Ezekiel

1 ¶ Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by ^athe River Chebar, that ^bthe heavens were opened and I saw ^cvisions of God.

2 In the fifth day of the month, that was the fifth year of King Jehoiachin's captivity,

3 the word of the LORD came expressly to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the River Chebar. And ^dthe hand of the LORD was there upon him.

4 ¶ And I looked, and behold, ^ea whirlwind came ^fout of the north, a great cloud with fire flashing forth continually and a bright light around it, and in its midst something as the color of amber in the midst of the fire.

5 ^gAlso out of its midst came the likeness of four living creatures. And ^hthis was their appearance. They had ⁱthe likeness of a man.

6 And each one had four faces, and each one had four wings.

7 And their legs were straight and their feet were like the sole of a calf's hoof. And they sparkled like ^jthe color of burnished bronze.

8 And they had ^kthe hands of a man under their wings on their four sides. And each of the four had faces and wings.

9 Their wings were joined one to another. They did not turn when they went, but each one went straight ^lforward.

10 As for ^mthe likeness of their faces, each ⁿhad the face of a man. Each of the four had ^othe face of a lion on the right side. ^pEach of the four had the face of an ox on the left side. ^qAll four also had the face of an eagle.

11 Such were their faces. And their wings were stretched upward, two wings of each one were joined one to another. And ^rtwo covered their bodies.

12 And ^seach one went straight forward. Where the spirit went, they went. They did not turn when they went.

13 As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, ^tlike the appearance of lamps. It went up and down among the living creatures. And the fire was bright. And out of the fire went forth lightning.

14 And the living creatures ran to and fro ^ulike bolts of lightning.

15 ¶ Now as I beheld the living creatures, behold there was ^vone wheel on the earth beside each living creature with his four faces.

16 ^wThe appearance of the wheels and their work was ^xlike the color of a beryl. And the four had one likeness. And their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel.

17 When they moved, they went in any of their four directions. They did not turn when they went.

18 As for their rims, they were so high that they were awesome. And the rims of all four were ^yfull of eyes all around them.

19 And ^zwhen the living creatures went, the wheels went beside them. And when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up.

20 Wherever the spirit went, they went, because there the spirit went. And the wheels were lifted up together with them, ^afor the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.

21 When those went, these went. And when those stood, these stood. And when those were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up together with them, for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.

22 ¶ And ^bthe likeness of the firmament that was over the heads of the living creature was as the color of the awesome ^ccrystal, stretched forth ^dabove their heads.

23 And under the firmament their wings were straight, the one toward the other. Each one also had two wings covering its body on the one side and on the other.

24 And ^ewhen they went, I heard the sound of their wings, ^flike the sound of great waters, as ^gthe voice of the Almighty, the voice of speech, as the sound of an army. When they stood, they let down their wings.

25 And there was a voice from the firmament that was over their heads. When they stood, they let down their wings.

26 ¶ And ^habove the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, ⁱas the appearance of a sapphire stone. And seated above the likeness of a throne was a likeness as ^jit were the appearance of a man.

27 And ^kI saw as the color of amber, as the appearance of fire all around within it, from the appearance of His loins even upward, and from the appearance of His loins even downward. I saw as it were the appearance of fire. And it had brightness all around.

28 ^lAs the appearance of the rainbow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness all around. ^mThis was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, ⁿI fell on my face and I heard a voice of One who spoke.

1 ¶ And He said to me, "Son of man, ^astand on your feet and I will speak to you."

2 Then ^bthe Spirit entered into me when He spoke to me. And He set me upon my feet so that I heard Him who spoke to me.

3 Then He said to me, "Son of man, I am sending you to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that has ^crebelled against Me. ^dThey and their fathers have transgressed against Me, even to this very day.

4 ^e"For they are stubborn children and obstinate. I am sending you to them and you will say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD.'

5 ^f"And they, whether they will hear or whether they will refuse--for they are a ^grebellious house--yet they ^hwill know that there has been a prophet among them.

6 ¶ "And you, son of man, ⁱdo not be afraid of them, nor be afraid of their words, though ^jbriers and thorns are with you and you dwell among scorpions. ^kDo not be afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, ^lthough they are a rebellious house.

7 "And ^myou will speak My words to them, whether they will hear or whether they will refuse, for they are rebellious.

