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"Mortal man," he said, "tell the Israelites a parable
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to let them know what I, the Sovereign LORD, am saying to them: There was a giant eagle with beautiful feathers and huge wings, spread wide. He flew to the Lebanon Mountains and broke off the top of a cedar tree,
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which he carried to a land of commerce and placed in a city of merchants.
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Then he took a young plant from the land of Israel and planted it in a fertile field, where there was always water to make it grow.
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The plant sprouted and became a low, wide-spreading grapevine. The branches grew upward toward the eagle, and the roots grew deep. The vine was covered with branches and leaves.
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"There was another giant eagle with huge wings and thick plumage. And now the vine sent its roots toward him and turned its leaves toward him, in the hope that he would give it more water than there was in the garden where it was growing.
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But the vine had already been planted in a fertile, well-watered field so that it could grow leaves and bear grapes and be a magnificent vine.
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"So I, the Sovereign LORD, ask: Will this vine live and grow? Won't the first eagle pull it up by its roots, pull off the grapes, and break off the branches and let them wither? It will not take much strength or a mighty nation to pull it up.
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Yes, it is planted, but will it live and grow? Won't it wither when the east wind strikes it? Won't it wither there where it is growing?"
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"Ask these rebels if they know what the parable means. Tell them that the king of Babylonia came to Jerusalem and took the king and his officials back with him to Babylonia.
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He took one of the king's family, made a treaty with him, and made him swear to be loyal. He took important men as hostages
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to keep the nation from rising again and to make sure that the treaty would be kept.
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But the king of Judah rebelled and sent agents to Egypt to get horses and a large army. Will he succeed? Can he get away with that? He cannot break the treaty and go unpunished!
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"As surely as I am the living God," says the Sovereign LORD, "this king will die in Babylonia because he broke his oath and the treaty he had made with the king of Babylonia, who put him on the throne.
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Even the powerful army of the king of Egypt will not be able to help him fight when the Babylonians build earthworks and dig trenches in order to kill many people.
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He broke his oath and the treaty he had made. He did all these things, and now he will not escape."
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The Sovereign LORD says, "As surely as I am the living God, I will punish him for breaking the treaty which he swore in my name to keep.
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I will spread out a hunter's net and catch him in it. I will take him to Babylonia and punish him there, because he was unfaithful to me.
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His best soldiers will be killed in battle, and the survivors will be scattered in every direction. Then you will know that I, the LORD, have spoken."
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This is what the Sovereign LORD says: "I will take the top of a tall cedar and break off a tender sprout; I will plant it on a high mountain,
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on Israel's highest mountain. It will grow branches and bear seed and become a magnificent cedar. Birds of every kind will live there and find shelter in its shade.
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All the trees in the land will know that I am the LORD. I cut down the tall trees and make small trees grow tall. I wither up the green trees and make the dry trees become green. I, the LORD, have spoken. I will do what I have said I would do."
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and said, "What is this proverb people keep repeating in the land of Israel? 'The parents ate the sour grapes, But the children got the sour taste.'
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"As surely as I am the living God," says the Sovereign LORD, "you will not repeat this proverb in Israel any more.
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The life of every person belongs to me, the life of the parent as well as that of the child. The person who sins is the one who will die.
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"Suppose there is a truly good man, righteous and honest.
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He doesn't worship the idols of the Israelites or eat the sacrifices offered at forbidden shrines. He doesn't seduce another man's wife or have intercourse with a woman during her period.
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He doesn't cheat or rob anyone. He returns what a borrower gives him as security; he feeds the hungry and gives clothing to the naked.
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He doesn't lend money for profit. He refuses to do evil and gives an honest decision in any dispute.
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Such a man obeys my commands and carefully keeps my laws. He is righteous, and he will live," says the Sovereign LORD.
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"Then suppose this man has a son who robs and kills, who does any of these things
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that the father never did. He eats sacrifices offered at forbidden shrines and seduces other men's wives.
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He cheats the poor, he robs, he keeps what a borrower gives him as security. He goes to pagan shrines, worships disgusting idols,
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and lends money for profit. Will he live? No, he will not. He has done all these disgusting things, and so he will die. He will be to blame for his own death.
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"Now suppose this second man has a son. He sees all the sins his father practiced, but does not follow his example.
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He doesn't worship the idols of the Israelites or eat the sacrifices offered at forbidden shrines. He doesn't seduce another man's wife
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or oppress anyone or rob anyone. He returns what a borrower gives him as security. He feeds the hungry and gives clothing to the naked.
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He refuses to do evil and doesn't lend money for profit. He keeps my laws and obeys my commands. He will not die because of his father's sins, but he will certainly live.
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His father, on the other hand, cheated and robbed and always did evil to everyone. And so he died because of the sins he himself had committed.
