Daily Text and Bible Reading: Sunday, September 14 [Press play below]

17.1 The word of Jehovah again came to me, saying:
17.2 “Son of man, tell a riddle and relate a proverb about the house of Israel.
17.3 You must say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says: “The great eagle, with great wings, long pinions, and full, colorful plumage, came to Lebanon and took the top of the cedar.
17.4 He plucked off its topmost shoot and brought it to the land of traders and set it down in a city of traders.
17.5 He then took some of the seed of the land and put it in a fertile field. He planted it like a willow by abundant waters.
17.6 So it sprouted and became a low, sprawling vine with its foliage facing inward and its roots growing under it. Thus it became a vine and produced shoots and sent out branches.
17.7 “‘“And there came another great eagle, with great wings and large pinions. This vine then stretched its roots eagerly toward him, away from the garden beds where it was planted, and it sent out its foliage toward him so that he would irrigate it.
17.8 It had already been planted in a good field near abundant waters, in order to produce branches, to bear fruit, and to become a majestic vine.”’
17.9 “Say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says: “Will it prosper? Will someone not tear out its roots and make its fruit rot and cause its sprouts to wither? It will become so dry that neither a strong arm nor many people will be needed to pull it up by the roots.
17.10 Although it is transplanted, will it prosper? Will it not dry up completely when the east wind blows on it? It will dry up in the garden bed where it sprouted.”’”
17.11 And the word of Jehovah again came to me, saying:
17.12 “Please tell the rebellious house, ‘Do you not realize what these things mean?’ Say, ‘Look! The king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and took its king and its princes and brought them back with him to Babylon.
17.13 Furthermore, he took one of the royal offspring and made a covenant with him and put him under an oath. Then he took away the prominent men of the land,
17.14 so that the kingdom would be brought low, unable to rise up, so that only by keeping his covenant might it continue to exist.
17.15 But the king finally rebelled against him by sending his messengers to Egypt to obtain horses and a large army from them. Will he succeed? Will the one doing these things escape punishment? Can he break the covenant and still escape?’
17.16 “‘“As surely as I am alive,” declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, “he will die in Babylon, in the place where the king who made him king lives, the one whose oath he despised and whose covenant he broke.
17.17 And the great army and numerous troops of Pharaoh will be of no help in the war, when siege ramparts are raised and siege walls are built to destroy many lives.
17.18 He has despised an oath and broken a covenant. Even though he gave his promise, he has done all these things, and he will not escape.”’
17.19 “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says: “As surely as I am alive, I will bring upon his head the consequences of despising my oath and breaking my covenant.
17.20 I will cast my net over him, and he will be caught in my hunting net. I will bring him to Babylon and enter into judgment with him there because of the unfaithfulness he committed against me.
17.21 All the fugitives of his troops will fall by the sword, and those remaining will be scattered in every direction. Then you will have to know that I myself, Jehovah, have spoken.”’
17.22 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says: “I will take a shoot from the top of the lofty cedar and plant it, from the top of its twigs I will pluck a tender shoot, and I myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain.
17.23 On a high mountain of Israel I will plant it; and its branches will grow, and it will produce fruit and become a majestic cedar. And every kind of bird will live beneath it and reside in the shadow of its foliage.
17.24 And all the trees of the field will have to know that I myself, Jehovah, have brought down the high tree and exalted the low tree; I have dried up the green tree and made the dry tree blossom. I myself, Jehovah, have spoken and have done it.”’”
Chapter 18

18.1 And the word of Jehovah again came to me, saying:
18.2 “What does this proverb that you quote in the land of Israel mean, ‘Fathers have eaten sour grapes, but the teeth of the sons are set on edge’?
18.3 “‘As surely as I am alive,’ declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, ‘you will not continue to quote this saying in Israel.
18.4 Look! All the souls—to me they belong. As the soul of the father so also the soul of the son—to me they belong. The soul who sins is the one who will die.
18.5 “‘Suppose that a man is righteous and does what is just and right.
