Ezekiel 27; Ezekiel 28; Ezekiel 29; 1 Peter 3

Ezekiel 27

1 Then this message came to me from the LORD :

2 “Son of man, sing a funeral song for Tyre,

3 that mighty gateway to the sea, the trading center of the world. Give Tyre this message from the Sovereign LORD : “You boasted, O Tyre, ‘My beauty is perfect!’

4 You extended your boundaries into the sea. Your builders made your beauty perfect.

5 You were like a great ship built of the finest cypress from Senir. They took a cedar from Lebanon to make a mast for you.

6 They carved your oars from the oaks of Bashan. Your deck of pine from the coasts of Cyprus was inlaid with ivory.

7 Your sails were made of Egypt’s finest linen, and they flew as a banner above you. You stood beneath blue and purple awnings made bright with dyes from the coasts of Elishah.

8 Your oarsmen came from Sidon and Arvad; your helmsmen were skilled men from Tyre itself.

9 Wise old craftsmen from Gebal did the caulking. Ships from every land came with goods to barter for your trade.

10 “Men from distant Persia, Lydia, and Libya served in your great army. They hung their shields and helmets on your walls, giving you great honor.

11 Men from Arvad and Helech stood on your walls. Your towers were manned by men from Gammad. Their shields hung on your walls, completing your beauty.

12 “Tarshish sent merchants to buy your wares in exchange for silver, iron, tin, and lead.

13 Merchants from Greece, Tubal, and Meshech brought slaves and articles of bronze to trade with you.

14 “From Beth-togarmah came riding horses, chariot horses, and mules, all in exchange for your goods.

15 Merchants came to you from Dedan. Numerous coastlands were your captive markets; they brought payment in ivory tusks and ebony wood.

16 “Syria sent merchants to buy your rich variety of goods. They traded turquoise, purple dyes, embroidery, fine linen, and jewelry of coral and rubies.

17 Judah and Israel traded for your wares, offering wheat from Minnith, figs, honey, olive oil, and balm.

18 “Damascus sent merchants to buy your rich variety of goods, bringing wine from Helbon and white wool from Zahar.

19 Greeks from Uzal came to trade for your merchandise. Wrought iron, cassia, and fragrant calamus were bartered for your wares.

20 “Dedan sent merchants to trade their expensive saddle blankets with you.

21 The Arabians and the princes of Kedar sent merchants to trade lambs and rams and male goats in exchange for your goods.

22 The merchants of Sheba and Raamah came with all kinds of spices, jewels, and gold in exchange for your wares.

23 “Haran, Canneh, Eden, Sheba, Asshur, and Kilmad came with their merchandise, too.

24 They brought choice fabrics to trade—blue cloth, embroidery, and multicolored carpets rolled up and bound with cords.

25 The ships of Tarshish were your ocean caravans. Your island warehouse was filled to the brim!

26 “But look! Your oarsmen have taken you into stormy seas! A mighty eastern gale has wrecked you in the heart of the sea!

27 Everything is lost— your riches and wares, your sailors and pilots, your ship builders, merchants, and warriors. On the day of your ruin, everyone on board sinks into the depths of the sea.

28 Your cities by the sea tremble as your pilots cry out in terror.

29 All the oarsmen abandon their ships; the sailors and pilots stand on the shore.

30 They cry aloud over you and weep bitterly. They throw dust on their heads and roll in ashes.

31 They shave their heads in grief for you and dress themselves in burlap. They weep for you with bitter anguish and deep mourning.

32 As they wail and mourn over you, they sing this sad funeral song: ‘Was there ever such a city as Tyre, now silent at the bottom of the sea?

33 The merchandise you traded satisfied the desires of many nations. Kings at the ends of the earth were enriched by your trade.

34 Now you are a wrecked ship, broken at the bottom of the sea. All your merchandise and crew have gone down with you.

35 All who live along the coastlands are appalled at your terrible fate. Their kings are filled with horror and look on with twisted faces.

