Ezekiel 24-42

New King James Version

Symbol of the Cooking Pot^(A)

24 Again, in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, write down the name of the day, this very day—the king of Babylon started his siege against Jerusalem ^(B)this very day. ^3 (C)And utter a parable to the rebellious house, and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God:

⁶ ‘Therefore thus says the Lord God:

⁹ ‘Therefore thus says the Lord God:

The Prophet’s Wife Dies

¹⁵ Also the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹⁶ “Son of man, behold, I take away from you the desire of your eyes with one stroke; yet you shall ^(Q)neither mourn nor weep, nor shall your tears run down. ¹⁷ Sigh in silence, ^(R)make no mourning for the dead; ^(S)bind your turban on your head, and ^(T)put your sandals on your feet; ^(U)do not cover your ^[f]lips, and do not eat man’s bread of sorrow.”

¹⁸ So I spoke to the people in the morning, and at evening my wife died; and the next morning I did as I was commanded.

¹⁹ And the people said to me, ^(V)“Will you not tell us what these things signify to us, that you behave so?”

²⁰ Then I answered them, “The word of the Lord came to me, saying, ²¹ ‘Speak to the house of Israel, “Thus says the Lord God: ‘Behold, ^(W)I will profane My sanctuary, ^[g]your arrogant boast, the desire of your eyes, the ^[h]delight of your soul; ^(X)and your sons and daughters whom you left behind shall fall by the sword. ²² And you shall do as I have done; ^(Y)you shall not cover your ^[i]lips nor eat man’s bread of sorrow. ²³ Your turbans shall be on your heads and your sandals on your feet; ^(Z)you shall neither mourn nor weep, but ^(AA)you shall pine away in your iniquities and mourn with one another. ²⁴ Thus ^(AB)Ezekiel is a sign to you; according to all that he has done you shall do; ^(AC)and when this comes, ^(AD)you shall know that I am the Lord God.’ ”

²⁵ ‘And you, son of man—will it not be in the day when I take from them ^(AE)their stronghold, their joy and their glory, the desire of their eyes, and ^[j]that on which they set their minds, their sons and their daughters: ²⁶ that on that day ^(AF)one who escapes will come to you to let you hear it with your ears? ^27 (AG)On that day your mouth will be opened to him who has escaped; you shall speak and no longer be mute. Thus you will be a sign to them, and they shall know that I am the Lord.’ ”

Proclamation Against Ammon

25 The word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, ^(AH)set your face ^(AI)against the Ammonites, and prophesy against them. ³ Say to the Ammonites, ‘Hear the word of the Lord God! Thus says the Lord God: ^(AJ)“Because you said, ‘Aha!’ against My sanctuary when it was profaned, and against the land of Israel when it was desolate, and against the house of Judah when they went into captivity, ⁴ indeed, therefore, I will deliver you as a possession to the ^[k]men of the East, and they shall set their encampments among you and make their dwellings among you; they shall eat your fruit, and they shall drink your milk. ⁵ And I will make ^(AK)Rabbah ^(AL)a stable for camels and Ammon a resting place for flocks. ^(AM)Then you shall know that I am the Lord.”

⁶ ‘For thus says the Lord God: “Because you ^(AN)clapped your hands, stamped your feet, and ^(AO)rejoiced in heart with all your disdain for the land of Israel, ⁷ indeed, therefore, I will ^(AP)stretch out My hand against you, and give you as plunder to the nations; I will cut you off from the peoples, and I will cause you to perish from the countries; I will destroy you, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”

Proclamation Against Moab

⁸ ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Because ^(AQ)Moab and ^(AR)Seir say, ‘Look! The house of Judah is like all the nations,’ ⁹ therefore, behold, I will clear the territory of Moab of cities, of the cities on its frontier, the glory of the country, Beth Jeshimoth, Baal Meon, and ^(AS)Kirjathaim. ^10 (AT)To the men of the East I will give it as a possession, together with the Ammonites, that the Ammonites ^(AU)may not be remembered among the nations. ¹¹ And I will execute judgments upon Moab, and they shall know that I am the Lord.”

Proclamation Against Edom

¹² ‘Thus says the Lord God: ^(AV)“Because of what Edom did against the house of Judah by taking vengeance, and has greatly offended by avenging itself on them,” ¹³ therefore thus says the Lord God: “I will also stretch out My hand against Edom, cut off man and beast from it, and make it desolate from Teman; ^[l]Dedan shall fall by the sword. ^14 (AW)I will lay My vengeance on Edom by the hand of My people Israel, that they may do in Edom according to My anger and according to My fury; and they shall know My vengeance,” says the Lord God.

Proclamation Against Philistia

¹⁵ ‘Thus says the Lord God: ^(AX)“Because ^(AY)the Philistines dealt vengefully and took vengeance with ^[m]a spiteful heart, to destroy because of the ^[n]old hatred,” ¹⁶ therefore thus says the Lord God: ^(AZ)“I will stretch out My hand against the Philistines, and I will cut off the ^(BA)Cherethites ^(BB)and destroy the remnant of the seacoast. ¹⁷ I will ^(BC)execute great vengeance on them with furious rebukes; ^(BD)and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I lay My vengeance upon them.” ’ ”

Proclamation Against Tyre

26 And it came to pass in the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, that the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, ^(BE)because Tyre has said against Jerusalem, ^(BF)‘Aha! She is broken who was the gateway of the peoples; now she is turned over to me; I shall be filled; she is laid waste.’

³ “Therefore thus says the Lord God: ‘Behold, I am against you, O Tyre, and will cause many nations to come up against you, as the sea causes its waves to come up. ⁴ And they shall destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers; I will also scrape her dust from her, and ^(BG)make her like the top of a rock. ⁵ It shall be a place for spreading nets ^(BH)in the midst of the sea, for I have spoken,’ says the Lord God; ‘it shall become plunder for the nations. ⁶ Also her daughter villages which are in the fields shall be slain by the sword. ^(BI)Then they shall know that I am the Lord.’

⁷ “For thus says the Lord God: ‘Behold, I will bring against Tyre from the north ^(BJ)Nebuchadnezzar^[o] king of Babylon, ^(BK)king of kings, with horses, with chariots, and with horsemen, and an army with many people. ⁸ He will slay with the sword your daughter villages in the fields; he will ^(BL)heap up a siege mound against you, build a wall against you, and raise a ^[p]defense against you. ⁹ He will direct his battering rams against your walls, and with his axes he will break down your towers. ¹⁰ Because of the abundance of his horses, their dust will cover you; your walls will shake at the noise of the horsemen, the wagons, and the chariots, when he enters your gates, as men enter a city that has been breached. ¹¹ With the hooves of his ^(BM)horses he will trample all your streets; he will slay your people by the sword, and your strong pillars will fall to the ground. ¹² They will plunder your riches and pillage your merchandise; they will break down your walls and destroy your pleasant houses; they will lay your stones, your timber, and your soil in the ^(BN)midst of the water. ^13 (BO)I will put an end to the sound of ^(BP)your songs, and the sound of your harps shall be heard no more. ^14 (BQ)I will make you like the top of a rock; you shall be a place for spreading nets, and you shall never be rebuilt, for I the Lord have spoken,’ says the Lord God.