18.6 He does not eat idolatrous sacrifices on the mountains; he does not look up to the disgusting idols of the house of Israel; he does not defile his neighbor’s wife or have relations with a woman who is menstruating;
18.7 he does not mistreat anyone, but he returns what a debtor has given him in pledge; he does not rob anyone, but he gives his own food to the hungry one and covers the naked one with a garment;
18.8 he does not charge interest or engage in usury, but he refrains from acting with injustice; he executes true justice between one man and another;
18.9 and he keeps walking in my statutes and observing my judicial decisions in order to act in faithfulness. Such a man is righteous and will surely keep living,’ declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.
18.10 “‘But suppose that he has become father to a son who is a robber or a murderer or who does any of these other things
18.11 (though the father has not done any of these things)—he eats idolatrous sacrifices on the mountains, defiles his neighbor’s wife,
18.12 mistreats the needy and the poor, takes things by robbery, does not return a pledge, looks up to the disgusting idols, engages in detestable practices,
18.13 engages in usury and charges interest—then the son will not keep living. Because of all these detestable things that he has done, he will surely be put to death. His own blood will be upon him.
18.14 “‘But suppose that a father has a son who sees all the sins his father has committed, and though he sees them, he does not do such things.
18.15 He does not eat idolatrous sacrifices on the mountains; he does not look up to the disgusting idols of the house of Israel; he does not defile his neighbor’s wife;
18.16 he does not mistreat anyone; he does not seize what was pledged; he does not take anything in robbery; he gives his own food to the hungry one and covers the naked one with a garment;
18.17 he refrains from oppressing the poor; he does not engage in usury or charge interest; and he carries out my judicial decisions and walks in my statutes. Such a man will not die because of the error of his father. He will surely keep living.
18.18 But because his father practiced fraud, robbed his brother, and did what was wrong among his people, he will die for his error.
18.19 “‘But you will say: “Why does the son not bear guilt because of his father’s error?” Since the son has done what is just and righteous, has kept all my statutes and has observed them, he will surely keep living.
18.20 The soul who sins is the one who will die. A son will bear no guilt because of the error of his father, and a father will bear no guilt because of the error of his son. The righteousness of the righteous one will be accounted to him alone, and the wickedness of the wicked one will be accounted to him alone.
18.21 “‘Now if someone wicked turns away from all the sins he has committed and keeps my statutes and does what is just and righteous, he will surely keep living. He will not die.
18.22 None of the transgressions that he has committed will be held against him. He will keep living for doing what is righteous.’
18.23 “‘Do I take any pleasure at all in the death of a wicked person?’ declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah. ‘Do I not prefer that he turn away from his ways and keep living?’
18.24 “‘But when someone righteous abandons his righteousness and does what is wrong, doing all the detestable things the wicked do, will he live? None of the righteous acts that he did will be remembered. For his unfaithfulness and the sin he has committed, he will die.
18.25 “‘But you will say: “The way of Jehovah is unjust.” Please listen, O house of Israel! Is it my way that is unjust? Is it not your ways that are unjust?
18.26 “‘When someone righteous abandons his righteousness and does what is wrong and dies because of it, he will die for his own wrongdoing.
18.27 “‘And when someone wicked turns away from the wickedness that he has committed and begins to do what is just and righteous, he will preserve his own life.
18.28 When he realizes and turns away from all the transgressions that he has committed, he will surely keep living. He will not die.
18.29 “‘But the house of Israel will say: “The way of Jehovah is unjust.” Is it really my ways that are unjust, O house of Israel? Is it not your ways that are unjust?’
18.30 “‘Therefore, I will judge each one of you according to his ways, O house of Israel,’ declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah. ‘Turn away, yes, turn completely away from all your transgressions, so that they will not be a stumbling block bringing guilt upon you.
18.31 Rid yourselves of all the transgressions you have committed and acquire a new heart and a new spirit, for why should you die, O house of Israel?’
18.32 “‘I do not take any pleasure in the death of anyone,’ declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah. ‘So turn back and live.’”