36 The merchants among the nations shake their heads at the sight of you, for you have come to a horrible end and will exist no more.’”

Ezekiel 28

1 Then this message came to me from the LORD :

2 “Son of man, give the prince of Tyre this message from the Sovereign LORD : “In your great pride you claim, ‘I am a god! I sit on a divine throne in the heart of the sea.’ But you are only a man and not a god, though you boast that you are a god.

3 You regard yourself as wiser than Daniel and think no secret is hidden from you.

4 With your wisdom and understanding you have amassed great wealth— gold and silver for your treasuries.

5 Yes, your wisdom has made you very rich, and your riches have made you very proud.

6 “Therefore, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: Because you think you are as wise as a god,

7 I will now bring against you a foreign army, the terror of the nations. They will draw their swords against your marvelous wisdom and defile your splendor!

8 They will bring you down to the pit, and you will die in the heart of the sea, pierced with many wounds.

9 Will you then boast, ‘I am a god!’ to those who kill you? To them you will be no god but merely a man!

10 You will die like an outcast at the hands of foreigners. I, the Sovereign LORD, have spoken!”

11 Then this further message came to me from the LORD :

12 “Son of man, sing this funeral song for the king of Tyre. Give him this message from the Sovereign LORD : “You were the model of perfection, full of wisdom and exquisite in beauty.

13 You were in Eden, the garden of God. Your clothing was adorned with every precious stone — red carnelian, pale-green peridot, white moonstone, blue-green beryl, onyx, green jasper, blue lapis lazuli, turquoise, and emerald— all beautifully crafted for you and set in the finest gold. They were given to you on the day you were created.

14 I ordained and anointed you as the mighty angelic guardian. You had access to the holy mountain of God and walked among the stones of fire.

15 “You were blameless in all you did from the day you were created until the day evil was found in you.

16 Your rich commerce led you to violence, and you sinned. So I banished you in disgrace from the mountain of God. I expelled you, O mighty guardian, from your place among the stones of fire.

17 Your heart was filled with pride because of all your beauty. Your wisdom was corrupted by your love of splendor. So I threw you to the ground and exposed you to the curious gaze of kings.

18 You defiled your sanctuaries with your many sins and your dishonest trade. So I brought fire out from within you, and it consumed you. I reduced you to ashes on the ground in the sight of all who were watching.

19 All who knew you are appalled at your fate. You have come to a terrible end, and you will exist no more.”

20 Then another message came to me from the LORD :

21 “Son of man, turn and face the city of Sidon and prophesy against it.

22 Give the people of Sidon this message from the Sovereign LORD : “I am your enemy, O Sidon, and I will reveal my glory by what I do to you. When I bring judgment against you and reveal my holiness among you, everyone watching will know that I am the LORD .

23 I will send a plague against you, and blood will be spilled in your streets. The attack will come from every direction, and your people will lie slaughtered within your walls. Then everyone will know that I am the LORD .

24 No longer will Israel’s scornful neighbors prick and tear at her like briers and thorns. For then they will know that I am the Sovereign LORD .

25 “This is what the Sovereign LORD says: The people of Israel will again live in their own land, the land I gave my servant Jacob. For I will gather them from the distant lands where I have scattered them. I will reveal to the nations of the world my holiness among my people.

26 They will live safely in Israel and build homes and plant vineyards. And when I punish the neighboring nations that treated them with contempt, they will know that I am the LORD their God.”

Ezekiel 29

1 On January 7, during the tenth year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity, this message came to me from the LORD :

2 “Son of man, turn and face Egypt and prophesy against Pharaoh the king and all the people of Egypt.

3 Give them this message from the Sovereign LORD : “I am your enemy, O Pharaoh, king of Egypt— you great monster, lurking in the streams of the Nile. For you have said, ‘The Nile River is mine; I made it for myself.’

4 I will put hooks in your jaws and drag you out on the land with fish sticking to your scales.

5 I will leave you and all your fish stranded in the wilderness to die. You will lie unburied on the open ground, for I have given you as food to the wild animals and birds.