¹⁵ “Thus says the Lord God to Tyre: ‘Will the coastlands not ^(BR)shake at the sound of your fall, when the wounded cry, when slaughter is made in the midst of you? ¹⁶ Then all the ^(BS)princes of the sea will ^(BT)come down from their thrones, lay aside their robes, and take off their embroidered garments; they will clothe themselves with trembling; ^(BU)they will sit on the ground, ^(BV)tremble every moment, and ^(BW)be astonished at you. ¹⁷ And they will take up a ^(BX)lamentation for you, and say to you:

¹⁹ “For thus says the Lord God: ‘When I make you a desolate city, like cities that are not inhabited, when I bring the deep upon you, and great waters cover you, ²⁰ then I will bring you down ^(CA)with those who descend into the Pit, to the people of old, and I will make you dwell in the lowest part of the earth, in places desolate from antiquity, with those who go down to the Pit, so that you may never be inhabited; and I shall establish glory ^(CB)in the land of the living. ^21 (CC)I will make you a terror, and you shall be no more; ^(CD)though you are sought for, you will never be found again,’ says the Lord God.”

Lamentation for Tyre

27 The word of the Lord came again to me, saying, ² “Now, son of man, ^(CE)take up a lamentation for Tyre, ³ and say to Tyre, ^(CF)‘You who ^[q]are situated at the entrance of the sea, ^(CG)merchant of the peoples on many coastlands, thus says the Lord God:

^12 (CN)“Tarshish was your merchant because of your many luxury goods. They gave you silver, iron, tin, and lead for your goods. ^13 (CO)Javan, Tubal, and Meshech were your traders. They bartered ^(CP)human lives and vessels of bronze for your merchandise. ¹⁴ Those from the house of ^(CQ)Togarmah traded for your wares with horses, steeds, and mules. ¹⁵ The men of ^(CR)Dedan were your traders; many isles were the market of your hand. They brought you ivory tusks and ebony as payment. ¹⁶ Syria was your merchant because of the abundance of goods you made. They gave you for your wares emeralds, purple, embroidery, fine linen, corals, and rubies. ¹⁷ Judah and the land of Israel were your traders. They traded for your merchandise wheat of ^(CS)Minnith, millet, honey, oil, and ^(CT)balm. ¹⁸ Damascus was your merchant because of the abundance of goods you made, because of your many luxury items, with the wine of Helbon and with white wool. ¹⁹ Dan and Javan paid for your wares, ^[v]traversing back and forth. Wrought iron, cassia, and cane were among your merchandise. ^20 (CU)Dedan was your merchant in saddlecloths for riding. ²¹ Arabia and all the princes of ^(CV)Kedar were your regular merchants. They traded with you in lambs, rams, and goats. ²² The merchants of ^(CW)Sheba and Raamah were your merchants. They traded for your wares the choicest spices, all kinds of precious stones, and gold. ^23 (CX)Haran, Canneh, Eden, the merchants of ^(CY)Sheba, Assyria, and Chilmad were your merchants. ²⁴ These were your merchants in choice items—in purple clothes, in embroidered garments, in chests of multicolored apparel, in sturdy woven cords, which were in your marketplace.

Proclamation Against the King of Tyre

28 The word of the Lord came to me again, saying, ² “Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, ‘Thus says the Lord God:

⁶ ‘Therefore thus says the Lord God:

Lamentation for the King of Tyre

¹¹ Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹² “Son of man, ^(ED)take up a lamentation for the king of Tyre, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord God:

Proclamation Against Sidon

²⁰ Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ²¹ “Son of man, ^(EO)set your face ^(EP)toward Sidon, and prophesy against her, ²² and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God:

²⁴ “And there shall no longer be a pricking brier or ^(EU)a painful thorn for the house of Israel from among all who are around them, who ^(EV)despise them. Then they shall know that I am the Lord God.”

Israel’s Future Blessing

²⁵ ‘Thus says the Lord God: “When I have ^(EW)gathered the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, and am ^(EX)hallowed in them in the sight of the Gentiles, then they will dwell in their own land which I gave to My servant Jacob. ²⁶ And they will ^(EY)dwell ^[aa]safely there, ^(EZ)build houses, and ^(FA)plant vineyards; yes, they will dwell securely, when I execute judgments on all those around them who despise them. Then they shall know that I am the Lord their God.” ’ ”

Proclamation Against Egypt

29 In the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, ^(FB)set your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him, and ^(FC)against all Egypt. ³ Speak, and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God:

⁸ ‘Therefore thus says the Lord God: “Surely I will bring ^(FM)a sword upon you and cut off from you man and beast. ⁹ And the land of Egypt shall become ^(FN)desolate and waste; then they will know that I am the Lord, because he said, ‘The River is mine, and I have made it.’ ¹⁰ Indeed, therefore, I am against you and against your rivers, ^(FO)and I will make the land of Egypt utterly waste and desolate, ^(FP)from ^[af]Migdol to Syene, as far as the border of Ethiopia. ^11 (FQ)Neither foot of man shall pass through it nor foot of beast pass through it, and it shall be uninhabited forty years. ^12 (FR)I will make the land of Egypt desolate in the midst of the countries that are desolate; and among the cities that are laid waste, her cities shall be desolate forty years; and I will ^(FS)scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries.”

¹³ ‘Yet, thus says the Lord God: “At the ^(FT)end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the peoples among whom they were scattered. ¹⁴ I will bring back the captives of Egypt and cause them to return to the land of Pathros, to the land of their origin, and there they shall be a ^(FU)lowly kingdom. ¹⁵ It shall be the lowliest of kingdoms; it shall never again exalt itself above the nations, for I will diminish them so that they will not rule over the nations anymore. ¹⁶ No longer shall it be ^(FV)the confidence of the house of Israel, but will remind them of their iniquity when they turned to follow them. Then they shall know that I am the Lord God.” ’ ”

Babylonia Will Plunder Egypt

¹⁷ And it came to pass in the twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, that the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹⁸ “Son of man, ^(FW)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon caused his army to labor strenuously against Tyre; every head was made ^(FX)bald, and every shoulder rubbed raw; yet neither he nor his army received wages from Tyre, for the labor which they expended on it. ¹⁹ Therefore thus says the Lord God: ‘Surely I will give the land of Egypt to ^(FY)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; he shall take away her wealth, carry off her spoil, and remove her pillage; and that will be the wages for his army. ²⁰ I have given him the land of Egypt for his labor, because they ^(FZ)worked for Me,’ says the Lord God.

²¹ ‘In that day ^(GA)I will cause the ^[ag]horn of the house of Israel to spring forth, and I will ^(GB)open your mouth to speak in their midst. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.’ ”

Egypt and Her Allies Will Fall

30 The word of the Lord came to me again, saying, ² “Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God:

⁵ “Ethiopia, ^[ai]Libya, ^[aj]Lydia, ^(GG)all the mingled people, Chub, and the men of the lands who are allied, shall fall with them by the sword.”