8 "But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. Do not be rebellious like that rebellious house. Open your mouth and ⁿeat what I give you."

9 ¶ And when I looked, behold, ^oa hand was sent to me. And behold, a roll of ^pscroll was in it.

10 And He spread it before me, and it was written on the front and back. And there was written on it lamentations and mourning and woe.

1 ¶ Furthermore, He said to me, "Son of man, eat what you find. ^aEat this scroll and go speak to the house of Israel."

2 So I opened my mouth and He caused me to eat the scroll.

3 Then He said to me, "Son of man, cause your stomach to eat and fill your body with this scroll that I give you." Then I ^bate it. And it was in my mouth ^cas sweet as honey.

4 ¶ Then He said to me, "Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak with My words to them.

5 "For you are not sent to a people of unfamiliar speech and a hard language, but to the house of Israel;

6 "not to many people of an unfamiliar speech and a difficult language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely, ^dhad I sent you to them, they would have hearkened to you.

7 "But the house of Israel will not hearken to you, ^efor they will not hearken to Me. ^fFor all the house of Israel are stubborn and hardhearted.

8 "Behold, I have made your face strong against their faces, and your forehead strong against their foreheads.

9 ^g"As adamant stone, harder than flint, I have made your forehead. ^hDo not fear them, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they are a rebellious house."

10 Furthermore, He said to me, "Son of man, all My words that I will speak to you receive in your heart and hear with your ears.

11 "Now go to those of the captivity, to the children of your people, and speak to them. Then tell them, ⁱ'Thus says the Lord GOD,' whether they will hear or whether they will refuse."

12 ¶ Then ^jthe Spirit took me up, and I heard behind me a great thunderous voice, saying, "Blessed is the ^kglory of the LORD in His place."

13 I heard also the ^lsound of the wings of the living creatures that touched one another, and the noise of the wheels beside them, and a sound of rumbling.

14 So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away. And I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit, but ^mthe hand of the LORD was strong upon me.

15 Then I came to those of the captivity at Telabib who dwelt by the River Chebar. And ⁿI sat where they sat and remained there astonished among them for seven days.

16 ¶ Now it ^ocame to pass at the end of seven days that the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

17 ^p"Son of man, I have made you ^qa watchman to the house of Israel. Therefore, hear the word from My mouth and give them ^rwarning from Me.

18 "When I say to the wicked, 'You will surely die,' and you do not give him warning, nor speak to warn the wicked of his wicked way, to save his life, the same wicked man ^swill die in his iniquity. But his blood I will require at your hand.

19 "Yet if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he will die in his iniquity. ^tBut you have delivered your soul.

20 "Again, when a ^urighteous man turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I lay a stum-blingblock before him, he will die. Because you have not given him warning, he will die in his sin and his righteousness that he has done will not be remembered. But his blood I will require at your hand.

21 "However, if you warn the righteous man that the righteous not sin, and he does not sin, he will surely live, because he took warning. Also, you have delivered your soul."

22 ¶ And ^vthe hand of the LORD was there upon me. And He said to me, "Arise, go out ^winto the plain and I will there talk with you."

23 Then I arose and went out into the plain. And behold, ^xthe glory of the LORD stood there, as the glory that I ^ysaw by the River Chebar. ^zAnd I fell on my face.

24 Then ^athe Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet. And He spoke with me, and said to me, "Go, shut yourself inside your house.

25 "But you, O son of man, behold, ^bthey will put bonds on you and will bind you with them, and you will not go out among them.

26 "And ^cI will make your tongue cleave to the roof of your mouth so that you will be dumb and ^dcannot be a man who rebukes them, ^efor they are a rebellious house.

27 ^f"But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth and you will say to them, ^g'Thus says the Lord GOD.' He who hears, let him hear, and he who refuses, let him refuse, for they are a rebellious house."

1 ¶ "You also, son of man, take a clay tablet and lay it before you, and inscribe a city on it, even Jerusalem.

2 "And ^alay siege against it, and build a ^bfort against it, and cast a mount against it. Also place a camp against it and set battering rams against it all around.

3 "Furthermore, take an iron plate and set it for a wall of iron between you and the city. Then set your face against it and it will be ^cbesieged. And you will lay siege against it. ^dThis will be a sign to the house of Israel.

