Study Desk

They do not lie beside the graves of the powerful men of long ago, who went down to the place of the dead with their swords of war, whose swords were laid under their heads. But the punishment for their sin rested on their bones. For the fear of these powerful men was once in the land of the living.

"When Pharaoh and his army see them, they will be comforted for all his people who were killed by the sword," says the Lord God.

"Son of man, speak to the children of your people. Say to them, ‘If I bring a sword upon a land, and the people of the land choose one of their men to keep watch for them,

then if anyone hears the horn and does not take care, and a sword comes and kills him, he will be to blame for his own death.

He heard the sound of the horn, but did not worry about the danger. He will be to blame for his own death. If he had been careful, he would have saved his life.

"Son of man, I have chosen you as a watchman for the people of Israel. So when I give you the word, you must tell them of the danger.

When I tell a sinful man that he will die for sure, and you do not speak to him about the danger of his way, that sinful man will die in his sin. But your blood must be given.

When I tell the man who is right and good that he will live, and he trusts in his good ways so much that he sins, none of his good works will be remembered. He will die for the sin he has done.

if he gives back what a person gave him as trust for a promise, pays back what he had stolen, follows the Laws that give life and does not sin, he will live for sure. He will not die.

None of the sins he has done will be remembered against him. He has done what is right and good, and he will live for sure.

When the right and good man turns from his good way and sins, he will die for it.

"Son of man, the people who live in these waste places in the land of Israel are saying, ‘Abraham was only one man, yet he owned the land. But we are many, and for sure the land has been given to us.'

"As for you, son of man, your people are talking to each other about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses. They are saying, ‘Come and hear the word that has come from the Lord.'

They think of you as nothing more than one who sings love songs with a beautiful voice and plays music well. For they hear what you say, but they will not do it.

"Son of man, speak against the shepherds of Israel. Speak in My name and tell those shepherds, ‘The Lord God says, "It is bad for the shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flock?

You have not given strength to the weak ones. You have not healed the sick. You have not helped the ones that are hurt. You have not brought back those that have gone away. And you have not looked for the lost. But you have ruled them with power and without pity.

They went everywhere because they had no shepherd. And they became food for every animal of the field.

My flock went many different ways through all the mountains and on every high hill. My sheep were spread over all the earth, and there was no one looking for them."'"

"As I live," says the Lord God, "My flock has been killed and become food for wild animals because they had no shepherd. My shepherds did not look for My flock. They fed themselves, but have not fed My flock."

The Lord God says, "I am against the shepherds, and I will ask them for My sheep. I will stop them from feeding the sheep, so they will no longer be able to feed themselves. I will save my sheep from their mouths, so that they will no longer be food for them."