The Spirit came into me as he spoke, and he set me on my feet. I listened carefully to his words.

Then he added, “Son of man, let all my words sink deep into your own heart first. Listen to them carefully for yourself.

Then he told me, “Son of man, I will make food very scarce in Jerusalem. It will be weighed out with great care and eaten fearfully. The water will be rationed out drop by drop, and the people will drink it with dismay.

On the day you were born, no one cared about you. Your umbilical cord was not cut, and you were never washed, rubbed with salt, and wrapped in cloth.

No one had the slightest interest in you; no one pitied you or cared for you. On the day you were born, you were unwanted, dumped in a field and left to die.

I will examine you carefully and hold you to the terms of the covenant.

You have not taken care of the weak. You have not tended the sick or bound up the injured. You have not gone looking for those who have wandered away and are lost. Instead, you have ruled them with harshness and cruelty.

As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, you abandoned my flock and left them to be attacked by every wild animal. And though you were my shepherds, you didn’t search for my sheep when they were lost. You took care of yourselves and left the sheep to starve.

“For you said, ‘The lands of Israel and Judah will be ours. We will take possession of them. What do we care that the Lord is there!’

See, I care about you, and I will pay attention to you. Your ground will be plowed and your crops planted.

And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations.

“My servant David will be their king, and they will have only one shepherd. They will obey my regulations and be careful to keep my decrees.

And the Lord said to me, “Son of man, take careful notice. Use your eyes and ears, and listen to everything I tell you about the regulations concerning the Lord’s Temple. Take careful note of the procedures for using the Temple’s entrances and exits.

They are to serve as the Temple caretakers, taking charge of the maintenance work and performing general duties.