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20 On the tenth day of the fifth month some of Israel's leaders came to me.[a] That was in the seventh year that we had been prisoners in Babylon. The leaders sat in front of me. They wanted me to ask for a message from the Lord.
2 Then the Lord gave this message to me: 3 ‘Son of man, speak to the leaders of Israel. Tell them, “This is what the Almighty Lord says: You say that you want a message from me. I promise you this, as surely as I live: I will not allow you to come to me like that.”
4 Son of man, you must warn them. Are you ready to do that? Make them remember all the disgusting things that their ancestors did.
5 Say to them, “This is what the Almighty Lord says: On the day that I chose Israel's people to belong to me, I made a promise to all Jacob's descendants.[b] In the land of Egypt, I showed them who I am. I promised them, ‘I am the Lord your God.’ 6 On that day, I promised them that I would bring them out of Egypt. I promised to take them to a land that I had chosen for them. That land would give them plenty of good food and drink, enough for everyone. It was more beautiful than any other land. 7 I said to them, ‘You must each destroy the disgusting idols that you worship. Those are the idols of Egypt and they cause you to be unclean. Remember that I am the Lord your God.’
8 But your ancestors did not obey me. They refused to listen to me. None of them destroyed their disgusting idols. They continued to worship the idols of Egypt. So I decided to show them that I was very angry. I said that I would punish them there in Egypt. 9 But I did not want the people of other nations to insult my name. I had promised Israel's people that I would bring them out of Egypt. The nations near where the Israelites were living knew this. 10 So I brought my people out of Egypt. I led them into the wilderness. 11 I gave them my laws and my commands. Anyone who obeyed them would enjoy a good life.[c] 12 I also gave them Sabbath days when they would rest. It would help them to remember that they belong to me. They would know that I, the Lord, have made them my holy people.
13 But when Israel's people were in the wilderness, they turned against me. They did not obey my laws or my commands. (But anyone who did obey them would enjoy a good life.) They did not obey my rules for Sabbath days. So I was very angry with them. I decided to destroy them there in the wilderness. 14 But I did not want the people of other nations to insult my name. They had seen me bring Israel's people out of Egypt. 15 So I made a strong promise to my people in the wilderness. I said that I would not take them to the land that I had chosen for them. It was a very beautiful land with plenty of food and drink for everyone. 16 I refused to take them there because they had not obeyed my laws and my commands. They did not obey my rules for Sabbath says. Instead, they liked to worship their idols. 17 But I chose to be kind to them. I did not completely destroy them in the wilderness.
18 I said to their children in the wilderness, ‘Do not live in the bad way that your fathers did. Do not obey their rules. Do not worship their idols and make yourselves unclean. 19 Remember that I am the Lord your God. So be careful to obey my laws and my commands. 20 Make Sabbath days special to show that you belong to me. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.’
21 But their children also turned against me. They were not careful to obey my laws and my commands. (But anyone who obeyed them would enjoy a good life.) They did not obey my rules about Sabbath days. So I was very angry with them. I was ready to destroy them there in the wilderness. 22 But I did not want the people of other nations to insult my name. They had seen me bring Israel's people out of Egypt. So I could not destroy my people. 23 There in the wilderness I made a strong promise to them. I promised to send them to many different places where they would live among other nations. 24 This was because they had not obeyed my laws and my commands. They had not obeyed my rules about Sabbath days. Instead, they worshipped the same idols that their ancestors worshipped. 25 So I let them obey rules that were not good. They were laws that would not help them to enjoy a good life. 26 I let them make themselves unclean because of the offerings that they made. They burned their firstborn children in fire as sacrifices. I did that to make them afraid. I wanted them to know that I am the Lord.”
27 So, son of man, you must speak to Israel's people. Tell them, “This is what the Almighty Lord says: Your ancestors insulted me when they did not serve me faithfully. 28 I took them to the land which I had promised to give to them. But when they were there, they continued to offer sacrifices to idols. They did this on every high hill or under every green tree that they saw! They burned sweet incense and they poured out wine as offerings in all those places. That made me very angry. 29 I asked them, ‘Why do you go to these high places?’ ” (That is why people still call them “high places”.)
30 So say this to Israel's people. “This is what the Almighty Lord says: Will you continue to make yourselves unclean in the way that your ancestors did? You are not faithful to me. Instead, you worship disgusting idols. 31 You make yourselves unclean when you offer sacrifices to your idols. You burn your sons in fire as offerings. You still continue to do that! So should I allow you to come to me for help? I promise you this, as surely as I live: I will not allow you to come to me! That is what the Almighty Lord says.