6 All the people of Egypt will know that I am the LORD, for to Israel you were just a staff made of reeds.

7 When Israel leaned on you, you splintered and broke and stabbed her in the armpit. When she put her weight on you, you collapsed, and her legs gave way.

8 “Therefore, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will bring an army against you, O Egypt, and destroy both people and animals.

9 The land of Egypt will become a desolate wasteland, and the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD . “Because you said, ‘The Nile River is mine; I made it,’

10 I am now the enemy of both you and your river. I will make the land of Egypt a totally desolate wasteland, from Migdol to Aswan, as far south as the border of Ethiopia.

11 For forty years not a soul will pass that way, neither people nor animals. It will be completely uninhabited.

12 I will make Egypt desolate, and it will be surrounded by other desolate nations. Its cities will be empty and desolate for forty years, surrounded by other ruined cities. I will scatter the Egyptians to distant lands.

13 “But this is what the Sovereign LORD also says: At the end of the forty years I will bring the Egyptians home again from the nations to which they have been scattered.

14 I will restore the prosperity of Egypt and bring its people back to the land of Pathros in southern Egypt from which they came. But Egypt will remain an unimportant, minor kingdom.

15 It will be the lowliest of all the nations, never again great enough to rise above its neighbors.

16 “Then Israel will no longer be tempted to trust in Egypt for help. Egypt’s shattered condition will remind Israel of how sinful she was to trust Egypt in earlier days. Then Israel will know that I am the Sovereign LORD .”

17 On April 26, the first day of the new year, during the twenty-seventh year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity, this message came to me from the LORD :

18 “Son of man, the army of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon fought so hard against Tyre that the warriors’ heads were rubbed bare and their shoulders were raw and blistered. Yet Nebuchadnezzar and his army won no plunder to compensate them for all their work.

19 Therefore, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. He will carry off its wealth, plundering everything it has so he can pay his army.

20 Yes, I have given him the land of Egypt as a reward for his work, says the Sovereign LORD, because he was working for me when he destroyed Tyre.

21 “And the day will come when I will cause the ancient glory of Israel to revive, and then, Ezekiel, your words will be respected. Then they will know that I am the LORD .”

1 Peter 3

1 In the same way, you wives must accept the authority of your husbands. Then, even if some refuse to obey the Good News, your godly lives will speak to them without any words. They will be won over

2 by observing your pure and reverent lives.

3 Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes.

4 You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.

5 This is how the holy women of old made themselves beautiful. They put their trust in God and accepted the authority of their husbands.

6 For instance, Sarah obeyed her husband, Abraham, and called him her master. You are her daughters when you do what is right without fear of what your husbands might do.

7 In the same way, you husbands must give honor to your wives. Treat your wife with understanding as you live together. She may be weaker than you are, but she is your equal partner in God’s gift of new life. Treat her as you should so your prayers will not be hindered.

8 Finally, all of you should be of one mind. Sympathize with each other. Love each other as brothers and sisters. Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude.

9 Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and he will grant you his blessing.

10 For the Scriptures say, “If you want to enjoy life and see many happy days, keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies.

11 Turn away from evil and do good. Search for peace, and work to maintain it.

12 The eyes of the LORD watch over those who do right, and his ears are open to their prayers. But the LORD turns his face against those who do evil.”

13 Now, who will want to harm you if you are eager to do good?

14 But even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it. So don’t worry or be afraid of their threats.

15 Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it.

16 But do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ.

17 Remember, it is better to suffer for doing good, if that is what God wants, than to suffer for doing wrong!

18 Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit.

19 So he went and preached to the spirits in prison—

20 those who disobeyed God long ago when God waited patiently while Noah was building his boat. Only eight people were saved from drowning in that terrible flood.

21 And that water is a picture of baptism, which now saves you, not by removing dirt from your body, but as a response to God from a clean conscience. It is effective because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

22 Now Christ has gone to heaven. He is seated in the place of honor next to God, and all the angels and authorities and powers accept his authority.