The Living Bible (262 page)

Ezekiel
17

Then this message came to me from the Lord:

    
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 “Son of dust, give this riddle to the people of Israel:

    
^3-4
 “A great eagle with broad wings full of many-colored feathers came to Lebanon and plucked off the shoot at the top of the tallest cedar tree and carried it into a city filled with merchants.
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 There he planted it
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in fertile ground beside a broad river, where it would grow as quickly as a willow tree.
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 It took root and grew and became a low but spreading vine that turned toward the eagle and produced strong branches and luxuriant leaves.
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 But when another great, broad-winged, full-feathered eagle came along, this tree sent its roots and branches out toward him instead,
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 even though it was already in good soil with plenty of water to become a splendid vine, producing leaves and fruit.”

    
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 The Lord God asks: “Shall I let this tree grow and prosper? No! I will pull it out, roots and all! I will cut off its branches and let its leaves wither and die. It will pull out easily enough—it won’t take a big crew or a lot of equipment to do that.
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 Though the vine began so well, will it thrive? No, it will wither away completely when the east wind touches it, dying in the same choice soil where it had grown so well.”

    
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 Then this message came to me from the Lord:

    
^12-13
 “Ask these rebels of Israel: Don’t you understand what this riddle of the eagles means? I will tell you. Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon (the first of the two eagles),
*
came to Jerusalem, took away her king and princes (her topmost buds and shoots),
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and brought them to Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar made a covenant with a member of the royal family (Zedekiah),
*
and made him take an oath of loyalty. He took a seedling and planted it in fertile ground beside a broad river. He also exiled the top men of Israel’s government,
¹⁴
 so that Israel would not be strong again and revolt. But by keeping her promises, Israel could be respected and maintain her identity.

    
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 “Nevertheless, Zedekiah rebelled against Babylon, sending ambassadors to Egypt to seek for a great army and many horses to fight against Nebuchadnezzar. But will Israel prosper after breaking all her promises like that? Will she succeed?
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 No! For as I live,” says the Lord, “the king of Israel shall die. (Nebuchadnezzar will pull out the tree, roots and all!) Zedekiah
*
shall die in Babylon, where the king lives who gave him his power, and whose covenant he despised and broke.
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 Pharaoh and all his mighty army shall fail to help Israel when the king of Babylon lays siege to Jerusalem again and slaughters many lives.
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 For the king of Israel broke his promise after swearing to obey; therefore he shall not escape.”

    
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 The Lord God says: “As I live, surely I will punish him for despising the solemn oath he made in my name.
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 I will throw my net over him, and he shall be captured in my snare; I will bring him to Babylon and deal with him there for this treason against me.
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 And all the best soldiers of Israel will be killed by the sword, and those remaining in the city will be scattered to the four winds. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken these words.”

    
^22-23
 The Lord God says: “I will take a tender sprout from the top of a tall cedar, and I will plant it on the top of Israel’s highest mountain. It shall become a noble cedar, bringing forth branches and bearing seed. Animals of every sort will gather under it; its branches will shelter every kind of bird.
²⁴
 And everyone shall know that it is I, the Lord, who cuts down the high trees and exalts the low, that I make the green tree wither and the dead tree grow. I, the Lord, have said that I would do it, and I will.”

Ezekiel
18

Then the Lord’s message came to me again.

    
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 “Why do people use this proverb about the land of Israel: The children are punished for their fathers’ sins?
*
³
 As I live,” says the Lord God, “you will not use this proverb anymore in Israel,
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 for all souls are mine to judge—fathers and sons alike—and my rule is this: It is for a man’s own sins that he will die.

    
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 “But if a man is just and does what is lawful and right,
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 and has not gone out to the mountains to feast before the idols of Israel and worship them, and does not commit adultery nor lie with any woman during the time of her menstruation;
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 if he is a merciful creditor, not holding onto the items given to him in pledge by poor debtors, and is no robber but gives food to the hungry and clothes to those in need;
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 and if he grants loans without interest,
*
stays away from sin, is honest and fair when judging others,
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 and obeys my laws—that man is just,” says the Lord, “and he shall surely live.