⁶ ‘Thus says the Lord:

¹⁰ ‘Thus says the Lord God:

¹³ ‘Thus says the Lord God:

Proclamation Against Pharaoh

²⁰ And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first month, on the seventh day of the month, that the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ²¹ “Son of man, I have ^(GY)broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and see, ^(GZ)it has not been bandaged for healing, nor a ^[at]splint put on to bind it, to make it strong enough to hold a sword. ²² Therefore thus says the Lord God: ‘Surely I am ^(HA)against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and will ^(HB)break his arms, both the strong one and the one that was broken; and I will make the sword fall out of his hand. ^23 (HC)I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them throughout the countries. ²⁴ I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put My sword in his hand; but I will break Pharaoh’s arms, and he will groan before him with the groanings of a mortally wounded man. ²⁵ Thus I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh shall fall down; ^(HD)they shall know that I am the Lord, when I put My sword into the hand of the king of Babylon and he stretches it out against the land of Egypt. ^26 (HE)I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.’ ”

Egypt Cut Down Like a Great Tree^(HF)

31 Now it came to pass in the ^(HG)eleventh year, in the third month, on the first day of the month, that the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his multitude:

¹⁰ “Therefore thus says the Lord God: ‘Because you have increased in height, and it set its top among the thick boughs, and ^(HN)its heart was ^[ax]lifted up in its height, ¹¹ therefore I will deliver it into the hand of the ^(HO)mighty one of the nations, and he shall surely deal with it; I have driven it out for its wickedness. ¹² And aliens, ^(HP)the most terrible of the nations, have cut it down and left it; its branches have fallen ^(HQ)on the mountains and in all the valleys; its boughs lie ^(HR)broken by all the rivers of the land; and all the peoples of the earth have gone from under its shadow and left it.

¹⁴ So that no trees by the waters may ever again exalt themselves for their height, nor set their tops among the thick boughs, that no tree which drinks water may ever be high enough to reach up to them.

¹⁵ “Thus says the Lord God: ‘In the day when it ^(HV)went down to ^[ay]hell, I caused mourning. I covered the deep because of it. I restrained its rivers, and the great waters were held back. I caused Lebanon to ^[az]mourn for it, and all the trees of the field wilted because of it. ¹⁶ I made the nations ^(HW)shake at the sound of its fall, when I ^(HX)cast it down to ^[ba]hell together with those who descend into the Pit; and ^(HY)all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, ^(HZ)were comforted in the depths of the earth. ¹⁷ They also went down to hell with it, with those slain by the sword; and those who were its strong arm ^(IA)dwelt in its shadows among the nations.

^18 (IB)‘To which of the trees in Eden will you then be likened in glory and greatness? Yet you shall be brought down with the trees of Eden to the depths of the earth; ^(IC)you shall lie in the midst of the uncircumcised, with those slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his multitude,’ says the Lord God.”

Lamentation for Pharaoh and Egypt

32 And it came to pass in the twelfth year, in the ^(ID)twelfth month, on the first day of the month, that the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, ^(IE)take up a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say to him:

³ ‘Thus says the Lord God:

⁹ ‘I will also trouble the hearts of many peoples, when I bring your destruction among the nations, into the countries which you have not known. ¹⁰ Yes, I will make many peoples astonished at you, and their kings shall be horribly afraid of you when I brandish My sword before them; and ^(IO)they shall tremble every moment, every man for his own life, in the day of your fall.

^11 (IP)‘For thus says the Lord God: “The sword of the king of Babylon shall come upon you. ¹² By the swords of the mighty warriors, all of them ^(IQ)the most terrible of the nations, I will cause your multitude to fall.

Egypt and Others Consigned to the Pit

¹⁷ It came to pass also in the twelfth year, on the fifteenth day of the month, ^(IV)that the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

The Watchman and His Message

33 Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, speak to ^(JQ)the children of your people, and say to them: ^(JR)‘When I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from their territory and make him their ^(JS)watchman, ³ when he sees the sword coming upon the land, if he blows the trumpet and warns the people, ⁴ then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet and does ^(JT)not take warning, if the sword comes and takes him away, ^(JU)his blood shall be on his own head. ⁵ He heard the sound of the trumpet, but did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But he who takes warning will ^[be]save his life. ⁶ But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any person from among them, ^(JV)he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand.’

^7 (JW)“So you, son of man: I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore you shall hear a word from My mouth and warn them for Me. ⁸ When I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you shall surely die!’ and you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand. ⁹ Nevertheless if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have ^[bf]delivered your soul.

¹⁰ “Therefore you, O son of man, say to the house of Israel: ‘Thus you say, “If our transgressions and our sins lie upon us, and we ^(JX)pine^[bg] away in them, ^(JY)how can we then live?” ’ ¹¹ Say to them: ‘As I live,’ says the Lord God, ^(JZ)‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked ^(KA)turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For ^(KB)why should you die, O house of Israel?’

The Fairness of God’s Judgment

¹² “Therefore you, O son of man, say to the children of your people: ‘The ^(KC)righteousness of the righteous man shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression; as for the wickedness of the wicked, ^(KD)he shall not fall because of it in the day that he turns from his wickedness; nor shall the righteous be able to live because of his righteousness in the day that he sins.’ ¹³ When I say to the righteous that he shall surely live, ^(KE)but he trusts in his own righteousness and commits iniquity, none of his righteous works shall be remembered; but because of the iniquity that he has committed, he shall die. ¹⁴ Again, ^(KF)when I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ if he turns from his sin and does ^[bh]what is lawful and ^[bi]right, ¹⁵ if the wicked ^(KG)restores the pledge, ^(KH)gives back what he has stolen, and walks in ^(KI)the statutes of life without committing iniquity, he shall surely live; he shall not die. ^16 (KJ)None of his sins which he has committed shall be remembered against him; he has done what is lawful and right; he shall surely live.

^17 (KK)“Yet the children of your people say, ‘The way of the Lord is not ^[bj]fair.’ But it is their way which is not fair! ^18 (KL)When the righteous turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, he shall die because of it. ¹⁹ But when the wicked turns from his wickedness and does what is lawful and right, he shall live because of it. ²⁰ Yet you say, ^(KM)‘The way of the Lord is not ^[bk]fair.’ O house of Israel, I will judge every one of you according to his own ways.”

The Fall of Jerusalem

²¹ And it came to pass in the twelfth year ^(KN)of our captivity, in the tenth month, on the fifth day of the month, ^(KO)that one who had escaped from Jerusalem came to me and said, ^(KP)“The city has been ^[bl]captured!”

²² Now ^(KQ)the hand of the Lord had been upon me the evening before the man came who had escaped. And He had ^(KR)opened my mouth; so when he came to me in the morning, my mouth was opened, and I was no longer mute.

The Cause of Judah’s Ruin

²³ Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: ²⁴ “Son of man, ^(KS)they who inhabit those ^(KT)ruins in the land of Israel are saying, ^(KU)‘Abraham was only one, and he inherited the land. ^(KV)But we are many; the land has been given to us as a ^(KW)possession.’