4 ¶ "Lie also on your left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel on it. According to the number of the days that you will lie on it you will bear their iniquity.

5 "For I have laid on you the years of their iniquity according to the number of the days, 390 days. ^eSo you will bear the iniquity of the house of Israel.

6 "Now when you have completed these, lie again on your right side. And you will bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days. I have appointed you each day for a year.

7 "Therefore, you will set your face toward the siege of Jerusalem and your arm will be bared. And you will prophesy against it.

8 ^f"And behold, I will put bonds on you and you will not turn from one side to another until you have ended the days of your siege.

9 ¶ "As for you, take wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet and spelt. Put them in one vessel and make them into bread for yourself according to the number of the days that you will lie on your side. For 390 days you will eat of it.

10 "And your food that you will eat will be by weight, twenty shekels a day. From time to time you will eat it.

11 "You will drink also water by measure, the sixth part of a hin by measure. From time to time you will drink.

12 "And you will eat it as barley cakes. And in their sight you will bake it over dung that comes out of man."

13 And the LORD said, "Even thus ^gwill the children of Israel eat their defiled bread among the Gentiles where I will drive them."

14 Then I said, ^h"Ah Lord GOD! Behold, my soul has not been defiled. For from my youth up even until now I have not eaten of that ⁱwhich dies of itself or is torn by beasts, nor has ^jabominable flesh come into my mouth."

15 Then He said to me, "Behold, I have given you cow's dung for man's dung, and you will prepare your bread over it."

16 Furthermore, He said to me, "Son of man, behold, I will break the ^kstaff of bread in Jerusalem. And they will ^leat bread by weight and with care. And they will ^mdrink water by measure and with astonishment,

17 "so that they may lack bread and water, and they will be dismayed with one another and ⁿwaste away in their iniquity."

1 ¶ "And you, son of man, take a sharp sword. Take and use it as a barber's ^arazor on your head and beard. Then take scales for weighing and divide the hair.

2 ^b"You will burn with fire one-third in the middle of ^cthe city when ^dthe days of the siege are completed. And you will take one-third and strike around it with a knife. And one-third you will scatter in the wind. And I will draw out a sword behind ^ethem.

3 ^f"You will also take a small number of them and bind them on your garment.

4 "Then take some of them again and ^gcast them into the middle of the fire, and burn them in the fire. From there a fire will come out into all the house of Israel."

5 ¶ Thus says the Lord GOD, "This is Jerusalem. I have set it in the midst of the nations and countries that are all around her.

6 "And she has changed My judgments into wickedness more than the nations, and My statutes more than the countries that are all around her. For they have refused My judgments and My statutes. They have not walked in them."

7 "Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD, 'Because you multiplied transgression more than the nations that are around you and have not walked in My statutes, ^hnor have kept My judgments, nor have done according to the ordinances of the nations that are around you,'

8 "therefore, thus says the Lord GOD, 'Behold, I, even I, am against you. And I will execute judgments in the midst of you in the sight of the nations.

9 ⁱ'And because of all your abominations, I will do among you that which I have not done, and the like of which I will never do again.

10 'Therefore, the fathers ^jwill eat the sons in the midst of you and the sons will eat their fathers. And I will execute judgments on you and will ^kscatter the whole remnant of you into all the winds.

11 'Therefore, as I live,' says the Lord GOD, 'surely, because you have ^ldefiled My sanctuary with all your ^mdetestable things, and with all your abominations, therefore I will also diminish you. ⁿMy eye will not spare, nor will I have any pity.

12 ^o'One-third of you will die with pestilence. They will be consumed in the midst of you with famine. And one-third will fall by the sword all around you. And ^pI will scatter one-third into all the winds, and I will draw out a sword after ^qthem.

13 'Thus My anger will ^rbe spent and I will ^ssatisfy My fury upon them. Then ^tI will be appeased. And ^uthey will know that I the LORD have spoken it in My zeal, when I have spent My fury upon them.

14 'Furthermore, ^vI will make you waste and a reproach among the nations that are all around you, in the sight of all who pass by.

15 'So it will be a ^wreproach and a taunt, a ^xwarning and an astonishment to the nations that are all around you, when I will execute judgments on you in anger and in fury and in ^yfurious rebukes. I, the LORD, have spoken it.

