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Ezekiel must warn his people
33 The Lord gave this message to me: 2 ‘Son of man, speak to your people. Say to them, “Think about what might happen if I send an army to attack a country. The people of that country might choose one of their own men to be a guard to warn them about danger.[a] 3 Then, if the guard sees that enemy soldiers are ready to attack, he must blow a trumpet to warn his people. 4 Someone might hear the sound of the trumpet, but he does nothing to keep himself safe. If enemy soldiers then come and kill that person, he is guilty of his own death. 5 He deserves to die because he heard the sound of the trumpet, but he did nothing. When the trumpet warned him of danger, he should have got ready. If he had done that, he would have saved his life. 6 But the guard might not blow the trumpet when he sees the enemy. He might not warn his people that the enemy is ready to attack them. Then enemy soldiers might kill some of his people. Those people will die because of their sins. But the guard will be guilty of their death, because he did not warn them of danger.”
7 Son of man, I have chosen you to be a guard for Israel's people. You must listen to the messages that I give you. Then you must use what I say to warn the Israelites. 8 I might say to a wicked person, “You will certainly die because of your sins.” Then you must warn that wicked person to stop doing wicked things. If you do not warn him, he will die because of his sins. But I will say that you are guilty of his death. 9 If you do warn him and he refuses to change, he will die because of his sins. But you will have saved your own life.
10 Son of man, give Israel's people this message: “You are saying, ‘The punishment for our sins is too much for us. We are dying because of all the bad things that we have done. What should we do so that we can continue to live?’ ”
11 Tell them, “It does not make me happy to punish wicked people with death. I, the Almighty Lord, promise you this, as surely as I live. I want wicked people to stop doing wrong things so that they may continue to live. So stop doing evil things! Israel's people, you do not have to die. Turn back to me!”
12 Son of man, you must say to your people, “If a righteous person refuses to obey me, I will punish him. The good things that he has done will not save him. And if a wicked person stops doing bad things, he will no longer be guilty. Righteous people will not continue to live if they start to do bad things.”
13 I may say to righteous people that they will certainly continue to live. But then they may trust in the good things that they have done. They may think that I will not punish them if they start to do evil things. But if they do that, I will destroy them because of their sins. I will not even think about the good things that they did at an earlier time.
14 Also, I may say to wicked people, “You will certainly die because of your sins.” But then they may stop doing bad things. They may start to do things that are good and right. 15 For example, a wicked person might give back something that he has taken from someone as a guarantee. Or he might give back things that he has robbed from people. A wicked person might start to obey the laws that give life. He might stop doing evil things. If wicked people change like that, then they will continue to live. They will not die as punishment for their sins. 16 I will not think about the sins that they have done. Now that they have started to do things that are good and right, they will certainly continue to live.
17 Your people, the Israelites, are saying: “The Lord is not fair in the things that he does!” But it is the people themselves who live in a way that is not fair. 18 If a righteous person stops doing good things and he starts to do evil things, he will die. He deserves to die because of his sins. 19 Also, if a wicked person stops doing bad things and he starts to do things that are good and right, he will continue to live. He deserves to live because he has changed. 20 But you Israelites continue to say, “The Lord is not fair!” But I will judge each of you in a way that you deserve for the things that you have done.’
Ezekiel hears news about Jerusalem
21 This is what happened 12 years after we had come to Babylon as prisoners. It was on the 5th day of the 10th month of that year. A man who had escaped from Jerusalem came to me in Babylon.[b] He said, ‘Enemies have taken Jerusalem for themselves.’ 22 Before that man arrived, the Lord had taken hold of me in the night. He had opened my mouth so that I was able to speak again.[c]
23 Then the Lord gave this message to me:
24 ‘Son of man, there are people who continue to live in the places in Israel that have become heaps of stones. Those Israelites are saying, “Abraham was only one man, but God gave him the whole land of Israel. We are many people. So we can be sure that the land now belongs to us.”
25 Because they say that, you must tell them, “This is what the Almighty Lord says: You eat meat which still has blood in it. You worship your idols. You also murder people. So you do not deserve to have the land for yourselves. 26 You use violence to get the things that you want. You do disgusting things. You have sex with other men's wives. So you should certainly not have the land!”
27 Say to them, “This is what the Almighty Lord says: I promise you this, as surely as I live. Soldiers will kill the people who live among the heaps of stones. I will cause wild animals to eat the people who live in the fields. Diseases will kill the people who hide in strong buildings and in caves. 28 I will make the land become empty, like a desert. You will no longer be proud of your power. Israel's mountains will become empty places that nobody travels through. 29 I will cause the land to become heaps of stones where nobody lives. I will do that to punish the people for the disgusting things that they have done. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”
30 Son of man, the Israelites who are here with you in Babylon are talking about you. They meet together near the walls of the city and at the doors of their houses. They are saying to each other, “Come and hear the message that has come from the Lord.”
