From: "FamilyNet Direct" 

Bible Reading for September 21

Ezekiel 34
[1] And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, [2] Son of man, prophesy
against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith
the Lord GOD unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do
feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks?
[3] Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are
fed: but ye feed not the flock.
[4] The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that
which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither
have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought
that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them.
[5] And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became
meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered. [6] My sheep
wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my flock
was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek
after them.
[7] Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD; [8] As I live,
saith the Lord GOD, surely because my flock became a prey, and my flock
became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd,
neither did my shepherds search for my flock, but the shepherds fed
themselves, and fed not my flock; [9] Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the
word of the LORD; [10] Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against the
shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to
cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves
any more; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not
be meat for them. [11] For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will
both search my sheep, and seek them out.
[12] As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his
sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver
them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and
dark day. [13] And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them
from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them
upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places
of the country.
[14] I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of
Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a
fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel. [15] I will feed
my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord GOD.
[16] I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven
away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that
which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them
with judgment.
[17] And as for you, O my flock, thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I judge
between cattle and cattle, between the rams and the he goats. [18] Seemeth
it a small thing unto you to have eaten up the good pasture, but ye must
tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures? and to have drunk
of the deep waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet? [19] And
as for my flock, they eat that which ye have trodden with your feet; and
they drink that which ye have fouled with your feet. [20] Therefore thus
saith the Lord GOD unto them; Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat
cattle and between the lean cattle. [21] Because ye have thrust with side
and with shoulder, and pushed all the diseased with your horns, till ye
have scattered them abroad; [22] Therefore will I save my flock, and they
shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle. [23]
And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my
servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. [24] And
I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I
the LORD have spoken it.
[25] And I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause the evil
beasts to cease out of the land: and they shall dwell safely in the
wilderness, and sleep in the woods. [26] And I will make them and the
places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come
down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing.
[27] And the tree of the field shall yield her fruit, and the earth shall
yield her increase, and they shall be safe in their land, and shall know
that I am the LORD, when I have broken the bands of their yoke, and
delivered them out of the hand of those that served themselves of them.
[28] And they shall no more be a prey to the heathen, neither shall the
beast of the land devour them; but they shall dwell safely, and none shall
make them afraid.
[29] And I will raise up for them a plant of renown, and they shall be no
more consumed with hunger in the land, neither bear the shame of the
heathen any more.
[30] Thus shall they know that I the LORD their God am with them, and that
they, even the house of Israel, are my people, saith the Lord GOD. [31] And
ye my flock, the flock of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the
Lord GOD.

Ezekiel 35
[1] Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, [2] Son of man, set
thy face against mount Seir, and prophesy against it, [3] And say unto it,
Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O mount Seir, I am against thee, and I
will stretch out mine hand against thee, and I will make thee most
desolate.
[4] I will lay thy cities waste, and thou shalt be desolate, and thou shalt
know that I am the LORD.
[5] Because thou hast had a perpetual hatred, and hast shed the blood of
the children of Israel by the force of the sword in the time of their
calamity, in the time that their iniquity had an end: [6] Therefore, as I
live, saith the Lord GOD, I will prepare thee unto blood, and blood shall
pursue thee: sith thou hast not hated blood, even blood shall pursue thee.
[7] Thus will I make mount Seir most desolate, and cut off from it him that
passeth out and him that returneth. [8] And I will fill his mountains with
his slain men: in thy hills, and in thy valleys, and in all thy rivers,
shall they fall that are slain with the sword.
[9] I will make thee perpetual desolations, and thy cities shall not
return: and ye shall know that I am the LORD. [10] Because thou hast said,
These two nations and these two countries shall be mine, and we will
possess it; whereas the LORD was there: [11] Therefore, as I live, saith
the Lord GOD, I will even do according to thine anger, and according to
thine envy which thou hast used out of thy hatred against them; and I will
make myself known among them, when I have judged thee.
[12] And thou shalt know that I am the LORD, and that I have heard all thy
blasphemies which thou hast spoken against the mountains of Israel, saying,
They are laid desolate, they are given us to consume. [13] Thus with your
mouth ye have boasted against me, and have multiplied your words against
me: I have heard them. [14] Thus saith the Lord GOD; When the whole earth
rejoiceth, I will make thee desolate.
[15] As thou didst rejoice at the inheritance of the house of Israel,
because it was desolate, so will I do unto thee: thou shalt be desolate, O
mount Seir, and all Idumea, even all of it: and they shall know that I am
the LORD.