²⁵ “Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: ^(KX)“You eat meat with blood, you ^(KY)lift up your eyes toward your idols, and ^(KZ)shed blood. Should you then possess the ^(LA)land? ²⁶ You rely on your sword, you commit abominations, and you ^(LB)defile one another’s wives. Should you then possess the land?” ’

²⁷ “Say thus to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “As I live, surely ^(LC)those who are in the ruins shall fall by the sword, and the one who is in the open field ^(LD)I will give to the beasts to be devoured, and those who are in the strongholds and ^(LE)caves shall die of the pestilence. ^28 (LF)For I will make the land most desolate, ^[bm]her ^(LG)arrogant strength shall cease, and ^(LH)the mountains of Israel shall be so desolate that no one will pass through. ²⁹ Then they shall know that I am the Lord, when I have made the land most desolate because of all their abominations which they have committed.” ’

Hearing and Not Doing

³⁰ “As for you, son of man, the children of your people are talking about you beside the walls and in the doors of the houses; and they ^(LI)speak to one another, everyone saying to his brother, ‘Please come and hear what the word is that comes from the Lord.’ ³¹ So ^(LJ)they come to you as people do, they ^(LK)sit before you as My people, and they ^(LL)hear your words, but they do not do them; ^(LM)for with their mouth they show much love, but ^(LN)their hearts pursue their own gain. ³² Indeed you are to them as a very lovely song of one who has a pleasant voice and can play well on an instrument; for they hear your words, but they do ^(LO)not do them. ^33 (LP)And when this comes to pass—surely it will come—then ^(LQ)they will know that a prophet has been among them.”

Irresponsible Shepherds

34 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God to the shepherds: ^(LR)“Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks? ^3 (LS)You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool; you ^(LT)slaughter the fatlings, but you do not feed the flock. ^4 (LU)The weak you have not strengthened, nor have you healed those who were sick, nor bound up the broken, nor brought back what was driven away, nor ^(LV)sought what was lost; but with ^(LW)force and ^[bn]cruelty you have ruled them. ^5 (LX)So they were ^(LY)scattered because there was no shepherd; ^(LZ)and they became food for all the beasts of the field when they were scattered. ⁶ My sheep ^(MA)wandered through all the mountains, and on every high hill; yes, My flock was scattered over the whole face of the earth, and no one was seeking or searching for them.”

⁷ ‘Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: ⁸ “As I live,” says the Lord God, “surely because My flock became a prey, and My flock ^(MB)became food for every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, nor did My shepherds search for My flock, ^(MC)but the shepherds fed themselves and did not feed My flock”— ⁹ therefore, O shepherds, hear the word of the Lord! ¹⁰ Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I am ^(MD)against the shepherds, and ^(ME)I will require My flock at their hand; I will cause them to cease feeding the sheep, and the shepherds shall ^(MF)feed themselves no more; for I will ^(MG)deliver My flock from their mouths, that they may no longer be food for them.”

God, the True Shepherd

¹¹ ‘For thus says the Lord God: “Indeed I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out. ¹² As a ^(MH)shepherd seeks out his flock on the day he is among his scattered sheep, so will I seek out My sheep and deliver them from all the places where they were scattered on ^(MI)a cloudy and dark day. ¹³ And ^(MJ)I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land; I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, ^[bo]in the valleys and in all the inhabited places of the country. ^14 (MK)I will feed them in good pasture, and their fold shall be on the high mountains of Israel. ^(ML)There they shall lie down in a good fold and feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. ¹⁵ I will feed My flock, and I will make them lie down,” says the Lord God. ^16 (MM)“I will seek what was lost and bring back what was driven away, bind up the broken and strengthen what was sick; but I will destroy ^(MN)the fat and the strong, and feed them ^(MO)in judgment.”

¹⁷ ‘And as for you, O My flock, thus says the Lord God: ^(MP)“Behold, I shall judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and goats. ¹⁸ Is it too little for you to have eaten up the good pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the ^[bp]residue of your pasture—and to have drunk of the clear waters, that you must foul the residue with your feet? ¹⁹ And as for My flock, they eat what you have trampled with your feet, and they drink what you have fouled with your feet.”

²⁰ ‘Therefore thus says the Lord God to them: ^(MQ)“Behold, I Myself will judge between the fat and the lean sheep. ²¹ Because you have pushed with side and shoulder, butted all the weak ones with your horns, and scattered them abroad, ²² therefore I will save My flock, and they shall no longer be a prey; and I will judge between sheep and sheep. ²³ I will establish one ^(MR)shepherd over them, and he shall feed them—^(MS)My servant David. He shall feed them and be their shepherd. ²⁴ And ^(MT)I, the Lord, will be their God, and My servant David ^(MU)a prince among them; I, the Lord, have spoken.

^25 (MV)“I will make a covenant of peace with them, and ^(MW)cause wild beasts to cease from the land; and they ^(MX)will dwell safely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. ²⁶ I will make them and the places all around ^(MY)My hill ^(MZ)a blessing; and I will ^(NA)cause showers to come down in their season; there shall be ^(NB)showers of blessing. ²⁷ Then ^(NC)the trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase. They shall be safe in their land; and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I have ^(ND)broken the bands of their yoke and delivered them from the hand of those who ^(NE)enslaved them. ²⁸ And they shall no longer be a prey for the nations, nor shall beasts of the land devour them; but ^(NF)they shall dwell safely, and no one shall make them afraid. ²⁹ I will raise up for them a ^(NG)garden^[bq] of renown, and they shall ^(NH)no longer be consumed with hunger in the land, ^(NI)nor bear the shame of the Gentiles anymore. ³⁰ Thus they shall know that ^(NJ)I, the Lord their God, am with them, and they, the house of Israel, are ^(NK)My people,” says the Lord God.’

³¹ “You are My ^(NL)flock, the flock of My pasture; you are men, and I am your God,” says the Lord God.

Judgment on Mount Seir

35 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, set your face against ^(NM)Mount Seir and ^(NN)prophesy against it, ³ and say to it, ‘Thus says the Lord God:

^5 (NP)“Because you have had an ^[bs]ancient hatred, and have shed the blood of the children of Israel by the power of the sword at the time of their calamity, ^(NQ)when their iniquity came to an end, ⁶ therefore, as I live,” says the Lord God, “I will prepare you for ^(NR)blood, and blood shall pursue you; ^(NS)since you have not hated ^[bt]blood, therefore blood shall pursue you. ⁷ Thus I will make Mount Seir ^[bu]most desolate, and cut off from it the ^(NT)one who leaves and the one who returns. ⁸ And I will fill its mountains with the slain; on your hills and in your valleys and in all your ravines those who are slain by the sword shall fall. ^9 (NU)I will make you ^[bv]perpetually desolate, and your cities shall be uninhabited; ^(NV)then you shall know that I am the Lord.

¹⁰ “Because you have said, ‘These two nations and these two countries shall be mine, and we will ^(NW)possess them,’ although ^(NX)the Lord was there, ¹¹ therefore, as I live,” says the Lord God, “I will do ^(NY)according to your anger and according to the envy which you showed in your hatred against them; and I will make Myself known among them when I judge you. ^12 (NZ)Then you shall know that I am the Lord. I have ^(OA)heard all your ^(OB)blasphemies which you have spoken against the mountains of Israel, saying, ‘They are desolate; they are given to us to consume.’ ¹³ Thus ^(OC)with your mouth you have ^[bw]boasted against Me and multiplied your ^(OD)words against Me; I have heard them.”

