Jer 24:2, 29:3, 38:2-3, 17-23, Eze 6-9, 17:12-21, 21:9-27, 22:31 | ESV | STEP | One basket had very good figs , like first-ripe figs , but the other basket had very bad figs , so bad that they could not be eaten .

3 The letter was sent by the hand of Elasah the son of ^cShaphan and Gemariah the son of ^dHilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. It said:

Jeremiah 38:2-3

2 “Thus says the Lord: ^eHe who stays in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, ^fbut he who goes out to the Chaldeans shall live. He shall have his life as a prize of war, and live. 3 Thus says the Lord: ^gThis city shall surely be given into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon and be taken.”

Jeremiah 38:17-23

17 Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “Thus says the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: ^hIf you will surrender to ⁱthe officials of the king of Babylon, ^jthen your life shall be spared, and this city shall not be burned with fire, and you and your house shall live. 18 But if you do not surrender to ^kthe officials of the king of Babylon, ^lthen this city shall be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, ^mand they shall burn it with fire, and you shall not escape from their hand.” 19 King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid of the Judeans ⁿwho have deserted to the Chaldeans, lest I be handed over to them and they deal cruelly with me.” 20 Jeremiah said, “You shall not be given to them. Obey now the voice of the Lord in what I say to you, ^oand it shall be well with you, and your life shall be spared. 21 But if you refuse to ^psurrender, this is the vision which the Lord has shown to me: 22 Behold, all the women left in the house of the king of Judah were being led out to the officials of the king of Babylon and were saying,

^q“‘Your trusted friends have deceived you
and prevailed against you;
now that your feet are sunk in the mud,
they turn away from you.’
23 All your wives and ^ryour sons shall be led out to the Chaldeans, and you yourself shall not escape from their hand, but shall be seized by the king of Babylon, and this city shall be burned with fire.”

Ezekiel 6

Judgment Against Idolatry

1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 ^s“Son of man, ^tset your face toward ^uthe mountains of Israel, and ^vprophesy against them, 3 and say, ^wYou mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God! Thus says the Lord God to ^xthe mountains and ^ythe hills, to ^zthe ravines and the valleys: Behold, I, even I, will bring a sword upon you, ^aaand I will destroy your high places. 4 ^abYour altars shall become desolate, and your ^acincense altars shall be broken, and I will cast down your slain before your idols. 5 ^adAnd I will lay the dead bodies of the people of Israel before their idols, ^aeand I will scatter your bones around your altars. 6 Wherever you dwell, ^afthe cities shall be waste and ^agthe high places ruined, so that your altars will be waste and ruined, ^{▼▼Or and punished} your idols broken and destroyed, your ^aiincense altars cut down, and your works wiped out. 7 And the slain shall fall in your midst, and you shall know that I am the Lord.

8 ^aj“Yet I will leave some of you alive. When you have among the nations ^aksome who escape the sword, and when you are scattered through the countries, 9 then those of you who escape ^alwill remember me among the nations where they are carried captive, how ^amI have been broken over their whoring heart that has departed from me and over their eyes ^anthat go whoring after their idols. ^aoAnd they will be loathsome in their own sight for the evils that they have committed, for all their abominations. 10 And they shall know that I am the Lord. ^apI have not said in vain that I would do this evil to them.”

11 Thus says the Lord God: ^aq“Clap your hands ^arand stamp your foot and say, Alas, because of all the evil abominations of the house of Israel, ^asfor they shall fall by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence. 12 ^atHe who is far off shall die of pestilence, and he who is near shall fall by the sword, and he who is left and is preserved shall die of famine. ^auThus I will spend my fury upon them. 13 And you shall know that I am the Lord, ^avwhen their slain lie among their idols around their altars, ^awon every high hill, ^axon all the mountaintops, ^ayunder every green tree, and under ^azevery leafy oak, wherever ^bathey offered pleasing aroma to all their idols. 14 And ^bbI will stretch out my hand against them and ^bcmake the land desolate and waste, ^bdin all their dwelling places, from the wilderness to ^beRiblah. ^{▼▼Some Hebrew manuscripts; most Hebrew manuscripts Diblah} Then ^bgthey will know that I am the Lord.”

Ezekiel 7

The Day of the Wrath of the Lord

1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “And you, ^bhO son of man, thus says the Lord God to the land of Israel: ^biAn end! The end has come upon the four corners of the land. ^{▼▼Or earth} 3 Now ^bkthe end is upon you, and ^blI will send my anger upon you; ^bmI will judge you according to your ways, and I will punish you for all your abominations. 4 ^bnAnd my eye will not spare you, nor will I have pity, but ^boI will punish you for your ways, while your abominations are in your midst. ^bpThen you will know that I am the Lord.

