Bible Reading Plan

Ezekiel 33

Chapter 33

The Watchman's Duty

¹ Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying,² "Son of man, speak to the ^(C1)sons of your people and say to them, 'If I bring a sword upon a land, and the people of the land take one man from among them and make him their watchman,³ and he sees the sword coming upon the land and ^(C1)blows the ^(F1)horn and warns the people,⁴ then ^(F1)someone who hears the sound of the horn but ^(C1)does not take warning, and a sword comes and takes him away, his ^(C2)blood will be on his own head.⁵ 'He heard the sound of the horn but did not take warning; his blood will be on himself. But had he taken warning, he would have ^(C1)saved his life.⁶ 'But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the horn and the people are not warned, and a sword comes and takes a person from them, he is ^(C1)taken away for his wrongdoing; but I will ^(F1)require his ^(C2)blood from the watchman's hand.'

⁷ "Now as for you, son of man, I have ^(F1)(C1)appointed you as a watchman for the house of Israel; so you will hear a ^(F2)message from My mouth and give them a ^(C2)warning from Me.⁸ "When I say to the wicked, 'You wicked person, you will ^(C1)certainly die,' and you do not speak to warn the wicked about his way, that wicked person shall die for his wrongdoing, but I will ^(F1)require his blood from your hand.⁹ "But if you on your part warn a wicked person to turn from his way and he ^(C1)does not turn from his way, he will die for his wrongdoing, but you have ^(C2)saved your life.

¹⁰ "Now as for you, son of man, say to the house of Israel, 'This is what you have ^(F1)said: "Surely our offenses and our sins are upon us, and we are ^(C1)rotting away in them; ^(C2)how then can we ^(F2)survive?"'¹¹ "Say to them, '^(C1)As I live!' declares the Lord ^(F1)GOD, 'I take ^(C2)no pleasure at all in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked ^(C3)turn from his way and live. ^(C4)Turn back, turn back from your evil ways! Why then should you die, house of Israel?'¹² "And you, son of man, say to ^(F1)your fellow citizens, 'The ^(C1)righteousness of a righteous one will not save him on the day of his offense, and as for the wickedness of a wicked one, he will ^(C2)not stumble because of it on the day when he turns from his wickedness; whereas a righteous one will not be able to live ^(F2)by his righteousness on the day when he commits sin.'¹³ "When I say to the righteous that he will certainly live, and he so trusts in his righteousness that he ^(C1)commits injustice, none of his righteous deeds will be remembered; but for that same injustice of his which he has committed he will die.¹⁴ "But when I say to the wicked, 'You will certainly die,' and he ^(C1)turns from his sin and practices ^(C2)justice and righteousness,¹⁵ if a wicked person returns a pledge, ^(C1)pays back what he has taken by robbery, walks by the ^(C2)statutes ^(F1)which ensure life without committing injustice, he shall certainly live; he shall not die.¹⁶ "^(C1)None of his sins that he has committed will be remembered against him. He has practiced justice and righteousness; he shall certainly live.

¹⁷ "Yet ^(F1)your fellow citizens say, 'The way of the Lord is not right,' when it is their own way that is not right.¹⁸ "When the righteous turns from his righteousness and ^(C1)commits injustice, then he shall die in ^(F1)it.¹⁹ "But when the wicked turns from his wickedness and practices justice and righteousness, he will live by them.²⁰ "Yet you say, '^(C1)The way of the Lord is not right.' I will judge each of you according to his ways, house of Israel."

Word of Jerusalem's Capture

²¹ Now ^(C1)in the ^(C2)twelfth year of our exile, on the fifth of the tenth month, the survivor from Jerusalem came to me, saying, "^(C3)The city has been ^(F1)taken."²² Now the ^(C1)hand of the LORD had been upon me in the evening, before the survivors came. And He ^(C2)opened my mouth ^(F1)at the time they came to me in the morning; so my mouth was ^(C3)opened and I was no longer ^(F2)speechless.

²³ Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,²⁴ "Son of man, they who ^(C1)live in these ruins in the land of Israel are saying, '^(C2)Abraham was only one, yet he possessed the land; so to ^(C3)us who are many the land has been given as a possession.'²⁵ "Therefore say to them, 'This is what the Lord GOD says: "You eat meat with the ^(C1)blood in it, raise your eyes to your idols as you shed blood. ^(C2)Should you then possess the land?²⁶ "You ^(F1)(C1)rely on your sword, you commit abominations, and each of you defiles his neighbor's wife. Should you then possess the land?"'²⁷ "You shall say this to them: 'This is what the Lord GOD says: "As I live, those who are in the places of ruins certainly will ^(C1)fall by the sword, and whoever is in the ^(F1)open field I will give to the animals to be devoured, and those who are in the strongholds and in the ^(C2)caves will die of plague.²⁸ "And I will ^(C1)make the land a desolation and a waste, and the ^(C2)pride of her power will be brought to an end; and the mountains of Israel will be deserted so that no one will pass through.²⁹ "Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I make the land a desolation and a waste because of all their abominations which they have committed."'

