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Daily Text and Bible Reading: Sunday, September 21 [Press play below]

Press play below to hear today's Bible Chapters: Ezekiel Chapter 34 through 36

Examining the Scriptures Daily 

Sunday, September 21
Women should likewise be ... moderate in habits, faithful in all things. 1 Timothy 3.11.

We are amazed at how quickly a child grows into an adult. This growth seems to take place automatically. However, growing to Christian maturity is by no means automatic.

[Quotation] 1 Corinthians 13.11: When I was a child, I used to speak as a child, to think as a child, to reason as a child; but now that I have become a man, I have done away with the traits of a child. [End Quotation]

[Quotation] Hebrews 6.1: Therefore, now that we have moved beyond the primary doctrine about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying a foundation again, namely, repentance from dead works and faith in God, [End Quotation]

To reach that goal, we need a deep personal relationship with Jehovah. We also need his holy spirit as we cultivate godly qualities, develop practical skills, and prepare for future responsibilities.

[Quotation] Proverbs 1.5: A wise person listens and takes in more instruction; A man of understanding acquires skillful direction [End Quotation]

Jehovah made humans to be male or female.

[Quotation] Genesis 1.27: And God went on to create the man in his image, in God’s image he created him; male and female he created them. [End Quotation]

Obviously, men and women are physically different, but they are different in other ways as well. For example, Jehovah made men and women to fulfill specific roles, so they need qualities and skills that will help them to carry out their respective assignments.

[Quotation] Genesis 2.18: Then Jehovah God said: “It is not good for the man to continue to be alone. I am going to make a helper for him, as a complement of him.” [End Quotation]

Watchtower December 2023 page 18 paragraphs 1 and 2

Today's Bible Chapters: Ezekiel Chapter 34 through 36

34.1 The word of Jehovah again came to me, saying:
34.2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy, and say to the shepherds, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says: “Woe to the shepherds of Israel, who have been feeding themselves! Is it not the flock that the shepherds should feed?
34.3 You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, and you slaughter the fattest animal, but you do not feed the flock.
34.4 You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bandaged the injured or brought back the strays or looked for the lost; rather, you have ruled them with harshness and tyranny.
34.5 So they were scattered because there was no shepherd; they were scattered and became food for every wild beast of the field.
34.6 My sheep were straying on all the mountains and on every high hill; my sheep were scattered over all the surface of the earth, with no one searching for them or seeking to find them.
34.7 “‘“Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of Jehovah:
34.8 ‘“As surely as I am alive,” declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, “because my sheep have become prey, food for every wild beast of the field, for there was no shepherd, and my shepherds did not search for my sheep; rather, they kept feeding themselves and did not feed my sheep,”’
34.9 therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of Jehovah.
34.10 This is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says: ‘I am against the shepherds, and I will demand an accounting of them for my sheep, and I will dismiss them from feeding my sheep, and the shepherds will no longer feed themselves. I will rescue my sheep from their mouth, and they will no longer be food for them.’”
34.11 “‘For this is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says: “Here I am, and I myself will search for my sheep, and I will care for them.
34.12 I will care for my sheep like a shepherd who has found his scattered sheep and is feeding them. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered in the day of clouds and thick gloom.
34.13 I will bring them out from the peoples and collect them together from the lands and bring them into their land and feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the streams and by all the dwelling places of the land.
34.14 In a good pasture I will feed them, and the land where they graze will be on Israel’s high mountains. They will lie down there in a good grazing land, and they will feed on choice pastures on the mountains of Israel.”
34.15 “‘“I myself will feed my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down,” declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.
34.16 “The lost one I will search for, the stray I will bring back, the injured I will bandage, and the weak I will strengthen; but the fat one and the strong one I will annihilate. I will feed that one with judgment.”
34.17 “‘As for you, my sheep, this is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says: “I am about to judge between one sheep and another sheep, between the rams and the male goats.
34.18 Is it not enough for you to feed on the very best pastures? Must you also trample the rest of your pastures with your feet? And after drinking the clearest water, must you foul the water by stamping with your feet?
34.19 Should my sheep now feed on the pasture trampled by your feet and drink the water befouled by the stamping of your feet?”
34.20 “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says to them: “Here I am, and I myself will judge between a fat sheep and a lean sheep,
34.21 for with your flank and shoulder you kept pushing, and with your horns you kept shoving all the sick ones until you had scattered them abroad.
34.22 And I will save my sheep, and they will no longer become something to prey upon; and I will judge between a sheep and a sheep.
34.23 I will raise up one shepherd over them, my servant David, and he will feed them. He himself will feed them and become their shepherd.
34.24 And I, Jehovah, will become their God, and my servant David a chieftain among them. I myself, Jehovah, have spoken.
34.25 “‘“And I will make a covenant of peace with them, and I will rid the land of vicious wild beasts, so that they may dwell securely in the wilderness and sleep in the forests.
34.26 I will make them and the area around my hill a blessing, and I will cause the rain to fall at the proper time. Blessings will pour down like the rains.
34.27 The trees of the field will yield their fruit, and the soil will give its produce, and they will dwell securely on the land. And they will have to know that I am Jehovah when I break their yoke bars and rescue them from those who enslaved them.
34.28 They will no longer become something for the nations to prey upon, and the wild beasts of the earth will not devour them, and they will dwell in security, with no one to make them afraid.
34.29 “‘“I will establish for them a plantation of fame, and they will no longer die from famine in the land, and they will no longer be humiliated by the nations.
34.30 ‘Then they will have to know that I, Jehovah their God, am with them and that they, the house of Israel, are my people,’ declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.”’
34.31 “‘As for you, my sheep, the sheep that I care for, you are but men, and I am your God,’ declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.”
Chapter 35