5 “Thus says the Lord God: Disaster ^bqafter disaster! ^{▼▼Some Hebrew manuscripts (compare Syriac, Targum); most Hebrew manuscripts Disaster! A unique disaster!} Behold, it comes. 6 ^bsAn end has come; the end has come; it has awakened against you. Behold, it comes. 7 ^btYour doom ^{▼▼The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain; also verse 10} has come to you, O inhabitant of the land. ^bvThe time has come; the day is near, a day of tumult, and not ^bwof joyful shouting on the mountains. 8 Now I will soon ^bxpour out my wrath upon you, and ^byspend my anger against you, ^bzand judge you according to your ways, and I will punish you for all your abominations. 9 ^caAnd my eye will not spare, nor will I have pity. I will punish you according to your ways, while your abominations are in your midst. ^cbThen you will know that I am the Lord, who strikes.

10 ^cc“Behold, the day! Behold, it comes! ^cdYour doom has come; ^cethe rod has blossomed; pride has budded. 11 ^cfViolence has grown up into ^cga rod of wickedness. ^chNone of them shall remain, nor their abundance, nor their wealth; neither shall there be preeminence among them. ^{▼▼The meaning of this last Hebrew sentence is uncertain} 12 ^cjThe time has come; the day has arrived. Let not ^ckthe buyer rejoice, nor ^clthe seller mourn, ^cmfor wrath is upon all their multitude. ^{▼▼Or abundance; also verses 13, 14} 13 For ^cothe seller shall not return to what he has sold, while they live. ^cpFor the vision concerns all their multitude; it shall not turn back; and because of his iniquity, none can maintain his life. ^{▼▼The meaning of this last Hebrew sentence is uncertain}

14 “They have blown the trumpet and made everything ready, but none goes to battle, ^crfor my wrath is upon all their multitude. 15 ^csThe sword is without; pestilence and famine are within. ^ctHe who is in the field dies by the sword, ^cuand him who is in the city famine and pestilence devour. 16 ^cvAnd if any survivors escape, they will be on the mountains, like ^cwdoves of the valleys, all of them moaning, each one over his iniquity. 17 ^cxAll hands are feeble, and all knees turn to water. 18 ^cyThey put on sackcloth, and ^czhorror covers them. Shame is on all faces, and ^dabaldness on all their heads. 19 They cast their silver into the streets, and their gold is like an unclean thing. ^dbTheir silver and gold are not able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the Lord. They cannot satisfy their hunger or fill their stomachs with it. ^dcFor it was ^ddthe stumbling block of their iniquity. 20 ^deHis beautiful ornament they used for pride, and ^dfthey made their abominable images and their detestable things of it. Therefore ^dgI make it an unclean thing to them. 21 And I will give it into the hands of ^dhforeigners for prey, ^diand to the wicked of the earth for spoil, and ^djthey shall profane it. 22 I will turn my face from them, and ^dkthey shall profane my treasured ^{▼▼Or secret} place. Robbers shall enter ^dmand profane it.

23 ^dn“Forge a chain! ^{▼▼Probably refers to an instrument of captivity} ^dpFor the land is full of bloody crimes ^dqand the city is full of violence. 24 I will bring ^drthe worst of the nations to take possession of their houses. ^dsI will put an end to the pride of the strong, ^dtand their holy places ^{▼▼By revocalization (compare Septuagint); Hebrew and those who sanctify them} shall be profaned. 25 ^dvWhen anguish comes, ^dwthey will seek peace, but there shall be none. 26 ^dxDisaster comes upon disaster; ^dyrumor follows rumor. ^dzThey seek a vision from the prophet, while ^eathe law ^{▼▼Or instruction} perishes from the priest and ^eccounsel from the elders. 27 The king mourns, the prince is wrapped in despair, and the hands of the people of the land are paralyzed by terror. According to their way ^edI will do to them, and according to their judgments I will judge them, ^eeand they shall know that I am the Lord.”

Ezekiel 8

Abominations in the Temple

1 ^efIn the sixth year, in the sixth month, on the fifth day of the month, ^egas I sat in my house, with ^ehthe elders of Judah sitting before me, ^eithe hand of the Lord God fell upon me there. 2 Then I looked, and behold, ^eja form that had the appearance of a man. ^{▼▼By revocalization (compare Septuagint); Hebrew of fire} ^elBelow what appeared to be his waist was fire, and above his waist was something like the appearance of brightness, like ^emgleaming metal. ^{▼▼Or amber} 3 He ^eoput out the form of a hand and took me by a lock of my head, and the Spirit lifted me up ^epbetween earth and heaven and ^eqbrought me in ^ervisions of God to Jerusalem, ^esto the entrance of the gateway of the inner court that faces north, ^etwhere was the seat of the ^euimage of jealousy, ^evwhich provokes to jealousy. 4 And behold, ^ewthe glory of the God of Israel was there, like the vision that I saw ^exin the valley.