³⁰ "But as for you, son of man, ^(F1)your fellow citizens who talk with one another about you by the walls and in the doorways of the houses, speak one with another, each with his brother, saying, '^(C1)Come now and hear what the ^(F2)message is that comes from the LORD.'³¹ "And they come to you as people come, and sit before you as My people and hear your words, but they do not do them; for they do the lustful desires expressed by their ^(C1)mouth, and their heart follows their unlawful ^(C2)gain.³² "And behold, you are to them like a love song by one who has a ^(C1)beautiful voice and plays well on an instrument; for they hear your words but they do not practice them.³³ "So when it ^(C1)comes—^(F1)as it certainly will—then they will know that a prophet has been among them."

Isaiah 57

Chapter 57

Evil Leaders Rebuked

¹ The righteous person perishes, and no one ^(C1)takes it to heart;
And devout people are taken away, while no one understands.
For the righteous person is taken away from ^(C2)evil,

² He enters into peace;
They rest in their ^(F1)beds,
Each one who ^(C1)walked in his upright way.

³ "But come here, you sons of a ^(C1)sorceress,
^(C2)Offspring of an adulterer and ^(F1)a ^(C3)prostitute!

⁴ "Of whom do you make fun?
Against whom do you open wide your mouth
And stick out your tongue?
Are you not children of ^(C1)rebellion,
Offspring of deceit,

⁵ Who inflame yourselves among the ^(C1)oaks,
^(C2)Under every luxuriant tree,
Who ^(C3)slaughter the children in the ^(F1)ravines,
Under the clefts of the rocks?

⁶ "Among the ^(F1)(C1)smooth stones of the ^(F2)ravine
Is your portion, ^(F3)they are your lot;
Even to them you have ^(C2)poured out a drink offering,
You have made a grain offering.
Should I ^(F4)(C3)relent of these things?

⁷ "On a ^(C1)high and lofty mountain
You have ^(C2)made your bed.
You also went up there to offer sacrifice.

⁸ "Behind the door and the doorpost
You have set up your sign;
Indeed, far removed from Me, you have ^(C1)uncovered yourself,
And have gone up and made your bed wide.
And you have made an agreement for yourself with them,
You have loved their bed,
You have looked at their ^(F1)manhood.

⁹ "You have journeyed to the king with oil
And increased your perfumes;
You have ^(C1)sent your messengers a great distance
And made them go down to ^(F1)Sheol.

¹⁰ "You were tired out by the length of your road,
Yet you did not say, '^(C1)It is hopeless!'
You found ^(F1)renewed strength,
Therefore you did not ^(F2)faint.

¹¹ "Of ^(C1)whom were you worried and fearful
When you lied, and did ^(C2)not remember Me
^(F1)Nor ^(C3)give Me a thought?
Was I not silent, even for a long time,
So you do not fear Me?

¹² "I will ^(C1)declare your righteousness and your ^(C2)deeds,
And they will not benefit you.

¹³ "When you cry out, ^(C1)let your collection of idols save you.
But the wind will carry them all up,
And a breath will take them away.
But the one who ^(C2)takes refuge in Me will ^(C3)inherit the land
And ^(C4)possess My holy mountain."

¹⁴ And it will be said,
"^(C1)Build up, build up, prepare the way,
Remove every obstacle from the way of My people."

¹⁵ For this is what the ^(C1)high and exalted One
Who ^(F1)(C2)lives forever, whose name is Holy, says:
"I ^(C3)dwell in a high and holy place,
And also with the ^(C4)contrite and lowly of spirit
In order to ^(C5)revive the spirit of the lowly
And to revive the heart of the contrite.

¹⁶ "For I will ^(C1)not contend forever,
^(C2)Nor will I always be angry;
For the spirit would grow faint before Me,
And the ^(C3)breath of those whom I have made.

¹⁷ "Because of the wrongful act of his ^(C1)unjust gain I was angry and struck him;
I hid My face and was angry,
And he went on ^(C2)turning away, in the way of his heart.

¹⁸ "I have seen his ways, but I will ^(C1)heal him;
I will ^(C2)lead him and ^(C3)restore comfort to him and to his mourners,

¹⁹ Creating the ^(F1)(C1)praise of the lips.
^(C2)Peace, peace to him who is ^(C3)far away and to him who is near,"
Says the LORD, "and I will heal him."

²⁰ But the ^(C1)wicked are like the tossing sea,
For it cannot be quiet,
And its waters toss up refuse and mud.

²¹ "^(C1)There is no peace," says ^(C2)my God, "for the wicked."

Luke 1:1-25