31 They are my people and they come as a crowd to listen to you. They sit and they listen to your words. But they do not obey what you say. They say that they love me. But really they like to cheat people to get things for themselves. 32 They like to hear your voice. For them, you are like someone who sings beautiful songs about love. They listen to your words but they do not obey them.
33 All these things that I have said will certainly happen. When my people see them happen, they will know that a prophet has lived among them.’
Israel's leaders are like shepherds
34 The Lord gave this message to me: 2 ‘Son of man, you must speak my message to the shepherds of Israel to warn them.[d] Tell them, “This is what the Almighty Lord says: Terrible trouble will come to you shepherds of Israel who only think about yourselves. Shepherds should take care of the sheep and feed them. 3 You drink their milk and you use their wool to make clothes for yourselves. You kill the best animals to eat. But you do not take care of the sheep! 4 You have not helped the weak sheep to be strong. You have not made the sick sheep well. Nor have you covered their wounds. You have not looked for lost sheep and brought them back. Instead, you have ruled my people in a cruel way. 5 So my sheep ran away to different places because they did not have a shepherd to take care of them. Then the wild animals found them and ate them. 6 My sheep went over all the mountains and the high hills. They went to places everywhere on the earth. And nobody went to look for them and bring them back again.
7 So, you shepherds, listen to the Lord's message. 8 My sheep do not have any shepherds to take care of them. So they are not safe from danger. They have become food for all the wild animals. You, my shepherds, have not gone to look for the sheep that were lost. You only wanted to help yourselves instead of my sheep. So I, the Almighty Lord, promise you this, as surely as I live. 9 You shepherds, listen to the Lord's message! 10 The Almighty Lord says this: I have become the shepherds' enemy. I will take my sheep away from them. I will no longer allow them to be shepherds. They will not be able to kill my sheep to feed themselves. I will rescue my sheep, so that the shepherds cannot eat them.
11 So this is what the Almighty Lord says: I myself will go and look for my sheep to bring them back. 12 I will be like a shepherd who looks everywhere to find his lost sheep. I will find them and I will rescue them. I will bring them back from the places that they have run away to. It was a dark day with many clouds when they ran away. 13 They have been living in foreign countries among other people. I will bring them back to live in their own land. I will feed them on the mountains of Israel. They will eat beside its rivers and in all the places where people live. 14 I will feed them in fields on Israel's mountains where grass grows. They will lie down in the good fields. They will eat the green grass that grows on the mountains. 15 I myself will take care of my sheep. I will give them safe places to lie down and rest. I, the Almighty Lord, say this. 16 I will find the lost sheep and I will bring them back. I will cover their wounds. I will help those who are weak to become strong. But I will destroy those who are fat and powerful. I will give them justice as their food!
17 This is what I, the Almighty Lord, say to you, my sheep: I will judge you. I will decide which of you are good and which of you are bad. I will judge between male sheep and goats. 18 You bad sheep make sure that you have plenty of good grass to eat. But then you spoil the other grass so that no other sheep can eat it. You have clean water to drink. But then you spoil the water which remains. It is too dirty for other sheep to drink. 19 Because of that, my sheep eat grass that you have spoiled. They drink water that you have made dirty with your feet.
20 So this is what I, the Almighty Lord, say to the sheep: I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the thin sheep. 21 You fat sheep use your shoulders to push the other sheep away. You attack the weak sheep with your horns so that they run away. 22 Because you do this, I will rescue my sheep. They will no longer be in danger from other animals. I will judge between one sheep and another sheep.
23 Then I will choose one shepherd to lead them. He is my servant, David. He will take care of them as their shepherd. 24 I, the Lord, will be their God. My servant David will be their ruler. I, the Lord, have said this.[e]
25 I will make an agreement with them, that I will give them peace. I will remove the dangerous wild animals from the land. Then they can live there safely, even in the wilderness. They will not be afraid when they sleep in the forests. 26 I will bless them with many good things as they live around my holy hill. I will send rain at the proper time each year. The rain will bring my blessings to them. 27 The trees in the fields will give them fruit to eat. Crops of food will grow in the ground. The people will live safely in their land. I will take away the power of those who were cruel to them. I will rescue them from the people who made them their slaves. Then they will know that I am the Lord. 28 They will no longer be in danger from other nations. Wild animals will no longer eat them. They will live safely and nobody will cause them to be afraid. 29 I will give them a land that is famous for its good crops. So famine will never cause them to suffer in that land. Other nations will no longer insult them. 30 Then they will know that I, the Lord their God, am with them. They will know that they are my people, the Israelites. That is what the Almighty Lord says.
31 You are my people and I take care of you, as a shepherd takes care of his sheep. You are my people and I am your God. That is what the Almighty Lord says.” ’
How we can live for God
13 Continue to love each other like brothers and sisters. 2 Always remember to be kind to strangers. Let them stay in your homes. In this way, some people have received angels as visitors, and they did not know that they were angels.[a]
3 Remember to help those believers who are in prison. Think about what that would be like, if you were there with them. Remember those believers who are receiving trouble from people. Think about them as if you were receiving the same pain in your own body.[b]
4 When a man and a woman have married each other, they must each respect the marriage. Husbands and wives must only have sex with each other. God will punish anyone who has sex with another person's husband or wife. He will punish anyone who has sex in a wrong way.
