The Daily Audio Bible

The Boiling Pot

24 The Word of the Lord came to me on the tenth day of the tenth month in the ninth year, saying, ² “Son of man, put down in writing this day, this very day. The king of Babylon has shut Jerusalem in with his army this very day. ³ And tell a picture-story to these sinful people of Israel. Tell them, ‘The Lord God says, “Put the pot on the fire. Put it on, and pour water in it. ⁴ Put all the good pieces of meat in it, the thigh, the shoulder. And fill it with the best bones. ⁵ Take the best of the flock. Put more and more wood under the pot to make it boil, and boil the bones in it.”

⁶ ’For the Lord God says, “It is bad for the city of blood, for the rusted pot whose rust has not been cleaned out of it! Take the pieces of meat out of it without choosing them. ⁷ For the blood of the city has been poured on the rock. It was not poured on the ground where the dust would cover it. ⁸ I have put the blood on the rock where it could not be covered, so that it would cause anger and punishment.” ⁹ So the Lord God says, “It is bad for the city of blood! I will put much wood on the fire. ¹⁰ Put on more and more wood, and make the fire burn. Boil the meat well. Mix in the spices, and let the bones be burned up. ¹¹ Now set the empty pot on the coals until it becomes hot and its brass becomes bright with the heat. Then what is not clean in it will melt away. Its rust will be destroyed. ¹² But it has been all for nothing. Its rust has not left it, not even by fire. ¹³ It is sin that makes you unclean. I have tried to make you clean, but you would not be made clean from your sins. So you will not be clean again until My anger against you is finished. ¹⁴ I, the Lord, have spoken. The time has come for Me to act. I will not hold back, I will not pity, and I will not be sorry. I will punish you for your ways and for what you have done,” says the Lord God.’”

Ezekiel’s Wife Dies

¹⁵ The Word of the Lord came to me saying, ¹⁶ “Son of man, with one blow I am about to take away from you the desire of your eyes. But do not have sorrow or loud crying or any tears. ¹⁷ Cry inside yourself. Do not show sorrow for the dead. Put your head-covering on. Put your shoes on your feet. Do not cover your face or eat the bread of those in sorrow.” ¹⁸ So I spoke to the people in the morning, and in the evening my wife died. The next morning I did as I was told. ¹⁹ And the people said to me, “Will you not tell us what these things you are doing mean for us?” ²⁰ So I said to them, “The Word of the Lord came to me saying, ²¹ ’Tell the people of Israel, “The Lord God says, ‘I am about to let sin fill My holy place, the pride of your power, the desire of your eyes, and the happiness of your soul. And your sons and daughters you have left behind will be killed by the sword. ²² Then you will do as I have done. You will not cover your face or eat the bread of those in sorrow. ²³ Your heads will be covered and your shoes will be on your feet. You will not have sorrow or cry. But you will waste away in your sins and cry in pain to one another. ²⁴ So Ezekiel will be something special for you to see. You will do just as he has done. When this happens, you will know that I am the Lord God.’”

²⁵ ‘Son of man, I will take away their strong-place that was their joy and pride, the desire of their eyes and the things their hearts wanted most. And I will take away their sons and their daughters. ²⁶ On that day, one who gets away will come to you with the news. ²⁷ That same day your mouth will be opened. You will speak with him and no longer be quiet. So you will be something special for them to see, and they will know that I am the Lord.’”

Word against Ammon

25 The Word of the Lord came to me saying, ² “Son of man, look toward the Ammonites and speak against them. ³ Tell them, ‘Hear the Word of the Lord God! The Lord God says, “Because you were happy when My holy place was made unclean, and when the land of Israel was made waste, and when the people of Judah were taken away, ⁴ I am going to give you to the people of the east. They will put up their tents among you and live among you. They will eat your fruit and drink your milk. ⁵ I will turn the city of Rabbah into a field for camels, and Ammon into a resting place for flocks. Then you will know that I am the Lord.” ⁶ For the Lord God says, “Because you have clapped your hands and crushed under your feet and showed your joy because of your hate for Israel, ⁷ I have put out My hand against you. I will give you away to the nations. And I will destroy you from the nations and from the lands. Then you will know that I am the Lord.”

Word against Moab

⁸ ‘The Lord God says, “Because Moab and Seir say, ‘See, Judah is like all the nations,’ ⁹ I will lay waste the side of Moab, beginning with these cities there, Beth-jeshimoth, Baalmeon, and Kiriathaim, the best of the country. ¹⁰ I will give it to the people of the east, as I did with Ammon, so that the Ammonites will not be remembered among the nations. ¹¹ I will punish Moab, and they will know that I am the Lord.”

Word against Edom

¹² ‘The Lord God says, “Because Edom has fought against Judah in its anger, and has become very guilty by doing so,” ¹³ the Lord God says, “I will put out My hand against Edom and kill its men and their animals. I will destroy it and they will fall by the sword from Teman to Dedan. ¹⁴ I will punish Edom by the hand of My people Israel. They will act in My anger against Edom, and Edom will know My anger,” says the Lord God.

Word against Philistia

¹⁵ ‘The Lord God says, “Because the Philistines have fought to destroy Judah with the lasting anger that is in their hearts,” ¹⁶ the Lord God says, “I will put out My hand against the Philistines. And I will destroy the Cherethites and those left beside the sea. ¹⁷ I will punish them in My anger, and they will know that I am the Lord when I punish them.”’”