35.1 The word of Jehovah again came to me, saying:
35.2 “Son of man, turn your face toward the mountainous region of Seir, and prophesy against it.
35.3 Say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says: “Here I am against you, O mountainous region of Seir, and I will stretch out my hand against you and make you a desolate wasteland.
35.4 I will turn your cities into ruins, and you will become a desolate wasteland; and you will have to know that I am Jehovah.
35.5 For you showed unrelenting hostility, and you gave the Israelites over to the sword at the time of their disaster, at the time of their final punishment.”’
35.6 “‘Therefore as surely as I am alive,’ declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, ‘I will prepare you for bloodshed, and bloodshed will pursue you. Since it was blood that you hated, bloodshed will pursue you.
35.7 I will make the mountainous region of Seir a desolate wasteland, and I will cut off from it anyone passing through and anyone returning.
35.8 I will fill its mountains with the slain; and those slain by the sword will fall on your hills, in your valleys, and in all your streams.
35.9 I will make you a perpetual desolation, and your cities will not be inhabited; and you will have to know that I am Jehovah.’
35.10 “Because you said, ‘These two nations and these two lands will become mine, and we will take possession of both,’ even though Jehovah himself was there,
35.11 ‘therefore as surely as I am alive,’ declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, ‘I will deal with you according to the same anger and jealousy that you displayed in your hatred toward them; and I will make myself known among them when I judge you.
35.12 You will then have to know that I myself, Jehovah, have heard all the insolent things you spoke against the mountains of Israel when you said, “They have been laid desolate and have been given to us to devour.”
35.13 And you spoke arrogantly against me, and you multiplied your words against me. I heard it all.’
35.14 “This is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says: ‘The whole earth will rejoice when I will make you a desolate wasteland.
35.15 Just as you rejoiced when the inheritance of the house of Israel was laid desolate, that is how I will deal with you. You will become a desolate ruin, O mountainous region of Seir, yes, all of Edom; and they will have to know that I am Jehovah.’”
Chapter 36

