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Take a breath, find your place, and read deeply. Discover the joy of reading God’s word with the Immerse New Living Translation (NLT) Bible.
This daily Bible podcast will take you through the Bible in a year following the Immerse Bible Reading Experience. So grab your family and small group and go through the Bible in a year together with Immerse. Each of the 6 volumes is available online or at your favorite Christian bookstore.
Nancy: Welcome to immerse: the
daily bible reading experience.
day 200 and 72
then another message came to me
from the Lord Son of man confront
Jerusalem with her detestable sins.
Give her this message from the sovereign
Lord, you are nothing but a Canaanite.
Your father was an amorite and your
mother a hitite on the day you were born.
No one cared about you.
Your umbilical cord was not cut,
and you were never washed, rubbed
with salt and wrapped in cloth.
No one had the slightest interest in you.
No one pitied you or cared for
you on the day you were born.
You were unwanted, dumped in a field
and left to die, but I came by and
saw you there helplessly kicking about
in your own blood as you lay there.
I said live.
And I help you to thrive
like a plant in the field.
You grew up and became a beautiful jewel.
Your breasts became full, and your body
hair grew, but you were still naked.
And when I passed by again, I saw
that you were old enough for love.
So I wrapped my cloak around
you to cover your nakedness
and declared my marriage vows.
I made a covenant with you, says the
sovereign Lord, and you became mine.
I bathed you and washed off your blood
and I rubbed fragrant oils into your skin.
I gave you expensive clothing, a fine
linen and silk, beautifully embroidered
and sandals made a fine goat skin leather.
I gave you lovely jewelry bracelets,
beautiful necklaces, A ring for
your nose, earrings for your ears,
and a lovely crown for your head.
And so you were adorned
with gold and silver.
Your clothes were made a fine
linen and costly fabric and
were beautifully embroidered.
You ate the finest foods choice,
flour, honey and olive oil, and
became more beautiful than ever.
You looked like a queen, and so you were.
Your fame soon spread throughout
the world because of your beauty.
I dressed you in my splendor and perfected
your beauty, says the sovereign Lord.
But you thought your fame and beauty
were your own, so you gave yourself as a
prostitute to every man who came along.
Your beauty was theirs.
For the asking, you used the lovely
things I gave you to make shrines for
idols where you played the prostitute.
Unbelievable.
How could such a thing ever happen?
You took the very jewels and gold and
silver ornaments I have given you and
made statues of men and worshiped them.
This is adultery against me.
You used the beautifully embroidered
clothes I gave you to dress your idols.
Then you used my special oil
and my incense to worship them.
Imagine it.
You set before them as a sacrifice, the
choice, flour, olive oil, and honey.
I had given you.
Says the sovereign Lord.
Then you took your sons and daughters,
the children you had born to me
and sacrificed them to your gods.
Was your prostitution not enough?
Must you also slaughter my children
by sacrificing them to idols And all
your years of adultery into testable
sin, you have not once remembered the
days long ago when you lay naked in a
field kicking about in your own blood.
What sorrow awaits you,
says the sovereign Lord.
In addition to all your other
wickedness, you built a pagan
shrine and put altars to idols.
In every town square, on every street
corner, you defiled your beauty,
offering your body to every passerby
in an endless stream of prostitution.
Then you added lustful Egypt to
your lovers, provoking my anger
with your increasing promiscuity.
That is why I struck you with my
fist and reduced your boundaries.
I handed you over to your enemies,
the Philistines, and even they
were shocked by your lewd conduct.
You have prostituted yourself
with the Assyrians too.
It seems you can never find enough
new lovers and after your prostitution
there, you still were not satisfied.
You added to your lovers
by embracing Babylonia.
The land of merchants, but
you still weren't satisfied.
What a sick heart you have
says the sovereign Lord.
To do such things as these, acting like
a shameless prostitute, you build your
pagan shrines on every street corner and
your altars to idols in every square.
In fact, you have been worse than
a prostitute, so eager for sin that
you have not even demanded payment.
Yes, you are an adulterous wife who takes
in strangers instead of her own husband.
Prostitutes charge for
their services, but not you.
You give gifts to your lovers, bribing
them to come and have sex with you, so
you are the opposite of other prostitutes.
You pay your lovers instead of their
paying you, therefore you prostitute.
Listen to this message from the Lord.
This is what the sovereign Lord says.
You have poured out your
lust and exposed yourself in
prostitution to all your lovers.