16 'When I ^zsend on them the evil arrows of famine that will be for their destruction, that I will send to destroy you, then I will increase the famine on you and will break your ^asupply of bread.

17 'So I will send on you famine and ^bwild beasts, and they will leave you no children. And ^cpestilence and blood will pass through you. And I will bring the sword upon you. I, the LORD, have spoken it.'"

1 ¶ And the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

2 "Son of man, ^aset your face toward the ^bmountains of Israel and prophesy against them,

3 "and say, 'You mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD, for thus says the Lord GOD to the mountains and to the hills, to the rivers and to the valleys, "Behold, I, even I, will bring a sword upon you and ^cI will destroy your high places.

4 "Behold, your altars will be desolate and your images will be broken. And ^dI will cast down your slain men before your idols.

5 "And I will lay the dead carcasses of the children of Israel before their idols. And I will scatter your bones all around your altars.

6 "In all your dwellings, the cities will be laid waste and the high places will be desolate, so that your altars may be laid waste and made desolate, and your idols may be broken and cease, and your images may be cut down and your works may be abolished.

7 "And the slain will fall in the midst of you, and ^eyou will know that I am the LORD.

8 ¶ ^f"Yet I will leave a remnant so that you may have some who will escape the sword among the nations when you are ^gscattered throughout the countries.

9 "And those of you who escape will ^hremember Me among the nations to which they will be carried captives, because ⁱI was hurt by their adulterous hearts that turned away from Me, and ^jwith their eyes that go whoring after their idols. And ^kthey will loathe themselves for the evils that they have committed in all their abominations.

10 "And they will know that I am the LORD. I have not said in vain that I would bring this calamity on them."'

11 ¶ "Thus says the Lord GOD, ^l'Smite with your hand and stamp with your foot, and say, "Alas for all the evil abominations of the house of Israel! ^mFor they will fall by the sword, by famine and by pestilence.

12 "He who is afar off will die from pestilence. And he who is near will fall by the sword. And he who remains and is besieged will die by famine. ⁿThus I will accomplish My fury upon them.

13 "Then you will know that I am the LORD, when their slain men will be among their idols all around their altars, ^oon every high hill, ^pon all the tops of the mountains and ^qunder every green tree and under every thick oak, the place where they offered sweet savor to all their idols.

14 "So I will ^rstretch out My hand upon them, and make the land desolate, yes, more desolate than the wilderness toward ^sDiblath, in all their habitations. And they will know that I am the LORD."'"

1 ¶ Furthermore, the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

2 "Also, son of man, thus says the Lord GOD to the land of Israel, ^a'An end! The end has come upon the four corners of the land.

3 'Now the end is upon you and I will send My anger upon you. And I will judge you ^baccording to your ways, and will repay you for all your abominations.

4 ^c'And My eye will not spare you, nor will I have pity. But I will repay your ways upon you, and your abominations will be in your midst. ^dThen you will know that I am the LORD.'

5 "Thus says the Lord GOD, 'Calamity, a ^esingle calamity, behold, has come.

6 'An end has come! The end has come. It watches for you. Behold, it has come.

7 ^f'Doom has come upon you, O you who dwell in the land. ^gThe time has come. The day of trouble is near, and not the joyful shouting on the mountains.

8 'Now I will shortly ^hpour out My fury upon you and accomplish My anger upon you. And I will judge you according to your ways and will repay you for all your abominations.

9 'And My eye will not spare, nor will I have pity. I will repay you according to your ways and your abominations that are in your midst. And you will know that I am the LORD who strikes.

10 ¶ 'Behold the day. Behold, it has come. ⁱDoom has gone forth. The rod has blossomed. Pride has budded.

11 ^j'Violence has grown into a rod of wickedness. None of them will remain, nor of their people, nor of their wealth. ^kNeither will there be wailing for them.

12 'The time has come and the day draws near. Do not let the buyer ^lrejoice, nor the seller ^mmourn, for wrath is upon all their people.

13 'For the seller will not return to that which is sold, although they are still alive. For the vision concerns the whole multitude that will not return. Neither will any maintain himself by the iniquity of his life.

14 'They have blown the trumpet to make everyone ready. But no one goes to the battle, for My wrath is upon all their multitude.

15 ⁿ'The sword is outside and the plague and the famine are within. He who is in the field will die with the sword. And he who is in the city, famine and pestilence will devour him.

