring up your lovers against you, from whom your being turned in disgust, and shall bring them against you from every side:

23the Baḇelians, and all the Chaldeans, Peqoḏ, and Showa, and Qowa, all the sons of Ashshur with them, all of them desirable young men, governors and rulers, officers and men of name, all of them riding on horses.

24‘And they shall come against you with battle-axe, chariots, and vehicles, and with an assembly of peoples. They shall set against you armour, and shield, and helmet all around. And I shall commit the judgment to them, and they shall judge you according to their rulings.

25‘And I shall set My jealousy against you and they shall deal heatedly with you. They shall cut off your nose and your ears, while the rest of you fall by the sword. Your sons and your daughters they shall take away, while the rest of you shall be consumed by fire.

26‘And they shall strip you of your garments and shall take your pretty jewels.

27‘And I shall put an end to your wickedness and to your whorings from the land of Mitsrayim, so that you do not lift your eyes to them neither remember Mitsrayim any more.’

28“For thus said the Master יהוה, ‘See, I am giving you into the hand of those whom you hate, into the hand of those from whom your being turned in disgust.

29‘And they shall deal with you in hatred, and they shall take away all you have worked for, and they shall leave you naked and bare. And the nakedness of your whorings shall be uncovered, and the wickedness of your whorings.

30‘I do this to you because of your whoring after the gentiles, because you have been defiled by their idols.

31‘You have walked in the way of your sister, and I shall give her cup into your hand.’

32“Thus said the Master יהוה, ‘Drink of your sister’s cup, the deep and wide one – you being laughed at and mocked at – for it holds much.

33‘Be filled with drunkenness and sorrow, the cup of astonishment and ruin, the cup of your sister Shomeron.

34‘And you shall drink it and shall drain it, and gnaw its shards, and tear at your own breasts. For I have spoken,’ declares the Master יהוה.

35“Therefore thus said the Master יהוה, ‘Because you have forgotten Me and cast Me behind your back, therefore you shall bear your wickedness and your whorings.’ ”

36And יהוה said to me, “Son of man, judge Oholah and Oholiḇah! And declare to them their abominations.

37“For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands. And they have committed adultery with their idols, and even offered their sons whom they bore to Me, passing them through the fire, to devour.

38“They also did this to Me: They have defiled My set-apart place on the same day, and they have profaned My Sabbaths.

39“For when they had slain their children for their idols, on the same day they came into My set-apart place to profane it. And see, that is what they did in the midst of My House.

40“And they even sent for men to come from afar, to whom a messenger was sent. And see, they came – for whom you washed yourself, painted your eyes, and adorned yourself with ornaments.

41“And you sat on a splendid couch, with a table prepared before it, on which you had set My incense and My oil.

42“And the sound of a crowd at ease was with her, and drunkards were brought from the wilderness with men of the commonest sort. And they put bracelets on their wrists and pretty crowns on their heads.

43“Then I said concerning the one worn out in adulteries, ‘Now let them commit her whorings, even hers!’

44“And they went in to her, as men go in to a woman who is a whore. Thus they went in to Oholah and Oholiḇah, the wicked women.

45“But let righteous men judge them with the judgment of adulteresses, and the judgment of women who shed blood, for they are adulteresses, and blood is on their hands.

46“For thus said the Master יהוה, ‘Bring up an assembly against them, give them up to maltreatment and plunder.

47‘And the assembly shall stone them with stones and cut them with their swords. They shall slay their sons and their daughters, and burn their houses with fire.

48‘And I shall put an end to wickedness in the land, and all the women shall be instructed not to commit wickedness as you have done.

49‘And they shall put your wickedness on you, and you shall bear the sins of your idols. And you shall know that I am the Master יהוה.’ ”