« | Ezekiel 39 | » |
1 "And you, son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal;
2 and I will turn you about and drive you forward, and bring you up from the uttermost parts of the north, and lead you against the mountains of Israel;
3 then I will strike your bow from your left hand, and will make your arrows drop out of your right hand.
4 You shall fall upon the mountains of Israel, you and all your hordes and the peoples that are with you; I will give you to birds of prey of every sort and to the wild beasts to be devoured.
5 You shall fall in the open field; for I have spoken, says the Lord GOD.
6 I will send fire on Magog and on those who dwell securely in the coastlands; and they shall know that I am the LORD.
7 "And my holy name I will make known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let my holy name be profaned any more; and the nations shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
8 Behold, it is coming and it will be brought about, says the Lord GOD. That is the day of which I have spoken.
9 "Then those who dwell in the cities of Israel will go forth and make fires of the weapons and burn them, shields and bucklers, bows and arrows, handpikes and spears, and they will make fires of them for seven years;
10 so that they will not need to take wood out of the field or cut down any out of the forests, for they will make their fires of the weapons; they will despoil those who despoiled them, and plunder those who plundered them, says the Lord GOD.
11 "On that day I will give to Gog a place for burial in Israel, the Valley of the Travelers east of the sea; it will block the travelers, for there Gog and all his multitude will be buried; it will be called the Valley of Hamongog.
12 For seven months the house of Israel will be burying them, in order to cleanse the land.
13 All the people of the land will bury them; and it will redound to their honor on the day that I show my glory, says the Lord GOD.
14 They will set apart men to pass through the land continually and bury those remaining upon the face of the land, so as to cleanse it; at the end of seven months they will make their search.
15 And when these pass through the land and any one sees a man's bone, then he shall set up a sign by it, till the buriers have buried it in the Valley of Hamongog.
16 (A city Hamonah is there also.) Thus shall they cleanse the land.
17 "As for you, son of man, thus says the Lord GOD: Speak to the birds of every sort and to all beasts of the field, `Assemble and come, gather from all sides to the sacrificial feast which I am preparing for you, a great sacrificial feast upon the mountains of Israel, and you shall eat flesh and drink blood.
18 You shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth -- of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bulls, all of them fatlings of Bashan.
19 And you shall eat fat till you are filled, and drink blood till you are drunk, at the sacrificial feast which I am preparing for you.
20 And you shall be filled at my table with horses and riders, with mighty men and all kinds of warriors,' says the Lord GOD.
21 "And I will set my glory among the nations; and all the nations shall see my judgment which I have executed, and my hand which I have laid on them.
22 The house of Israel shall know that I am the LORD their God, from that day forward.
23 And the nations shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity, because they dealt so treacherously with me that I hid my face from them and gave them into the hand of their adversaries, and they all fell by the sword.
24 I dealt with them according to their uncleanness and their transgressions, and hid my face from them.
25 "Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for my holy name.
26 They shall forget their shame, and all the treachery they have practiced against me, when they dwell securely in their land with none to make them afraid,
27 when I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them from their enemies' lands, and through them have vindicated my holiness in the sight of many nations.
28 Then they shall know that I am the LORD their God because I sent them into exile among the nations, and then gathered them into their own land. I will leave none of them remaining among the nations any more;
29 and I will not hide my face any more from them, when I pour out my Spirit upon the house of Israel, says the Lord GOD."
The Revised Standard Version (RSV)
The Revised Standard Version (RSV) is a widely respected English translation of the Bible that was first published in 1952 by the National Council of Churches. It was developed as a revision of the American Standard Version (ASV) of 1901, with the primary aim of providing a more accurate and readable text while retaining the literary qualities of its predecessor. The RSV sought to modernize the language of the ASV without sacrificing its faithfulness to the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek manuscripts, making it a significant milestone in the history of English Bible translations.
One of the key features of the RSV is its commitment to formal equivalence, or a word-for-word translation approach. This method ensures that the translation closely mirrors the structure and wording of the original texts, allowing readers to engage more directly with the biblical languages. The translators of the RSV were guided by the latest biblical scholarship of their time, and they endeavored to produce a text that was both accurate and elegant. This combination of precision and literary quality has made the RSV a popular choice for both academic study and liturgical use.
The RSV also stands out for its ecumenical appeal. It was one of the first translations to be accepted across a wide range of Christian denominations, including Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox traditions. This broad acceptance was partly due to the inclusive approach of the translation committee, which included scholars from various religious backgrounds. The RSV’s ecumenical nature helped it gain widespread usage in churches, seminaries, and universities, fostering a greater sense of unity among different Christian communities.
Despite its many strengths, the RSV has faced some criticism over the years. Some conservative scholars and readers have expressed concerns about certain translation choices, arguing that they reflect modernist theological perspectives. Additionally, the RSV’s use of archaic language in certain passages has been a point of contention for those seeking a more contemporary rendering of the Bible. Nonetheless, the Revised Standard Version remains a highly respected and influential translation, valued for its accuracy, literary excellence, and broad ecumenical acceptance. It continues to serve as a foundation for later revisions and translations, such as the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) and the English Standard Version (ESV).