16 ¶ 'But those of them who ^oescape will be on the mountains like doves of the valleys, all of them mourning, everyone because of his iniquity.

17 'All ^phands will be feeble and all knees will be weak as water.

18 'They will also ^qgird themselves with sackcloth and horror will cover them. And shame will be upon all faces and baldness upon all their heads.

19 'They will cast their silver into the streets and their gold will be removed. ^rTheir silver and their gold will not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD. They will not satisfy their souls, nor fill their stomachs, because it became the stumbling block of their iniquity.

20 ¶ 'They were proud of their beautiful ornaments and ^sused it to make their abominable idols and vile images. Therefore, I will make it like refuse to them.

21 'And I will give it into the hands of the foreigners for a ^tbooty, and to the wicked of the earth for plunder. And they will defile it.

22 'I will also turn My face from them, and they will defile My secret place, for the robbers will enter into it and defile it.

23 ¶ 'Prepare chains, ^ufor the land is full of crimes of blood and the city is full of violence.

24 'Therefore, I will bring the ^vworst of the nations and they will possess their houses. I will also make the pomp of the strong to cease, and their holy places will be ^wdefiled.

25 'Destruction comes, and they will seek peace and there will be none.

26 ^x'Mischief will come upon mischief, and rumor will be upon rumor. ^yThen they will seek a vision from the prophet. But the law will perish from the priest and counsel from the elders.

27 'The king will mourn, and the prince will be clothed with desolation, and the hands of the people of the land will be troubled. I will do to them according to their way, and according to what they deserve I will judge them. Then they will know that I am the LORD.'"

1 ¶ Now it came to pass in the sixth year, in the sixth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I sat in my house and ^athe elders of Judah sat before me, that ^bthe hand of the Lord GOD fell upon me there.

2 ^cThen I looked, and behold, a likeness as the appearance of a man. From the appearance of His loins, even downward, was as fire. And from His loins, even upward, it was ^das the appearance of brightness as the color of amber.

3 And He ^estretched out the form of a hand and took me by a lock of my hair. And ^fthe Spirit lifted me up between the earth and the heaven and ^gbrought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the Inner Gate that looks toward the north, ^hwhere the seat of the image of jealousy was that ⁱprovokes to jealousy.

4 And behold, the ^jglory of the God of Israel was there according to the vision that I ^ksaw in the plain.

5 ¶ Then He said to me, "Son of man, lift up your eyes now toward the north." So I lifted up my eyes toward the north, and behold, northward at the gate of the altar was this image of jealousy in the entrance.

6 Furthermore, He said to me, "Son of man, do you see what they are doing, the great ^labominations that the house of Israel commits here that I should go far away from My sanctuary? But turn again and you will see greater abominations."

7 ¶ Then He brought me to the door of the court. And when I looked, behold, a hole in the wall.

8 Then He said to me, "Son of man, dig now in the wall." And when I dug in the wall, behold a door.

9 And He said to me, "Go in, and behold the wicked abominations that they are doing here."

10 So I went in and saw. And behold, ^mevery form of ⁿcreeping things and abominable beasts and all the idols of the house of Israel were portrayed upon the wall all around.

11 And there stood before them ^oseventy men of the elders of the house of Israel, and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan, and every man with his censer in his hand, and a thick cloud of incense went up.

12 Then He said to me, "Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the rooms of his carved idols? For they say, ^p'The LORD does not see us. The LORD has forsaken the land.'"

13 ¶ He said also to me, "Turn again and you will see greater abominations that they are doing."

14 Then He brought me to the door of the gate of the LORD'S house that was toward the north. And behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz.

15 ¶ Then He said to me, "Have you seen this, O son of man? Turn again and you will see greater abominations than these."

16 Then He brought me into the inner court of the LORD'S house, and behold, at the door of the temple of the LORD, ^qbetween the porch and the altar, ^rwere about twenty-five men ^swith their backs toward the temple of the LORD and their faces toward the east. And they worshiped ^tthe sun toward the east.

17 ¶ Then He said to me, "Have you seen this, O son of man? Is it a light thing for the house of Judah that they commit the abominations that they commit here? For they have ^ufilled the land with violence and have returned to provoke Me to anger. For behold, they are putting the twig to their nose.

