Tuesday, November 13, 2007

November 13th - Day 317

Ezekiel 27-28:26



Ezekiel 27
A Lament for Tyre

1 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 "Son of man, take up a lament concerning Tyre. 3 Say to Tyre, situated at the gateway to the sea, merchant of peoples on many coasts, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says:

" 'You say, O Tyre,

"I am perfect in beauty."

4 Your domain was on the high seas;

your builders brought your beauty to perfection.

5 They made all your timbers

of pine trees from Senir [
a] ;

they took a cedar from Lebanon

to make a mast for you.

6 Of oaks from Bashan

they made your oars;

of cypress wood [
b] from the coasts of Cyprus [c]

they made your deck, inlaid with ivory.

7 Fine embroidered linen from Egypt was your sail

and served as your banner;

your awnings were of blue and purple

from the coasts of Elishah.

8 Men of Sidon and Arvad were your oarsmen;

your skilled men, O Tyre, were aboard as your seamen.

9 Veteran craftsmen of Gebal [d] were on board

as shipwrights to caulk your seams.

All the ships of the sea and their sailors

came alongside to trade for your wares.

10 " 'Men of Persia, Lydia and Put

served as soldiers in your army.

They hung their shields and helmets on your walls,

bringing you splendor.

11 Men of Arvad and Helech

manned your walls on every side;

men of Gammad

were in your towers.

They hung their shields around your walls;

they brought your beauty to perfection.

12 " 'Tarshish did business with you because of your great wealth of goods; they exchanged silver, iron, tin and lead for your merchandise.

13 " 'Greece, Tubal and Meshech traded with you; they exchanged slaves and articles of bronze for your wares.

14 " 'Men of Beth Togarmah exchanged work horses, war horses and mules for your merchandise.

15 " 'The men of Rhodes [e] traded with you, and many coastlands were your customers; they paid you with ivory tusks and ebony.

16 " 'Aram [f] did business with you because of your many products; they exchanged turquoise, purple fabric, embroidered work, fine linen, coral and rubies for your merchandise.

17 " 'Judah and Israel traded with you; they exchanged wheat from Minnith and confections, [g] honey, oil and balm for your wares.

18 " 'Damascus, because of your many products and great wealth of goods, did business with you in wine from Helbon and wool from Zahar.

19 " 'Danites and Greeks from Uzal bought your merchandise; they exchanged wrought iron, cassia and calamus for your wares.

20 " 'Dedan traded in saddle blankets with you.

21 " 'Arabia and all the princes of Kedar were your customers; they did business with you in lambs, rams and goats.

22 " 'The merchants of Sheba and Raamah traded with you; for your merchandise they exchanged the finest of all kinds of spices and precious stones, and gold.

23 " 'Haran, Canneh and Eden and merchants of Sheba, Asshur and Kilmad traded with you. 24 In your marketplace they traded with you beautiful garments, blue fabric, embroidered work and multicolored rugs with cords twisted and tightly knotted.

25 " 'The ships of Tarshish serve

as carriers for your wares.

You are filled with heavy cargo

in the heart of the sea.

26 Your oarsmen take you

out to the high seas.

But the east wind will break you to pieces

in the heart of the sea.

27 Your wealth, merchandise and wares,

your mariners, seamen and shipwrights,

your merchants and all your soldiers,

and everyone else on board

will sink into the heart of the sea

on the day of your shipwreck.

28 The shorelands will quake

when your seamen cry out.

29 All who handle the oars

will abandon their ships;

the mariners and all the seamen

will stand on the shore.

30 They will raise their voice

and cry bitterly over you;

they will sprinkle dust on their heads

and roll in ashes.

31 They will shave their heads because of you

and will put on sackcloth.

They will weep over you with anguish of soul

and with bitter mourning.

32 As they wail and mourn over you,

they will take up a lament concerning you:

"Who was ever silenced like Tyre,

surrounded by the sea?"

33 When your merchandise went out on the seas,

you satisfied many nations;

with your great wealth and your wares

you enriched the kings of the earth.

34 Now you are shattered by the sea

in the depths of the waters;

your wares and all your company

have gone down with you.

35 All who live in the coastlands

are appalled at you;

their kings shudder with horror

and their faces are distorted with fear.

36 The merchants among the nations hiss at you;

you have come to a horrible end

and will be no more.' "

Ezekiel 28


A Prophecy Against the King of Tyre

1 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 "Son of man, say to the ruler of Tyre, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says:

" 'In the pride of your heart

you say, "I am a god;

I sit on the throne of a god

in the heart of the seas."

But you are a man and not a god,

though you think you are as wise as a god.

3 Are you wiser than Daniel [h] ?

Is no secret hidden from you?

4 By your wisdom and understanding

you have gained wealth for yourself

and amassed gold and silver

in your treasuries.

5 By your great skill in trading

you have increased your wealth,

and because of your wealth

your heart has grown proud.

6 " 'Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says:

" 'Because you think you are wise,

as wise as a god,

7 I am going to bring foreigners against you,

the most ruthless of nations;

they will draw their swords against your beauty and wisdom

and pierce your shining splendor.