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"But you ask, 'Why shouldn't the son suffer because of his father's sins?' The answer is that the son did what was right and good. He kept my laws and followed them carefully, and so he will certainly live.
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It is the one who sins who will die. A son is not to suffer because of his father's sins, nor a father because of the sins of his son. Good people will be rewarded for doing good, and evil people will suffer for the evil they do.
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"If someone evil stops sinning and keeps my laws, if he does what is right and good, he will not die; he will certainly live.
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All his sins will be forgiven, and he will live, because he did what is right.
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Do you think I enjoy seeing evil people die?" asks the Sovereign LORD. "No, I would rather see them repent and live.
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"But if a righteous person stops doing good and starts doing all the evil, disgusting things that evil people do, will he go on living? No! None of the good he did will be remembered. He will die because of his unfaithfulness and his sins.
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"But you say, 'What the Lord does isn't right.' Listen to me, you Israelites. Do you think my way of doing things isn't right? It is your way that isn't right.
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When a righteous person stops doing good and starts doing evil and then dies, he dies because of the evil he has done.
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When someone evil stops sinning and does what is right and good, he saves his life.
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He realizes what he is doing and stops sinning, so he will certainly not die, but go on living.
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And you Israelites say, 'What the Lord does isn't right.' You think my way isn't right, do you? It is your way that isn't right.
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"Now I, the Sovereign LORD, am telling you Israelites that I will judge each of you by what you have done. Turn away from all the evil you are doing, and don't let your sin destroy you.
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Give up all the evil you have been doing, and get yourselves new minds and hearts. Why do you Israelites want to die?
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I do not want anyone to die," says the Sovereign LORD. "Turn away from your sins and live."
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The LORD told me to sing this song of sorrow for two princes of Israel:
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What a lioness your mother was! She raised her cubs among the fierce male lions.
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She raised a cub and taught him to hunt; he learned to eat people.
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The nations heard about him and trapped him in a pit. With hooks they dragged him off to Egypt.
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She waited until she saw all hope was gone. Then she raised another of her cubs, and he grew into a fierce lion.
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When he was full-grown, he prowled with the other lions. He too learned to hunt and eat people.
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He wrecked forts, he ruined towns. The people of the land were terrified every time he roared.
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The nations gathered to fight him; people came from everywhere. They spread their hunting nets and caught him in their trap.
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They put him in a cage and took him to the king of Babylonia. They kept him under guard, so that his roar would never be heard again on the hills of Israel.
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Your mother was like a grapevine planted near a stream. Because there was plenty of water, the vine was covered with leaves and fruit.
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Its branches were strong and grew to be royal scepters. The vine grew tall enough to reach the clouds; everyone saw how leafy and tall it was.
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But angry hands pulled it up by the roots and threw it to the ground. The east wind dried up its fruit. Its branches were broken off; they dried up and were burned.
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Now it is planted in the desert, in a dry and waterless land.
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The stem of the vine caught fire; fire burned up its branches and fruit. The branches will never again be strong, will never be royal scepters. This is a song of sorrow; it has been sung again and again.
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After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds so that no wind should blow on the earth or the sea or against any tree.
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And I saw another angel coming up from the east with the seal of the living God. He called out in a loud voice to the four angels to whom God had given the power to damage the earth and the sea.
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The angel said, "Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees, until we mark the servants of our God with a seal on their foreheads."
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And I was told that the number of those who were marked with God's seal on their foreheads was 144,000. They were from the twelve tribes of Israel,
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twelve thousand from each tribe: Judah, Reuben, Gad, Asher, Naphtali, Manasseh, Simeon, Levi, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, and Benjamin.
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After this I looked, and there was an enormous crowd---no one could count all the people! They were from every race, tribe, nation, and language, and they stood in front of the throne and of the Lamb, dressed in white robes and holding palm branches in their hands.
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They called out in a loud voice: "Salvation comes from our God, who sits on the throne, and from the Lamb!"
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All the angels stood around the throne, the elders, and the four living creatures. Then they threw themselves face downward in front of the throne and worshiped God,
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saying, "Amen! Praise, glory, wisdom, thanksgiving, honor, power, and might belong to our God forever and ever! Amen!"
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One of the elders asked me, "Who are these people dressed in white robes, and where do they come from?"
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"I don't know, sir. You do," I answered. He said to me, "These are the people who have come safely through the terrible persecution. They have washed their robes and made them white with the blood of the Lamb.
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That is why they stand before God's throne and serve him day and night in his temple. He who sits on the throne will protect them with his presence.
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Never again will they hunger or thirst; neither sun nor any scorching heat will burn them,
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because the Lamb, who is in the center of the throne, will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of life-giving water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."
