Through the Bible – Day 331

Bible text(s)

Ezekiel 32

A sad ending for Egypt

17On the fifteenth day of that same month, the LORD said:

18Ezekiel, son of man, mourn for the Egyptians and condemn them to the world of the dead, where they will be buried beside the people of other powerful nations. 19Say to them:

You may be more beautiful

than the people

of other nations,

but you will also die

and join the godless

in the world below.

20You cannot escape! The enemy's sword is ready to slaughter every one of you. 21Brave military leaders killed in battle will gladly welcome you and your allies into the world of the dead.

22-23The graves of soldiers from Assyria are there. They once terrified people, but they were killed in battle and now lie deep in the world of the dead.

24-25The graves of soldiers from Elam are there. The very sight of those godless soldiers once terrified their enemies and made them panic. But now they are disgraced and ashamed as they lie in the world of the dead, beside others who were killed in battle.

26The graves of soldiers from Meshech and Tubal are there. These godless soldiers who terrified people were all killed in battle. 27They were not given a proper burial like the heroes of long ago, who were buried with their swords under their heads and with their shields over their bodies. These were the heroes who made their enemies panic.

28You Egyptians will be cruelly defeated, and you will be buried beside these other godless soldiers who died in battle.

29The graves of kings and leaders from Edom are there. They were powerful at one time. Now they are buried in the world of the dead with other godless soldiers killed in battle.

30The graves of the rulers of the north are there, as well as those of the Sidonians. Their powerful armies once terrified enemies. Now they lie buried in the world of the dead, where they are disgraced like other soldiers killed in battle.

31The LORD God says:

When your king of Egypt sees all these graves, he and his soldiers will be glad they are not the only ones suffering. 32I sent him to terrify people all over the earth. But he and his army will be killed and buried beside other godless soldiers in the world of the dead. I, the LORD God, have spoken.

Ezekiel 33

Ezekiel must warn the people to turn from their sinful ways

The LORD appoints Ezekiel to stand watch

(Ezekiel 3.16-21)

1The LORD said:

2Ezekiel, son of man, warn your people by saying:

Some day, I, the LORD, may send an enemy to invade a country. And suppose its people choose someone to stand watch 3and to sound a warning signal when the enemy is seen coming. 4-5If any of these people hear the signal and ignore it, they will be killed in battle. But it will be their own fault, because they could have escaped if they had paid attention.

6But suppose the person watching fails to sound the warning signal. The enemy will attack and kill some of the sinful people in that country, and I, the LORD, will hold that person responsible for their death.

7Ezekiel, I have appointed you to stand watch for the people of Israel. So listen to what I say, then warn them for me. 8When I tell wicked people they will die because of their sins, you must warn them to turn from their sinful ways. But if you refuse to warn them, you are responsible for their death. 9If you do warn them, and they keep sinning, they will die because of their sins, and you will be innocent.

The LORD is always fair

(Ezekiel 18.21-30)

10The LORD said:

Ezekiel, son of man, the people of Israel are complaining that the punishment for their sins is more than they can stand. They have lost all hope for survival, and they blame me. 11Tell them that as surely as I am the living LORD God, I don't like to see wicked people die. I enjoy seeing them turn from their sins and live. So if the Israelites want to live, they must stop sinning and turn back to me.

12Tell them that when good people start sinning, all the good they did in the past cannot save them from being punished. And remind them that when wicked people stop sinning, their past sins will be completely forgiven, and they won't be punished.

13Suppose I promise good people that they will live, then later they start sinning and believe they will be saved by the good they did in the past. These people will certainly be put to death because of their sins. Their good deeds will be forgotten.

14Suppose I warn wicked people that they will die because of their sins, and they stop sinning and start doing right. 15For example, they need to return anything they have taken as security for a loan and anything they have stolen. Then if they stop doing evil and start obeying my Law, they will live. 16Their past sins will be forgiven, and they will live because they have done right.

17Ezekiel, your people accuse me of being unfair. But they are the ones who are unfair. 18If good people start doing evil, they will be put to death, because they have sinned. 19And if wicked people stop sinning and start doing right, they will save themselves from punishment. 20But the Israelites still think I am unfair. So warn them that they will be punished for what they have done.

The news of Jerusalem's fall

21Twelve years after King Jehoiachin and the rest of us had been led away as prisoners to Babylonia, a refugee who had escaped from Jerusalem came to me on the fifth day of the tenth month. He told me that the city had fallen.

22The evening before this man arrived at my house, the LORD had taken control of me. So when the man came to me the next morning, I could once again speak.

What will happen to those left in Israel?

23Then the LORD said:

24Ezekiel, son of man, the people living in the ruined cities of Israel are saying, “Abraham was just one man, and the LORD gave him this whole land of Israel. There are many of us, and so this land must be ours.”