36.1 “As for you, son of man, prophesy about the mountains of Israel and say, ‘O mountains of Israel, hear the word of Jehovah.
36.2 This is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says: “The enemy has said against you, ‘Aha! Even the ancient high places have become our possession!’”’
36.3 “So prophesy and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says: “Because they have desolated and attacked you from every direction, so that you would become a possession of the survivors from among the nations and people keep talking about you and slandering you,
36.4 therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Sovereign Lord Jehovah! This is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says to the mountains and the hills, to the streams and the valleys, to the ruins that were desolated, and to the abandoned cities that have been plundered and ridiculed by the survivors of the nations around them;
36.5 to these the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says: ‘In the fire of my zeal I will speak against the survivors of the nations and against all Edom, those who with great rejoicing and utter scorn have claimed my land as their own possession, to take over its pastures and to plunder it.’”’
36.6 “So prophesy concerning the land of Israel, and say to the mountains and to the hills, to the streams and to the valleys, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says: “Look! I will speak in my zeal and in my rage, because you have borne humiliation by the nations.”’
36.7 “Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says: ‘I myself raise my hand in an oath that the surrounding nations will themselves bear their own shame.
36.8 But you, O mountains of Israel, will produce branches and bear your fruitage for my people Israel, for they will soon return.
36.9 For I am with you, and I will turn toward you, and you will be cultivated and sown with seed.
36.10 I will multiply your people—the whole house of Israel, all of it—and the cities will be inhabited and the ruins will be rebuilt.
36.11 Yes, I will multiply your people and your livestock; they will increase and be fruitful. And I will cause you to be inhabited as you were formerly, and I will make you prosper more than in the past; and you will have to know that I am Jehovah.
36.12 I will cause people—my people Israel—to walk upon you, and they will take possession of you. You will become their inheritance, and you will never again make them childless.’”
36.13 “This is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says: ‘Because they are saying to you, “You are a land that devours people and bereaves your nations of children,”’
36.14 ‘therefore, you will no longer devour people or make your nations childless,’ declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.
36.15 ‘I will not subject you to any more insults of the nations or make you bear the taunts of people, and you will no longer cause your nations to stumble,’ declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.”
36.16 And the word of Jehovah again came to me, saying:
36.17 “Son of man, when the house of Israel was dwelling in their land, they made it unclean by their ways and their dealings. Their ways were like the uncleanness of menstruation to me.
36.18 So I poured out my rage on them because of the blood that they had shed upon the land and because they made the land unclean with their disgusting idols.
36.19 So I scattered them among the nations and dispersed them among the lands. I judged them according to their way and according to their dealings.
36.20 But when they came to those nations, people profaned my holy name by saying about them, ‘These are the people of Jehovah, but they had to leave his land.’
36.21 So I will show concern for my holy name, which the house of Israel profaned among the nations where they have gone.”
36.22 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says: “Not for your sakes am I acting, O house of Israel, but for my holy name, which you profaned among the nations where you have gone.”’
36.23 ‘I will certainly sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the nations, which you profaned among them; and the nations will have to know that I am Jehovah,’ declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, ‘when I am sanctified among you before their eyes.
36.24 I will take you from the nations and gather you back from all the lands and bring you into your land.
36.25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will become clean; I will cleanse you from all your uncleanness and from all your disgusting idols.
36.26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit inside you. I will remove the heart of stone from your body and give you a heart of flesh.
36.27 I will put my spirit inside you, and I will cause you to walk in my regulations, and you will observe and carry out my judicial decisions.
36.28 Then you will dwell in the land that I gave to your forefathers, and you will be my people and I will be your God.’
36.29 “‘I will save you from all your uncleanness and summon the grain and make it abound, and I will not bring famine upon you.
36.30 I will make the fruitage of the tree and the produce of the field abound, so that you may never again suffer the disgrace of famine among the nations.
36.31 Then you will remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves because of your guilt and your detestable practices.
36.32 But know this: I am not doing this for your sakes,’ declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah. ‘Instead, be ashamed and feel humiliated because of your ways, O house of Israel.’
36.33 “This is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says: ‘In the day that I cleanse you from all your guilt, I will cause the cities to be inhabited and the ruins to be rebuilt.
36.34 The desolate land that was lying desolate for everyone passing by to see will be cultivated.
36.35 And people will say: “The desolate land has become like the garden of Eden, and the cities that were in ruins and desolate and torn down are now fortified and inhabited.”
36.36 And the nations that are left remaining around you will have to know that I myself, Jehovah, have built what was torn down, and I have planted what was desolate. I myself, Jehovah, have spoken, and I have done it.’
36.37 “This is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says: ‘I will also let the house of Israel ask me to do this for them: I will multiply their people like a flock.
36.38 Like the flock of holy ones, like the flock of Jerusalem during her festivals, the cities that were in ruins will become full of flocks of people; and they will have to know that I am Jehovah.’”

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