39 “Son of man, prophesy against Gog^(A) and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against you, Gog, chief prince of^[a] Meshek^(B) and Tubal.^{(C) 2} I will turn you around and drag you along. I will bring you from the far north^(D) and send you against the mountains of Israel.^{(E) 3} Then I will strike your bow^(F) from your left hand and make your arrows^(G) drop from your right hand. ⁴ On the mountains of Israel you will fall, you and all your troops and the nations with you. I will give you as food to all kinds of carrion birds^(H) and to the wild animals.^{(I) 5} You will fall in the open field, for I have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord.^{(J) 6} I will send fire^(K) on Magog^(L) and on those who live in safety in the coastlands,^(M) and they will know^(N) that I am the Lord.

⁷ “‘I will make known my holy name among my people Israel. I will no longer let my holy name be profaned,^(O) and the nations will know^(P) that I the Lord am the Holy One in Israel.^{(Q) 8} It is coming! It will surely take place, declares the Sovereign Lord. This is the day^(R) I have spoken of.

⁹ “‘Then those who live in the towns of Israel will go out and use the weapons for fuel and burn them up—the small and large shields, the bows and arrows,^(S) the war clubs and spears. For seven years they will use them for fuel.^{(T) 10} They will not need to gather wood from the fields or cut it from the forests, because they will use the weapons for fuel. And they will plunder^(U) those who plundered them and loot those who looted them, declares the Sovereign Lord.^(V)

¹¹ “‘On that day I will give Gog a burial place in Israel, in the valley of those who travel east of the Sea. It will block the way of travelers, because Gog and all his hordes will be buried^(W) there. So it will be called the Valley of Hamon Gog.^[b](X)

¹² “‘For seven months the Israelites will be burying them in order to cleanse the land.^{(Y) 13} All the people of the land will bury them, and the day I display my glory^(Z) will be a memorable day for them, declares the Sovereign Lord. ¹⁴ People will be continually employed in cleansing the land. They will spread out across the land and, along with others, they will bury any bodies that are lying on the ground.

“‘After the seven months they will carry out a more detailed search. ¹⁵ As they go through the land, anyone who sees a human bone will leave a marker beside it until the gravediggers bury it in the Valley of Hamon Gog, ¹⁶ near a town called Hamonah.^[c] And so they will cleanse the land.’

¹⁷ “Son of man, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Call out to every kind of bird^(AA) and all the wild animals: ‘Assemble and come together from all around to the sacrifice I am preparing for you, the great sacrifice on the mountains of Israel. There you will eat flesh and drink blood.^{(AB) 18} You will eat the flesh of mighty men and drink the blood of the princes of the earth as if they were rams and lambs, goats and bulls—all of them fattened animals from Bashan.^{(AC) 19} At the sacrifice^(AD) I am preparing for you, you will eat fat till you are glutted and drink blood till you are drunk. ²⁰ At my table you will eat your fill of horses and riders, mighty men and soldiers of every kind,’ declares the Sovereign Lord.^(AE)

²¹ “I will display my glory among the nations, and all the nations will see the punishment I inflict and the hand I lay on them.^{(AF) 22} From that day forward the people of Israel will know that I am the Lord their God. ²³ And the nations will know that the people of Israel went into exile for their sin, because they were unfaithful to me. So I hid my face from them and handed them over to their enemies, and they all fell by the sword.^{(AG) 24} I dealt with them according to their uncleanness and their offenses, and I hid my face from them.^(AH)

²⁵ “Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will now restore the fortunes of Jacob^[d](AI) and will have compassion^(AJ) on all the people of Israel, and I will be zealous for my holy name.^{(AK) 26} They will forget their shame and all the unfaithfulness they showed toward me when they lived in safety^(AL) in their land with no one to make them afraid.^{(AM) 27} When I have brought them back from the nations and have gathered them from the countries of their enemies, I will be proved holy through them in the sight of many nations.^{(AN) 28} Then they will know that I am the Lord their God, for though I sent them into exile among the nations, I will gather them^(AO) to their own land, not leaving any behind.^{(AP) 29} I will no longer hide my face^(AQ) from them, for I will pour out my Spirit^(AR) on the people of Israel, declares the Sovereign Lord.^(AS)”

The Temple Area Restored

40 In the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth of the month, in the fourteenth year after the fall of the city^(AT)—on that very day the hand of the Lord was on me^(AU) and he took me there. ² In visions^(AV) of God he took me to the land of Israel and set me on a very high mountain,^(AW) on whose south side were some buildings that looked like a city. ³ He took me there, and I saw a man whose appearance was like bronze;^(AX) he was standing in the gateway with a linen cord and a measuring rod^(AY) in his hand. ⁴ The man said to me, “Son of man, look carefully and listen closely and pay attention to everything I am going to show you,^(AZ) for that is why you have been brought here. Tell^(BA) the people of Israel everything you see.^(BB)”

The East Gate to the Outer Court

⁵ I saw a wall completely surrounding the temple area. The length of the measuring rod in the man’s hand was six long cubits,^[e] each of which was a cubit and a handbreadth. He measured^(BC) the wall; it was one measuring rod thick and one rod high.