25So, Ezekiel, tell them I am saying:

How can you think the land is still yours? You eat meat with blood in it and worship idols. You commit murder 26and spread violence throughout the land. Everything you do is wicked; you are even unfaithful in marriage. And you claim the land is yours!

27As surely as I am the living LORD God, you people in the ruined cities will be killed in battle. Those of you living in the countryside will be eaten by wild animals, and those hiding in caves and on rocky cliffs will die from deadly diseases. 28I will make the whole country an empty wasteland and crush the power in which you take such pride. Even the mountains will be bare, and no one will try to cross them. 29I will punish you because of your sins, and I will turn your nation into a barren desert. Then you will know that I am the LORD.

The people listen, but don't change

The LORD said:

30Ezekiel, son of man, the people with you in Babylonia talk about you when they meet by the city walls or in the doorways of their houses. They say, “Let's ask Ezekiel what the LORD has said today.” 31So they all come and listen to you, but they refuse to do what you tell them. They claim to be faithful, but they are for ever trying to cheat others out of their money. 32They treat you as though you were merely singing love songs or playing music. They listen, but don't do anything you say.

33Soon they will be punished, just as you warned, and they will know that a prophet has been among them.

Ezekiel 34

The Lord promises to bring the people home and to restore Judah

Israel's leaders are worthless shepherds

1The LORD God said:

2Ezekiel, son of man, Israel's leaders are like shepherds taking care of my sheep, the people of Israel. But I want you to condemn these leaders and tell them:

I, the LORD God, say you shepherds of Israel are doomed! You take care of yourselves while ignoring my sheep. 3You drink their milk and use their wool to make your clothes. Then you butcher the best ones for food. But you don't take care of the flock! 4You have never protected the weak ones or healed the sick ones or bandaged those that get hurt. You let them wander off and never look for those that get lost. You are cruel and mean to my sheep. 5They strayed in every direction, and because there was no shepherd to watch them, they were attacked and eaten by wild animals. 6So my sheep were scattered across the earth. They roamed on hills and mountains, without anyone even bothering to look for them.

7-8Now listen to what I, the living LORD God, am saying to you shepherds. My sheep have been attacked and eaten by wild animals, because you refused to watch them. You never went looking for the lost ones, and you fed yourselves without feeding my sheep. 9-10So I, the LORD, will punish you! I will rescue my sheep from you and never let you be their shepherd again or butcher them for food. I, the LORD, have spoken.

Ezekiel 32:17-34:10CEVOpen in Bible reader

2 Peter 1

Greetings and prayer

1From Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ.

To everyone who shares with us in the privilege of believing that our God and Saviour Jesus Christ will do what is just and fair.

2I pray that God will be kind to you and will let you live in perfect peace! May you keep learning more and more about God and our Lord Jesus.

How the Lord's followers should live

3We have everything we need to live a life that pleases God. It was all given to us by God's own power, when we learnt that he had invited us to share in his wonderful goodness. 4God made great and marvellous promises, so that his nature would become part of us. Then we could escape our evil desires and the corrupt influences of this world.

5Do your best to improve your faith. You can do this by adding goodness, understanding, 6self-control, patience, devotion to God, 7concern for others, and love. 8If you keep growing in this way, it will show that what you know about our Lord Jesus Christ has made your lives useful and meaningful. 9But if you don't grow, you are like someone who is nearsighted or blind, and you have forgotten that your past sins are forgiven.

10My friends, you must do all you can to show that God has really chosen and selected you. If you keep on doing this, you won't stumble and fall. 11Then our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ will give you a glorious welcome into his kingdom that will last for ever.

12You are holding firmly to the truth that you were given. But I am still going to remind you of these things. 13In fact, I think I should keep on reminding you until I leave this body. 14And our Lord Jesus Christ has already told me that I will soon leave it behind. 15That is why I am doing my best to make sure that each of you remembers all this after I am gone.

The glory of Christ

16When we told you about the power and the return of our Lord Jesus Christ, we were not telling clever stories that someone had made up. But with our own eyes we saw his true greatness. 17God, our great and wonderful Father, truly honoured him by saying, “This is my own dear Son, and I am pleased with him.” 18We were there with Jesus on the holy mountain and heard this voice speak from heaven.

19All this makes us even more certain that what the prophets said is true. So you should pay close attention to their message, as you would to a lamp shining in some dark place. You must keep on paying attention until daylight comes and the morning star rises in your hearts. 20But you need to realize that no one alone can understand any of the prophecies in the Scriptures. 21The prophets did not think these things up on their own, but they were guided by the Spirit of God.

2 Peter 1:1-21CEVOpen in Bible reader
Canadian Bible Societyv.4.26.9
Follow us on: