Proclamation Against Ammon
1The word of the LORD came to me, saying,
2“Son of man, aset your face bagainst the Ammonites, and prophesy against them.
3“Say to the Ammonites, ‘Hear the word of the Lord GOD! Thus says the Lord GOD: c“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 1men 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 dRabbah ea stable for camels and Ammon a resting place for flocks. fThen you shall know that I am the LORD.”
6‘For thus says the Lord GOD: “Because you gclapped your hands, stamped your feet, and hrejoiced in heart with all your disdain for the land of Israel,
7“indeed, therefore, I will istretch 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 jMoab and kSeir 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 lKirjathaim.
10m“To the men of the East I will give it as a possession, together with the Ammonites, that the Ammonites nmay 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: o“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; 2Dedan shall fall by the sword.
14p“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: q“Because rthe Philistines dealt vengefully and took vengeance with 3a spiteful heart, to destroy because of the 4old hatred,”
16‘therefore thus says the Lord GOD: s“I will stretch out My hand against the Philistines, and I will cut off the tCherethites uand destroy the remnant of the seacoast.
17“I will vexecute great vengeance on them with furious rebukes; wand they shall know that I am the LORD, when I lay My vengeance upon them.” ’ ”
Proclamation Against Tyre
1And 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, abecause Tyre has said against Jerusalem, b‘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 cmake her like the top of a rock.
5‘It shall be a place for spreading nets din 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. eThen they shall know that I am the LORD.’
7“For thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Behold, I will bring against Tyre from the north fNebuchadnezzar1 king of Babylon, gking 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 hheap up a siege mound against you, build a wall against you, and raise a 2defense 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 ihorses 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 jmidst of the water.
13k‘I will put an end to the sound of lyour songs, and the sound of your harps shall be heard no more.
14m‘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 nshake at the sound of your fall, when the wounded cry, when slaughter is made in the midst of you?
16‘Then all the oprinces of the sea will pcome down from their thrones, lay aside their robes, and take off their embroidered garments; they will clothe themselves with trembling; qthey will sit on the ground, rtremble every moment, and sbe astonished at you.
17‘And they will take up a tlamentation for you, and say to you:
“How you have perished,
O one inhabited by seafaring men,
O renowned city,
Who was ustrong at sea,
She and her inhabitants,
Who caused their terror to be on all her inhabitants!
18Now vthe coastlands tremble on the day of your fall;
Yes, the coastlands by the sea are troubled at your departure.” ’
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 wwith 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 xin the land of the living.
21y‘I will make you a terror, and you shall be no more; zthough you are sought for, you will never be found again,’ says the Lord GOD.”
Lamentation for Tyre
1The word of the LORD came again to me, saying, Nations and Cities Under Judgment in Ezekiel
2“Now, son of man, atake up a lamentation for Tyre,
3“and say to Tyre, b‘You who 1are situated at the entrance of the sea, cmerchant of the peoples on many coastlands, thus says the Lord GOD:
“O Tyre, you have said,
d‘I am perfect in beauty.’
4Your borders are in the midst of the seas.
Your builders have perfected your beauty.
5They 2made all your planks of fir trees from eSenir;
They took a cedar from Lebanon to make you a mast.
6Of foaks from Bashan they made your oars;
The company of Ashurites have inlaid your planks
With ivory from gthe coasts of 3Cyprus.
7Fine embroidered linen from Egypt was what you spread for your sail;
Blue and purple from the coasts of Elishah was what covered you.
8“Inhabitants of Sidon and Arvad were your oarsmen;
Your wise men, O Tyre, were in you;
They became your pilots.
9Elders of hGebal and its wise men
Were in you to caulk your seams;
All the ships of the sea
And their oarsmen were in you
To market your merchandise.
10“Those from Persia, 4Lydia, and 5Libya
Were in your army as men of war;
They hung shield and helmet in you;
They gave splendor to you.
11Men of Arvad with your army were on your walls all around,
And the men of Gammad were in your towers;
They hung their shields on your walls all around;
They made iyour beauty perfect.
12j“Tarshish was your merchant because of your many luxury goods. They gave you silver, iron, tin, and lead for your goods.
13k“Javan, Tubal, and Meshech were your traders. They bartered lhuman lives and vessels of bronze for your merchandise.
14“Those from the house of mTogarmah traded for your wares with horses, steeds, and mules.
15“The men of nDedan 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 oMinnith, millet, honey, oil, and pbalm.
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, 6traversing back and forth. Wrought iron, cassia, and cane were among your merchandise.
20q“Dedan was your merchant in saddlecloths for riding.
21“Arabia and all the princes of rKedar were your regular merchants. They traded with you in lambs, rams, and goats.
22“The merchants of sSheba and Raamah were your merchants. They traded for your wares the choicest spices, all kinds of precious stones, and gold.
23t“Haran, Canneh, Eden, the merchants of uSheba, 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.
25“The vships of Tarshish were carriers of your merchandise.
You were filled and very glorious win the midst of the seas.
26Your oarsmen brought you into many waters,
But xthe east wind broke you in the midst of the seas.
27“Your yriches, wares, and merchandise,
Your mariners and pilots,
Your caulkers and merchandisers,
All your men of war who are in you,
And the entire company which is in your midst,
Will fall into the midst of the seas on the day of your ruin.
28The zcommon-land7 will shake at the sound of the cry of your pilots.
29“All awho handle the oar,
The mariners,
All the pilots of the sea
Will come down from their ships and stand on the 8shore.
30They will make their voice heard because of you;
They will cry bitterly and bcast dust on their heads;
They cwill roll about in ashes;
31They will dshave themselves completely bald because of you,
Gird themselves with sackcloth,
And weep for you
With bitterness of heart and bitter wailing.
32In their wailing for you
They will etake up a lamentation,
And lament for you:
f‘What city is like Tyre,
Destroyed in the midst of the sea?
33‘Wheng your wares went out by sea,
You satisfied many people;
You enriched the kings of the earth
With your many luxury goods and your merchandise.
34But hyou are broken by the seas in the depths of the waters;
iYour merchandise and the entire company will fall in your midst.
35jAll the inhabitants of the isles will be astonished at you;
Their kings will be greatly afraid,
And their countenance will be troubled.
36The merchants among the peoples kwill hiss at you;
Proclamation Against the King of Tyre
1The word of the LORD came to me again, saying,
2“Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD:
“Because your heart is alifted1 up,
And byou say, ‘I am a god,
I sit in the seat of gods,
cIn the midst of the seas,’
dYet you are a man, and not a god,
Though you set your heart as the heart of a god
3(Behold, eyou are wiser than Daniel!
There is no secret that can be hidden from you!
4With your wisdom and your understanding
You have gained friches for yourself,
And gathered gold and silver into your treasuries;
5gBy your great wisdom in trade you have increased your riches,
And your heart is lifted up because of your riches),”
6‘Therefore thus says the Lord GOD:
“Because you have set your heart as the heart of a god,
7Behold, therefore, I will bring hstrangers against you,
iThe most terrible of the nations;
And they shall draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom,
And defile your splendor.
8They shall throw you down into the jPit,
And you shall die the death of the slain
In the midst of the seas.
9“Will you still ksay before him who slays you,
‘I am a god’?