8 They will bring you down to the pit,

and you will die a violent death

in the heart of the seas.

9 Will you then say, "I am a god,"

in the presence of those who kill you?

You will be but a man, not a god,

in the hands of those who slay you.

10 You will die the death of the uncircumcised

at the hands of foreigners.

I have spoken, declares the Sovereign LORD.' "

11 The word of the LORD came to me: 12 "Son of man, take up a lament concerning the king of Tyre and say to him: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says:

" 'You were the model of perfection,

full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.

13 You were in Eden,

the garden of God;

every precious stone adorned you:

ruby, topaz and emerald,

chrysolite, onyx and jasper,

sapphire, [
i] turquoise and beryl. [j]

Your settings and mountings [
k] were made of gold;

on the day you were created they were prepared.

14 You were anointed as a guardian cherub,

for so I ordained you.

You were on the holy mount of God;

you walked among the fiery stones.

15 You were blameless in your ways

from the day you were created

till wickedness was found in you.

16 Through your widespread trade

you were filled with violence,

and you sinned.

So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God,

and I expelled you, O guardian cherub,

from among the fiery stones.

17 Your heart became proud

on account of your beauty,

and you corrupted your wisdom

because of your splendor.

So I threw you to the earth;

I made a spectacle of you before kings.

18 By your many sins and dishonest trade

you have desecrated your sanctuaries.

So I made a fire come out from you,

and it consumed you,

and I reduced you to ashes on the ground

in the sight of all who were watching.

19 All the nations who knew you

are appalled at you;

you have come to a horrible end

and will be no more.' "

A Prophecy Against Sidon

20 The word of the LORD came to me: 21 "Son of man, set your face against Sidon; prophesy against her 22 and say: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says:

" 'I am against you, O Sidon,

and I will gain glory within you.

They will know that I am the LORD,

when I inflict punishment on her

and show myself holy within her.

23 I will send a plague upon her

and make blood flow in her streets.

The slain will fall within her,

with the sword against her on every side.

Then they will know that I am the LORD.

24 " 'No longer will the people of Israel have malicious neighbors who are painful briers and sharp thorns. Then they will know that I am the Sovereign LORD.

25 " 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: When I gather the people of Israel from the nations where they have been scattered, I will show myself holy among them in the sight of the nations. Then they will live in their own land, which I gave to my servant Jacob. 26 They will live there in safety and will build houses and plant vineyards; they will live in safety when I inflict punishment on all their neighbors who maligned them. Then they will know that I am the LORD their God.' "


Footnotes:


  1. Ezekiel 27:5 That is, Hermon
  2. Ezekiel 27:6 Targum; the Masoretic Text has a different division of the consonants.
  3. Ezekiel 27:6 Hebrew Kittim
  4. Ezekiel 27:9 That is, Byblos
  5. Ezekiel 27:15 Septuagint; Hebrew Dedan
  6. Ezekiel 27:16 Most Hebrew manuscripts; some Hebrew manuscripts and Syriac Edom
  7. Ezekiel 27:17 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  8. Ezekiel 28:3 Or Danel ; the Hebrew spelling may suggest a person other than the prophet Daniel.
  9. Ezekiel 28:13 Or lapis lazuli
  10. Ezekiel 28:13 The precise identification of some of these precious stones is uncertain.
  11. Ezekiel 28:13 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.


Hebrews 11:17-31



17By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, 18even though God had said to him, "It is through Isaac that your offspring[
a] will be reckoned."[b] 19Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.


20By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.

21By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph's sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.

22By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions about his bones.

23By faith Moses' parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king's edict.

24By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. 25He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. 26He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. 27By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king's anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. 28By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.

29By faith the people passed through the Red Sea[c] as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.

30By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days.

31By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.[d]


Footnotes:


  1. Hebrews 11:18 Greek seed
  2. Hebrews 11:18 Gen. 21:12
  3. Hebrews 11:29 That is, Sea of Reeds
  4. Hebrews 11:31 Or unbelieving


Psalm 111:1-10



Psalm 111


1[a] Praise the LORD. [b]

I will extol the LORD with all my heart

in the council of the upright and in the assembly.

2 Great are the works of the LORD;

they are pondered by all who delight in them.

3 Glorious and majestic are his deeds,

and his righteousness endures forever.

4 He has caused his wonders to be remembered;

the LORD is gracious and compassionate.

5 He provides food for those who fear him;

he remembers his covenant forever.

6 He has shown his people the power of his works,

giving them the lands of other nations.

7 The works of his hands are faithful and just;

all his precepts are trustworthy.

8 They are steadfast for ever and ever,

done in faithfulness and uprightness.

9 He provided redemption for his people;

he ordained his covenant forever—

holy and awesome is his name.

10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;

all who follow his precepts have good understanding.

To him belongs eternal praise.


Footnotes:


  1. Psalm 111:1 This psalm is an acrostic poem, the lines of which begin with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
  2. Psalm 111:1 Hebrew Hallelu Yah


Proverbs 27:15-16



15 A quarrelsome wife is like

a constant dripping on a rainy day;


16 restraining her is like restraining the wind

or grasping oil with the hand.

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