« | Ezekiel 7 | » |
1 The word of the LORD came to me:
2 "And you, O son of man, thus says the Lord GOD to the land of Israel: An end! The end has come upon the four corners of the land.
3 Now the end is upon you, and I will let loose my anger upon you, and will judge you according to your ways; and I will punish you for all your abominations.
4 And my eye will not spare you, nor will I have pity; but I will punish you for your ways, while your abominations are in your midst. Then you will know that I am the LORD.
5 "Thus says the Lord GOD: Disaster after disaster! Behold, it comes.
6 An end has come, the end has come; it has awakened against you. Behold, it comes.
7 Your doom has come to you, O inhabitant of the land; the time has come, the day is near, a day of tumult, and not of joyful shouting upon the mountains.
8 Now I will soon pour out my wrath upon you, and spend my anger against you, and judge you according to your ways; and I will punish you for all your abominations.
9 And my eye will not spare, nor will I have pity; I will punish you according to your ways, while your abominations are in your midst. Then you will know that I am the LORD, who smite.
10 "Behold, the day! Behold, it comes! Your doom has come, injustice has blossomed, pride has budded.
11 Violence has grown up into a rod of wickedness; none of them shall remain, nor their abundance, nor their wealth; neither shall there be preeminence among them.
12 The time has come, the day draws near. Let not the buyer rejoice, nor the seller mourn, for wrath is upon all their multitude.
13 For the seller shall not return to what he has sold, while they live. For wrath is upon all their multitude; it shall not turn back; and because of his iniquity, none can maintain his life.
14 "They have blown the trumpet and made all ready; but none goes to battle, for my wrath is upon all their multitude.
15 The sword is without, pestilence and famine are within; he that is in the field dies by the sword; and him that is in the city famine and pestilence devour.
16 And if any survivors escape, they will be on the mountains, like doves of the valleys, all of them moaning, every one over his iniquity.
17 All hands are feeble, and all knees weak as water.
18 They gird themselves with sackcloth, and horror covers them; shame is upon all faces, and baldness on all their heads.
19 They cast their silver into the streets, and their gold is like an unclean thing; their silver and gold are not able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD; they cannot satisfy their hunger or fill their stomachs with it. For it was the stumbling block of their iniquity.
20 Their beautiful ornament they used for vainglory, and they made their abominable images and their detestable things of it; therefore I will make it an unclean thing to them.
21 And I will give it into the hands of foreigners for a prey, and to the wicked of the earth for a spoil; and they shall profane it.
22 I will turn my face from them, that they may profane my precious place; robbers shall enter and profane it,
23 and make a desolation. "Because the land is full of bloody crimes and the city is full of violence,
24 I will bring the worst of the nations to take possession of their houses; I will put an end to their proud might, and their holy places shall be profaned.
25 When anguish comes, they will seek peace, but there shall be none.
26 Disaster comes upon disaster, rumor follows rumor; they seek a vision from the prophet, but the law perishes from the priest, and counsel from the elders.
27 The king mourns, the prince is wrapped in despair, and the hands of the people of the land are palsied by terror. According to their way I will do to them, and according to their own judgments I will judge them; and they shall know that I am the LORD."
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).