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A reading from the Book of Ezekiel. The word of the Lord came to me. And you, O son of man. Thus says the Lord God to the land of Israel. An end. The end has come upon the four corners of the land. Now the end is upon you, and I will send my anger upon you. I will judge you according to your ways, and I will punish you for all your abominations. And my eye will not spare you, nor will I have pity. But I will punish you for your ways while your abominations are in your midst. And then you will know that I am the Lord. Thus says the Lord God. Disaster after disaster. Behold, it comes. An end has come. The end has come. It has awakened against you. Behold, it comes. Your doom has come to you, O inhabitant of the land. The time has come. The day is near. A day of tumult and not of joyful shouting on the mountains. Now I will soon pour out my wrath upon you and spend my anger against you, and judge you according to your ways. And I will punish you for all your abominations. And my eye will not spare, nor will I have pity. I will punish you according to your ways while your abominations are in your midst. Then you will know that I am the Lord who strikes. Behold the day. Behold, it comes. Your doom has come. The rod has blossomed. Pride has budded. Violence has grown up into a rod of wickedness. None of them shall remain, nor their abundance, nor their wealth, neither shall there be preeminence among them. The time has come. The day has arrived. Let not the buyer rejoice, nor the seller mourn. For wrath is upon all their multitude. For the seller shall not return to what he has sold while they live. For the vision concerns all their multitude, it shall not turn back. And because of his iniquity, none can maintain his life. They have blown the trumpet and made everything ready. But none goes to battle, for my wrath is upon all their multitude. The sword is without pestilence and famine are within. He who is in the field dies by the sword. And him who is in the city, famine and pestilence devour. And if any survivors escape, they will be on the mountains like doves of the valleys, all of them moaning, each one over his iniquity. All hands are feeble, and all knees turn to water. They put on sackcloth, and horror covers them. Shame is on all faces, and baldness on all their heads. They cast their silver into the streets, and their gold is like an unclean thing. Their silver and gold are not able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the Lord. They cannot satisfy their hunger or fill their stomachs with it, for it was the stumbling block of their iniquity. His beautiful ornament they used for pride. And they made their abominable images and their detestable things of it. Therefore I make it an unclean thing to them, and I will give it into the hands of foreigners for prey and to the wicked of the earth for spoil. And they shall profane it. I will turn my face from them, and they shall profane my treasured place. Robbers shall enter and profane it. Forge a chain. For the land is full of bloody crimes and the city is full of violence. I will bring the worst of the nations to take possession of their houses. I will put an end to the pride of the strong and their holy places shall be profaned. When anguish comes, they will seek peace, but there shall be none. Disaster comes upon disaster. Rumor follows rumor. They seek a vision from the prophet. While the law perishes from the priest and counsel from the elders. The king mourns, the prince is wrapped in despair. And the hands of the people of the land are paralyzed by terror. According to their way, I will do to them, and according to their judgments, I will judge them. And they shall know that I am the Lord. In the sixth year, in the sixth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I sat in my house with the elders of Judah sitting before me, the hand of the Lord God fell upon me there. Then I looked, and behold a form that had the appearance of a man. Below what appeared to be his waist was fire, and above his waist was something like the appearance of brightness, like gleaming metal. He put out the form of a hand and took me by a lock of my head. And the spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and brought me in visions of God to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the gateway of the inner court that faces north, where was the seat of the image of jealousy which provokes to jealousy and. And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, like the vision that I saw in the valley. Then he said to me, son of man, lift up your eyes now toward the north. So I lifted up my eyes toward the north. And behold, north of the altar gate in the entrance was this image of jealousy. And he said to me, son of man, do you see what they are doing? The great abominations that the house of Israel are committing here to drive me far from my sanctuary. But you will see still greater abominations and he brought me to the entrance of the court, and when I looked, behold, there was a hole in the wall. Then he said to me, son of man, dig in the wall. So I dug in the wall, and behold, there was an entrance. And he said to me, go in and see the vile abominations that they are committing here. So I went in and saw. And there, engraved on the wall all around was every form of creeping things and loathsome beasts and all the idols of the house of Israel. And before them stood 70 men of the elders of the house of Israel, with Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan standing among them. Each had his censer in his hand, and the smoke of the cloud of incense went up. Then he said to me, son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the dark? Each in his room of pictures? For they say the Lord does not see us. The Lord has forsaken the land. He said also to me, you will see still greater abominations that they commit. Then he brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the house of the Lord. And behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz. Then he said to me, have you seen this, O Son of man? You will see still greater abominations than these. And he brought me into the inner court of the house of the Lord. And behold, at the entrance of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar were about 25 men with their backs to the temple of the Lord and their faces toward the east, worshiping the sun toward the east. Then he said to me, have you seen this, O Son of Man? Is it too light a thing for the house of Judah to commit the abominations that they commit here? That they should