Hello, this is Father Paul and I'm glad we're
taking this journey together to read the Bible
in a year. Today's reading is from the book of
Ezekiel chapters 6 and 7. Chapter 6 Now the word
of the Lord came to me saying, Son of man, set
your face toward the mountains of Israel and
prophesy against them and say, O mountains of
Israel, hear the word of the Lord God. Thus says
the Lord God to the mountains, to the hills.
to the ravines and to the valleys, indeed I,
even I, will bring a sword against you, and I
will destroy your high places. Then your altars
shall be desolate, your incense altars shall
be broken, and I will cast down your slain men
before your idols, and I will lay the corpses
of the children of Israel before their idols,
and I will scatter your bones all around your
altars. In all your dwelling places the cities
shall be laid waste, and the high places shall
be desolate, so that your altars may be laid
waste and made desolate, your idols may be broken
and made to cease, your incense altars may be
cut down, and your works may be abolished. The
slain shall fall in your midst, and you shall
know that I am the Lord. Yet I will leave a remnant,
so that you may have some who escape the sword
among the nations when you are scattered through
the countries. Then those of you who escape will
remember me among the nations where they are
carried captive, because I was crushed by their
adulterous heart which has departed from me,
and by their eyes which play the harlot after
their idols. They will loathe themselves for
the evils which they committed in all their abominations,
and they shall know that I am the Lord. I have
not said in vain that I would bring this calamity
upon them. Thus says the Lord God, Pound your
fists and stamp your feet and say, Alas for all
the evil abominations of the house of Israel.
for they shall fall by the sword, by famine,
and by pestilence. He who is far off shall die
by the pestilence, he who is near shall fall
by the sword, and he who remains and is besieged
shall die by the famine. Thus will I spend my
fury upon them. Then you shall know that I am
the Lord when their slain are among their idols
all around their altars, on every high hill,
on all the mountaintops, under every green tree,
and under every thick oak, wherever they offered
sweet incense to all their idols. So I will stretch
out my hand against them and make the land desolate,
yes, more desolate than the wilderness toward
Dibla, in all their dwelling places. Then they
shall know that I am the Lord. Chapter 7 Moreover
the word of the Lord came to me, saying, And
you, son of man, thus says the Lord God to the
land of Israel, An end. The end has come upon
the four corners of the land. Now the end has
come upon you, and I will send my anger against
you. I will judge you according to your ways,
and I will repay you for all your abominations.
My eye will not spare you, nor will I have pity.
But I will repay your ways, and your abominations
will be in your midst. Then you shall know that
I am the Lord. Thus says the Lord God, A disaster,
a singular disaster. Behold, it has come. An
end has come, the end has come. It has dawned
for you, behold, it has come. Doom has come to
you, you who dwell in the land. The time has
come, a day of trouble is near, and not of rejoicing
in the mountains. Now upon you I will soon pour
out my fury, and spend my anger upon you. I will
judge you according to your ways, and I will
repay you for all your abominations. My eye will
not spare, nor will I have pity. I will repay
you according to your ways, and your abominations
will be in your midst. Then you shall know that
I am the Lord who strikes. Behold the day, behold
it has come. Doom has gone out, the rod has blossomed.
Pride has budded. Violence has risen up into
a rod of wickedness. None of them shall remain.
None of their multitude. None of them. Nor shall
there be wailing for them. The time has come.
The day draws near. Let not the buyer rejoice,
nor the seller mourn. For wrath is on their whole
multitude. For the seller shall not return to
what has been sold. Though he may still be alive,
for the vision concerns the whole multitude,
and it shall not turn back. No one will strengthen
himself who lives in iniquity. They have blown
the trumpet and made everyone ready, but no one
goes to battle. For my wrath is on all their
multitude. The sword is outside, and the pestilence
and famine within. Whoever is in the field will
die by the sword, and whoever is in the city,
famine and pestilence will devour him. Those
who survive will escape and be on the mountains
like doves of the valleys, all of them mourning,
each for his iniquity. Every hand will be feeble,
and every knee will be as weak as water. They
will also be girded with sackcloth. Horror will
cover them. Shame will be on every face, baldness
on all their heads. They will throw their silver
into the streets, and their gold will be like
refuse. Their silver and their gold will not
be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath
of the Lord. They will not satisfy their souls
nor fill their stomachs, because it became their
stumbling block of iniquity. As for the beauty
of his ornaments, he said it in majesty, but
they made from it the images of their abominations,
their detestable things. Therefore I have made
it like refuse to them. I will give it as plunder
into the hands of strangers, and to the wicked
of the earth as spoil, and they shall defile
it. I will turn my face from them, and they will
defile my secret place, for robbers shall enter
it and defile it. Make a chain. where the land
is filled with crimes of blood, and the city
is full of violence. Therefore I will bring the
worst of the Gentiles, and they will possess
their houses. I will cause the pomp of the strong
to cease, and their holy places shall be defiled.
Destruction comes. They will seek peace, but
there shall be none. Disaster will come upon
disaster, and rumor will be upon rumor. Then
they will seek a vision from a prophet, but the
law will perish from the priest, and counsel
from the elders. The king will mourn, the prince
will be clothed with desolation, and the hands
of the common people will tremble. I will do
to them according to their way, and according
to what they deserve I will judge them. Then
they shall know that I am the Lord. I hope you
enjoyed today's reading as much as I did, and
I look forward to seeing you again tomorrow to
continue on our journey. God bless you and have
a great day.