Formation Journal Reading Plan

11:1 Moreover the Spirit lifted me up, and brought me to the east gate of Yahweh’s house, which looks eastward: and see, at the door of the gate twenty-five men; and I saw in their midst Jaazaniah the son of Azzur, and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people.

11:2 He said to me, Son of man, these are the men who devise iniquity, and who give wicked counsel in this city;

11:3 who say, The time is not near to build houses: this is the caldron, and we are the meat.

11:4 Therefore prophesy against them, prophesy, son of man.

11:5 The Spirit of Yahweh fell on me, and he said to me, Speak, Thus says Yahweh: Thus you have said, house of Israel; for I know the things that come into your mind.

11:6 You have multiplied your slain in this city, and you have filled its streets with the slain.

11:7 Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: Your slain whom you have laid in its midst, they are the meat, and this is the caldron; but you shall be brought out of its midst.

11:8 You have feared the sword; and I will bring the sword on you, says the Lord Yahweh.

11:9 I will bring you forth out of its midst, and deliver you into the hands of strangers, and will execute judgments among you.

11:10 You shall fall by the sword; I will judge you in the border of Israel; and you shall know that I am Yahweh.

11:11 This shall not be your caldron, neither shall you be the meat in its midst; I will judge you in the border of Israel;

11:12 and you shall know that I am Yahweh: for you have not walked in my statutes, neither have you executed my ordinances, but have done after the ordinances of the nations that are around you.

11:13 It happened, when I prophesied, that Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died. Then fell I down on my face, and cried with a loud voice, and said, Ah Lord Yahweh! will you make a full end of the remnant of Israel?

11:14 The word of Yahweh came to me, saying,

11:15 Son of man, your brothers, even your brothers, the men of your relatives, and all the house of Israel, all of them, to whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, Go far away from Yahweh. This land has been given to us for a possession.

11:16 Therefore say, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: Whereas I have removed them far off among the nations, and whereas I have scattered them among the countries, yet will I be to them a sanctuary for a little while in the countries where they have come.

11:17 Therefore say, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: I will gather you from the peoples, and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.

11:18 They shall come there, and they shall take away all the detestable things of it and all its abominations from there.

11:19 I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh;

11:20 that they may walk in my statutes, and keep my ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.

11:21 But as for them whose heart walks after the heart of their detestable things and their abominations, I will bring their way on their own heads, says the Lord Yahweh.

11:22 Then the cherubim lifted up their wings, and the wheels were beside them; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above.

11:23 The glory of Yahweh went up from the midst of the city, and stood on the mountain which is on the east side of the city.

11:24 The Spirit lifted me up, and brought me in the vision by the Spirit of God into Chaldea, to them of the captivity. So the vision that I had seen went up from me.

11:25 Then I spoke to them of the captivity all the things that Yahweh had shown me.

12:1 The word of Yahweh also came to me, saying,

12:2 Son of man, you dwell in the midst of the rebellious house, who have eyes to see, and don’t see, who have ears to hear, and don’t hear; for they are a rebellious house.

12:3 Therefore, you son of man, prepare your stuff for moving, and move by day in their sight; and you shall move from your place to another place in their sight: it may be they will consider, though they are a rebellious house.

12:4 You shall bring forth your stuff by day in their sight, as stuff for moving; and you shall go forth yourself at even in their sight, as when men go forth into exile.

12:5 Dig through the wall in their sight, and carry your stuff out that way.

12:6 In their sight you shall bear it on your shoulder, and carry it forth in the dark; you shall cover your face, so that you don’t see the land: for I have set you for a sign to the house of Israel.

12:7 I did so as I was commanded: I brought forth my stuff by day, as stuff for removing, and in the even I dug through the wall with my hand; I brought it forth in the dark, and bore it on my shoulder in their sight.

12:8 In the morning came the word of Yahweh to me, saying,

12:9 Son of man, has not the house of Israel, the rebellious house, said to you, What are you doing?

12:10 Say to them, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: This burden concerns the prince in Jerusalem, and all the house of Israel among whom they are.

12:11 Say, I am your sign: like as I have done, so shall it be done to them; they shall go into exile, into captivity.

12:12 The prince who is among them shall bear on his shoulder in the dark, and shall go forth: they shall dig through the wall to carry out thereby: he shall cover his face, because he shall not see the land with his eyes.

12:13 My net also will I spread on him, and he shall be taken in my snare; and I will bring him to Babylon to the land of the Chaldeans; yet shall he not see it, though he shall die there.

12:14 I will scatter toward every wind all who are around him to help him, and all his bands; and I will draw out the sword after them.

12:15 They shall know that I am Yahweh, when I shall disperse them among the nations, and scatter them through the countries.

12:16 But I will leave a few men of them from the sword, from the famine, and from the pestilence; that they may declare all their abominations among the nations where they come; and they shall know that I am Yahweh.

12:17 Moreover the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,

12:18 Son of man, eat your bread with quaking, and drink your water with trembling and with fearfulness;

12:19 and tell the people of the land, Thus says the Lord Yahweh concerning the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the land of Israel: They shall eat their bread with fearfulness, and drink their water in dismay, that her land may be desolate, and all that is therein, because of the violence of all those who dwell therein.