Word against Tyre

26 In the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, the Word of the Lord came to me saying, ² “Son of man, Tyre has said this about Jerusalem, ‘O, the gate to the nations is broken. It has opened to me. I will do well, now that she is laid waste.’ ³ So the Lord God says, ‘I am against you, O Tyre. And I will bring up many nations against you, as the sea brings up its waves. ⁴ They will destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers. Then I will clean away what is left from her and make her nothing but rock. ⁵ She will be a place to spread fish nets out in the sea, for I have spoken,’ says the Lord God. ‘The nations will take her riches. ⁶ And her villages on the land across the sea from her will be destroyed by the sword. Then they will know that I am the Lord.’

⁷ For the Lord God says, “I will bring Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, king of kings, against Tyre from the north. He will come with horses, war-wagons, horsemen, and a large army. ⁸ And he will kill with the sword those in your villages. He will build battle-walls around you. He will build up earth so they can go over your walls. He will build walls and make battle-coverings around you. ⁹ He will roll down large objects to knock down your walls, and will break down your towers with axes. ¹⁰ There will be so many horses that you will be covered by their dust. Your walls will shake at the noise of the horsemen and wheels and war-wagons, when he comes through your gates as men come into a city that has been broken open. ¹¹ The feet of his horses will run all over your streets. He will kill your people with the sword, and your strong pillars will fall to the ground. ¹² They will take your riches and good things as prizes of war. They will break down your walls and destroy your beautiful houses. And they will throw your stones and wood into the sea. ¹³ I will put an end to the music of your songs. And the sound of your harps will be heard no more. ¹⁴ I will make you nothing but rock. You will be a place for nets to be spread. You will never be built again, for I the Lord have spoken,” says the Lord God.

¹⁵ The Lord God says to Tyre, “Will not the lands beside the sea shake at the sound of your fall, when those who have been hurt cry in pain, when your people are killed? ¹⁶ Then all the leaders of the sea will step down from their thrones and take off their beautiful clothing. They will clothe themselves with fear. They will sit on the ground and not be able to stop shaking, full of fear and wonder because of you. ¹⁷ They will cry in sorrow for you and say, ‘How you have been destroyed from the seas, O well-known city where many people once lived! You were powerful on the sea. You and all your people who lived here were filled with fear. ¹⁸ Now the islands shake in fear on the day of your fall. Yes, the lands which are by the sea are afraid because of how you are destroyed.’” ¹⁹ The Lord God says, “I will lay waste your city and make you like a destroyed city where no one lives. I will bring up the deep sea over you, and the many waters will cover you. ²⁰ Then I will send you down with those who go down to the grave, to the people of long ago. I will make you stay in the lower parts of the earth, like in waste places of long ago, with those who go down to the grave. So you will not have people living in you, and you will not have a place in the land of the living. ²¹ I will fill you with fear and destroy you. People will look for you, but you will never be found again,” says the Lord God.

Faith

11 Now faith is being sure we will get what we hope for. It is being sure of what we cannot see. ² God was pleased with the men who had faith who lived long ago.

³ Through faith we understand that the world was made by the Word of God. Things we see were made from what could not be seen.

⁴ Because Abel had faith, he gave a better gift in worship to God than Cain. His gift pleased God. Abel was right with God. Abel died, but by faith he is still speaking to us.

⁵ Because Enoch had faith, he was taken up from the earth without dying. He could not be found because God had taken him. The Holy Writings tell how he pleased God before he was taken up. ⁶ A man cannot please God unless he has faith. Anyone who comes to God must believe that He is. That one must also know that God gives what is promised to the one who keeps on looking for Him.

⁷ Because Noah had faith, he built a large boat for his family. God told him what was going to happen. His faith made him hear God speak and he obeyed. His family was saved from death because he built the boat. In this way, Noah showed the world how sinful it was. Noah became right with God because of his faith in God.

⁸ Because Abraham had faith, he obeyed God when God called him to leave his home. He was to go to another country that God promised to give him. He left his home without knowing where he was going. ⁹ His faith in God kept him living as a stranger in the country God had promised to him. Isaac and Jacob had received the same promise. They all lived in tents together. ¹⁰ Abraham was looking to God and waiting for a city that could not be moved. It was a city planned and built by God.

¹¹ Because Sarah had faith, she was able to have a child long after she was past the age to have children. She had faith to believe that God would do what He promised. ¹² Abraham was too old to have children. But from this one man came a family with as many in it as the stars in the sky and as many as the sand by the sea.

¹³ These people all died having faith in God. They did not receive what God had promised to them. But they could see far ahead to all the things God promised and they were glad for them. They knew they were strangers here. This earth was not their home. ¹⁴ People who say these things show they are looking for a country of their own. ¹⁵ They did not think about the country they had come from. If they had, they might have gone back. ¹⁶ But they wanted a better country. And so God is not ashamed to be called their God. He has made a city for them.

The King Rules

110 The Lord says to my Lord, “Sit at My right side, for those who hate You will be a place to rest Your feet.” ² The Lord will send out Your strength from Zion, saying, “Rule in front of those who hate You.” ³ Your people will be willing to help in the day of Your power. Your young men will be dressed in holy clothes. They will come to You like water on the grass in the early morning.

⁴ The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind: “You are a Religious Leader forever, in the same way as Melchizedek.” ⁵ The Lord is at Your right hand. He will crush kings in the day of His anger. ⁶ He will say who is guilty or not among the nations. He will fill them with dead bodies. He will crush the leaders of many lands. ⁷ He will drink from the river on the way. And so He will lift up His head.

¹⁴ He who praises his neighbor with a loud voice early in the morning will be thought of as saying bad things against him.