18 ^v"Therefore, I will also deal in fury. My ^weye will not spare, nor will I have pity. And though they ^xcry out in My ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them."

1 ¶ He cried out also in my ears with a loud voice, saying, "Cause those who have charge over the city to draw near, even every man with his destroying weapon in his hand."

2 And behold, six men came from the way of the Upper Gate that lies toward the north, each man with a slaughter weapon in his hand. And ^aone man among them was clothed with linen, with a writer's kit by his side. And they went in and stood beside the bronze altar.

3 ¶ Then the ^bglory of the God of Israel went up from the cherub on which it had been, to the threshold of the temple. And He called to the man clothed with linen who had the writer's kit by his side.

4 And the LORD said to him, "Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set ^ca mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and ^dwho cry out because of all the abominations that are being committed in its midst."

5 And to the others He said in my hearing, "Go after him through the city, and ^estrike. ^fDo not let your eye have pity and do not spare.

6 ^g"Slay utterly old and young, both maids and little children and women. But ^hdo not come near any man on whom is the mark. Now ⁱbegin at My sanctuary." ^jThen they began with the elders who were before the temple.

7 And He said to them, "Defile the temple and fill the courts with the slain. Go out!" And they went out and slew in the city.

8 ¶ Now it came to pass while they were slaying them, and I was left, that I ^kfell on my face and cried out and said, ^l"Ah Lord GOD! Will You destroy all the remainder of Israel in Your pouring out of Your fury upon Jerusalem?"

9 Then He said to me, "The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great and the ^mland is full of blood. And the city is full of perverseness, for they say, ⁿ'The LORD has forsaken the land and ^othe LORD does not see.'

10 "But as for Me also, My ^peye will not spare, nor will I have pity. ^qI will repay their way upon their heads."

11 And behold, the man clothed with linen who had the writer's kit by his side reported the matter, saying, "I have done as You have commanded me."

1 ¶ Then I looked, and behold, in the ^afirmament that was over the head of the cherubim there appeared something like a sapphire stone, having the appearance of the likeness of a throne.

2 And ^bHe spoke to the man clothed with linen and said, "Go in between the wheels, even under the cherub, and fill your hand with ^ccoals of fire from between the cherubim, and ^dscatter them over the city." And he went in as I watched.

3 Now the cherubim stood on the right side of the temple when the man went in. And the ^ecloud filled the inner court.

4 ^fThen the glory of the LORD went up from the cherub and stood over the threshold of the temple. And the ^gtemple was filled with the cloud and the court was full of the brightness of the LORD'S ^hglory.

5 And the ⁱsound of the wings of the cherubim was heard even to the outer court, as the ^jvoice of the Almighty God when He speaks.

6 ¶ Now it came to pass that when He had commanded the man clothed with linen, saying, "Take fire from between the wheels, from between the cherubim," then he went in and stood beside the wheels.

7 And one cherub stretched forth his hand from between the cherubim to the fire that was between the cherubim, and took from it. And he put it into the hands of him who was clothed with linen. He took it and went out.

8 ^kAnd there appeared in the cherubim the form of a man's hand under their wings.

9 ¶ ^lThen I looked, and behold, the four wheels by the cherubim, one wheel by one cherub and another wheel by another cherub. And the appearance of the wheels was as the color of a ^mberyl stone.

10 And as for their appearances, the four had one likeness, as if a wheel had been in the midst of a wheel.

11 ⁿWhen they went, they went in any of their four directions without turning as they went, but they followed in the direction that they faced, without turning as they went.

12 And their whole body and their backs and their hands and their wings and the wheels, were ^ofull of eyes all around, even the wheels that the four had.

13 As for the wheels, they were called in my hearing, "O wheel."

14 ^pAnd everyone had four faces. The first face was the face of a cherub, and the second face was the face of a man, and the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.

15 ¶ And the cherubim were lifted up. This is the ^qliving creature that I saw by the River Chebar.

16 And ^rwhen the cherubim went, the wheels went beside them. And when the cherubim lifted up their wings to mount up from the earth, the same wheels also did not turn from beside them.

17 ^sWhen they stood, these stood. And when they were lifted up, these lifted up themselves also, for the spirit of the living creature was in them.

18 ¶ Then the ^tglory of the LORD ^udeparted from off the threshold of the temple and stood over the cherubim.