fill the land with violence and provoke me still further to anger? Behold, they put the branch to their nose. Therefore I will act in wrath. My eye will not spare, nor will I have pity. And though they cry in my ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them. Then he cried in my ears with a loud voice, saying, bring near the executioners of the city, each with his destroying weapon in his hand. And behold, six men came from the direction of the upper gate, which faces north, each with his weapon for slaughter in his hand. And with them was a man clothed in linen with a writing case at his waist. And they went in and stood beside the bronze altar. Now the glory of the God of Israel had gone up from the cherub on which it rested to the threshold of the House. And and he called to the man clothed in linen who had the writing case at his waist. And the Lord said to him, pass through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it. And to the others he said in my hearing, pass through the city after him and strike. Your eyes shall not spare, and you shall show no pity. Kill old men outright, young men and maidens, little children and women, but touch no one on whom is the mark, and begin at my sanctuary. So they began with the elders who were before the house. Then he said to them, defile the house and fill the courts with the slain. Go out. So they went out and struck in the city. And while they were striking and I was left alone, I fell upon my face and cried, ah, Lord God, will you destroy all the remnant of Israel in the outpouring of your wrath on Jerusalem? Then he said to me, the guilt of the house of Israel in Judah is exceedingly great. The land is full of blood and the city full of injustice. For they say, the Lord has forsaken the land, and the Lord does not see. As for me, my eye will not spare, nor will I have pity. I will bring their deeds upon their heads. And behold, the man clothed in linen with the writing case at his waist, brought back words saying, I have done as you commanded me. A reading from the Book of Psalms. Forever, O Lord, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens. Your faithfulness endures to all generations. You have established the earth, and it stands fast by your appointment. They stand this day, for all things are your servants. If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction. I will never forget your precepts, for by them you have given me life. I am yours. Save me, for I have sought your precepts. The wicked lie in wait to destroy me. But I consider your testimonies. I have seen the limit to all perfection. But your commandment is exceedingly broad. A reading from the Book of Ephesians. Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus. By the will of God to the saints who are in Ephesus and are faithful in Christ Jesus. Grace to you, and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him in love. He predestined us for adoption to Himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace which he lavished upon us, and all wisdom and insight, making known to us the mystery of his will according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time to unite all things in Christ, things in heaven and things on earth in Him. In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him, who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory in Him. You also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might, that he worked in Christ when He raised him from the dead and and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority, and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet, and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.
Episode: November 19 (Ezekiel 7–9; Psalm 119:89–96; Ephesians 1) – November 19, 2025
This daily episode continues the journey through the ESV Bible, featuring readings from Ezekiel 7-9, Psalm 119:89-96, and Ephesians 1. The selected passages focus on themes of divine judgment for sin and idolatry (Ezekiel), the unwavering nature of God’s Word (Psalms), and the spiritual blessings and inheritance believers receive through Christ (Ephesians).
Theme: God declares the imminent end and judgment upon Israel due to their abominations and idolatry.
Key Points:
Notable Quotes & Moments:
"They cast their silver into the streets, and their gold is like an unclean thing. Their silver and gold are not able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the Lord." (Ezekiel 7:19, 03:10)
"Have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the dark, each in his room of pictures? For they say, 'The Lord does not see us. The Lord has forsaken the land.'" (Ezekiel 8:12, 08:40)
"Pass through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it." (Ezekiel 9:4, 13:10)
Theme: The eternal, unshakeable nature of God’s Word and faithfulness through affliction.
Key Points:
Notable Quotes & Moments:
"Forever, O Lord, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens." (Psalm 119:89, 18:10)
"If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction." (Psalm 119:92, 18:32)
"I have seen the limit to all perfection, but your commandment is exceedingly broad." (Psalm 119:96, 19:10)
Theme: The riches of God’s grace, predestination, spiritual inheritance, and unity under Christ.
Key Points:
Notable Quotes & Moments:
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places..." (Ephesians 1:3, 20:15)
"He predestined us for adoption to Himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace..." (Ephesians 1:5-6, 20:50)
"You also, when you heard the word of truth... were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance..." (Ephesians 1:13-14, 22:10)
"Having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you..." (Ephesians 1:18, 23:10)
"He put all things under his feet, and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all." (Ephesians 1:22-23, 24:30)
The readings retain the solemn, prophetic language of the scriptures. These passages move from the dire warnings and laments of Israel’s sin and judgment in Ezekiel, to the meditative and hopeful praise of God’s faithfulness in Psalms, and conclude with the exuberant, doctrinally rich writing of Paul about God’s grace and the glory of Christ.
This episode presents a powerful juxtaposition: the warnings of judgment for persistent rebellion (Ezekiel), the steadfastness of God’s truth and comfort for those who cling to it (Psalms), and the assurance of unearned grace, adoption, and spiritual riches for the faithful in Christ (Ephesians). It is both a sobering and uplifting listening experience, rooted deeply in the language and message of the biblical texts.