But you shall be a man, and not a god,
In the hand of him who slays you.
10You shall die the death of lthe uncircumcised
By the hand of aliens;
For I have spoken,” says the Lord GOD.’ ”
Lamentation for the King of Tyre
11Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying, Is Ezekiel 28:11–19 Talking About Satan?
12“Son of man, mtake up a lamentation for the king of Tyre, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD:
n“You were the seal of perfection,
Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
13You were in oEden, the garden of God;
Every precious stone was your covering:
The sardius, topaz, and diamond,
Beryl, onyx, and jasper,
Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold.
The workmanship of pyour timbrels and pipes
Was prepared for you on the day you were created.
14“You were the anointed qcherub who covers;
I established you;
You were on rthe holy mountain of God;
You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones.
15You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created,
Till siniquity was found in you.
16“By the abundance of your trading
You became filled with violence within,
And you sinned;
Therefore I cast you as a profane thing
Out of the mountain of God;
And I destroyed you, tO covering cherub,
From the midst of the fiery stones.
17“Your uheart was 2lifted up because of your beauty;
You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor;
I cast you to the ground,
I laid you before kings,
That they might gaze at you.
18“You defiled your sanctuaries
By the multitude of your iniquities,
By the iniquity of your trading;
Therefore I brought fire from your midst;
It devoured you,
And I turned you to ashes upon the earth
In the sight of all who saw you.
19All who knew you among the peoples are astonished at you;
vYou have become a horror,
And shall be no wmore forever.” ’ ”
Proclamation Against Sidon
20Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
21“Son of man, xset your face ytoward Sidon, and prophesy against her,
22“and say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD:
z“Behold, I am against you, O Sidon;
I will be glorified in your midst;
And athey shall know that I am the LORD,
When I execute judgments in her and am bhallowed in her.
23cFor I will send pestilence upon her,
And blood in her streets;
The wounded shall be judged in her midst
By the sword against her on every side;
Then they shall know that I am the LORD.
24“And there shall no longer be a pricking brier or da painful thorn for the house of Israel from among all who are around them, who edespise them. Then they shall know that I am the Lord GOD.”
Israel’s Future Blessing
25‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “When I have fgathered the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, and am ghallowed 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 hdwell 3safely there, ibuild houses, and jplant 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
1In 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, aset your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him, and bagainst all Egypt.
3“Speak, and say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD:
c“Behold, I am against you,
O Pharaoh king of Egypt,
O great dmonster who lies in the midst of his rivers,
eWho has said, ‘My 1River is my own;
I have made it for myself.’
4But fI will put hooks in your jaws,
And cause the fish of your rivers to stick to your scales;
I will bring you up out of the midst of your rivers,
And all the fish in your rivers will stick to your scales. Image
5I will leave you in the wilderness,
You and all the fish of your rivers;
You shall fall on the 2open gfield;
hYou shall not be picked up or 3gathered.
iI have given you as food
To the beasts of the field
And to the birds of the heavens.
6“Then all the inhabitants of Egypt
Shall know that I am the LORD,
Because they have been a jstaff of reed to the house of Israel.
7kWhen they took hold of you with the hand,
You broke and tore all their 4shoulders;
When they leaned on you,
You broke and made all their backs quiver.”
8‘Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: “Surely I will bring la sword upon you and cut off from you man and beast.
9“And the land of Egypt shall become mdesolate 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, nand I will make the land of Egypt utterly waste and desolate, ofrom 5Migdol to Syene, as far as the border of Ethiopia.
11p“Neither foot of man shall pass through it nor foot of beast pass through it, and it shall be uninhabited forty years.
12q“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 rscatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries.”
13‘Yet, thus says the Lord GOD: “At the send 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 tlowly 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 uthe 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
17And 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, vNebuchadnezzar king of Babylon caused his army to labor strenuously against Tyre; every head was made wbald, 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 xNebuchadnezzar 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 yworked for Me,’ says the Lord GOD.
21‘In that day zI will cause the 6horn of the house of Israel to spring forth, and I will aopen your mouth to speak in their midst. Then they shall know that I am the LORD.’ ”
Egypt and Her Allies Will Fall
1The word of the LORD came to me again, saying,
2“Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD:
a“Wail, ‘Woe to the day!’
3For bthe day is near,
Even the day of the LORD is near;
It will be a day of clouds, the time of the Gentiles.
4The sword shall come upon Egypt,
And great anguish shall be in 1Ethiopia,
When the slain fall in Egypt,
And they ctake away her wealth,
And dher foundations are broken down.
5“Ethiopia, 2Libya, 3Lydia, eall 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:
“Those who uphold Egypt shall fall,
And the pride of her power shall come down.
Those within her shall fall by the sword,”
Says the Lord GOD.
7“Theyg shall be desolate in the midst of the desolate countries,
And her cities shall be in the midst of the cities that are laid waste.
8Then they will know that I am the LORD,
When I have set a fire in Egypt
And all her helpers are destroyed.
9On that day hmessengers shall go forth from Me in ships
To make the 5careless Ethiopians afraid,
And great anguish shall come upon them,
As on the day of Egypt;
For indeed it is coming!”
10‘Thus says the Lord GOD:
i“I will also make a multitude of Egypt to cease
By the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.
11He and his people with him, jthe most terrible of the nations,
Shall be brought to destroy the land;
They shall draw their swords against Egypt,
And fill the land with the slain.
12kI will make the rivers dry,
And lsell the land into the hand of the wicked;
I will make the land waste, and all that is in it,
By the hand of aliens.
I, the LORD, have spoken.” Image
13‘Thus says the Lord GOD:
“I will also mdestroy the idols,
And cause the images to cease from 6Noph;
nThere shall no longer be princes from the land of Egypt;
oI will put fear in the land of Egypt.
14I will make pPathros desolate,
Set fire to qZoan,
rAnd execute judgments in 7No.
15I will pour My fury on 8Sin, the strength of Egypt;
sI will cut off the multitude of 9No,
16And tset a fire in Egypt;
Sin shall have great pain,
No shall be split open,
And Noph shall be in distress daily.
17The young men of 10Aven and Pi Beseth shall fall by the sword,
And these cities shall go into captivity.
18uAt 11Tehaphnehes the day shall also be 12darkened,
When I break the yokes of Egypt there.
And her arrogant strength shall cease in her;
As for her, a cloud shall cover her,
And her daughters shall go into captivity.
19Thus I will vexecute judgments on Egypt,
Then they shall know that I am the LORD.” ’ ”
Proclamation Against Pharaoh
20And 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 wbroken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and see, xit has not been bandaged for healing, nor a 13splint put on to bind it, to make it strong enough to hold a sword.
22“Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Surely I am yagainst Pharaoh king of Egypt, and will zbreak his arms, both the strong one and the one that was broken; and I will make the sword fall out of his hand.
23a‘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; bthey 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.
26c‘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
(cf. Ezek. 17:22–24)
1Now it came to pass in the aeleventh 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:
b‘Whom are you like in your greatness?
3cIndeed Assyria was a cedar in Lebanon,
With fine branches that shaded the forest,
And of high stature;
And its top was among the thick boughs.
4dThe waters made it grow;
Underground waters gave it height,
With their rivers running around the place where it was planted,
And sent out 1rivulets to all the trees of the field.