5 Then he said to me, ^ey“Son of man, lift up your eyes now toward the north.” So I lifted up my eyes toward the north, and behold, north of ^ezthe altar gate, in the entrance, was this ^faimage of jealousy. 6 And he said to me, “Son of man, ^fbdo you see what they are doing, ^fcthe great abominations that the house of Israel are committing here, ^fdto drive me far from my sanctuary? But you will see still greater abominations.”

7 And he brought me to the entrance of the court, and when I looked, behold, there was a hole in the wall. 8 Then he said to me, “Son of man, ^fedig in the wall.” So I dug in the wall, and behold, there was an entrance. 9 And he said to me, “Go in, and see ^ffthe vile abominations that they are committing here.” 10 So I went in and saw. And there, ^fgengraved on the wall all around, was ^fhevery form of ^ficreeping things and loathsome beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel. 11 And before them stood ^fjseventy men of ^fkthe elders of the house of Israel, with Jaazaniah the son of ^flShaphan standing among them. Each had his censer in his hand, and ^fmthe smoke of the cloud of incense went up. 12 Then he said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel are doing ^fnin the dark, each ^foin his room of pictures? For they say, ^fp‘The Lord does not see us, the Lord has forsaken the land.’” 13 He said also to me, ^fq“You will see still greater abominations that they commit.”

14 Then he brought me to ^frthe entrance of the north gate of the house of the Lord, and behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz. 15 Then he said to me, “Have you seen this, O ^fsson of man? ^ftYou will see still greater abominations than these.”

16 And he brought me into ^futhe inner court of the house of the Lord. And behold, at the entrance of the temple of the Lord, ^fvbetween the ^fwporch and ^fxthe altar, were about twenty-five men, ^fywith their backs to the temple of the Lord, and their faces toward the east, worshiping ^fzthe sun toward the east. 17 Then he said to me, “Have you seen this, O ^gason of man? Is it too light a thing for the house of Judah to commit ^gbthe abominations that they commit here, that ^gcthey should fill the land with violence and ^gdprovoke me still further to anger? Behold, they put the branch to their ^{▼▼Or my} nose. 18 Therefore ^gfI will act in wrath. ^ggMy eye will not spare, nor will I have pity. ^ghAnd though they cry in my ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them.”

Ezekiel 9

Idolaters Killed

1 Then he cried in my ears with a loud voice, saying, “Bring near the executioners of the city, ^gieach with his destroying weapon in his hand.” 2 And behold, six men came from the direction of ^gjthe upper gate, which faces north, each with his weapon for slaughter in his hand, and with them was ^gka man clothed in linen, with a writing case at his waist. And they went in and stood beside ^glthe bronze altar.

3 Now ^gmthe glory of the God of Israel had gone up from the cherub on which it rested to ^gnthe threshold of the house. And he called to ^gothe man clothed in linen, who had the writing case at his waist. 4 And the Lord said to him, “Pass through the city, through Jerusalem, and ^gpput a mark on the foreheads of the men who ^gqsigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it.” 5 And to ^grthe others he said in my hearing, “Pass through the city after him, and strike. ^gsYour eye shall not spare, and you shall show no pity. 6 ^gtKill old men outright, young men and maidens, little children and women, but ^gutouch no one on whom is the mark. And ^gvbegin at my sanctuary.” So they began with the elders who were before the house. 7 Then he said to them, ^gw“Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain. Go out.” So they went out and struck in the city. 8 And while they were striking, and I was left alone, ^gxI fell upon my face, and cried, ^gy“Ah, Lord God! ^gzWill you destroy all the remnant of Israel ^hain the outpouring of your wrath on Jerusalem?”

9 Then he said to me, ^hb“The guilt of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great. ^hcThe land is full of blood, and the city full of injustice. For ^hdthey say, ‘The Lord has forsaken the land, and the Lord does not see.’ 10 As for me, ^hemy eye will not spare, nor will I have pity; ^hfI will bring their deeds upon their heads.”

11 And behold, ^hgthe man clothed in linen, with the writing case at his waist, brought back word, saying, “I have done as you commanded me.”