¹⁴ ‘Thus says the Lord God: ^(OE)“The whole earth will rejoice when I make you desolate. ^15 (OF)As you rejoiced because the inheritance of the house of Israel was desolate, ^(OG)so I will do to you; you shall be desolate, O Mount Seir, as well as all of Edom—all of it! Then they shall know that I am the Lord.” ’

Blessing on Israel

36 “And you, son of man, prophesy to the ^(OH)mountains of Israel, and say, ‘O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord! ² Thus says the Lord God: “Because ^(OI)the enemy has said of you, ‘Aha! ^(OJ)The ^[bx]ancient heights ^(OK)have become our possession,’ ” ’ ³ therefore prophesy, and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Because they made you desolate and swallowed you up on every side, so that you became the possession of the rest of the nations, ^(OL)and you are taken up by the lips of ^(OM)talkers and slandered by the people”— ⁴ therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God! Thus says the Lord God to the mountains, the hills, the ^[by]rivers, the valleys, the desolate wastes, and the cities that have been forsaken, which ^(ON)became plunder and ^(OO)mockery to the rest of the nations all around— ⁵ therefore thus says the Lord God: ^(OP)“Surely I have spoken in My burning jealousy against the rest of the nations and against all Edom, ^(OQ)who gave My land to themselves as a possession, with wholehearted joy and ^[bz]spiteful minds, in order to plunder its open country.” ’

⁶ “Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel, and say to the mountains, the hills, the rivers, and the valleys, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I have spoken in My jealousy and My fury, because you have ^(OR)borne the shame of the nations.” ⁷ Therefore thus says the Lord God: “I have ^(OS)raised My hand in an oath that surely the nations that are around you shall ^(OT)bear their own shame. ⁸ But you, O mountains of Israel, you shall shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit to My people Israel, for they are about to come. ⁹ For indeed I am for you, and I will turn to you, and you shall be tilled and sown. ¹⁰ I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, all of it; and the cities shall be inhabited and ^(OU)the ruins rebuilt. ^11 (OV)I will multiply upon you man and beast; and they shall increase and ^[ca]bear young; I will make you inhabited as in former times, and do ^(OW)better for you than at your beginnings. ^(OX)Then you shall know that I am the Lord. ¹² Yes, I will cause men to walk on you, My people Israel; ^(OY)they shall take possession of you, and you shall be their inheritance; no more shall you ^(OZ)bereave them of children.”

¹³ ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Because they say to you, ^(PA)‘You devour men and bereave your nation of children,’ ¹⁴ therefore you shall devour men no more, nor bereave your nation anymore,” says the Lord God. ^15 (PB)“Nor will I let you hear the taunts of the nations anymore, nor bear the reproach of the peoples anymore, nor shall you cause your nation to stumble anymore,” says the Lord God.’ ”

The Renewal of Israel

¹⁶ Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying: ¹⁷ “Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, ^(PC)they defiled it by their own ways and deeds; to Me their way was like ^(PD)the uncleanness of a woman in her customary impurity. ¹⁸ Therefore I poured out My fury on them ^(PE)for the blood they had shed on the land, and for their idols with which they had defiled it. ¹⁹ So I ^(PF)scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed throughout the countries; I judged them ^(PG)according to their ways and their deeds. ²⁰ When they came to the nations, wherever they went, they ^(PH)profaned My holy name—when they said of them, ‘These are the people of the Lord, and yet they have gone out of His land.’ ²¹ But I had concern ^(PI)for My holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations wherever they went.

²² “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “I do not do this for your sake, O house of Israel, ^(PJ)but for My holy name’s sake, which you have profaned among the nations wherever you went. ²³ And I will sanctify My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; and the nations shall know that I am the Lord,” says the Lord God, “when I am ^(PK)hallowed in you before their eyes. ²⁴ For ^(PL)I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. ^25 (PM)Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you ^(PN)from all your filthiness and from all your idols. ²⁶ I will give you a ^(PO)new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. ²⁷ I will put My ^(PP)Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. ^28 (PQ)Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; ^(PR)you shall be My people, and I will be your God. ²⁹ I will ^(PS)deliver you from all your uncleannesses. ^(PT)I will call for the grain and multiply it, and ^(PU)bring no famine upon you. ^30 (PV)And I will multiply the fruit of your trees and the increase of your fields, so that you need never again bear the reproach of famine among the nations. ³¹ Then ^(PW)you will remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good; and you ^(PX)will ^[cb]loathe yourselves in your own sight, for your iniquities and your abominations. ^32 (PY)Not for your sake do I do this,” says the Lord God, “let it be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel!”

³³ ‘Thus says the Lord God: “On the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will also enable you to dwell in the cities, ^(PZ)and the ruins shall be rebuilt. ³⁴ The desolate land shall be tilled instead of lying desolate in the sight of all who pass by. ³⁵ So they will say, ‘This land that was desolate has become like the garden of ^(QA)Eden; and the wasted, desolate, and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited.’ ³⁶ Then the nations which are left all around you shall know that I, the Lord, have rebuilt the ruined places and planted what was desolate. ^(QB)I, the Lord, have spoken it, and I will do it.”

³⁷ ‘Thus says the Lord God: ^(QC)“I will also let the house of Israel inquire of Me to do this for them: I will ^(QD)increase their men like a flock. ³⁸ Like a ^[cc]flock offered as holy sacrifices, like the flock at Jerusalem on its ^[cd]feast days, so shall the ruined cities be filled with flocks of men. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.” ’ ”

The Dry Bones Live

37 The ^(QE)hand of the Lord came upon me and brought me out ^(QF)in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones. ² Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed they were very dry. ³ And He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”

So I answered, “O Lord God, ^(QG)You know.”

⁴ Again He said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! ⁵ Thus says the Lord God to these bones: “Surely I will ^(QH)cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. ⁶ I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live. ^(QI)Then you shall know that I am the Lord.” ’ ”

⁷ So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to bone. ⁸ Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over; but there was no breath in them.

⁹ Also He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the ^[ce]breath, ‘Thus says the Lord God: ^(QJ)“Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” ’ ” ¹⁰ So I prophesied as He commanded me, ^(QK)and ^[cf]breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army.

¹¹ Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the ^(QL)whole house of Israel. They indeed say, ^(QM)‘Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off!’ ¹² Therefore prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, ^(QN)O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and ^(QO)bring you into the land of Israel. ¹³ Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your graves. ¹⁴ I ^(QP)will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken it and performed it,” says the Lord.’ ”

One Kingdom, One King

¹⁵ Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹⁶ “As for you, son of man, ^(QQ)take a stick for yourself and write on it: ‘For Judah and for ^(QR)the children of Israel, his companions.’ Then take another stick and write on it, ‘For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel, his companions.’ ¹⁷ Then ^(QS)join them one to another for yourself into one stick, and they will become one in your hand.

¹⁸ “And when the children of your people speak to you, saying, ^(QT)‘Will you not show us what you mean by these?’— ^19 (QU)say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Surely I will take ^(QV)the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel, his companions; and I will join them with it, with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they will be one in My hand.” ’ ²⁰ And the sticks on which you write will be in your hand ^(QW)before their eyes.

²¹ “Then say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Surely ^(QX)I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, wherever they have gone, and will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land; ²² and ^(QY)I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and ^(QZ)one king shall be king over them all; they shall no longer be two nations, nor shall they ever be divided into two kingdoms again. ^23 (RA)They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions; but ^(RB)I will deliver them from all their dwelling places in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them. Then they shall be My people, and I will be their God.