5‘Therefore eits height was exalted above all the trees of the field;
Its boughs were multiplied,
And its branches became long because of the abundance of water,
As it sent them out.
6All the fbirds of the heavens made their nests in its boughs;
Under its branches all the beasts of the field brought forth their young;
And in its shadow all great nations 2made their home.
7‘Thus it was beautiful in greatness and in the length of its branches,
Because its roots reached to abundant waters.
8The cedars in the ggarden of God could not hide it;
The fir trees were not like its boughs,
And the 3chestnut trees were not like its branches;
No tree in the garden of God was like it in beauty.
9I made it beautiful with a multitude of branches,
So that all the trees of Eden envied it,
That were in the garden of God.’
10“Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Because you have increased in height, and it set its top among the thick boughs, and hits heart was 4lifted up in its height,
11‘therefore I will deliver it into the hand of the imighty one of the nations, and he shall surely deal with it; I have driven it out for its wickedness.
12‘And aliens, jthe most terrible of the nations, have cut it down and left it; its branches have fallen kon the mountains and in all the valleys; its boughs lie lbroken by all the rivers of the land; and all the peoples of the earth have gone from under its shadow and left it.
13‘On mits ruin will remain all the birds of the heavens,
And all the beasts of the field will come to its branches—
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.
‘For nthey have all been delivered to death,
oTo the depths of the earth,
Among the children of men who go down to the Pit.’
15“Thus says the Lord GOD: ‘In the day when it pwent down to 5hell, 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 6mourn for it, and all the trees of the field wilted because of it.
16‘I made the nations qshake at the sound of its fall, when I rcast it down to 7hell together with those who descend into the Pit; and sall the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, twere 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 udwelt in its shadows among the nations.
18v‘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; wyou 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
1And it came to pass in the twelfth year, in the atwelfth month, on the first day of the month, that the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
2“Son of man, btake up a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say to him:
c‘You are like a young lion among the nations,
And dyou are like a monster in the seas,
eBursting forth in your rivers,
Troubling the waters with your feet,
And ffouling their rivers.’
3“Thus says the Lord GOD:
‘I will therefore gspread My net over you with a company of many people,
And they will draw you up in My net.
4Then hI will leave you on the land;
I will cast you out on the open fields,
iAnd cause to 1settle on you all the birds of the heavens.
And with you I will fill the beasts of the whole earth.
5I will lay your flesh jon the mountains,
And fill the valleys with your carcass.
6‘I will also water the land with the flow of your blood,
Even to the mountains;
And the riverbeds will be full of you.
7When I put out your light,
kI will cover the heavens, and make its stars dark;
I will cover the sun with a cloud,
And the moon shall not give her light.
8All the 2bright lights of the heavens I will make dark over you,
And bring darkness upon your land,’
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 lthey shall tremble every moment, every man for his own life, in the day of your fall.’
11m“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 nthe most terrible of the nations, I will cause your multitude to fall.
o‘They shall plunder the pomp of Egypt,
And all its multitude shall be destroyed.
13Also I will destroy all its animals
From beside its great waters;
pThe foot of man shall muddy them no more,
Nor shall the hooves of animals muddy them.
14Then I will make their waters 3clear,
And make their rivers run like oil,’
Says the Lord GOD.
15‘When I make the land of Egypt desolate,
And the country is destitute of all that once filled it,
When I strike all who dwell in it,
qThen they shall know that I am the LORD.
16‘This is the rlamentation
With which they shall lament her;
The daughters of the nations shall lament her;
They shall lament for her, for Egypt,
And for all her multitude,’
Says the Lord GOD.”
Egypt and Others Consigned to the Pit
17It came to pass also in the twelfth year, on the fifteenth day of the month, sthat the word of the LORD came to me, saying:
18“Son of man, wail over the multitude of Egypt,
And tcast them down to the depths of the earth,
Her and the daughters of the famous nations,
With those who go down to the Pit:
19‘Whom udo you surpass in beauty?
vGo down, be placed with the uncircumcised.’
20“They shall fall in the midst of those slain by the sword;
She is delivered to the sword,
wDrawing her and all her multitudes.
21xThe strong among the mighty
Shall speak to him out of the midst of hell
With those who help him:
‘They have ygone down,
They lie with the uncircumcised, slain by the sword.’
22“Assyriaz is there, and all her company,
With their graves all around her,
All of them slain, fallen by the sword.
23aHer graves are set in the recesses of the Pit,
And her company is all around her grave,
All of them slain, fallen by the sword,
Who bcaused terror in the land of the living.
24“There is cElam and all her multitude,
All around her grave,
All of them slain, fallen by the sword,
Who have dgone down uncircumcised to the lower parts of the earth,
eWho caused their terror in the land of the living;
Now they bear their shame with those who go down to the Pit.
25They have set her fbed in the midst of the slain,
With all her multitude,
With her graves all around it,
All of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword;
Though their terror was caused
In the land of the living,
Yet they bear their shame
With those who go down to the Pit;
It was put in the midst of the slain.
26“There are gMeshech and Tubal and all their multitudes,
With all their graves around it,
All of them huncircumcised, slain by the sword,
Though they caused their terror in the land of the living.
27iThey do not lie with the mighty
Who are fallen of the uncircumcised,
Who have gone down to hell with their weapons of war;
They have laid their swords under their heads,
But their iniquities will be on their bones,
Because of the terror of the mighty in the land of the living.
28Yes, you shall be broken in the midst of the uncircumcised,
And lie with those slain by the sword.
Her kings and all her princes,
Who despite their might
Are laid beside those slain by the sword;
They shall lie with the uncircumcised,
And with those who go down to the Pit.
30kThere are the princes of the north,
All of them, and all the lSidonians,
Who have gone down with the slain
In shame at the terror which they caused by their might;
They lie uncircumcised with those slain by the sword,
And bear their shame with those who go down to the Pit.
31“Pharaoh will see them
And be mcomforted over all his multitude,
Pharaoh and all his army,
Slain by the sword,”
Says the Lord GOD.
32“For I have caused My terror in the land of the living;
And he shall be placed in the midst of the uncircumcised
With those slain by the sword,
Pharaoh and all his multitude,”
Says the Lord GOD.
The Watchman and His Message
1Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
2“Son of man, speak to athe children of your people, and say to them: b‘When I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from their territory and make him their cwatchman,
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 dnot take warning, if the sword comes and takes him away, ehis 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 1save 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, fhe is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand.’
7g“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 2delivered 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 hpine3 away in them, ihow can we then live?” ’
11“Say to them: ‘As I live,’ says the Lord GOD, j‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked kturn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For lwhy 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 mrighteousness of the righteous man shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression; as for the wickedness of the wicked, nhe 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, obut 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, pwhen I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ if he turns from his sin and does 4what is lawful and 5right,
15“if the wicked qrestores the pledge, rgives back what he has stolen, and walks in sthe statutes of life without committing iniquity, he shall surely live; he shall not die.
16t“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.
17u“Yet the children of your people say, ‘The way of the Lord is not 6fair.’ But it is their way which is not fair!
18v“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, w‘The way of the Lord is not 7fair.’ O house of Israel, I will judge every one of you according to his own ways.”