Ezekiel 36
[1] Also, thou son of man, prophesy unto the mountains of Israel, and say,
Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the LORD: [2] Thus saith the Lord
GOD; Because the enemy hath said against you, Aha, even the ancient high
places are ours in possession: [3] Therefore prophesy and say, Thus saith
the Lord GOD; Because they have made you desolate, and swallowed you up on
every side, that ye might be a possession unto the residue of the heathen,
and ye are taken up in the lips of talkers, and are an infamy of the
people: [4] Therefore, ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord
GOD; Thus saith the Lord GOD to the mountains, and to the hills, to the
rivers, and to the valleys, to the desolate wastes, and to the cities that
are forsaken, which became a prey and derision to the residue of the
heathen that are round about;
[5] Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Surely in the fire of my jealousy
have I spoken against the residue of the heathen, and against all Idumea,
which have appointed my land into their possession with the joy of all
their heart, with despiteful minds, to cast it out for a prey. [6] Prophesy
therefore concerning the land of Israel, and say unto the mountains, and to
the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys, Thus saith the Lord GOD;
Behold, I have spoken in my jealousy and in my fury, because ye have borne
the shame of the heathen: [7] Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; I have
lifted up mine hand, Surely the heathen that are about you, they shall bear
their shame. [8] But ye, O mountains of Israel, ye shall shoot forth your
branches, and yield your fruit to my people of Israel; for they are at hand
to come. [9] For, behold, I am for you, and I will turn unto you, and ye
shall be tilled and sown:
[10] And I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, even all of
it: and the cities shall be inhabited, and the wastes shall be builded:
[11] And I will multiply upon you man and beast; and they shall increase
and bring fruit: and I will settle you after your old estates, and will do
better unto you than at your beginnings: and ye shall know that I am the
LORD.
[12] Yea, I will cause men to walk upon you, even my people Israel; and
they shall possess thee, and thou shalt be their inheritance, and thou
shalt no more henceforth bereave them of men. [13] Thus saith the Lord GOD;
Because they say unto you, Thou land devourest up men, and hast bereaved
thy nations; [14] Therefore thou shalt devour men no more, neither bereave
thy nations any more, saith the Lord GOD.
[15] Neither will I cause men to hear in thee the shame of the heathen any
more, neither shalt thou bear the reproach of the people any more, neither
shalt thou cause thy nations to fall any more, saith the Lord GOD. [16]
Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, [17] Son of man, when
the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their own
way and by their doings: their way was before me as the uncleanness of a
removed woman. [18] Wherefore I poured my fury upon them for the blood that
they had shed upon the land, and for their idols wherewith they had
polluted it: [19] And I scattered them among the heathen, and they were
dispersed through the countries: according to their way and according to
their doings I judged them.
[20] And when they entered unto the heathen, whither they went, they
profaned my holy name, when they said to them, These are the people of the
LORD, and are gone forth out of his land. [21] But I had pity for mine holy
name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the heathen, whither
they went. [22] Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord
GOD; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy
name's sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye went.
[23] And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the
heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall
know that I am the LORD, saith the Lord GOD, when I shall be sanctified in
you before their eyes.
[24] For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all
countries, and will bring you into your own land. [25] Then will I sprinkle
clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and
from all your idols, will I cleanse you. [26] A new heart also will I give
you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony
heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
[27] And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my
statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. [28] And ye shall
dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people,
and I will be your God. [29] I will also save you from all your
uncleannesses: and I will call for the corn, and will increase it, and lay
no famine upon you. [30] And I will multiply the fruit of the tree, and the
increase of the field, that ye shall receive no more reproach of famine
among the heathen. [31] Then shall ye remember your own evil ways, and your
doings that were not good, and shall lothe yourselves in your own sight for
your iniquities and for your abominations.
[32] Not for your sakes do I this, saith the Lord GOD, be it known unto
you: be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel. [33]
Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the day that I shall have cleansed you from all
your iniquities I will also cause you to dwell in the cities, and the
wastes shall be builded.
[34] And the desolate land shall be tilled, whereas it lay desolate in the
sight of all that passed by.
[35] And they shall say, This land that was desolate is become like the
garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are become
fenced, and are inhabited.
[36] Then the heathen that are left round about you shall know that I the
LORD build the ruined places, and plant that that was desolate: I the LORD
have spoken it, and I will do it.
[37] Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will yet for this be inquired of by the
house of Israel, to do it for them; I will increase them with men like a
flock.
[38] As the holy flock, as the flock of Jerusalem in her solemn feasts; so
shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of men: and they shall know
that I am the LORD.

-+-

http://www.familynet-international.org - Family resource center - Home
schooling resources

http://www.family-bible.org - Free Bible correspondence courses via US Mail

http://www.ifbtopsites.com - Independent Baptist Top Sites

--- BBBS/NT v4.01 Flag-5