5 In the way that you live, do not want lots of money. Be happy with the things that you have. Be happy, because God has said this:
‘I will never leave you;
I will always be there with you.’
6 Because of that, we can bravely say this:[c]
‘The Lord is the one who helps me,
so I will not be afraid.
I will not be afraid of anything that people can do to me.’
7 Remember your leaders, who taught God's message to you. Think about the way in which they have lived and the good things that they have done. They have trusted God, so you should have faith like they have.
8 Jesus Christ is always the same, yesterday, today and for ever. 9 Some people teach all kinds of strange new things.[d] Do not let them lead you away from God's true message. It is good that God is very kind to us. That is what makes us strong inside ourselves. Rules about what foods we should eat do not make us strong like that. Those rules have never helped the people who tried to obey them.
10 Jesus Christ is the sacrifice that saves us. Jewish priests do not have the authority to receive anything from his sacrifice. 11 In the old agreement, the leader of the priests brings the blood from the animal sacrifices into the Most Holy Place. He does that so that God will forgive the sins of the people. But they take the bodies of those animals away from there. They burn them outside the town.[e] 12 In the same way, Jesus also died outside the city.[f] He died as a sacrifice on our behalf. His blood has made his people clean from their sins. 13 Jesus died like that in a place where people insulted him. So we must go out to that place too. We must be ready for people to insult us, as they insulted him. 14 Here on earth, we who are believers do not have a city that will always be our home. But we are waiting for God's city that will come.
15 So we should always praise God, because of what Jesus has done for us. We should say clearly that we trust Jesus. That is like our sacrifice which we offer to God all the time. 16 Remember to be kind to other people. Share with them the things that you have. God is happy with sacrifices like that.
17 Respect your leaders and obey them. They watch over your lives on God's behalf. God will check to see if they have done their work well. So respect them, and then they will be happy as they serve God. Do not say bad things against them, because that will never help you.
18 Pray to God for us. We are sure in our minds that we have done nothing wrong. We always want to do only what is right. 19 The most important thing is this: Pray that I may come back to you soon.
20 I pray that God will help you. He is the one who gives us peace in our minds. He caused our Lord Jesus Christ to become alive again after death. God forgives us because of the blood of Jesus' death on the cross. That is God's new agreement with his people that will be true for ever. Jesus is our great shepherd. He takes care of us like his sheep. 21 I pray that God will give you every good thing that you need to serve him. Then you can do everything that he wants. I pray that God will help us to serve him in a way that will make him happy. He will do that because we belong to Jesus Christ. Jesus is very great, and we should praise him always and for ever! Amen. This is true.
22 My Christian friends, please listen patiently to my message. This is only a short letter and I want to help you to be strong. 23 I want to tell you about Timothy, who is like a brother to us. They have let him go out of prison, so that he is free now. If he arrives here soon, he will come with me when I travel to see you.
24 Say ‘hello’ on my behalf to your leaders and to all God's people. The Christians who have come here from Italy say ‘hello’ to you too. 25 I pray that God will be very kind to all of you.
There is only one true God[a]
115 Lord, you are the one
who deserves that people praise you.
They should praise only you, not us!
Because you love us with a faithful love,
and you always do what you have promised.
2 Why should other nations say about us,
‘Where is their God?’
3 We know that our God is in heaven.
He does whatever he wants to do.
4 Those people's idols are made from silver and gold.
Yes, human hands make them!
5 Each idol has a mouth,
but it cannot speak!
It has eyes, but it cannot see!
6 It has ears, but it cannot hear!
It has a nose, but it cannot smell!
7 It has hands, but it cannot feel anything!
It has feet, but it cannot walk!
They cannot make a sound!
8 The people that make those idols
will become useless like them.
The same is true for everyone
who trusts their idols to help them.
9 People of Israel,
trust in the Lord.
He is the one who helps you
and keeps you safe.
10 Aaron's family,
trust in the Lord.[b]
He is the one who helps you
and keeps you safe.
11 Everyone who serves the Lord,
trust in the Lord.
He is the one who helps you
and keeps you safe.
12 The Lord will remember us,
and he will bless us.
He will bless Israel's people.
He will bless Aaron's family.
13 He will bless everybody who serves him,
whether they are important people or not.
14 I pray that the Lord will give you many children,
and your children too!
15 I pray that the Lord will bless you all.
He is the one who made the whole universe.
16 The heavens belong to the Lord,
but he has given the earth to us people.
17 Dead people cannot praise the Lord.
In their graves, they are unable to speak.
18 But we will praise the Lord,
now and for ever.
Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!
21 You need a hot fire to see if silver and gold are pure.
In the same way, when people praise you,
they can see what you are really like.
22 Even if you beat a fool with a big stick, as hard as you beat grain,
you will never remove all his silly ideas.
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