The Fall of Jerusalem
21And it came to pass in the twelfth year xof our captivity, in the tenth month, on the fifth day of the month, ythat one who had escaped from Jerusalem came to me and said, z“The city has been 8captured!”
22Now athe hand of the LORD had been upon me the evening before the man came who had escaped. And He had bopened 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
23Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying:
24“Son of man, cthey who inhabit those druins in the land of Israel are saying, e‘Abraham was only one, and he inherited the land. fBut we are many; the land has been given to us as a gpossession.’
25“Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: h“You eat meat with blood, you ilift up your eyes toward your idols, and jshed blood. Should you then possess the kland?
26“You rely on your sword, you commit abominations, and you ldefile one another’s wives. Should you then possess the land?” ’
27“Say thus to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “As I live, surely mthose who are in the ruins shall fall by the sword, and the one who is in the open field nI will give to the beasts to be devoured, and those who are in the strongholds and ocaves shall die of the pestilence.
28p“For I will make the land most desolate, 9her qarrogant strength shall cease, and rthe 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 sspeak to one another, everyone saying to his brother, ‘Please come and hear what the word is that comes from the LORD.’
31“So tthey come to you as people do, they usit before you as My people, and they vhear your words, but they do not do them; wfor with their mouth they show much love, but xtheir 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 ynot do them.
33z“And when this comes to pass—surely it will come—then athey will know that a prophet has been among them.”
Irresponsible Shepherds
1And 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: a“Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks?
3b“You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool; you cslaughter the fatlings, but you do not feed the flock.
4d“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 esought what was lost; but with fforce and 1cruelty you have ruled them.
5g“So they were hscattered because there was no shepherd; iand they became food for all the beasts of the field when they were scattered.
6“My sheep jwandered 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 kbecame food for every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, nor did My shepherds search for My flock, lbut 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 magainst the shepherds, and nI will require My flock at their hand; I will cause them to cease feeding the sheep, and the shepherds shall ofeed themselves no more; for I will pdeliver 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 qshepherd 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 ra cloudy and dark day.
13“And sI 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, 2in the valleys and in all the inhabited places of the country.
14t“I will feed them in good pasture, and their fold shall be on the high mountains of Israel. uThere 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.
16v“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 wthe fat and the strong, and feed them xin judgment.”
17‘And as for you, O My flock, thus says the Lord GOD: y“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 3residue 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: z“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 ashepherd over them, and he shall feed them—bMy servant David. He shall feed them and be their shepherd.
24“And cI, the LORD, will be their God, and My servant David da prince among them; I, the LORD, have spoken.
25e“I will make a covenant of peace with them, and fcause wild beasts to cease from the land; and they gwill dwell safely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods.
26“I will make them and the places all around hMy hill ia blessing; and I will jcause showers to come down in their season; there shall be kshowers of blessing.
27“Then lthe 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 mbroken the bands of their yoke and delivered them from the hand of those who nenslaved them.
28“And they shall no longer be a prey for the nations, nor shall beasts of the land devour them; but othey shall dwell safely, and no one shall make them afraid.
29“I will raise up for them a pgarden4 of renown, and they shall qno longer be consumed with hunger in the land, rnor bear the shame of the Gentiles anymore.
30“Thus they shall know that sI, the LORD their God, am with them, and they, the house of Israel, are tMy people,” says the Lord GOD.’ ”
31“You are My uflock, the flock of My pasture; you are men, and I am your God,” says the Lord GOD.
Judgment on Mount Seir
1Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
2“Son of man, set your face against aMount Seir and bprophesy against it,
3“and say to it, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD:
“Behold, O Mount Seir, I am against you;
cI will stretch out My hand against you,
And make you 1most desolate;
4I shall lay your cities waste,
And you shall be desolate.
Then you shall know that I am the LORD.
5d“Because you have had an 2ancient hatred, and have shed the blood of the children of Israel by the power of the sword at the time of their calamity, ewhen their iniquity came to an end,
6“therefore, as I live,” says the Lord GOD, “I will prepare you for fblood, and blood shall pursue you; gsince you have not hated 3blood, therefore blood shall pursue you.
7“Thus I will make Mount Seir 4most desolate, and cut off from it the hone 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.
9i“I will make you 5perpetually desolate, and your cities shall be uninhabited; jthen 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 kpossess them,’ although lthe LORD was there,
11“therefore, as I live,” says the Lord GOD, “I will do maccording 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.
12n“Then you shall know that I am the LORD. I have oheard all your pblasphemies which you have spoken against the mountains of Israel, saying, ‘They are desolate; they are given to us to consume.’
13“Thus qwith your mouth you have 6boasted against Me and multiplied your rwords against Me; I have heard them.”
14‘Thus says the Lord GOD: s“The whole earth will rejoice when I make you desolate.
15t“As you rejoiced because the inheritance of the house of Israel was desolate, uso 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
1“And you, son of man, prophesy to the amountains of Israel, and say, ‘O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the LORD!
2‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Because bthe enemy has said of you, ‘Aha! cThe 1ancient heights dhave 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, eand you are taken up by the lips of ftalkers 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 2rivers, the valleys, the desolate wastes, and the cities that have been forsaken, which gbecame plunder and hmockery to the rest of the nations all around—
5‘therefore thus says the Lord GOD: i“Surely I have spoken in My burning jealousy against the rest of the nations and against all Edom, jwho gave My land to themselves as a possession, with wholehearted joy and 3spiteful 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 kborne the shame of the nations.”
7‘Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: “I have lraised My hand in an oath that surely the nations that are around you shall mbear 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 nthe ruins rebuilt.
11o“I will multiply upon you man and beast; and they shall increase and 4bear young; I will make you inhabited as in former times, and do pbetter for you than at your beginnings. qThen you shall know that I am the LORD.
12“Yes, I will cause men to walk on you, My people Israel; rthey shall take possession of you, and you shall be their inheritance; no more shall you sbereave them of children.”
13‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Because they say to you, t‘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.
15u“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
16Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying:
17“Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, vthey defiled it by their own ways and deeds; to Me their way was like wthe uncleanness of a woman in her customary impurity.
18“Therefore I poured out My fury on them xfor the blood they had shed on the land, and for their idols with which they had defiled it.
19“So I yscattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed throughout the countries; I judged them zaccording to their ways and their deeds.
20“When they came to the nations, wherever they went, they aprofaned 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 bfor 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, cbut 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 dhallowed in you before their eyes.
24“For eI will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land.
25f“Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you gfrom all your filthiness and from all your idols.
26“I will give you a hnew 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 iSpirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.
28j“Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; kyou shall be My people, and I will be your God.
29“I will ldeliver you from all your uncleannesses. mI will call for the grain and multiply it, and nbring no famine upon you.
30o“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 pyou will remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good; and you qwill 5loathe yourselves in your own sight, for your iniquities and your abominations.
32r“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, sand 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 tEden; 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. uI, the LORD, have spoken it, and I will do it.”
37‘Thus says the Lord GOD: v“I will also let the house of Israel inquire of Me to do this for them: I will wincrease their men like a flock.
38“Like a 6flock offered as holy sacrifices, like the flock at Jerusalem on its 7feast 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
1The ahand of the LORD came upon me and brought me out bin the Spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones.
2Then 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.
3And He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” So I answered, “O Lord GOD, cYou know.”
