“Son of man, the inhabitants of these ruins in the land of Israel keep saying, ‘Abraham was only one, yet he inherited the land. Since we are many, the land is given to us as a possession.’
I will give to you and to your seed after you the land where you are an outsider —the whole land of Canaan—as an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.”
You found his heart faithful before You and made the covenant with him to give the land of the Canaanite, Hittite, Amorite, Perizzite, Jebusite and the Girgashite to his seed. You have fulfilled Your words, for You are righteous.
But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left some of the poorest of the people, who had nothing, behind in the land of Judah, and gave them vineyards and fields in that day.
Now all the commanders of the forces that were in the field—they and their men—heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam over the land, and had put him in charge of the men, and women and children, the poorest of the land who were not carried away captive to Babylon.
“Son of man, as for your kinsmen, your kinsmen, fellow exiles and the whole house of Israel—all of them—are those about whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem said, ‘Keep far away from Adonai! This land has been given to us for a possession!’”
Say this to them, thus says Adonai Elohim: ‘As I live, surely those who are in the ruins will fall by the sword. Whoever is in the open field I will give to the beasts to be devoured, and whoever is in the strongholds and in the caves will die of the plague.
“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to those shepherds, thus says Adonai Elohim: “Oy , shepherds of Israel who only take care of themselves! Should shepherds not take care of the sheep?
therefore, mountains of Israel, hear the word of Adonai, thus says Adonai Elohim to the mountains, the hills, the streams and the valleys, the desolate wastes and the cities that are forsaken, which have become prey and derision to the rest of the surrounding nations.
Her leaders give judgment for a bribe. Her priests give direction for a price. Her prophets practice divination for money. Yet they lean on Adonai by saying: “Is not Adonai in our midst? No calamity will come upon us!”
and do not think that you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father’! For I tell you that from these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.
Therefore produce fruits worthy of repentance; and don’t even begin to say among yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father’! For I tell you that from these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.
He gave him no inheritance in it—not even a foothold—yet He promised ‘to give it to him as a possession to him and to his descendants after him,’ even though he had no child.
Also he is the father of the circumcised, to those not only circumcised but also walking in the footsteps of the trust of our father Abraham before his circumcision.
When they are saying, “Shalom and safety,” sudden destruction comes upon them like a woman having birth pains in the womb—there is no way they will escape.