And because you have worshiped detestable
idols and because you have slaughtered
your children as sacrifices to your
gods, this is what I am going to do.
I will gather together all your allies,
the lovers with whom you have sinned,
both those you loved and those you
hated, and I will strip you naked in
front of them so they can stare at you.
I will punish you for
your murder and adultery.
I will cover you with
blood in my jealous fury.
Then I will give you to these
many nations who are your lovers,
and they will destroy you.
They will knock down your pagan
shrines and the altars to your idols.
They will strip you and take your
beautiful jewels, leaving you stark naked.
They will band together in a mob to
stone you and cut you up with swords.
They will burn your homes and
punish you in front of many women.
I will stop your prostitution and end
your payments to your many lovers.
Then at last, my fury against you will be
spent and my jealous anger will subside.
I will be calm and will not
be angry with you anymore.
But first, because you have not
remembered your youth, but have angered
me by doing all these evil things.
I will fully repay you for all
of your sins, says a sovereign
Lord for you have added lewd
acts to all your detestable sins.
Everyone who makes up Proverbs will
say of you like mother, like daughter,
for your mother loathed, her husband
and her children, and so do you.
And you are exactly like your
sisters for they despise their
husbands and their children.
Truly, your mother was a hitite
and your father an amorite.
Your older sister was Samaria who
lived with her daughters in the north.
Your younger sister was Sodom who
lived with her daughters in the South.
But you have not merely
sinned as they did.
You quickly surpassed them in corruption,
as surely as I live, says the sovereign
Lord Sodom and her daughters were never
as wicked as you and your daughters.
Sodom sins were pride, gluttony,
and laziness, while the poor and
needy suffered outside her door,
she was proud and committed to
testable sins, so I wiped her out.
As you have seen, even Samaria
did not commit half your sins.
You have done far more detestable
things than your sisters ever did.
They seem righteous compared to you.
Shame on you.
Your sins are so terrible
that you make your sisters
seem righteous, even virtuous.
But someday I will restore the
fortunes of Sodom and Samaria,
and I will restore you too.
Then you will be truly ashamed of
everything you have done for your sins.
Make them feel good in comparison.
Yes, your sisters Sodom and Samaria
and all their people will be restored.
At that time, you also will be restored.
In your proud days, you held Sodom in
contempt, but now your greater wickedness
has been exposed to all the world, and
you are the one who is scorned by Edam
and all her neighbors and AB by Philistia.
This is your punishment
for all your lewdness and
detestable sins says the Lord.
Now this is what the sovereign Lord says.
I will give you what you deserve.
For you have taken your solemn vows
lightly by breaking your covenant, yet I
will remember the covenant I made with you
when you were young, and I will establish
an everlasting covenant with you.
Then you will remember with
shame all the evil you have done.
I will make your sisters Samaria and
Sodom to be your daughters, even though
they are not part of our covenant.
And I will reaffirm my covenant with you.
And you'll know that I am the Lord.
You'll remember your sins and
cover your mouth in silent Shame.
When I forgive you of all that you have
done, I, the sovereign Lord have spoken.
Then this message came to me
from the Lord, son of man.
Give this riddle and tell the
story to the people of Israel.
Give them this message
from the sovereign Lord.
A great eagle with broad
wings and long feathers.
Covered with many colored plumage.
Came to Lebanon.
He sees the top of a cedar tree
and plucked off its highest branch.
He carried it away to a
city filled with merchants.
He planted it in a city of traitors.
He also took a seedling from the
land and planted it in fertile soil.
He placed it beside a broad river,
or it could grow like a willow tree.
It took root there and grew
into a low spreading vine.
Its branches turned up toward the eagle
and its roots grew down into the ground.
It produced strong branches and put out
shoots, but then another great eagle
came with broad wings and full plumage.
So the vine now sent its roots and
branches toward him for water, even though
it was already planted in good soil.
And had plenty of water so it could
grow into a splendid vine and produce
rich leaves and luscious fruit.
So now the sovereign Lord asks,
will this vine grow and prosper?
No, I will pull it up, roots and all.
I will cut off its fruit and
let its leaves wither and die.
I will pull it up easily without
a strong arm or a large army, but
when the vine is transplanted.
Will it thrive?
No.
It will wither away.
When the east wind blows against it.
It will die in the same good
soil where it had grown so well.