32 You think, ‘We want to live like the people of other nations and clans. They worship idols that are made from wood and stone.’ But these thoughts will never happen. 33 The Almighty Lord says, I promise you this, as surely as I live: I will use my great power and authority to rule you as your King. You will know how angry I am! 34 I will bring you back from the nations where I sent you to live. I will bring you back from all those different places. I will use my great power to do this and you will know that I am very angry with you. 35 I will bring you to a wilderness with other nations all around it. I will meet with you there and I will show that you are guilty. 36 I judged your fathers in the wilderness when they came out of Egypt. I will punish you in the same way. That is what the Almighty Lord says.
37 I will count you one by one, as a shepherd counts his sheep. I will cause you to obey the rules of my covenant with you. 38 I will remove from among you those who refuse to obey me. I will bring them out from the country where they have been living. But they will not go into the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
39 Israel's people, this is what the Almighty Lord says to you: Now, every one of you, go to serve your idols! But after that, you will listen to me. You will no longer insult my holy name. You will no longer give gifts to your idols. 40 All of Israel's people will serve me on my holy mountain, Israel's great mountain. There I will accept them as my people. That is what the Almighty Lord says. I will receive your offerings, your gifts and all your holy sacrifices. 41 I will bring you home from the nations and all the places where you have been living. Then I will welcome you, like sweet incense that pleases me. When I am among you, I will show all the other nations that I am holy. 42 I will bring you into the land of Israel. That is the land that I promised to give to your ancestors. Then you will know that I am the Lord. 43 You will remember all the wrong things that you did which made you unclean. You will be ashamed of yourselves because of all the evil things that you have done. 44 At that time, I will help you. I will not punish you as you deserve for your wicked and evil acts. Instead, I will do things that bring honour to my name. Then, Israel's people, you will know that I am the Lord. That is what the Almighty Lord says.” ’
A message about the south of Israel
45 The Lord gave this message to me: 46 ‘Son of man, look towards the south. Speak my message to the people there. Warn the forests in the dry land of the south. 47 Say to those forests, “Listen to this message from the Lord. This is what the Almighty Lord says: Listen! I will start a fire to burn you. The fire will destroy all the green trees and all the dry trees. Nobody will be able to stop that fire. From the dry land in the south, all the way to the north, the fire will burn everything. 48 Everyone will see that I, the Lord, started the fire. Nobody will be able to stop it burning.” ’[d]
49 Then I said, ‘Almighty Lord, “The people are already saying that my stories make them confused.” ’
God's new agreement
11 But now Christ has come as our special priest. He brings us the good things that are now here. He has gone into God's own place in heaven. That is a greater and much better tent than the old tabernacle. No person made this tent. It does not belong to this world at all. 12 Christ went into the Most Holy Place on our behalf. He did this once, for all time. He did not take with him the blood of goats or young cows when he went in there. Instead, he took the blood of his own death to offer to God. In that way, he made us free from sin for ever. 13 The old rules said that the priest must use the blood of goats or bulls to make people clean. Or he could burn a young cow and mix the ashes with water.[a] He would then splash the blood or the ashes over the people who were unclean. Then those people became clean again in their bodies, and they could worship God.
14 But the blood of Christ's sacrifice will do much more than that! Christ offered himself to God, in the power of his Spirit, who lives for ever. That sacrifice was completely good. There was no wrong thing in Christ. He offered his own blood to make us completely clean inside ourselves. We no longer have to do things that lead to death. Instead, we can serve the God who lives for ever. 15 So, by Christ's death, God brings a new agreement between him and his people. God's people receive from him the good things that will be with them for ever. God has promised to give those things to the people that he has chosen. Christ's death has made them free from their sins. God will no longer punish them like the first agreement says should happen.
16 Think about this. A person may make an agreement about who will receive his things after his death. But nobody receives anything until it is clear that the person has really died. 17 The agreement only has authority after the death of the person who made it. It has no authority while that person is still alive.
18 So even God's first agreement with his people needed the blood of an animal. The agreement only had authority after a death. 19 It was like this. Moses read God's laws aloud to all Israel's people. He told them every rule that God had given them. After that, Moses killed some young cows and goats. He took some of their blood and he mixed it with water. He threw some of the blood to drop onto the book of God's laws. He also caused some to drop onto all the people. He used red sheep's hair and some small branches of a plant called hyssop to throw the blood and water. 20 When Moses did this, he said to the people, ‘This blood shows that God's agreement with you has authority.’ 21 In the same way, Moses threw some of the blood onto the tabernacle. He also caused blood to drop onto all the things that the priests used to serve God there.[b] 22 God's Law taught that blood was necessary to make almost everything clean. We see that God does not forgive people for their sins unless there is blood from a death.