4Again 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 dcause 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. eThen you shall know that I am the LORD.” ’ ”
7So 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.
8Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over; but there was no breath in them.
9Also He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the 1breath, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: f“Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” ’ ”
10So I prophesied as He commanded me, gand 2breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army.
11Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the hwhole house of Israel. They indeed say, i‘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, jO My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and kbring 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 lwill 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
15Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
16“As for you, son of man, mtake a stick for yourself and write on it: ‘For Judah and for nthe 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 ojoin 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, p‘Will you not show us what you mean by these?’—
19q“say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Surely I will take rthe 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 sbefore their eyes.
21“Then say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Surely tI 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 uI will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and vone king shall be king over them all; they shall no longer be two nations, nor shall they ever be divided into two kingdoms again.
23w“They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions; but xI 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.
24y“David My servant shall be king over them, and zthey shall all have one shepherd; athey shall also walk in My judgments and observe My statutes, and do them.
25b“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, cforever; and dMy servant David shall be their prince forever.
26“Moreover I will 3make ea covenant of peace with them, and it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; I will establish them and fmultiply them, and I will set My gsanctuary in their midst forevermore.
27h“My tabernacle also shall be with them; indeed I will be itheir God, and they shall be My people.
28j“The nations also will know that I, the LORD, ksanctify Israel, when My sanctuary is in their midst forevermore.” ’ ”
Gog and Allies Attack Israel
1Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
2a“Son of man, bset your face against cGog, of the land of dMagog, 1the prince of Rosh, eMeshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him, Gog, of the Land of Magog
3“and say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal.
4f“I will turn you around, put hooks into your jaws, and glead you out, with all your army, horses, and horsemen, hall splendidly clothed, a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords.
5“Persia, 2Ethiopia, and 3Libya are with them, all of them with shield and helmet;
6i“Gomer and all its troops; the house of jTogarmah from the far north and all its troops—many people are with you.
7k“Prepare yourself and be ready, you and all your companies that are gathered about you; and be a guard for them.
8l“After many days myou will be visited. In the latter years you will come into the land of those brought back from the sword nand gathered from many people on othe mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate; they were brought out of the nations, and now all of them pdwell safely.
9“You will ascend, coming qlike a storm, covering the rland 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 sunwalled villages; I will tgo to a peaceful people, uwho dwell 4safely, 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, vand against a people gathered from the nations, who have acquired livestock and goods, who dwell in the midst of the land.
13w“Sheba, xDedan, the merchants yof Tarshish, and all ztheir 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: a“On that day when My people Israel bdwell safely, will you not know it?
15c“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 dknow Me, when I am ehallowed 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 fin My jealousy gand in the fire of My wrath I have spoken: h‘Surely in that day there shall be a great 5earthquake in the land of Israel,
20‘so that ithe 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. jThe mountains shall be thrown down, the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.’
21“I will kcall for la sword against Gog throughout all My mountains,” says the Lord GOD. m“Every man’s sword will be against his brother.
22“And I will nbring him to judgment with opestilence and bloodshed; pI will rain down on him, on his troops, and on the many peoples who are with him, flooding rain, qgreat hailstones, fire, and brimstone.
23“Thus I will magnify Myself and rsanctify Myself, sand I will be known in the eyes of many nations. Then they shall know that I am the LORD.” ’
Gog’s Armies Destroyed
1“And ayou, son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, I am against you, O Gog, 1the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal;
2“and I will bturn you around and lead you on, cbringing 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.
4d“You shall 2fall upon the mountains of Israel, you and all your troops and the peoples who are with you; eI will give you to birds of prey of every sort and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
5“You shall 3fall on 4the open field; for I have spoken,” says the Lord GOD.
6f“And I will send fire on Magog and on those who live 5in security in gthe coastlands. Then they shall know that I am the LORD.
7h“So I will make My holy name known in the midst of My people Israel, and I will not let them iprofane My holy name anymore. jThen the nations shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
8k“Surely it is coming, and it shall be done,” says the Lord GOD. “This is the day lof 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 6javelins 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; mand 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 7Hamon Gog.
12“For seven months the house of Israel will be burying them, nin order to cleanse the land.
13“Indeed all the people of the land will be burying, and they will gain orenown for it on the day that pI am glorified,” says the Lord GOD.
14“They will set apart men regularly employed, with the help of 8a search party, to pass through the land and bury those bodies remaining on the ground, in order qto 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 9set 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 10Hamonah. Thus they shall rcleanse the land.” ’
A Triumphant Festival
17“And as for you, son of man, thus says the Lord GOD, s‘Speak to every sort of bird and to every beast of the field:
t“Assemble yourselves and come;
Gather together from all sides to My usacrificial meal
Which I am sacrificing for you,
A great sacrificial meal von the mountains of Israel,
That you may eat flesh and drink blood.
18wYou shall eat the flesh of the mighty,
Drink the blood of the princes of the earth,
Of rams and lambs,
Of goats and bulls,
All of them xfatlings of Bashan.
19You shall eat fat till you are full,
And drink blood till you are drunk,
At My sacrificial meal
Which I am sacrificing for you.
20yYou shall be filled at My table
With horses and riders,
zWith mighty men
And with all the men of war,” says the Lord GOD.
Israel Restored to the Land
21a“I will set My glory among the nations; all the nations shall see My judgment which I have executed, and bMy hand which I have laid on them.
22c“So the house of Israel shall know that I am the LORD their God from that day forward.
23d“The Gentiles shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity; because they were unfaithful to Me, therefore eI hid My face from them. I fgave them into the hand of their enemies, and they all fell by the sword.
24g“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: h‘Now I will bring back the captives of Jacob, and have mercy on the iwhole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for My holy name—
26j‘after they have borne their shame, and all their unfaithfulness in which they were unfaithful to Me, when they kdwelt safely in their own land and no one made them afraid.
27l‘When I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them out of their enemies’ lands, and I mam hallowed in them in the sight of many nations,
28n‘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 11captive any longer.
29o‘And I will not hide My face from them anymore; for I shall have ppoured out My Spirit on the house of Israel,’ says the Lord GOD.”
A New City, a New Temple
1In 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 athe city was 1captured, on the very same day bthe hand of the LORD was upon me; and He took me there. Ezekiel’s Temple
2cIn the visions of God He took me into the land of Israel and dset me on a very high mountain; on it toward the south was something like the structure of a city.
3He took me there, and behold, there was a man whose appearance was elike the appearance of bronze. fHe had a line of flax gand a measuring rod in his hand, and he stood in the gateway.
4And the man said to me, h“Son of man, look with your eyes and hear with your ears, and 2fix your mind on everything I show you; for you were brought here so that I might show them to you. iDeclare to the house of Israel everything you see.”
5Now there was ja wall all around the outside of the 3temple. In the man’s hand was a measuring rod six 4cubits 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
6Then he went to the gateway which faced keast; 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.
7Each 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.
8He also measured the vestibule of the inside gate, one rod.
9Then he measured the vestibule of the gateway, eight cubits; and the gateposts, two cubits. The vestibule of the gate was on the inside.
10In 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.
11He measured the width of the entrance to the gateway, ten cubits; and the length of the gate, thirteen cubits.
12There was a 5space 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.
13Then 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.