Then this message came to me from
the Lord say to these rebels of
Israel, don't you understand the
meaning of this riddle of the eagles?
The king of Babylon came to
Jerusalem, took away her king and
princes, and brought them to Babylon.
He made a treaty with a member
of the royal family and forced
him to take an oath of loyalty.
He also exiled Israel's most influential
leaders so Israel would not become strong
again and revolt only by keeping her
treaty with Babylon could Israel survive.
Nevertheless, this man of Israel's
royal family rebelled against Babylon,
sending ambassadors to Egypt to
request a great army and many horses.
Can Israel break her sworn treaties
like that and get away with it?
No.
For as surely as I live says the
sovereign Lord, the King of Israel
will die in Babylon, the land of the
king who put him in power and whose
treaty he disregarded and broke.
Pharaoh and all his mighty army will
fail to help Israel when the King
of Babylon lays siege to Jerusalem
again and destroys many lives.
For the King of Israel
disregarded his treaty and
broke it after swearing to obey.
Therefore, he will not escape.
So this is what the sovereign Lord says.
As surely as I live, I will punish him
for breaking my covenant and disregarding
the solemn oath he made in my name.
I will throw my net over him
and capture him in my snare.
I will bring him to Babylon and put him
on trial for this treason against me.
And all his best warriors will be
killed in battle, and those who survive
will be scattered to the four winds.
Then you will know that
I, the Lord have spoken.
This is what the sovereign Lord says.
I will take a branch from the top of
a tall cedar and I will plant it on
the top of Israel's highest mountain.
It'll become a majestic cedar sending
forth its branches and producing seed.
Birds of every sort will nest in it,
finding shelter in the shade of its
branches and all the trees will know that
it is I the Lord who cuts the tall tree
down and makes the short tree grow tall.
It is I who makes the green tree wither
and gives the dead tree new life.
I the Lord have spoken
and I will do what I said.
Then another message
came to me from the Lord.
Why do you quote this proverb
concerning the land of Israel?
The parents have eaten sour grapes,
but their children's mouths pucker
at the taste, as surely as I
live, says the sovereign Lord.
You will not quote this proverb anymore
in Israel, for all the people are mined
to judge both parents and children alike.
And this is my rule.
The person whose sins
is the one who will die.
Suppose a certain man is righteous
and does what is just and right.
He does not feast in the mountains
before Israel's idols or worship them.
He does not commit adultery or
have intercourse with a woman
during her menstrual period.
He is a merciful creditor, not keeping the
items given as security by poor debtors.
He does not rob the poor, but
instead gives food to the hungry
and provides clothes for the needy.
He grants loans without interest,
stays away from injustice.
Is honest and fair when judging
others and faithfully obeys
my decrees and regulations.
Anyone who does these things is just and
will surely live, says the sovereign Lord.
But suppose that man has a son who
grows up to be a robber or murderer
and refuses to do what is right.
That son does all the evil
things his father would never do.
He worships idols on the mountains,
commits adultery, oppresses the poor, and
helpless steals from debtors by refusing
to let them redeem their security.
Worships idols, commits detestable sins
and lends money at excessive interest.
Should such a sinful person live, no,
he must die and must take full blame.
Suppose that sinful son in turn has a
son who sees his father's wickedness
and decides against that kind of life.
This son refuses to worship idols on the
mountains and does not commit adultery.
He does not exploit the poor, but instead
is fair to debtors and does not rob them.
He gives food to the hungry and
provides clothes for the needy.
He helps the poor, does not
lend money at interest and obeys
all my regulations and decrees.
Such a person will not die
because of his father's sins.
He will surely live, but the
father will die for his many sins.
For being cruel, robbing people, and doing
what was clearly wrong among his people.
What you ask, doesn't the child
pay for the parent's sins?
No.
For if the child does what is just
and right and keeps my decrees, that
child will surely live the person
whose sins is the one who will die.
The child will not be punished for
the parent's sins, and the parent will
not be punished for the child's sins.
Righteous people will be rewarded
for their own righteous behavior,
and wicked people will be
punished for their own wickedness.
But if wicked people turn away from
all their sins, And begin to obey my
decrees and do what is just and right.
They will surely live and not die.
All their past sins will be forgotten
and they will live because of the
righteous things they have done.
Do you think that, I like to see wicked
people die, says the sovereign Lord.
Of course not.
I want them to turn from
their wicked ways and live.
However, if righteous people turn
from their righteous behavior, I.
