Ezek. 11

11:1 A wind lifted me up and brought me to the east gate of the Lord’s temple that faces the east. There, at the entrance of the gate, I noticed 25 men. Among them I saw Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah, officials of the people. 2The Lord said to me, “Son of man, these are the men who plot evil and give wicked advice in this city. 3They say, ‘The time is not near to build houses; the city is a cooking pot, and we are the meat in it.’ 4Therefore, prophesy against them! Prophesy, son of man!”

5Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon me and said to me, “Say: ‘This is what the Lord says: This is what you are thinking, O house of Israel; I know what goes through your minds. 6You have killed many people in this city; you have filled its streets with corpses.’ 7Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘The corpses you have dumped in the midst of the city are the meat, and this city is the cooking pot, but I will take you out of it. 8You fear the sword, so the sword I will bring against you,’ declares the Sovereign Lord. 9‘But I will take you out of the city. And I will hand you over to foreigners. I will execute judgments on you. 10You will die by the sword; I will judge you at the border of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord. 11This city will not be a cooking pot for you, and you will not be meat within it; I will judge you at the border of Israel. 12Then you will know that I am the Lord, whose statutes you have not followed and whose regulations you have not carried out. Instead you have behaved according to the regulations of the nations around you!’”

13Now, while I was prophesying, Pelatiah son of Benaiah died. Then I threw myself face down and cried out with a loud voice, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! You are completely wiping out the remnant of Israel!”

14Then the Lord’s message came to me: 15“Son of man, your brothers, your relatives, and the whole house of Israel, all of them are those to whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, ‘They have gone far away from the Lord; to us this land has been given as a possession.’

16“Therefore say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Although I have removed them far away among the nations and have dispersed them among the countries, I have been a little sanctuary for them among the lands where they have gone.’

17“Therefore say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: When I regather you from the peoples and assemble you from the lands where you have been dispersed, I will give you back the country of Israel.’

18“When they return to it, they will remove from it all its detestable things and all its abominations. 19I will give them one heart and I will put a new spirit within them; I will remove the hearts of stone from their bodies and I will give them tender hearts, 20so that they may follow my statutes and observe my regulations and carry them out. Then they will be my people, and I will be their God. 21But those whose hearts are devoted to detestable things and abominations, I hereby repay them for what they have done, says the Sovereign Lord.”

22Then the cherubim spread their wings with their wheels alongside them while the glory of the God of Israel hovered above them. 23The glory of the Lord rose up from within the city and stopped over the mountain east of it. 24Then a wind lifted me up and carried me to the exiles in Babylonia, in the vision given to me by the Spirit of God.

Then the vision I had seen went up from me. 25So I told the exiles everything the Lord had shown me.

Ps. 73

73:1 A psalm by Asaph.

Certainly God is good to Israel,

and to those whose motives are pure.

2But as for me, my feet almost slipped;

my feet almost slid out from under me.

3For I envied those who are proud,

as I observed the prosperity of the wicked.

4For they suffer no pain;

their bodies are strong and well fed.

5They are immune to the trouble common to men;

they do not suffer as other men do.

6Arrogance is their necklace,

and violence covers them like clothing.

7Their prosperity causes them to do wrong;

their thoughts are sinful.

8They mock and say evil things;

they proudly threaten violence.

9They speak as if they rule in heaven,

and lay claim to the earth.

10Therefore they have more than enough food to eat

and even suck up the water of the sea.

11They say, “How does God know what we do?

Is the Most High aware of what goes on?”

12Take a good look. This is what the wicked are like,

those who always have it so easy and get richer and richer.

13I concluded, “Surely in vain I have kept my motives pure

and maintained a pure lifestyle.

14I suffer all day long

and am punished every morning.”

15If I had publicized these thoughts,

I would have betrayed your people.

16When I tried to make sense of this,

it was troubling to me.

17Then I entered the precincts of God’s temple

and understood the destiny of the wicked.

18Surely you put them in slippery places;

you bring them down to ruin.

19How desolate they become in a mere moment.

Terrifying judgments make their demise complete.

20They are like a dream after one wakes up.

O Lord, when you awake you will despise them.

21Yes, my spirit was bitter,

and my insides felt sharp pain.

22I was ignorant and lacked insight;

I was as senseless as an animal before you.

23But I am continually with you;

you hold my right hand.

24You guide me by your wise advice,

and then you will lead me to a position of honor.

25Whom do I have in heaven but you?

On earth there is no one I desire but you.

26My flesh and my heart may grow weak,

but God always protects my heart and gives me stability.

27Yes, look! Those far from you die;

you destroy everyone who is unfaithful to you.

28But as for me, God’s presence is all I need.

I have made the Sovereign Lord my shelter,

as I declare all the things you have done.

1 Tim. 6:3–10

6:3 If someone spreads false teachings and does not agree with sound words (that is, those of our Lord Jesus Christ) and with the teaching that accords with godliness, 4he is conceited and understands nothing, but has an unhealthy interest in controversies and verbal disputes. This gives rise to envy, dissension, slanders, evil suspicions, 5and constant bickering by people corrupted in their minds and deprived of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a way of making a profit. 6Now godliness combined with contentment brings great profit. 7For we have brought nothing into this world and so we cannot take a single thing out either. 8But if we have food and shelter, we will be satisfied with that. 9Those who long to be rich, however, stumble into temptation and a trap and many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10For the love of money is the root of all evils. Some people in reaching for it have strayed from the faith and stabbed themselves with many pains.