Daily Bible CEV October 18 Verses

Jerusalem Must Be Purified

¹⁷The LORD said:

¹⁸Ezekiel, son of man, I consider the people of Israel as worthless as the leftover metal in a furnace after silver has been purified. ¹⁹So I am going to bring them together in Jerusalem. ^20-21I will be like a metalworker who collects that metal from the furnace and melts it down. I will collect the Israelites and blow on them with my fiery anger. They will melt inside the city of Jerusalem ²²like silver in a furnace. Then they will know that I, the LORD, have punished them in my anger.

Everyone in Jerusalem Is Guilty

²³The LORD said:

²⁴Ezekiel, son of man, tell the people of Israel that their country is full of sin, and that I, the LORD, am furious! ²⁵Their leaders are like roaring lions, tearing apart their victims. They put people to death, then steal everything of value. Husbands are killed, and many women are left as widows.

²⁶The priests of Israel ignore my Law! Not only do they refuse to respect any of my sacred things, but they don't even teach the difference between what is sacred and what is ordinary, or between what is clean and what is unclean. They treat my Sabbath like any other day, and so my own people no longer honor me.

²⁷Israel's officials are like ferocious wolves, ripping their victims apart. They make a dishonest living by injuring and killing people.

²⁸And then the prophets in Israel cover up these sins by giving false visions. I have never spoken to them, but they lie and say they have a message from me. ²⁹The people themselves cheat and rob; they abuse the poor and take advantage of foreigners.

³⁰I looked for someone to defend the city and to protect it from my anger, as well as to stop me from destroying it. But I found no one. ³¹So in my fierce anger, I will punish the Israelites for what they have done, and they will know that I am furious. I, the LORD, have spoken.

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