Day 323 reading

Wisdom·Proverbs 18:17–24

¹⁷The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him. ¹⁸Casting the lot ends quarrels and separates strong opponents. ¹⁹An offended brother is harder to win than a fortified city, and disputes are like the bars of a castle. ²⁰From the fruit of his mouth a man’s belly is filled; with the harvest from his lips he is satisfied. ²¹Life and death are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit. ²²He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the LORD. ²³The poor man pleads for mercy, but the rich man answers harshly. ²⁴A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who stays closer than a brother.

New Testament·Hebrews 11:1–15

¹Now faith is the assurance of what we hope for and the certainty of what we do not see. ²This is why the ancients were commended. ³By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. ⁴By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous when God gave approval to his gifts. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead. ⁵By faith Enoch was taken up so that he did not see death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.” For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. ⁶And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who approaches Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him. ⁷By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in godly fear built an ark to save his family. By faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. ⁸By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, without knowing where he was going. ⁹By faith he dwelt in the promised land as a stranger in a foreign country. He lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. ¹⁰For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. ¹¹By faith Sarah, even though she was barren and beyond the proper age, was enabled to conceive a child, because she considered Him faithful who had promised. ¹²And so from one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore. ¹³All these people died in faith, without having received the things they were promised. However, they saw them and welcomed them from afar. And they acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. ¹⁴Now those who say such things show that they are seeking a country of their own. ¹⁵If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return.

Old Testament·Ezekiel 17–18

¹Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying, ²“Son of man, pose a riddle; speak a parable to the house of Israel ³and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘A great eagle with great wings and long pinions, full of feathers of many colors, came to Lebanon and took away the top of the cedar. ⁴He plucked off its topmost shoot, carried it to the land of merchants, and planted it in a city of traders. ⁵He took some of the seed of the land and planted it in fertile soil; he placed it by abundant waters and set it out like a willow. ⁶It sprouted and became a spreading vine, low in height, with branches turned toward him; yet its roots remained where it stood. So it became a vine and yielded branches and sent out shoots. ⁷But there was another great eagle with great wings and many feathers. And behold, this vine bent its roots toward him. It stretched out its branches to him from its planting bed, so that he might water it. ⁸It had been planted in good soil by abundant waters in order to yield branches and bear fruit and become a splendid vine.’ ⁹So you are to tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Will it flourish? Will it not be uprooted and stripped of its fruit so that it shrivels? All its foliage will wither! It will not take a strong arm or many people to pull it up by its roots. ¹⁰Even if it is transplanted, will it flourish? Will it not completely wither when the east wind strikes? It will wither on the bed where it sprouted.’” ¹¹Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, ¹²“Now say to this rebellious house: ‘Do you not know what these things mean?’ Tell them, ‘Behold, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, carried off its king and officials, and brought them back with him to Babylon. ¹³He took a member of the royal family and made a covenant with him, putting him under oath. Then he carried away the leading men of the land, ¹⁴so that the kingdom would be brought low, unable to lift itself up, surviving only by keeping his covenant. ¹⁵But this king rebelled against Babylon by sending his envoys to Egypt to ask for horses and a large army. Will he flourish? Will the one who does such things escape? Can he break a covenant and yet escape?’ ¹⁶‘As surely as I live,’ declares the Lord GOD, ‘he will die in Babylon, in the land of the king who enthroned him, whose oath he despised and whose covenant he broke. ¹⁷Pharaoh with his mighty army and vast horde will not help him in battle, when ramps are built and siege walls constructed to destroy many lives. ¹⁸He despised the oath by breaking the covenant. Seeing that he gave his hand in pledge yet did all these things, he will not escape!’ ¹⁹Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘As surely as I live, I will bring down upon his head My oath that he despised and My covenant that he broke. ²⁰I will spread My net over him and catch him in My snare. I will bring him to Babylon and execute judgment upon him there for the treason he committed against Me. ²¹All his choice troops will fall by the sword, and those who survive will be scattered to every wind. Then you will know that I, the LORD, have spoken.’ ²²This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘I will take a shoot from the lofty top of the cedar, and I will set it out. I will pluck a tender sprig from its topmost shoots, and I will plant it on a high and lofty mountain. ²³I will plant it on the mountain heights of Israel so that it will bear branches; it will yield fruit and become a majestic cedar. Birds of every kind will nest under it, taking shelter in the shade of its branches. ²⁴Then all the trees of the field will know that I am the LORD. I bring the tall tree down and make the low tree tall. I dry up the green tree and make the withered tree flourish. I, the LORD, have spoken, and I have done it.’”

18Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, ²“What do you people mean by quoting this proverb about the land of Israel: ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the teeth of the children are set on edge’? ³As surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, you will no longer quote this proverb in Israel. ⁴Behold, every soul belongs to Me; both father and son are Mine. The soul who sins is the one who will die. ⁵Now suppose a man is righteous and does what is just and right: ⁶He does not eat at the mountain or look to the idols of the house of Israel. He does not defile his neighbor’s wife or approach a woman during her period. ⁷He does not oppress another, but restores the pledge to the debtor. He does not commit robbery, but gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with clothing. ⁸He does not engage in usury or take excess interest, but he withholds his hand from iniquity and executes true justice between men. ⁹He follows My statutes and faithfully keeps My ordinances. That man is righteous; surely he will live, declares the Lord GOD. ¹⁰Now suppose that man has a violent son, who sheds blood or does any of these things, ¹¹though the father has done none of them: Indeed, the son eats at the mountain and defiles his neighbor’s wife. ¹²He oppresses the poor and needy; he commits robbery and does not restore a pledge. He lifts his eyes to idols; he commits abominations. ¹³He engages in usury and takes excess interest. Will this son live? He will not! Since he has committed all these abominations, he will surely die; his blood will be on his own head. ¹⁴Now suppose this son has a son who sees all the sins his father has committed, considers them, and does not do likewise: ¹⁵He does not eat at the mountain or look to the idols of the house of Israel. He does not defile his neighbor’s wife. ¹⁶He does not oppress another, or retain a pledge, or commit robbery. He gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with clothing. ¹⁷He withholds his hand from harming the poor and takes no interest or usury. He keeps My ordinances and follows My statutes. Such a man will not die for his father’s iniquity. He will surely live. ¹⁸As for his father, he will die for his own iniquity, because he practiced extortion, robbed his brother, and did what was wrong among his people. ¹⁹Yet you may ask, ‘Why shouldn’t the son bear the iniquity of his father?’ Since the son has done what is just and right, carefully observing all My statutes, he will surely live. ²⁰The soul who sins is the one who will die. A son will not bear the iniquity of his father, and a father will not bear the iniquity of his son. The righteousness of the righteous man will fall upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked man will fall upon him. ²¹But if the wicked man turns from all the sins he has committed, keeps all My statutes, and does what is just and right, he will surely live; he will not die. ²²None of the transgressions he has committed will be held against him. Because of the righteousness he has practiced, he will live. ²³Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Lord GOD. Wouldn’t I prefer that he turn from his ways and live? ²⁴But if a righteous man turns from his righteousness and practices iniquity, committing the same abominations as the wicked, will he live? None of the righteous acts he did will be remembered. Because of the unfaithfulness and sin he has committed, he will die. ²⁵Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ Hear now, O house of Israel: Is it My way that is unjust? Is it not your ways that are unjust? ²⁶If a righteous man turns from his righteousness and practices iniquity, he will die for this. He will die because of the iniquity he has committed. ²⁷But if a wicked man turns from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he will save his life. ²⁸Because he considered and turned from all the transgressions he had committed, he will surely live; he will not die. ²⁹Yet the house of Israel says, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ Are My ways unjust, O house of Israel? Is it not your ways that are unjust? ³⁰Therefore, O house of Israel, I will judge you, each according to his ways, declares the Lord GOD. Repent and turn from all your transgressions, so that your iniquity will not become your downfall. ³¹Cast away from yourselves all the transgressions you have committed, and fashion for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. Why should you die, O house of Israel? ³²For I take no pleasure in anyone’s death, declares the Lord GOD. So repent and live!