12:20 The cities that are inhabited shall be laid waste, and the land shall be a desolation; and you shall know that I am Yahweh.

12:21 The word of Yahweh came to me, saying,

12:22 Son of man, what is this proverb that you have in the land of Israel, saying, The days are prolonged, and every vision fails?

12:23 Tell them therefore, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: I will make this proverb to cease, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel; but tell them, The days are at hand, and the fulfillment of every vision.

12:24 For there shall be no more any false vision nor flattering divination within the house of Israel.

12:25 For I am Yahweh; I will speak, and the word that I shall speak shall be performed; it shall be no more deferred: for in your days, rebellious house, will I speak the word, and will perform it, says the Lord Yahweh.

12:26 Again the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,

12:27 Son of man, behold, they of the house of Israel say, The vision that he sees is for many day to come, and he prophesies of times that are far off.

12:28 Therefore tell them, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: None of my words shall be deferred any more, but the word which I shall speak shall be performed, says the Lord Yahweh.

139:13 For you formed my inmost being. You knit me together in my mother’s womb.

139:14 I will give thanks to you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful. My soul knows that very well.

139:15 My frame wasn’t hidden from you, when I was made in secret, woven together in the depths of the earth.

139:16 Your eyes saw my body. In your book they were all written, the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there were none of them.

139:17 How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is their sum!

139:18 If I would count them, they are more in number than the sand. When I wake up, I am still with you.

139:19 If only you, God, would kill the wicked. Get away from me, you bloodthirsty men!

139:20 For they speak against you wickedly. Your enemies take your name in vain.

139:21 Yahweh, don’t I hate those who hate you? Am I not grieved with those who rise up against you?

139:22 I hate them with perfect hatred. They have become my enemies.

139:23 Search me, God, and know my heart. Try me, and know my thoughts.

139:24 See if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way.

11:1 Now faith is assurance of things hoped for, proof of things not seen.

11:2 For by this, the elders obtained testimony.

11:3 By faith, we understand that the universe has been framed by the word of God, so that what is seen has not been made out of things which are visible.

11:4 By faith, Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he had testimony given to him that he was righteous, God testifying with respect to his gifts; and through it he, being dead, still speaks.

11:5 By faith, Enoch was taken away, so that he wouldn’t see death, and he was not found, because God translated him. For he has had testimony given to him that before his translation he had been well pleasing to God.

11:6 Without faith it is impossible to be well pleasing to him, for he who comes to God must believe that he exists, and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him.

11:7 By faith, Noah, being warned about things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared a ship for the saving of his house, through which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.

11:8 By faith, Abraham, when he was called, obeyed to go out to the place which he was to receive for an inheritance. He went out, not knowing where he went.

11:9 By faith, he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a land not his own, dwelling in tents, with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise.

11:10 For he looked for the city which has the foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

11:11 By faith, even Sarah herself received power to conceive, and she bore a child when she was past age, since she counted him faithful who had promised.

11:12 Therefore as many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as innumerable as the sand which is by the sea shore, were fathered by one man, and him as good as dead.

11:13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them and embraced them from afar, and having confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

11:14 For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own.

11:15 If indeed they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had enough time to return.

11:16 But now they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed of them, to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

11:17 By faith, Abraham, being tested, offered up Isaac. Yes, he who had gladly received the promises was offering up his one and only son;

11:18 even he to whom it was said, “In Isaac will your seed be called;”

11:19 concluding that God is able to raise up even from the dead. Figuratively speaking, he also did receive him back from the dead.

11:20 By faith, Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even concerning things to come.

11:21 By faith, Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff.

11:22 By faith, Joseph, when his end was near, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel; and gave instructions concerning his bones.

11:23 By faith, Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that he was a beautiful child, and they were not afraid of the king’s commandment.

11:24 By faith, Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter,

11:25 choosing rather to share ill treatment with God’s people, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a time;

11:26 accounting the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he looked to the reward.

11:27 By faith, he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.

11:28 By faith, he kept the Passover, and the sprinkling of the blood, that the destroyer of the firstborn should not touch them.

11:29 By faith, they passed through the Red Sea as on dry land. When the Egyptians tried to do so, they were swallowed up.

11:30 By faith, the walls of Jericho fell down, after they had been encircled for seven days.

11:31 By faith, Rahab the prostitute, didn’t perish with those who were disobedient, having received the spies in peace.

11:32 What more shall I say? For the time would fail me if I told of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets;

11:33 who, through faith subdued kingdoms, worked out righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,

11:34 quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, grew mighty in war, and caused foreign armies to flee.

11:35 Women received their dead by resurrection. Others were tortured, not accepting their deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection.

11:36 Others were tried by mocking and scourging, yes, moreover by bonds and imprisonment.

11:37 They were stoned. They were sawn apart. They were tempted. They were slain with the sword. They went around in sheep skins and in goat skins; being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated

11:38 (of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts, mountains, caves, and the holes of the earth.

11:39 These all, having had testimony given to them through their faith, didn’t receive the promise,

11:40 God having provided some better thing concerning us, so that apart from us they should not be made perfect.

12:1 Therefore let us also, seeing we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

12:2 looking to Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising its shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

12:3 For consider him who has endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, that you don’t grow weary, fainting in your souls.