14He measured the gateposts, sixty cubits high, and the court all around the gateway extended to the gatepost.
15From the front of the entrance gate to the front of the vestibule of the inner gate was fifty cubits.
16There were lbeveled 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 mpalm trees.
The Outer Court
17Then he brought me into nthe outer court; and there were ochambers and a pavement made all around the court; pthirty chambers faced the pavement.
18The pavement was by the side of the gateways, corresponding to the length of the gateways; this was the lower pavement.
19Then 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
20On the outer court was also a gateway facing north, and he measured its length and its width.
21Its 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.
22Its 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.
23A 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
24After 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.
25There were windows in it and in its archways all around like those windows; its length was fifty cubits and its width twenty-five cubits.
26Seven 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.
27There 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
28Then he brought me to the inner court through the southern gateway; he measured the southern gateway according to these same measurements.
29Also 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.
30There were archways all around, qtwenty-five cubits long and five cubits wide.
31Its archways faced the outer court, palm trees were on its gateposts, and going up to it were eight steps.
32And he brought me into the inner court facing east; he measured the gateway according to these same measurements.
33Also 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.
34Its 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.
35Then he brought me to the north gateway and measured it according to these same measurements—
36also its gate chambers, its gateposts, and its archways. It had windows all around; its length was fifty cubits and its width twenty-five cubits.
37Its 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
38There was a chamber and its entrance by the gateposts of the gateway, where they rwashed the burnt offering.
39In the vestibule of the gateway were two tables on this side and two tables on that side, on which to slay the burnt offering, sthe sin offering, and tthe trespass offering.
40At 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.
41Four 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.
42There 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.
43Inside were hooks, a handbreadth wide, fastened all around; and the flesh of the sacrifices was on the tables.
Chambers for Singers and Priests
44Outside the inner gate were the chambers for uthe 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 southern gateway.
45Then he said to me, “This chamber which faces south is for vthe priests who have charge of the temple.
46“The chamber which faces north is for the priests wwho have charge of the altar; these are the sons of xZadok, from the sons of Levi, who come near the LORD to minister to Him.”
Dimensions of the Inner Court and Vestibule
(cf. 1 Kin. 7:14–22)
47And he measured the court, one hundred cubits long and one hundred cubits wide, foursquare. The altar was in front of the temple.
48Then he brought me to the yvestibule 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.
49zThe length of the vestibule was twenty cubits, and the width eleven cubits; and by the steps which led up to it there were apillars by the doorposts, one on this side and another on that side.
Dimensions of the Sanctuary
1Then he abrought me into the 1sanctuary and measured the doorposts, six cubits wide on one side and six cubits wide on the other side—the width of the tabernacle.
2The 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.
3Also he went inside and measured the doorposts, two cubits; and the entrance, six cubits high; and the width of the entrance, seven cubits.
4bHe 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
5Next, he measured the wall of the 2temple, six cubits. The width of each side chamber all around the temple was four cubits on every side.
6cThe side chambers were in three stories, one above the other, thirty chambers in each story; they rested on 3ledges which were for the side chambers all around, that they might be supported, but dnot fastened to the wall of the temple.
7As one went up from story to story, the side chambers ebecame 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.
8I also saw an elevation all around the temple; it was the foundation of the side chambers, fa full rod, that is, six cubits high.
9The 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 4temple.
10And between it and the wall chambers was a width of twenty cubits all around the temple on every side.
11The 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
12The 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
13So he measured the temple, one ghundred cubits long; and the separating courtyard with the building and its walls was one hundred cubits long;
14also the width of the eastern face of the temple, including the separating courtyard, was one hundred cubits.
15He measured the length of the building behind it, facing the separating courtyard, with its hgalleries on the one side and on the other side, one hundred cubits, as well as the inner 5temple and the porches of the court,
16their doorposts and ithe beveled window frames. And the galleries all around their three stories opposite the threshold were paneled with jwood from the ground to the windows—the windows were covered—
17from the space above the door, even to the inner 6room, as well as outside, and on every wall all around, inside and outside, by measure.
18And it was made kwith cherubim and lpalm trees, a palm tree between cherub and cherub. Each cherub had two faces,
19mso 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.
20From the floor to the space above the door, and on the wall of the sanctuary, cherubim and palm trees were carved.
21The ndoorposts of the temple were square, as was the front of the sanctuary; their appearance was similar.
22oThe 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 pthe table that is qbefore the LORD.”
23rThe temple and the sanctuary had two doors.
24The doors had two spanels apiece, two folding panels: two panels for one door and two panels for the other door.
25Cherubim 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.
26There were tbeveled 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
1Then he abrought me out into the outer court, by the way toward the bnorth; and he brought me into cthe chamber which was opposite the separating courtyard, and which was opposite the building toward the north.
2Facing the length, which was one hundred cubits (the width was fifty cubits), was the north door.
3Opposite the inner court of twenty cubits, and opposite the dpavement of the outer court, was egallery against gallery in three stories.
4In front of the chambers, toward the inside, was a walk ten cubits wide, at a distance of one cubit; and their doors faced north.
5Now the upper chambers were shorter, because the galleries took away space from them more than from the lower and middle stories of the building.
6For they were in three stories and did not have pillars like the pillars of the courts; therefore the upper level was 1shortened more than the lower and middle levels from the ground up.
7And 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.
8The length of the chambers toward the outer court was fifty cubits, whereas that facing the temple was one fhundred cubits.
9At the lower chambers was the entrance on the east side, as one goes into them from the outer court.
10Also there were chambers in the thickness of the wall of the court toward the east, opposite the separating courtyard and opposite the building.
11gThere 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.
12And 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.
13Then 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 hshall eat the most holy offerings. There they shall lay the most holy offerings—ithe grain offering, the sin offering, and the trespass offering—for the place is holy.
14j“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
15Now when he had finished measuring the inner 2temple, he brought me out through the gateway that faces toward the keast, and measured it all around.
16He measured the east side with the 3measuring rod, five hundred rods by the measuring rod all around.
17He measured the north side, five hundred rods by the measuring rod all around.
18He measured the south side, five hundred rods by the measuring rod.
19He came around to the west side and measured five hundred rods by the measuring rod.
20He measured it on the four sides; lit had a wall all around, mfive hundred cubits long and five hundred wide, to separate the holy areas from the 4common.
The Temple, the LORD’s Dwelling Place
1Afterward he brought me to the gate, the gate athat faces toward the east.
2bAnd behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east. cHis voice was like the sound of many waters; dand the earth shone with His glory.
3It was elike the appearance of the vision which I saw—like the vision which I saw when 1I came fto destroy the city. The visions were like the vision which I saw gby the River Chebar; and I fell on my face.
4hAnd the glory of the LORD came into the 2temple by way of the gate which faces toward the east.
5iThe Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, jthe glory of the LORD filled the 3temple.
6Then I heard Him speaking to me from the temple, while ka man stood beside me.
7And He said to me, “Son of man, this is lthe place of My throne and mthe place of the soles of My feet, nwhere I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel forever. oNo more shall the house of Israel defile My holy name, they nor their kings, by their 4harlotry or with pthe carcasses of their kings on their high places.
8q“When they set their threshold by My threshold, and their doorpost by My doorpost, with a wall between them and Me, they defiled My holy name by the abominations which they committed; therefore I have consumed them in My anger.
