בָּשָׂר

At the end of your life you will groan when your flesh and your body are spent,

A tranquil heart is life to the body, but envy rots the bones.

Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat.

I sought to cheer my body with wine and to embrace folly—my mind still guiding me with wisdom—until I could see what was worthwhile for men to do under heaven during the few days of their lives.

The fool folds his hands and consumes his own flesh.

Do not let your mouth cause your flesh to sin, and do not tell the messenger that your vow was a mistake. Why should God be angry with your words and destroy the work of your hands?

So banish sorrow from your heart, and cast off pain from your body, for youth and vigor are fleeting.

And by these, my son, be further warned: There is no end to the making of many books, and much study wearies the body.

They carve out what is on the right, but they are still hungry; they eat what is on the left, but they are still not satisfied. Each one devours the flesh of his own offspring.

The splendor of its forests and orchards, both soul and body, it will completely destroy, as a sickness consumes a man.

“In that day the splendor of Jacob will fade, and the fat of his body will waste away,

But look, there is joy and gladness, butchering of cattle and slaughtering of sheep, eating of meat and drinking of wine: “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!”

But the Egyptians are men, not God; their horses are flesh, not spirit. When the LORD stretches out His hand, the helper will stumble, and the one he helps will fall; both will perish together.

And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all humanity together will see it.” For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

A voice says, “Cry out!” And I asked, “What should I cry out?” “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flowers of the field.

He burns half of it in the fire, and he roasts meat on that half. He eats the roast and is satisfied. Indeed, he warms himself and says, “Ah! I am warm; I see the fire.”

And no one considers in his heart, no one has the knowledge or insight to say, “I burned half of it in the fire, and I baked bread on its coals; I roasted meat and I ate. Shall I make something detestable with the rest of it? Shall I bow down to a block of wood?”

I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh; they will be drunk on their own blood, as with wine. Then all mankind will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”

Isn’t it to share your bread with the hungry, to bring the poor and homeless into your home, to clothe the naked when you see him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

…sitting among the graves, spending nights in secret places, eating the meat of pigs and polluted broth from their bowls.

For by fire and by His sword, the LORD will execute judgment on all flesh, and many will be slain by the LORD.

“Those who consecrate and purify themselves to enter the groves—to follow one in the center of those who eat the flesh of swine and vermin and rats—will perish together,” declares the LORD.

From one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, all mankind will come to worship before Me,” says the LORD.

“As they go forth, they will see the corpses of the men who have rebelled against Me; for their worm will never die, their fire will never be quenched, and they will be a horror to all mankind.”

This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Add your burnt offerings to your other sacrifices and eat the meat yourselves!

What right has My beloved in My house, having carried out so many evil schemes? Can consecrated meat avert your doom? When you are wicked, then you rejoice.

Over all the barren heights in the wilderness the destroyers have come, for the sword of the LORD devours from one end of the earth to the other. No flesh has peace.

This is what the LORD says: “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind, who makes mere flesh his strength and turns his heart from the LORD.

I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and daughters, and they will eat one another’s flesh in the siege and distress inflicted on them by their enemies who seek their lives.’

The tumult will resound to the ends of the earth because the LORD brings a charge against the nations. He brings judgment on all mankind and puts the wicked to the sword,’” declares the LORD.

“Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is anything too difficult for Me?

But as for you, do you seek great things for yourself? Stop seeking! For I will bring disaster on every living creature, declares the LORD, but wherever you go, I will grant your life as a spoil of war.”

He has worn away my flesh and skin; He has shattered my bones.

“Ah, Lord GOD,” I said, “I have never defiled myself. From my youth until now I have not eaten anything found dead or mauled by wild beasts. No unclean meat has ever entered my mouth.”

Their entire bodies, including their backs, hands, and wings, were full of eyes all around, as were their four wheels.

They are saying, ‘Is not the time near to build houses? The city is the cooking pot, and we are the meat.’

Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: The slain you have laid within this city are the meat, and the city is the pot; but I will remove you from it.

The city will not be a pot for you, nor will you be the meat within it. I will judge you even to the borders of Israel.

And I will give them singleness of heart and put a new spirit within them; I will remove their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh,

You prostituted yourself with your lustful neighbors, the Egyptians, and increased your promiscuity to provoke Me to anger.

Then all people will see that I, the LORD, have kindled it; it will not be quenched.”

Because I will cut off both the righteous and the wicked, My sword will be unsheathed against everyone from south to north.

Then all flesh will know that I, the LORD, have taken My sword from its sheath, not to return it again.’

…and lusted after their lovers, whose genitals were like those of donkeys and whose emission was like that of stallions.

Pile on the logs and kindle the fire; cook the meat well and mix in the spices; let the bones be burned.