^24 (RC)“David My servant shall be king over them, and ^(RD)they shall all have one shepherd; ^(RE)they shall also walk in My judgments and observe My statutes, and do them. ^25 (RF)Then they shall dwell in the land that I have given to Jacob My servant, where your fathers dwelt; and they shall dwell there, they, their children, and their children’s children, ^(RG)forever; and ^(RH)My servant David shall be their prince forever. ²⁶ Moreover I will ^[cg]make ^(RI)a covenant of peace with them, and it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; I will establish them and ^(RJ)multiply them, and I will set My ^(RK)sanctuary in their midst forevermore. ^27 (RL)My tabernacle also shall be with them; indeed I will be ^(RM)their God, and they shall be My people. ^28 (RN)The nations also will know that I, the Lord, ^(RO)sanctify Israel, when My sanctuary is in their midst forevermore.” ’ ”

Gog and Allies Attack Israel

38 Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ^2 (RP)“Son of man, ^(RQ)set your face against ^(RR)Gog, of the land of ^(RS)Magog, ^[ch]the prince of Rosh, ^(RT)Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him, ³ and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal. ^4 (RU)I will turn you around, put hooks into your jaws, and ^(RV)lead you out, with all your army, horses, and horsemen, ^(RW)all splendidly clothed, a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords. ⁵ Persia, ^[ci]Ethiopia, and ^[cj]Libya are with them, all of them with shield and helmet; ^6 (RX)Gomer and all its troops; the house of ^(RY)Togarmah from the far north and all its troops—many people are with you.

^7 (RZ)“Prepare yourself and be ready, you and all your companies that are gathered about you; and be a guard for them. ^8 (SA)After many days ^(SB)you will be visited. In the latter years you will come into the land of those brought back from the sword ^(SC)and gathered from many people on ^(SD)the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate; they were brought out of the nations, and now all of them ^(SE)dwell safely. ⁹ You will ascend, coming ^(SF)like a storm, covering the ^(SG)land like a cloud, you and all your troops and many peoples with you.”

¹⁰ ‘Thus says the Lord God: “On that day it shall come to pass that thoughts will arise in your mind, and you will make an evil plan: ¹¹ You will say, ‘I will go up against a land of ^(SH)unwalled villages; I will ^(SI)go to a peaceful people, ^(SJ)who dwell ^[ck]safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates’— ¹² to take plunder and to take booty, to stretch out your hand against the waste places that are again inhabited, ^(SK)and against a people gathered from the nations, who have acquired livestock and goods, who dwell in the midst of the land. ^13 (SL)Sheba, ^(SM)Dedan, the merchants ^(SN)of Tarshish, and all ^(SO)their young lions will say to you, ‘Have you come to take plunder? Have you gathered your army to take booty, to carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods, to take great plunder?’ ” ’

¹⁴ “Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say to Gog, ‘Thus says the Lord God: ^(SP)“On that day when My people Israel ^(SQ)dwell safely, will you not know it? ^15 (SR)Then you will come from your place out of the far north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great company and a mighty army. ¹⁶ You will come up against My people Israel like a cloud, to cover the land. It will be in the latter days that I will bring you against My land, so that the nations may ^(SS)know Me, when I am ^(ST)hallowed in you, O Gog, before their eyes.” ¹⁷ Thus says the Lord God: “Are you he of whom I have spoken in former days by My servants the prophets of Israel, who prophesied for years in those days that I would bring you against them?

Judgment on Gog

¹⁸ “And it will come to pass at the same time, when Gog comes against the land of Israel,” says the Lord God, “that My fury will show in My face. ¹⁹ For ^(SU)in My jealousy ^(SV)and in the fire of My wrath I have spoken: ^(SW)‘Surely in that day there shall be a great ^[cl]earthquake in the land of Israel, ²⁰ so that ^(SX)the fish of the sea, the birds of the heavens, the beasts of the field, all creeping things that creep on the earth, and all men who are on the face of the earth shall shake at My presence. ^(SY)The mountains shall be thrown down, the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.’ ²¹ I will ^(SZ)call for ^(TA)a sword against Gog throughout all My mountains,” says the Lord God. ^(TB)“Every man’s sword will be against his brother. ²² And I will ^(TC)bring him to judgment with ^(TD)pestilence and bloodshed; ^(TE)I will rain down on him, on his troops, and on the many peoples who are with him, flooding rain, ^(TF)great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. ²³ Thus I will magnify Myself and ^(TG)sanctify Myself, ^(TH)and I will be known in the eyes of many nations. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.” ’

Gog’s Armies Destroyed

39 “And ^(TI)you, son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I am against you, O Gog, ^[cm]the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal; ² and I will ^(TJ)turn you around and lead you on, ^(TK)bringing you up from the far north, and bring you against the mountains of Israel. ³ Then I will knock the bow out of your left hand, and cause the arrows to fall out of your right hand. ^4 (TL)You shall ^[cn]fall upon the mountains of Israel, you and all your troops and the peoples who are with you; ^(TM)I will give you to birds of prey of every sort and to the beasts of the field to be devoured. ⁵ You shall ^[co]fall on ^[cp]the open field; for I have spoken,” says the Lord God. ^6 (TN)“And I will send fire on Magog and on those who live ^[cq]in security in ^(TO)the coastlands. Then they shall know that I am the Lord. ^7 (TP)So I will make My holy name known in the midst of My people Israel, and I will not let them ^(TQ)profane My holy name anymore. ^(TR)Then the nations shall know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel. ^8 (TS)Surely it is coming, and it shall be done,” says the Lord God. “This is the day ^(TT)of which I have spoken.

⁹ “Then those who dwell in the cities of Israel will go out and set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and bucklers, the bows and arrows, the ^[cr]javelins and spears; and they will make fires with them for seven years. ¹⁰ They will not take wood from the field nor cut down any from the forests, because they will make fires with the weapons; ^(TU)and they will plunder those who plundered them, and pillage those who pillaged them,” says the Lord God.

The Burial of Gog

¹¹ “It will come to pass in that day that I will give Gog a burial place there in Israel, the valley of those who pass by east of the sea; and it will obstruct travelers, because there they will bury Gog and all his multitude. Therefore they will call it the Valley of ^[cs]Hamon Gog. ¹² For seven months the house of Israel will be burying them, ^(TV)in order to cleanse the land. ¹³ Indeed all the people of the land will be burying, and they will gain ^(TW)renown for it on the day that ^(TX)I am glorified,” says the Lord God. ¹⁴ “They will set apart men regularly employed, with the help of ^[ct]a search party, to pass through the land and bury those bodies remaining on the ground, in order ^(TY)to cleanse it. At the end of seven months they will make a search. ¹⁵ The search party will pass through the land; and when anyone sees a man’s bone, he shall ^[cu]set up a marker by it, till the buriers have buried it in the Valley of Hamon Gog. ¹⁶ The name of the city will also be ^[cv]Hamonah. Thus they shall ^(TZ)cleanse the land.” ’

A Triumphant Festival

¹⁷ “And as for you, son of man, thus says the Lord God, ^(UA)‘Speak to every sort of bird and to every beast of the field:

Israel Restored to the Land

^21 (UI)“I will set My glory among the nations; all the nations shall see My judgment which I have executed, and ^(UJ)My hand which I have laid on them. ^22 (UK)So the house of Israel shall know that I am the Lord their God from that day forward. ^23 (UL)The Gentiles shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity; because they were unfaithful to Me, therefore ^(UM)I hid My face from them. I ^(UN)gave them into the hand of their enemies, and they all fell by the sword. ^24 (UO)According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions I have dealt with them, and hidden My face from them.” ’

²⁵ “Therefore thus says the Lord God: ^(UP)‘Now I will bring back the captives of Jacob, and have mercy on the ^(UQ)whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for My holy name— ^26 (UR)after they have borne their shame, and all their unfaithfulness in which they were unfaithful to Me, when they ^(US)dwelt safely in their own land and no one made them afraid. ^27 (UT)When I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them out of their enemies’ lands, and I ^(UU)am hallowed in them in the sight of many nations, ^28 (UV)then they shall know that I am the Lord their God, who sent them into captivity among the nations, but also brought them back to their land, and left none of them ^[cw]captive any longer. ^29 (UW)And I will not hide My face from them anymore; for I shall have ^(UX)poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel,’ says the Lord God.”