9“Now let them put their harlotry and the carcasses of their kings far away from Me, and I will dwell in their midst forever.
10“Son of man, rdescribe the 5temple to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; and let them measure the pattern.
11“And if they are ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the design of the 6temple and its arrangement, its exits and its entrances, its entire design and all its sordinances, all its forms and all its laws. Write it down in their sight, so that they may keep its whole design and all its ordinances, and tperform them.
12“This is the law of the 7temple: The whole area surrounding uthe mountaintop is most holy. Behold, this is the law of the temple.
Dimensions of the Altar
13“These are the measurements of the valtar in cubits w(the 8cubit is one cubit and a handbreadth): the base one cubit high and one cubit wide, with a rim all around its edge of one span. This is the height of the altar:
14“from the base on the ground to the lower ledge, two cubits; the width of the ledge, one cubit; from the smaller ledge to the larger ledge, four cubits; and the width of the ledge, one cubit.
15“The altar hearth is four cubits high, with four xhorns extending upward from the 9hearth.
16“The altar hearth is twelve cubits long, twelve wide, ysquare at its four corners;
17“the ledge, fourteen cubits long and fourteen wide on its four sides, with a rim of half a cubit around it; its base, one cubit all around; and zits steps face toward the east.”
Consecrating the Altar
18And He said to me, “Son of man, thus says the Lord GOD: ‘These are the ordinances for the altar on the day when it is made, for sacrificing aburnt offerings on it, and for bsprinkling blood on it.
19‘You shall give ca young bull for a sin offering to dthe priests, the Levites, who are of the seed of eZadok, who approach Me to minister to Me,’ says the Lord GOD.
20‘You shall take some of its blood and put it on the four horns of the altar, on the four corners of the ledge, and on the rim around it; thus you shall cleanse it and make atonement for it.
21‘Then you shall also take the bull of the sin offering, and fburn it in the appointed place of the 10temple, goutside the sanctuary.
22‘On the second day you shall offer a kid of the goats without blemish for a sin offering; and they shall cleanse the altar, as they cleansed it with the bull.
23‘When you have finished cleansing it, you shall offer a young bull without blemish, and a ram from the flock without blemish.
24‘When you offer them before the LORD, hthe priests shall throw salt on them, and they will offer them up as a burnt offering to the LORD.
25‘Every day for iseven days you shall prepare a goat for a sin offering; they shall also prepare a young bull and a ram from the flock, both without blemish.
26‘Seven days they shall make atonement for the altar and purify it, and so 11consecrate 12it.
27j‘When these days are over it shall be, on the eighth day and thereafter, that the priests shall offer your burnt offerings and your peace offerings on the altar; and I will kaccept you,’ says the Lord GOD.”
The East Gate and the Prince
1Then He brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary awhich faces toward the east, but it was shut.
2And the LORD said to me, “This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter by it, bbecause the LORD God of Israel has entered by it; therefore it shall be shut.
3“As for the cprince, because he is the prince, he may sit in it to deat bread before the LORD; he shall enter by way of the vestibule of the gateway, and go out the same way.”
Those Admitted to the Temple
4Also He brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the 1temple; so I looked, and ebehold, the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD; fand I fell on my face.
5And the LORD said to me, g“Son of man, 2mark well, see with your eyes and hear with your ears, all that I say to you concerning all the hordinances of the house of the LORD and all its laws. Mark well who may enter the house and all who go out from the sanctuary.
6“Now say to the irebellious, to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “O house of Israel, jlet Us have no more of all your abominations.
7k“When you brought in lforeigners, muncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in My sanctuary to defile it—My house—and when you offered nMy food, othe fat and the blood, then they broke My covenant because of all your abominations.
8“And you have not pkept charge of My holy things, but you have set others to keep charge of My sanctuary for you.”
9‘Thus says the Lord GOD: q“No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart or uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter My sanctuary, including any foreigner who is among the children of Israel.
Laws Governing Priests
10r“And the Levites who went far from Me, when Israel went astray, who strayed away from Me after their idols, they shall bear their iniquity.
11“Yet they shall be ministers in My sanctuary, sas gatekeepers of the house and ministers of the house; tthey shall slay the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and uthey shall stand before them to minister to them.
12“Because they ministered to them before their idols and vcaused3 the house of Israel to fall into iniquity, therefore I have wraised My hand in an oath against them,” says the Lord GOD, “that they shall bear their iniquity.
13x“And they shall not come near Me to minister to Me as priest, nor come near any of My holy things, nor into the Most Holy Place; but they shall ybear their shame and their abominations which they have committed.
14“Nevertheless I will make them zkeep charge of the temple, for all its work, and for all that has to be done in it.
15a“But the priests, the Levites, bthe sons of Zadok, who kept charge of My sanctuary cwhen the children of Israel went astray from Me, they shall come near Me to minister to Me; and they dshall stand before Me to offer to Me the efat and the blood,” says the Lord GOD.
16“They shall fenter My sanctuary, and they shall come near gMy table to minister to Me, and they shall keep My charge.
17“And it shall be, whenever they enter the gates of the inner court, that hthey shall put on linen garments; no wool shall come upon them while they minister within the gates of the inner court or within the house.
18i“They shall have linen turbans on their heads and linen trousers on their bodies; they shall not clothe themselves with anything that causes sweat.
19“When they go out to the outer court, to the outer court to the people, jthey shall take off their garments in which they have ministered, leave them in the holy chambers, and put on other garments; and in their holy garments they shall knot sanctify the people.
20l“They shall neither shave their heads nor let their hair grow mlong, but they shall keep their hair well trimmed.
21n“No priest shall drink wine when he enters the inner court.
22“They shall not take as wife a owidow or a divorced woman, but take virgins of the descendants of the house of Israel, or widows of priests.
23“And pthey shall teach My people the difference between the holy and the unholy, and cause them to qdiscern between the unclean and the clean.
24r“In controversy they shall stand as judges, and judge it according to My judgments. They shall keep My laws and My statutes in all My appointed meetings, sand they shall hallow My Sabbaths.
25“They shall not defile themselves by coming near a dead person. Only for father or mother, for son or daughter, for brother or unmarried sister may they defile themselves.
26t“After he is cleansed, they shall count seven days for him.
27“And on the day that he goes to the sanctuary to minister in the sanctuary, uhe must offer his sin offering vin the inner court,” says the Lord GOD.
28“It shall be, in regard to their inheritance, that I wam their inheritance. You shall give them no xpossession in Israel, for I am their possession.
29y“They shall eat the grain offering, the sin offering, and the trespass offering; zevery dedicated thing in Israel shall be theirs.
30“The abest4 of all firstfruits of any kind, and every sacrifice of any kind from all your sacrifices, shall be the priest’s; also you bshall give to the priest the first of your ground meal, cto cause a blessing to rest on your house.
31“The priests shall not eat anything, bird or beast, that ddied naturally or was torn by wild beasts.
The Holy District
1“Moreover, when you adivide the land by lot into inheritance, you shall bset apart a district for the LORD, a holy section of the land; its length shall be twenty-five thousand cubits, and the width ten thousand. It shall be holy throughout its territory all around.