⁶ Then he went to the east gate.^(BD) He climbed its steps and measured the threshold of the gate; it was one rod deep. ⁷ The alcoves^(BE) for the guards were one rod long and one rod wide, and the projecting walls between the alcoves were five cubits^[f] thick. And the threshold of the gate next to the portico facing the temple was one rod deep.

⁸ Then he measured the portico of the gateway; ⁹ it^[g] was eight cubits^[h] deep and its jambs were two cubits^[i] thick. The portico of the gateway faced the temple.

¹⁰ Inside the east gate were three alcoves on each side; the three had the same measurements, and the faces of the projecting walls on each side had the same measurements. ¹¹ Then he measured the width of the entrance of the gateway; it was ten cubits and its length was thirteen cubits.^{[j] 12} In front of each alcove was a wall one cubit high, and the alcoves were six cubits square. ¹³ Then he measured the gateway from the top of the rear wall of one alcove to the top of the opposite one; the distance was twenty-five cubits^[k] from one parapet opening to the opposite one. ¹⁴ He measured along the faces of the projecting walls all around the inside of the gateway—sixty cubits.^[l] The measurement was up to the portico^[m] facing the courtyard.^{[n](BF) 15} The distance from the entrance of the gateway to the far end of its portico was fifty cubits.^{[o] 16} The alcoves and the projecting walls inside the gateway were surmounted by narrow parapet openings all around, as was the portico; the openings all around faced inward. The faces of the projecting walls were decorated with palm trees.^(BG)

The Outer Court

¹⁷ Then he brought me into the outer court.^(BH) There I saw some rooms and a pavement that had been constructed all around the court; there were thirty rooms^(BI) along the pavement.^{(BJ) 18} It abutted the sides of the gateways and was as wide as they were long; this was the lower pavement. ¹⁹ Then he measured the distance from the inside of the lower gateway to the outside of the inner court;^(BK) it was a hundred cubits^[p](BL) on the east side as well as on the north.

The North Gate

²⁰ Then he measured the length and width of the north gate, leading into the outer court. ²¹ Its alcoves^(BM)—three on each side—its projecting walls and its portico^(BN) had the same measurements as those of the first gateway. It was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide. ²² Its openings, its portico^(BO) and its palm tree decorations had the same measurements as those of the gate facing east. Seven steps led up to it, with its portico opposite them.^{(BP) 23} There was a gate to the inner court facing the north gate, just as there was on the east. He measured from one gate to the opposite one; it was a hundred cubits.^(BQ)

The South Gate

²⁴ Then he led me to the south side and I saw the south gate. He measured its jambs and its portico, and they had the same measurements^(BR) as the others. ²⁵ The gateway and its portico had narrow openings all around, like the openings of the others. It was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide.^{(BS) 26} Seven steps led up to it, with its portico opposite them; it had palm tree decorations on the faces of the projecting walls on each side.^{(BT) 27} The inner court^(BU) also had a gate facing south, and he measured from this gate to the outer gate on the south side; it was a hundred cubits.^(BV)

¹⁸ But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”

Show me your faith without deeds,^(A) and I will show you my faith^(B) by my deeds.^{(C) 19} You believe that there is one God.^(D) Good! Even the demons believe that^(E)—and shudder.

²⁰ You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless^[a]?^{(F) 21} Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?^{(G) 22} You see that his faith and his actions were working together,^(H) and his faith was made complete by what he did.^{(I) 23} And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,”^[b](J) and he was called God’s friend.^{(K) 24} You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.

²⁵ In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction?^{(L) 26} As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.^(M)

Taming the Tongue

3 Not many of you should become teachers,^(N) my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged^(O) more strictly.^{(P) 2} We all stumble^(Q) in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say^(R) is perfect,^(S) able to keep their whole body in check.^(T)

³ When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal.^{(U) 4} Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. ⁵ Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts.^(V) Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. ⁶ The tongue also is a fire,^(W) a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body,^(X) sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.^(Y)

⁷ All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, ⁸ but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.^(Z)

⁹ With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness.^{(AA) 10} Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. ¹¹ Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? ¹² My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs?^(AB) Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.

Two Kinds of Wisdom

¹³ Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it^(AC) by their good life, by deeds^(AD) done in the humility that comes from wisdom. ¹⁴ But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition^(AE) in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth.^{(AF) 15} Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven^(AG) but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.^{(AH) 16} For where you have envy and selfish ambition,^(AI) there you find disorder and every evil practice.

¹⁷ But the wisdom that comes from heaven^(AJ) is first of all pure; then peace-loving,^(AK) considerate, submissive, full of mercy^(AL) and good fruit, impartial and sincere.^{(AM) 18} Peacemakers^(AN) who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.^(AO)

Psalm 118