And start doing sinful things
and act like other sinners.
Should they be allowed to live?
No, of course not.
All their righteous acts will be forgotten
and they will die for their sins.
Yet you say the Lord
isn't doing what's right.
Listen to me.
Oh, people of Israel.
Am I the one not doing
what's right or is it you?
When righteous people turn from their
righteous behavior and start doing
sinful things, they will die for it.
Yes, they will die because
of their sinful deeds.
And if wicked people turn from
their wickedness, obey the law
and do what is just and right,
they will save their lives.
They will live because they fought it
over and decided to turn from their sins.
Such people will not die.
And yet the people of Israel keep saying
the Lord isn't doing what's right.
Oh, people of Israel, it is you who
are not doing what's right, not I.
Therefore, I will judge each of you.
Oh.
People of Israel, according to your
actions, says the sovereign Lord.
Repent and turn from your sins.
Don't let them destroy you.
Put all your rebellion behind you and find
yourselves a new heart and a new spirit.
For Why should you die?
O people of Israel?
I don't want you to die,
says the sovereign Lord.
Turn back and live.
Sing this funeral song
for the princes of Israel.
What is your mother?
A lioness among lions.
She laid down among the young
lions and reared her cubs.
She raised one of her cubs to
become a strong young lion.
He learned to hunt and devour
prey, and he became a man eater.
Then the nations heard about him
and he was trapped in their pit.
They let him away with
hooks to the land of Egypt.
When the lions saw that her hopes for him
were gone, she took another of her cubs
and taught him to be a strong young lion.
He prowled among the other lions and
stood out among them in his strength.
He learned to hunt and devour prey,
and he too became a man eater.
He demolished fortresses and
destroyed their towns and cities.
Their farms were desolated and
their crops were destroyed.
The land, and its people trembled
in fear when they heard him roar.
Then the armies of the nations attacked
him, surrounding him from every direction.
They threw a net over him and
captured him in their pit.
With hooks, they dragged him into a
cage and brought him before the king
of Babylon, they held him in captivity
so his voice could never again be
heard on the mountains of Israel.
Your mother was like a vine
planted by the water's edge.
It had lush green foliage.
Because of the abundant water,
its branches became strong, strong
enough to be a ruler scepter.
It grew very tall,
towering above all others.
It stood out because of its height
and its many lush branches, but
the vine was uprooted in fury
and thrown down to the ground.
The desert wind dried up its fruit and
tore off its strong branches so that
it withered and was destroyed by fire.
Now the vine is transplanted
to the wilderness where
the ground is hard and dry.
A fire has burst out from its
branches and devoured its fruit.
Its remaining limbs are not strong
enough to be a ruler scepter.
This is a funeral song and it will
be used in a funeral on August 14th.
During the seventh year of King Kin's
captivity, some of the leaders of Israel
came to request a message from the Lord.
They sat down in front of
me to wait for his reply.
Then this message came to me
from the Lord, son of man.
Tell the leaders of Israel this
is what the sovereign Lord says.
How dare you come to ask me for a message?
As surely as I live says the sovereign
Lord, I will tell you nothing.
Son of man.
Bring charges against
them and condemn them.
Make them realize how detestable the
sins of their ancestors really were.
Give them this message
from the sovereign Lord.
When I chose Israel, when I revealed
myself to the descendants of Jacob
in Egypt, I took a solemn oath that
I, the Lord would be their God.
I took a solemn oath that day that I would
bring them out of Egypt to a land I had
discovered and explored for them a good
land, a land flowing with milk and honey.
The best of all lands anywhere.
Then I said to them, each of
you get rid of the vile images.
You are so obsessed with.
Do not defile yourselves with the idols
of Egypt for I am the Lord your God.
But they rebelled against
me and would not listen.
They did not get rid of the vile
images they were obsessed with
or forsake the idols of Egypt.
Then I threatened to pour out my
fury on them to satisfy my anger
while they were still in Egypt.
I didn't do it for, I acted to
protect the honor of my name.
I would not allow shame to be brought
on my name among the surrounding
nations who saw me reveal myself by
bringing the Israelites out of Egypt.
So I brought them out of Egypt and
led them into the wilderness there.
I gave them my decrees and regulations
so they could find life by keeping them.
And I gave them my Sabbath days of
rest as a sign between them and me.
It was to remind them that I am the
Lord who had set them apart to be holy.