2“Of this there shall be a square plot for the sanctuary, cfive hundred by five hundred rods, with fifty cubits around it for an open space.
3“So this is the district you shall measure: twenty-five thousand cubits long and ten thousand wide; din it shall be the sanctuary, the Most Holy Place.
4“It shall be ea holy section of the land, belonging to the priests, the ministers of the sanctuary, who come near to minister to the LORD; it shall be a place for their houses and a holy place for the sanctuary.
5f“An area twenty-five thousand cubits long and ten thousand wide shall belong to the Levites, the ministers of the 1temple; they shall have gtwenty2 chambers as a possession.
Properties of the City and the Prince
6h“You shall appoint as the property of the city an area five thousand cubits wide and twenty-five thousand long, adjacent to the district of the holy section; it shall belong to the whole house of Israel.
7i“The prince shall have a section on one side and the other of the holy district and the city’s property; and bordering on the holy district and the city’s property, extending westward on the west side and eastward on the east side, the length shall be side by side with one of the tribal portions, from the west border to the east border.
8“The land shall be his possession in Israel; and jMy princes shall no more oppress My people, but they shall give the rest of the land to the house of Israel, according to their tribes.”
Laws Governing the Prince
9‘Thus says the Lord GOD: k“Enough, O princes of Israel! lRemove violence and plundering, execute justice and righteousness, and stop dispossessing My people,” says the Lord GOD.
10“You shall have mhonest scales, an honest ephah, and an honest bath.
11“The ephah and the bath shall be of the same measure, so that the bath contains one-tenth of a homer, and the ephah one-tenth of a homer; their measure shall be according to the homer.
12“The nshekel shall be twenty gerahs; twenty shekels, twenty-five shekels, and fifteen shekels shall be your mina.
13“This is the offering which you shall offer: you shall give one-sixth of an ephah from a homer of wheat, and one-sixth of an ephah from a homer of barley.
14“The ordinance concerning oil, the bath of oil, is one-tenth of a bath from a kor. A kor is a homer or ten baths, for ten baths are a homer.
15“And one lamb shall be given from a flock of two hundred, from the rich pastures of Israel. These shall be for grain offerings, burnt offerings, and peace offerings, oto make atonement for them,” says the Lord GOD.
16“All the people of the land shall give this offering for the prince in Israel.
17“Then it shall be the pprince’s part to give burnt offerings, grain offerings, and drink offerings, at the feasts, the New Moons, the Sabbaths, and at all the appointed seasons of the house of Israel. He shall prepare the sin offering, the grain offering, the burnt offering, and the peace offerings to make atonement for the house of Israel.”
Keeping the Feasts
18‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “In the first month, on the first day of the month, you shall take a young bull without blemish and qcleanse the sanctuary.
19r“The priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering and put it on the doorposts of the 3temple, on the four corners of the ledge of the altar, and on the gateposts of the gate of the inner court.
20“And so you shall do on the seventh day of the month sfor everyone who has sinned unintentionally or in ignorance. Thus you shall make atonement for the temple.
21t“In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, you shall observe the Passover, a feast of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten.
22“And on that day the prince shall prepare for himself and for all the people of the land ua bull for a sin offering.
23“On the vseven days of the feast he shall prepare a burnt offering to the LORD, seven bulls and seven rams without blemish, daily for seven days, wand a kid of the goats daily for a sin offering.
24x“And he shall prepare a grain offering of one ephah for each bull and one ephah for each ram, together with a hin of oil for each ephah.
25“In the seventh month, on the fifteenth day of the month, at the yfeast, he shall do likewise for seven days, according to the sin offering, the burnt offering, the grain offering, and the oil.”
The Manner of Worship
1‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “The gateway of the inner court that faces toward the east shall be shut the six aworking days; but on the Sabbath it shall be opened, and on the day of the New Moon it shall be opened.
2b“The prince shall enter by way of the vestibule of the gateway from the outside, and stand by the gatepost. The priests shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings. He shall worship at the threshold of the gate. Then he shall go out, but the gate shall not be shut until evening.
3“Likewise the people of the land shall worship at the entrance to this gateway before the LORD on the Sabbaths and the New Moons.
4“The burnt offering that cthe prince offers to the LORD on the dSabbath day shall be six lambs without blemish, and a ram without blemish;
5e“and the grain offering shall be one ephah for a ram, and the grain offering for the lambs, 1as much as he wants to give, as well as a hin of oil with every ephah.
6“On the day of the New Moon it shall be a young bull without blemish, six lambs, and a ram; they shall be without blemish.
7“He shall prepare a grain offering of an ephah for a bull, an ephah for a ram, 2as much as he wants to give for the lambs, and a hin of oil with every ephah.
8f“When the prince enters, he shall go in by way of the vestibule of the gateway, and go out the same way.
9“But when the people of the land gcome before the LORD on the appointed feast days, whoever enters by way of the north hgate to worship shall go out by way of the south gate; and whoever enters by way of the south gate shall go out by way of the north gate. He shall not return by way of the gate through which he came, but shall go out through the opposite gate.
10“The prince shall then be in their midst. When they go in, he shall go in; and when they go out, he shall go out.
11“At the festivals and the appointed feast days ithe grain offering shall be an ephah for a bull, an ephah for a ram, as much as he wants to give for the lambs, and a hin of oil with every ephah.
12“Now when the prince makes a voluntary burnt offering or voluntary peace offering to the LORD, the gate that faces toward the east jshall then be opened for him; and he shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings as he did on the Sabbath day. Then he shall go out, and after he goes out the gate shall be shut.
13k“You shall daily make a burnt offering to the LORD of a lamb of the first year without blemish; you shall prepare it 3every morning.
14“And you shall prepare a grain offering with it every morning, a sixth of an ephah, and a third of a hin of oil to moisten the fine flour. This grain offering is a perpetual ordinance, to be made regularly to the LORD.
15“Thus they shall prepare the lamb, the grain offering, and the oil, as a lregular burnt offering every morning.”
The Prince and Inheritance Laws
16‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “If the prince gives a gift of some of his inheritance to any of his sons, it shall belong to his sons; it is their possession by inheritance.
17“But if he gives a gift of some of his inheritance to one of his servants, it shall be his until mthe year of liberty, after which it shall return to the prince. But his inheritance shall belong to his sons; it shall become theirs.
18“Moreover nthe prince shall not take any of the people’s inheritance by evicting them from their property; he shall provide an inheritance for his sons from his own property, so that none of My people may be scattered from his property.” ’ ”
How the Offerings Were Prepared
19Now he brought me through the entrance, which was at the side of the gate, into the holy ochambers of the priests which face toward the north; and there a place was situated at their extreme western end.
20And he said to me, “This is the place where the priests shall pboil the trespass offering and the sin offering, and where they shall qbake the grain offering, so that they do not bring them out into the outer court rto sanctify the people.”
21Then he brought me out into the outer court and caused me to pass by the four corners of the court; and in fact, in every corner of the court there was another court.
22In the four corners of the court were enclosed courts, forty cubits long and thirty wide; all four corners were the same size.
23There was a row of building stones all around in them, all around the four of them; and 4cooking hearths were made under the rows of stones all around.
24And he said to me, “These are the 5kitchens where the ministers of the 6temple shall sboil the sacrifices of the people.”