Ezekiel 17:12-21

12 “Say now to ^hhthe rebellious house, ^hiDo you not know what these things mean? Tell them, behold, ^hjthe king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, and took her king and her princes and brought them to him to Babylon. 13 ^hkAnd he took one of the royal offspring ^{▼▼Hebrew seed} ^hmand made a covenant with him, ^hnputting him under oath ( ^hothe chief men of the land he had taken away), 14 that the kingdom might be humble and not lift itself up, and keep his covenant that it might stand. 15 ^hpBut he rebelled against him by sending his ambassadors ^hqto Egypt, that they might give him horses and a large army. ^hrWill he thrive? Can one escape who does such things? Can he ^hsbreak the covenant and yet escape?

16 ^ht“As I live, declares the Lord God, surely ^huin the place where the king dwells ^hvwho made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant with him he broke, in Babylon he shall die. 17 ^hwPharaoh with his mighty army and great company will not help him in war, ^hxwhen mounds are cast up and siege walls built to cut off many lives. 18 He despised the oath in breaking the covenant, and behold, he gave his hand and did all these things; he shall not escape. 19 Therefore thus says the Lord God: As I live, surely it is my oath that he despised, and my covenant that he broke. I will return it upon his head. 20 ^hyI will spread my net over him, and he shall be taken in my snare, and I will bring him to Babylon ^hzand enter into judgment with him there ^iafor the treachery he has committed against me. 21 And all the pick ^{▼▼Some Hebrew manuscripts, Syriac, Targum; most Hebrew manuscripts all the fugitives} of his troops shall fall by the sword, ^icand the survivors shall be scattered to every wind, and you shall know that ^idI am the Lord; I have spoken.”

Ezekiel 21:9-27

9 ^ie“Son of man, prophesy and say, Thus says the Lord, say:

^if“A sword, a sword is sharpened
and also polished,
10 ^igsharpened for slaughter,
^ihpolished to flash like lightning!
(Or ⁱⁱshall we rejoice? You have despised the rod, my son, ^ijwith everything of wood.) ^{▼▼Probable reading; Hebrew The rod of my son despises everything of wood} 11 So the sword is given to be polished, that it may be grasped in the hand. It is sharpened and polished ^ilto be given into the hand of the slayer. 12 ^imCry out and wail, son of man, for it is against my people. It is against all the princes of Israel. They are delivered over to the sword with my people. ⁱⁿStrike therefore upon your thigh. 13 For it will not be a testing—what could it do if you despise ^iothe rod?” ^{▼▼Or For it is a testing; and what if even the rod despises? It shall not be!} declares the Lord God.

14 “As for you, ^iqson of man, prophesy. ^irClap your hands and let the sword come down twice, ^isyes, three times, ^{▼▼Hebrew its third} the sword for those to be slain. It is the sword for the great slaughter, which surrounds them, 15 that their hearts may melt, and many stumble. ^{▼▼Hebrew many stumbling blocks} At all their gates I have given the glittering sword. Ah, it is made like lightning; ^ivit is taken up ^{▼▼The meaning of the Hebrew word rendered taken up is uncertain} for slaughter. 16 Cut sharply to the right; set yourself to the left, wherever your face is directed. 17 I also will ^ixclap my hands, ^iyand I will satisfy my fury; ^izI the Lord have spoken.”

18 The word of the Lord came to me again: 19 “As for you, son of man, mark two ways for ^jathe sword of the king of Babylon to come. Both of them shall come from the same land. And make ^jba signpost; make it ^jcat the head of the way to a city. 20 Mark a way ^jdfor the sword to come to Rabbah of the Ammonites and to Judah, into Jerusalem the fortified. 21 For the king of Babylon stands ^jeat the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination. He shakes the arrows; he consults ^jfthe teraphim; ^{▼▼Or household idols} he looks at the liver. 22 Into his right hand comes the divination for Jerusalem, ^jhto set battering rams, to open the mouth with murder, to lift up the voice with shouting, to set battering rams against the gates, ^jito cast up mounds, to build siege towers. 23 But to them it will seem like a false divination. ^jjThey have sworn solemn oaths, but he brings their guilt to remembrance, ^jkthat they may be taken.

24 “Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because you have made your guilt to be remembered, in that your transgressions are uncovered, so that in all your deeds your sins appear—because you have come to remembrance, ^jlyou shall be taken in hand. 25 And you, O profane ^{▼▼Or slain; also verse 29} ^jnwicked one, prince of Israel, ^jowhose day has come, ^jpthe time of your final punishment, 26 thus says the Lord God: Remove the turban and take off the crown. Things shall not remain as they are. ^jqExalt that which is low, and bring low that which is exalted. 27 A ruin, ruin, ruin I will make it. ^jrThis also shall not be, ^jsuntil he comes, the one to whom judgment belongs, and I will give it to him.

Ezekiel 22:31

31 Therefore ^jtI have poured out my indignation upon them. I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath. I have returned ^jutheir way upon their heads, declares the Lord God.”