Christ's sacrifice on the cross
23 The tabernacle and the things that were in it needed animals' blood to make them clean. That was a picture of the true place in heaven where people worship God. But the true things in heaven need better sacrifices to make them clean than the sacrifices of animals. 24 Christ did not go into a holy place that people had made on earth. A place like that is only a picture of the true place in heaven. No, Christ went into heaven itself, where God is. Now he is there with God and he speaks to God on our behalf.
25 The leader of the priests here on earth goes into the Most Holy Place every year. Each time, he takes with him the blood of an animal and he offers it to God. But when Christ went into heaven to offer himself to God, he did not do that again and again. 26 To do that, he would need to die again and again, many times since the world began. No! Christ has appeared just once. He has appeared now, when time is near its end. He came and he died as a sacrifice. In that way, he has removed the power of sin. 27 Every person must die once. After death, God will judge each person. 28 Christ also died only once as a sacrifice. In this way, he took God's punishment for the sins of many people. Christ will return to earth a second time, but that will not be as a sacrifice for sins. That time, he will come to save those people who are waiting patiently for him.
God takes care of his people[a]
107 Thank the Lord because he is good.
His faithful love for his people continues for ever.
2 Everyone that the Lord has rescued
should tell others.
Tell them how he has rescued you
from the enemy's power.
3 He brought his people from foreign countries.
He brought them together from the east and the west,
from the north, and from the south.[b]
4 Some of them travelled through the wilderness
on a road that went nowhere.
They did not find any city to live in.
5 They were hungry and thirsty.
They were very weak and nearly dead.
6 Because of their trouble,
they called to the Lord for help.
He rescued them from their troubles.
7 He led them along a straight road,
to arrive at a city where they could live.
8 So God's people should thank the Lord
because of his faithful love.
They should thank him for the great things
that he does for people.
9 He gives drink to people who are thirsty.
He gives plenty of good things to hungry people.
10 Some people sat in a completely dark place.
Iron chains held them as prisoners,
and they were very sad.
11 They had refused to obey God's commands.
They did not accept the teaching of the Most High God.
12 Because of that, God caused them to become weak
from very hard work.
When they fell down,
nobody would help them to stand up.
13 Because of their trouble,
they called to the Lord for help.
He rescued them from their troubles.
14 He took them out of the completely dark place.
He broke away the chains that held them.
15 So they should thank the Lord
because of his faithful love.
They should thank him for the great things
that he does for people.
16 He broke bronze gates into pieces
and he cut through iron bars.[c]
17 Some people became fools
and they turned against God.
They had trouble and pain
because of their sins.
18 They did not want to eat any food,
so they nearly died.
19 Because of their trouble,
they called to the Lord for help.
He rescued them from their troubles.
20 He sent his word to them
and he made them well again.
He rescued them from the deep hole of death.
21 So they should thank the Lord
because of his faithful love.
They should thank him for the great things
that he does for people.
22 They should offer sacrifices to thank God.
They should sing aloud
to tell about what he has done.
23 Some people were traders
who travelled far across the sea in ships.
24 They saw the great things that the Lord did,
even in the middle of the deep seas.
25 He would command a storm to come,
so that the wind caused big waves to rise up.
26 The waves threw the ships up high in the air,
then dropped them deep down.
The danger made the sailors afraid,
and they thought that they would die.
27 Like drunk people, they could not stand or walk properly.
They did not know what to do!
28 Because of their trouble,
they called to the Lord for help.
He rescued them from their troubles.
29 He caused the storm to stop,
so that the waves became quiet.
30 The sailors were happy when it became quiet.
God led them safely to the port,
where they wanted to go.
31 So they should thank the Lord
because of his faithful love.
They should thank him for the great things
that he does for people.
32 They should praise the Lord
when they meet together.
They should praise him
at the meeting of their leaders.
33-34 In places where people are wicked,
God makes the streams and rivers become dry,
so that the land becomes a desert.
He makes good land
become a salty wilderness.
35 But for his people, he changes deserts
to become pools of water.
He makes springs of water in dry land.
36 He lets hungry people live there safely.
They can build a city for themselves.
37 They plant crops in their fields,
and they plant vines to grow grapes.
They have plenty of food to eat.
38 He blesses them,
so that they have many children.
Their animals also grow in number.
39 But they may become weak and few in number,
because of cruel enemies who give them trouble.
40 Then God causes the enemy's leaders to become ashamed.
He makes them travel on roads that go nowhere.
41 But for people who are poor and weak,
he rescues them from their trouble.
He gives them many children,
so that they have big families.
42 Good people see what God has done,
and it makes them happy.
Wicked people have nothing to say!
43 Wise people should think about these things.
They should understand the Lord's faithful love for his people.
11 My son, if you are wise, I will be happy.
I will be able to answer anyone who insults me.
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