« | Ezekiel 7 | » |
1 And it happened, the Word of Jehovah came to me, saying,
2 And you, son of man, so says the Lord Jehovah to the land of Israel: An end! The end has come on the four corners of the land.
3 Now the end is on you, and I will send My anger on you and will judge you according to your ways, and will lay on you all your abominations.
4 And My eye shall not spare you, neither will I have pity. But I will repay your ways on you, and your abominations shall be in your midst; and you shall know that I am Jehovah.
5 So says the Lord Jehovah: An evil: Behold, an only evil has come!
6 An end has come, the end has come. It awakes against you; behold, it has come.
7 The encirclement has come to you, O dwellers of the land. The time has come, the day of tumult is near, and not a shout of the mountains.
8 And I will soon pour out My fury on you, and fulfill My anger on you. And I will judge you according to your ways, and will repay you for all your abominations.
9 And My eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity; I will repay you according to your ways and your abominations that are in your midst. And you shall know that I am Jehovah who strikes.
10 Behold the day! Behold, it has come; the encirclement has gone out; the rod has blossomed; pride has budded.
11 Violence has risen up for a rod of wickedness. None of them shall remain, nor of their multitude, nor of any of their riches; nor shall there be wailing for them.
12 The time has come; the day has arrived. Let not the buyer rejoice, nor the seller mourn; for wrath is on all her multitude.
13 For the seller shall not return to that which is sold, although they are still alive; for the vision to all her multitude shall not return, and a man shall not hold his life strong in iniquity.
14 They have blown the trumpet, even to make all ready; but none goes to the battle, for My wrath is on all her multitude.
15 The sword is outside, and the plague and the famine inside. He who is in the field shall die with the sword; and he in the city shall be devoured by famine and plague.
16 But if their fugitives shall escape, then they shall be like doves of the valleys on the mountains, all of them mourning, each one for his iniquity.
17 All hands shall be feeble, and all knees shall go weak as water.
18 They shall also gird on sackcloth, and trembling shall cover them; and shame shall be on all faces, and baldness on all heads.
19 They shall throw their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be an impure thing. Their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of Jehovah. They shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels; because their iniquity has become a stumbling-block for them.
20 And the beauty of His ornament, He set it in majesty. But they made the images of their abominations and of their hateful things in it; therefore I have put it to them as an impure thing.
21 And I will give it into the hands of the strangers for a prize, and to the wicked of the earth for a spoil; and they shall defile it.
22 I will also turn My face from them, and they shall defile My secret place; and violent ones shall enter into it and defile it.
23 Make a chain; for the land is full of bloody judgments, and the city is full of violence.
24 And I will bring the most evil of the nations, and they shall possess their houses. I will also make the pomp of the strong to cease; and their holy places shall be defiled.
25 Ruin comes; and they shall seek peace, but none shall be.
26 Disaster on disaster shall come, and rumor to rumor shall be. And they shall seek a vision from the prophet; but the law shall perish from the priest, and wisdom from the elders.
27 The king shall mourn, and the prince shall be clothed with despair, and the hands of the people of the land shall be troubled. I will do to them according to their way, and according to their judgments I will judge them; and they shall know that I am Jehovah.
The Modern King James Version (MKJV)
The Modern King James Version (MKJV) is a contemporary English translation of the Bible that aims to preserve the majesty and accuracy of the original King James Version (KJV) while updating its language for modern readers. Developed by Jay P. Green Sr. and first published in 1990, the MKJV seeks to maintain the literary beauty and doctrinal reliability of the KJV, making only necessary adjustments to archaic terms and phrases to enhance readability. This careful balance allows the MKJV to retain the classic feel of the KJV while making it more accessible to today’s audience.
One of the standout features of the MKJV is its commitment to formal equivalence, or word-for-word translation. The translators have meticulously preserved the structure and vocabulary of the KJV, only updating words and phrases that have become outdated or whose meanings have shifted over time. This approach ensures that the MKJV remains faithful to the original texts and maintains the theological and literary integrity of the KJV. By preserving the cadence and phrasing of the original, the MKJV offers a reading experience that is both familiar and refreshed for modern readers.
The MKJV also pays special attention to the textual basis of the translation. Like the KJV, it relies on the Textus Receptus for the New Testament and the Masoretic Text for the Old Testament. This adherence to traditional source texts underscores the MKJV’s commitment to continuity with the historic Christian tradition. The translation is designed to serve both devotional and scholarly purposes, providing a text that is suitable for study, teaching, and public reading in a variety of settings.
Despite its strengths, the Modern King James Version has faced some criticism. Some scholars and readers argue that the translation could benefit from a more extensive revision to fully embrace contemporary language, suggesting that the MKJV’s adherence to the structure and style of the KJV may still pose challenges for modern readers. Others appreciate the balance it strikes but note that it occupies a niche space, appealing primarily to those who have a strong attachment to the KJV. Nonetheless, the MKJV remains a respected and valued translation for those seeking a modern update of the KJV that honors its rich heritage and timeless message.