A New City, a New Temple

40 In the twenty-fifth year of our captivity, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after ^(UY)the city was ^[cx]captured, on the very same day ^(UZ)the hand of the Lord was upon me; and He took me there. ^2 (VA)In the visions of God He took me into the land of Israel and ^(VB)set me on a very high mountain; on it toward the south was something like the structure of a city. ³ He took me there, and behold, there was a man whose appearance was ^(VC)like the appearance of bronze. ^(VD)He had a line of flax ^(VE)and a measuring rod in his hand, and he stood in the gateway.

⁴ And the man said to me, ^(VF)“Son of man, look with your eyes and hear with your ears, and ^[cy]fix your mind on everything I show you; for you were brought here so that I might show them to you. ^(VG)Declare to the house of Israel everything you see.” ⁵ Now there was ^(VH)a wall all around the outside of the ^[cz]temple. In the man’s hand was a measuring rod six ^[da]cubits long, each being a cubit and a handbreadth; and he measured the width of the wall structure, one rod; and the height, one rod.

The Eastern Gateway of the Temple

⁶ Then he went to the gateway which faced ^(VI)east; and he went up its stairs and measured the threshold of the gateway, which was one rod wide, and the other threshold was one rod wide. ⁷ Each gate chamber was one rod long and one rod wide; between the gate chambers was a space of five cubits; and the threshold of the gateway by the vestibule of the inside gate was one rod. ⁸ He also measured the vestibule of the inside gate, one rod. ⁹ Then he measured the vestibule of the gateway, eight cubits; and the gateposts, two cubits. The vestibule of the gate was on the inside. ¹⁰ In the eastern gateway were three gate chambers on one side and three on the other; the three were all the same size; also the gateposts were of the same size on this side and that side.

¹¹ He measured the width of the entrance to the gateway, ten cubits; and the length of the gate, thirteen cubits. ¹² There was a ^[db]space in front of the gate chambers, one cubit on this side and one cubit on that side; the gate chambers were six cubits on this side and six cubits on that side. ¹³ Then he measured the gateway from the roof of one gate chamber to the roof of the other; the width was twenty-five cubits, as door faces door. ¹⁴ He measured the gateposts, sixty cubits high, and the court all around the gateway extended to the gatepost. ¹⁵ From the front of the entrance gate to the front of the vestibule of the inner gate was fifty cubits. ¹⁶ There were ^(VJ)beveled window frames in the gate chambers and in their intervening archways on the inside of the gateway all around, and likewise in the vestibules. There were windows all around on the inside. And on each gatepost were ^(VK)palm trees.

The Outer Court

¹⁷ Then he brought me into ^(VL)the outer court; and there were ^(VM)chambers and a pavement made all around the court; ^(VN)thirty chambers faced the pavement. ¹⁸ The pavement was by the side of the gateways, corresponding to the length of the gateways; this was the lower pavement. ¹⁹ Then he measured the width from the front of the lower gateway to the front of the inner court exterior, one hundred cubits toward the east and the north.

The Northern Gateway

²⁰ On the outer court was also a gateway facing north, and he measured its length and its width. ²¹ Its gate chambers, three on this side and three on that side, its gateposts and its archways, had the same measurements as the first gate; its length was fifty cubits and its width twenty-five cubits. ²² Its windows and those of its archways, and also its palm trees, had the same measurements as the gateway facing east; it was ascended by seven steps, and its archway was in front of it. ²³ A gate of the inner court was opposite the northern gateway, just as the eastern gateway; and he measured from gateway to gateway, one hundred cubits.

The Southern Gateway

²⁴ After that he brought me toward the south, and there a gateway was facing south; and he measured its gateposts and archways according to these same measurements. ²⁵ There were windows in it and in its archways all around like those windows; its length was fifty cubits and its width twenty-five cubits. ²⁶ Seven steps led up to it, and its archway was in front of them; and it had palm trees on its gateposts, one on this side and one on that side. ²⁷ There was also a gateway on the inner court, facing south; and he measured from gateway to gateway toward the south, one hundred cubits.

Gateways of the Inner Court

²⁸ Then he brought me to the inner court through the southern gateway; he measured the southern gateway according to these same measurements. ²⁹ Also its gate chambers, its gateposts, and its archways were according to these same measurements; there were windows in it and in its archways all around; it was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide. ³⁰ There were archways all around, ^(VO)twenty-five cubits long and five cubits wide. ³¹ Its archways faced the outer court, palm trees were on its gateposts, and going up to it were eight steps.

³² And he brought me into the inner court facing east; he measured the gateway according to these same measurements. ³³ Also its gate chambers, its gateposts, and its archways were according to these same measurements; and there were windows in it and in its archways all around; it was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide. ³⁴ Its archways faced the outer court, and palm trees were on its gateposts on this side and on that side; and going up to it were eight steps.

³⁵ Then he brought me to the north gateway and measured it according to these same measurements— ³⁶ also its gate chambers, its gateposts, and its archways. It had windows all around; its length was fifty cubits and its width twenty-five cubits. ³⁷ Its gateposts faced the outer court, palm trees were on its gateposts on this side and on that side, and going up to it were eight steps.

Where Sacrifices Were Prepared

³⁸ There was a chamber and its entrance by the gateposts of the gateway, where they ^(VP)washed the burnt offering. ³⁹ In the vestibule of the gateway were two tables on this side and two tables on that side, on which to slay the burnt offering, ^(VQ)the sin offering, and ^(VR)the trespass offering. ⁴⁰ At the outer side of the vestibule, as one goes up to the entrance of the northern gateway, were two tables; and on the other side of the vestibule of the gateway were two tables. ⁴¹ Four tables were on this side and four tables on that side, by the side of the gateway, eight tables on which they slaughtered the sacrifices. ⁴² There were also four tables of hewn stone for the burnt offering, one cubit and a half long, one cubit and a half wide, and one cubit high; on these they laid the instruments with which they slaughtered the burnt offering and the sacrifice. ⁴³ Inside were hooks, a handbreadth wide, fastened all around; and the flesh of the sacrifices was on the tables.

Chambers for Singers and Priests

⁴⁴ Outside the inner gate were the chambers for ^(VS)the singers in the inner court, one facing south at the side of the northern gateway, and the other facing north at the side of the ^[dc]southern gateway. ⁴⁵ Then he said to me, “This chamber which faces south is for ^(VT)the priests who have charge of the temple. ⁴⁶ The chamber which faces north is for the priests ^(VU)who have charge of the altar; these are the sons of ^(VV)Zadok, from the sons of Levi, who come near the Lord to minister to Him.”