But the people of Israel rebelled
against me and they refused to obey
my decrees there in the wilderness.
They wouldn't obey my regulations even
though obedience would've given them life.
They also violated my Sabbath days.
So I threatened to pour out my fury
on them, and I made plans to utterly
consume them in the wilderness.
But again, I held back in order to
protect the honor of my name before
the nations who had seen my power
in bringing Israel out of Egypt.
But I took a solemn oath
against them in the wilderness.
I swore I would not bring them
into the land I had given them a
land flowing with milk and honey.
The most beautiful place on earth.
They had rejected my regulations,
refused to follow my decrees,
and violated my Sabbath days.
Their hearts were given to their idols.
Nevertheless, I took pity
on them and held back from
destroying them in the wilderness.
Then I warned their children not to
follow in their parents' footsteps,
defiling themselves with their idols.
I am the Lord your God.
I told them.
Follow my decrees, pay attention
to my regulations, and keep
my Sabbath days holy for.
They are assigned to remind you that
I am the Lord your God, but their
children too rebelled against me.
They refuse to keep my decrees and
follow my regulations even though
obedience would've given them life,
and they also violated my Sabbath days.
So again, I threatened to pour out
my fury on them in the wilderness.
Nevertheless, I withdrew my judgment
against them to protect the honor of my
name before the nations that had seen
my power in bringing them out of Egypt.
But I took a solemn oath
against them in the wilderness.
I swore I would scatter them
among all the nations because
they did not obey my regulations.
They scorned my decrees by violating
my Sabbath days and longing for
the idols of their ancestors.
I gave them over to worthless decrees and
regulations that would not lead to life.
I let them pollute themselves with
the very gifts I had given them, and
I allowed them to give their firstborn
children as offerings to their gods
so I might devastate them and remind
them that I alone am the Lord.
Therefore, son of man, give
the people of Israel this
message from the sovereign Lord.
Your ancestors continued to
blaspheme and betray me for when
I brought them into the land.
I had promised them.
They offered sacrifices on every
high hill and under every green
tree they saw, they roused my fury.
As they offered up
sacrifices to their gods.
They brought their perfumes
and incense and poured out
their liquid offerings to them.
I said to them, what is this
high place where you are going?
This kind of pagan shrine has been
called Bema High place ever since.
Therefore, give the people of Israel
this message from the sovereign Lord,
do you plan to pollute yourselves
just as your ancestors did?
Do you intend to keep prostituting
yourselves by worshiping vile
images for when you offer gifts
to them and give your little
children to be burned as sacrifices?
You continue to pollute
yourselves with idols to this day.
Should I allow you to ask
for a message from me?
Oh, people of Israel, as surely as
I live, says the sovereign Lord.
I will tell you nothing you say.
We want to be like the nations all around
us who serve idols of wood and stone, but
what you have in mind will never happen as
surely as I live says the sovereign Lord.
I will rule over you with
an iron fist in great anger.
And with awesome power and in anger, I
will reach out with my strong hand and
powerful arm and I will bring you back
from the lands where you are scattered.
I will bring you into the
wilderness of the nations.
And there I will judge you face-to-face.
I will judge you there just as
I did your ancestors and the
wilderness after bringing them out
of Egypt, says the sovereign Lord.
I will examine you carefully and hold
you to the terms of the covenant.
I will purge you of all those
who rebel and revolt against me.
I will bring them outta the countries
where they are in exile, but they
will never enter the land of Israel.
Then you will know that I am the Lord.
As for you, oh, people of Israel,
this is what the sovereign Lord says.
Go right ahead and worship your idols, but
sooner or later, you will obey me and will
stop bringing shame on my holy name by
worshiping idols for on my holy mountain.
The great mountain of Israel says
the sovereign Lord, the people
of Israel will someday worship
me, and I will accept them there.
I will require that you bring
me all your offerings and
choice, gifts and sacrifices.
When I bring you home from exile, you
will be like a pleasing sacrifice to
me, and I will display my holiness
through you as all the nations watch.
Then when I have brought you home
to the land I promised with a solemn
oath to give to your ancestors,
you will know that I am the Lord.
You'll look back on all the
ways you defiled yourselves and
will hate yourselves because
of the evil you have done.
You will know that I am the Lord oh
people of Israel, and I have honored
my name by treating you mercifully.
In spite of your wickedness, I
the sovereign Lord have spoken.
This concludes today's
immerse reading experience.
Thank you for joining us.