    
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 “But if that man has a son who is a robber or murderer and who fulfills none of his responsibilities,
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 who refuses to obey the laws of God but worships idols on the mountains and commits adultery,
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 oppresses the poor and helpless, robs his debtors by refusing to let them redeem what they have given him in pledge, loves idols and worships them,
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 and loans out his money at interest
*
—shall that man live? No! He shall surely die, and it is his own fault.

    
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 “But if this sinful man has, in turn, a son who sees all his father’s wickedness, so that he fears God and decides against that kind of life;
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 he doesn’t go up on the mountains to feast before the idols and worship them and does not commit adultery;
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 he is fair to those who borrow from him and doesn’t rob them, but feeds the hungry, clothes the needy,
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 helps the poor, does not loan money at interest, and obeys my laws—he shall not die because of his father’s sins; he shall surely live.
¹⁸
 But his father shall die for his own sins because he is cruel and robs and does wrong.

    
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 “‘What?’ you ask. ‘Doesn’t the son pay for his father’s sins?’ No! For if the son does what is right and keeps my laws, he shall surely live.
²⁰
 The one who sins is the one who dies. The son shall not be punished for his father’s sins, nor the father for his son’s. The righteous person will be rewarded for his own goodness and the wicked person for his wickedness.
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 But if a wicked person turns away from all his sins and begins to obey my laws and do what is just and right, he shall surely live and not die.
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 All his past sins will be forgotten, and he shall live because of his goodness.

    
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 “Do you think I like to see the wicked die?” asks the Lord. “Of course not! I only want him to turn from his wicked ways and live.
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 However, if a righteous person turns to sinning and acts like any other sinner, should he be allowed to live? No, of course not. All his previous goodness will be forgotten and he shall die for his sins.

    
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 “Yet you say: ‘The Lord isn’t being fair!’ Listen to me, O people of Israel. Am I the one who is unfair, or is it you?
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 When a good man turns away from being good, begins sinning, and dies in his sins, he dies for the evil he has done.
²⁷
 And if a wicked person turns away from his wickedness and obeys the law and does right, he shall save his soul,
²⁸
 for he has thought it over and decided to turn from his sins and live a good life. He shall surely live—he shall not die.

    
²⁹
 “And yet the people of Israel keep saying: ‘The Lord is unfair!’ O people of Israel, it is you who are unfair, not I.
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 I will judge each of you, O Israel, and punish or reward each according to his own actions. Oh, turn from your sins while there is yet time.
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 Put them behind you and receive a new heart and a new spirit. For why will you die, O Israel?
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 I do not enjoy seeing you die,” the Lord God says. “Turn, turn and live!

Ezekiel
19

“Sing this death dirge for the leaders of Israel:
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 What a woman your mother was—like a lioness! Her children were like lion’s cubs!
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 One of her cubs, King Jehoahaz,
*
grew into a strong young lion and learned to catch prey and became a man-eater.
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 Then the nations called out their hunters; they trapped him in a pit and brought him in chains to Egypt.

    
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 “When Israel, the mother lion, saw that all her hopes for him were gone, she took another of her cubs, King Jehoiachin,
*
and taught him to be ‘king of the beasts.’
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 He became a leader among the lions and learned to catch prey, and he too became a man-eater.
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 He demolished the palaces of the surrounding nations and ruined their cities; their farms were desolated, their crops destroyed; everyone in the land shook with terror when they heard him roar.
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 Then the armies of the nations surrounded him, coming from every side, and trapped him in a pit and captured him.
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 They prodded him into a cage and brought him before the king of Babylon. He was held in captivity so that his voice could never again be heard upon the mountains of Israel.

    
¹⁰
 “Your mother was like a vine beside an irrigation ditch, with lush, green foliage because of all the water.
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 Its strongest branch became a ruler’s scepter, and it was very great, towering above the others and noticed from far away.
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 But the vine was uprooted in fury and thrown down to the ground. Its branches were broken and withered by a strong wind from the east; the fruit was destroyed by fire.
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 Now the vine is planted in the wilderness where the ground is hard and dry.
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 It is decaying from within;
*
no strong branch remains. The fulfillment of this sad prophecy has already begun, and there is more ahead.”