Dimensions of the Inner Court and Vestibule^(VW)

⁴⁷ And he measured the court, one hundred cubits long and one hundred cubits wide, foursquare. The altar was in front of the temple. ⁴⁸ Then he brought me to the ^(VX)vestibule of the temple and measured the doorposts of the vestibule, five cubits on this side and five cubits on that side; and the width of the gateway was three cubits on this side and three cubits on that side. ^49 (VY)The length of the vestibule was twenty cubits, and the width eleven cubits; and by the steps which led up to it there were ^(VZ)pillars by the doorposts, one on this side and another on that side.

Dimensions of the Sanctuary

41 Then he ^(WA)brought me into the ^[dd]sanctuary and measured the doorposts, six cubits wide on one side and six cubits wide on the other side—the width of the tabernacle. ² The width of the entryway was ten cubits, and the side walls of the entrance were five cubits on this side and five cubits on the other side; and he measured its length, forty cubits, and its width, twenty cubits.

³ Also he went inside and measured the doorposts, two cubits; and the entrance, six cubits high; and the width of the entrance, seven cubits. ^4 (WB)He measured the length, twenty cubits; and the width, twenty cubits, beyond the sanctuary; and he said to me, “This is the Most Holy Place.”

The Side Chambers on the Wall

⁵ Next, he measured the wall of the ^[de]temple, six cubits. The width of each side chamber all around the temple was four cubits on every side. ^6 (WC)The side chambers were in three stories, one above the other, thirty chambers in each story; they rested on ^[df]ledges which were for the side chambers all around, that they might be supported, but ^(WD)not fastened to the wall of the temple. ⁷ As one went up from story to story, the side chambers ^(WE)became wider all around, because their supporting ledges in the wall of the temple ascended like steps; therefore the width of the structure increased as one went up from the lowest story to the highest by way of the middle one. ⁸ I also saw an elevation all around the temple; it was the foundation of the side chambers, ^(WF)a full rod, that is, six cubits high. ⁹ The thickness of the outer wall of the side chambers was five cubits, and so also the remaining terrace by the place of the side chambers of the ^[dg]temple. ¹⁰ And between it and the wall chambers was a width of twenty cubits all around the temple on every side. ¹¹ The doors of the side chambers opened on the terrace, one door toward the north and another toward the south; and the width of the terrace was five cubits all around.

The Building at the Western End

¹² The building that faced the separating courtyard at its western end was seventy cubits wide; the wall of the building was five cubits thick all around, and its length ninety cubits.

Dimensions and Design of the Temple Area

¹³ So he measured the temple, one ^(WG)hundred cubits long; and the separating courtyard with the building and its walls was one hundred cubits long; ¹⁴ also the width of the eastern face of the temple, including the separating courtyard, was one hundred cubits. ¹⁵ He measured the length of the building behind it, facing the separating courtyard, with its ^(WH)galleries on the one side and on the other side, one hundred cubits, as well as the inner ^[dh]temple and the porches of the court, ¹⁶ their doorposts and ^(WI)the beveled window frames. And the galleries all around their three stories opposite the threshold were paneled with ^(WJ)wood from the ground to the windows—the windows were covered— ¹⁷ from the space above the door, even to the inner ^[di]room, as well as outside, and on every wall all around, inside and outside, by measure.

¹⁸ And it was made ^(WK)with cherubim and ^(WL)palm trees, a palm tree between cherub and cherub. Each cherub had two faces, ^19 (WM)so that the face of a man was toward a palm tree on one side, and the face of a young lion toward a palm tree on the other side; thus it was made throughout the temple all around. ²⁰ From the floor to the space above the door, and on the wall of the sanctuary, cherubim and palm trees were carved.

²¹ The ^(WN)doorposts of the temple were square, as was the front of the sanctuary; their appearance was similar. ^22 (WO)The altar was of wood, three cubits high, and its length two cubits. Its corners, its length, and its sides were of wood; and he said to me, “This is ^(WP)the table that is ^(WQ)before the Lord.”

^23 (WR)The temple and the sanctuary had two doors. ²⁴ The doors had two ^(WS)panels apiece, two folding panels: two panels for one door and two panels for the other door. ²⁵ Cherubim and palm trees were carved on the doors of the temple just as they were carved on the walls. A wooden canopy was on the front of the vestibule outside. ²⁶ There were ^(WT)beveled window frames and palm trees on one side and on the other, on the sides of the vestibule—also on the side chambers of the temple and on the canopies.

The Chambers for the Priests

42 Then he ^(WU)brought me out into the outer court, by the way toward the ^(WV)north; and he brought me into ^(WW)the chamber which was opposite the separating courtyard, and which was opposite the building toward the north. ² Facing the length, which was one hundred cubits (the width was fifty cubits), was the north door. ³ Opposite the inner court of twenty cubits, and opposite the ^(WX)pavement of the outer court, was ^(WY)gallery against gallery in three stories. ⁴ In front of the chambers, toward the inside, was a walk ten cubits wide, at a distance of one cubit; and their doors faced north. ⁵ Now the upper chambers were shorter, because the galleries took away space from them more than from the lower and middle stories of the building. ⁶ For they were in three stories and did not have pillars like the pillars of the courts; therefore the upper level was ^[dj]shortened more than the lower and middle levels from the ground up. ⁷ And a wall which was outside ran parallel to the chambers, at the front of the chambers, toward the outer court; its length was fifty cubits. ⁸ The length of the chambers toward the outer court was fifty cubits, whereas that facing the temple was one ^(WZ)hundred cubits. ⁹ At the lower chambers was the entrance on the east side, as one goes into them from the outer court.

¹⁰ Also there were chambers in the thickness of the wall of the court toward the east, opposite the separating courtyard and opposite the building. ^11 (XA)There was a walk in front of them also, and their appearance was like the chambers which were toward the north; they were as long and as wide as the others, and all their exits and entrances were according to plan. ¹² And corresponding to the doors of the chambers that were facing south, as one enters them, there was a door in front of the walk, the way directly in front of the wall toward the east.

¹³ Then he said to me, “The north chambers and the south chambers, which are opposite the separating courtyard, are the holy chambers where the priests who approach the Lord ^(XB)shall eat the most holy offerings. There they shall lay the most holy offerings—^(XC)the grain offering, the sin offering, and the trespass offering—for the place is holy. ^14 (XD)When the priests enter them, they shall not go out of the holy chamber into the outer court; but there they shall leave their garments in which they minister, for they are holy. They shall put on other garments; then they may approach that which is for the people.”

Outer Dimensions of the Temple

¹⁵ Now when he had finished measuring the inner ^[dk]temple, he brought me out through the gateway that faces toward the ^(XE)east, and measured it all around. ¹⁶ He measured the east side with the ^[dl]measuring rod, five hundred rods by the measuring rod all around. ¹⁷ He measured the north side, five hundred rods by the measuring rod all around. ¹⁸ He measured the south side, five hundred rods by the measuring rod. ¹⁹ He came around to the west side and measured five hundred rods by the measuring rod. ²⁰ He measured it on the four sides; ^(XF)it had a wall all around, ^(XG)five hundred cubits long and five hundred wide, to separate the holy areas from the ^[dm]common.