| [an error occurred while processing this directive] | New Living Translation |
| 1[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 1Again a message came to me from the LORD: |
| 2[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 2“Son of man, you live among rebels who have eyes but refuse to see. They have ears but refuse to hear. For they are a rebellious people. |
| 3[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 3“So now, son of man, pretend you are being sent into exile. Pack the few items an exile could carry, and leave your home to go somewhere else. Do this right in front of the people so they can see you. For perhaps they will pay attention to this, even though they are such rebels. |
| 4[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 4Bring your baggage outside during the day so they can watch you. Then in the evening, as they are watching, leave your house as captives do when they begin a long march to distant lands. |
| 5[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 5Dig a hole through the wall while they are watching and go out through it. |
| 6[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 6As they watch, lift your pack to your shoulders and walk away into the night. Cover your face so you cannot see the land you are leaving. For I have made you a sign for the people of Israel.” |
| 7[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 7So I did as I was told. In broad daylight I brought my pack outside, filled with the things I might carry into exile. Then in the evening while the people looked on, I dug through the wall with my hands and went out into the night with my pack on my shoulder. |
| 8[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 8The next morning this message came to me from the LORD: |
| 9[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 9“Son of man, these rebels, the people of Israel, have asked you what all this means. |
| 10[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 10Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: These actions contain a message for King Zedekiah in Jerusalem and for all the people of Israel.’ |
| 11[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 11Explain that your actions are a sign to show what will soon happen to them, for they will be driven into exile as captives. |
| 12[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 12“Even Zedekiah will leave Jerusalem at night through a hole in the wall, taking only what he can carry with him. He will cover his face, and his eyes will not see the land he is leaving. |
| 13[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 13Then I will throw my net over him and capture him in my snare. I will bring him to Babylon, the land of the Babylonians, though he will never see it, and he will die there. |
| 14[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 14I will scatter his servants and warriors to the four winds and send the sword after them. |
| 15[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 15And when I scatter them among the nations, they will know that I am the LORD. |
| 16[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 16But I will spare a few of them from death by war, famine, or disease, so they can confess all their detestable sins to their captors. Then they will know that I am the LORD.” |
| 17[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 17Then this message came to me from the LORD: |
| 18[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 18“Son of man, tremble as you eat your food. Shake with fear as you drink your water. |
| 19[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 19Tell the people, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says concerning those living in Israel and Jerusalem: They will eat their food with trembling and sip their water in despair, for their land will be stripped bare because of their violence. |
| 20[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 20The cities will be destroyed and the farmland made desolate. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’” A New Proverb for Israel |
| 21[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 21Again a message came to me from the LORD: |
| 22[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 22“Son of man, you’ve heard that proverb they quote in Israel: ‘Time passes, and prophecies come to nothing.’ |
| 23[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 23Tell the people, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will put an end to this proverb, and you will soon stop quoting it.’ Now give them this new proverb to replace the old one: ‘The time has come for every prophecy to be fulfilled!’ |
| 24[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 24“There will be no more false visions and flattering predictions in Israel. |
| 25[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 25For I am the LORD! If I say it, it will happen. There will be no more delays, you rebels of Israel. I will fulfill my threat of destruction in your own lifetime. I, the Sovereign LORD, have spoken!” |
| 26[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 26Then this message came to me from the LORD: |
| 27[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 27“Son of man, the people of Israel are saying, ‘He’s talking about the distant future. His visions won’t come true for a long, long time.’ |
| 28[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 28Therefore, tell them, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: No more delay! I will now do everything I have threatened. I, the Sovereign LORD, have spoken!’” |
| [an error occurred while processing this directive] | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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