19 And the ^vcherubim lifted up their wings and mounted up from the earth in my sight. When they went out, the wheels also were beside them, and each one stood at the door of the ^wEast Gate of the LORD'S house. And the glory of the God of Israel was above them.

20 ¶ ^xThis is the living creature that I saw under the God of Israel ^yby the River Chebar. And I knew that they were the cherubim.

21 ^zEach one had four faces and each one four wings. And the likeness of the hands of a man was under their wings.

22 And the ^alikeness of their faces was the same faces that I saw by the River Chebar, their appearances and themselves. ^bEach one went straight forward.

1 ¶ Furthermore, the ^aSpirit lifted me up and brought me to the ^bEast Gate of the LORD'S house that faces eastward. And behold, ^cat the door of the gate twenty-five men, among whom I saw Jaazaniah the son of Azur, and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people.

2 Then He said to me, "Son of man, these are the men who devise iniquity and give wicked counsel in this city,

3 who say, ^d'The time is not near to build houses. This city is the caldron and we are the flesh.'

4 "Therefore, prophesy against them. Prophesy, son of man."

5 ¶ Then the Spirit of the LORD fell upon me and said to me, "Speak. Thus says the LORD: 'Thus you have said, O house of Israel, for I know the things that come into your mind.

6 ^e'You have multiplied your slain in this city and you have filled its streets with the slain.'

7 "Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, 'Your slain whom you have laid in the midst of it are the flesh and this city is the caldron. But I will bring you forth out of its midst.

8 ^f'You have feared the sword. And I will bring a sword upon you,' says the Lord GOD.

9 ^g'And I will bring you out of its midst and deliver you into the hands of strangers, and will execute judgments among you.

10 ^h'You will fall by the sword. I will judge you in the border of Israel. And you will know that I am the LORD.

11 ⁱ'This city will not be your caldron, nor will you be the flesh in its midst. I will judge you in the border of Israel.

12 ^j'And you will know that I am the LORD. For you have not walked in My statutes, nor executed My judgments, but have done according to the customs of the nations that are around you.'"

13 ¶ Now it came to pass as I prophesied, that ^kPelatiah the son of Benaiah died. Then I fell on my face and cried with a loud voice and said, ^l"Ah Lord GOD! Will You make a complete end of the remnant of Israel?"

14 ¶ Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

15 "Son of man, your brothers, your relatives, your kinsmen, and the whole house of Israel, all of them, are those to whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, ^m'Go far from the LORD. This land has been given to us as a possession.'

16 "Therefore say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, ⁿAlthough I have cast them far off among the heathen, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet I will be to them as a little sanctuary in the countries where they have gone.'

17 "Therefore say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, ^oI will also gather you and bring you into the land of Israel.

18 ^p'And you will go into the desolate places and you will know that I am the LORD when I have brought you into the land of Israel.'

19 ^q'And I will give you one heart and I will put a new spirit within you. And I will take the stony heart out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

20 ^r'That you may walk in My statutes and keep My ordinances and do them. And you will be My people and I will be your God.'

21 ^s'But as for those whose hearts walk after the heart of their detestable things and their abominations, I will ^trecompense their way upon their heads,' says the Lord GOD.

22 ¶ Then the cherubim ^ulifted up their wings, with the wheels beside them. And the ^vglory of the God of Israel was over them above.

23 And the ^wglory of the LORD went up from the midst of the city and stood on the mountain which is on the east side of the city.

24 Afterwards the Spirit took me up and brought me in a vision by the Spirit of God into ^xChaldea, to those of the captivity. So the vision that I had seen went up from me.

25 Then I spoke to those of the captivity all the things that the LORD had shown me.

1 ¶ The word of the LORD also came to me, saying,

2 "Son of man, you dwell in the midst of a ^arebellious house, which has ^beyes to see and does not see, and ears to hear and does not hear. For they are a rebellious house.

3 "Therefore, son of man, prepare your belongings for captivity and go into captivity by day in their sight. You shall go from your place to another place in their sight. ^cIt may be that they will consider, though they are a rebellious house.

4 "Then you shall bring out your belongings by day in their sight, as belongings for captivity. And you shall go out at evening in their sight, as those who go out into captivity.

5 ^d"Dig through the wall in their sight and go out through it.

6 "In their sight you shall bear them on your shoulders and carry them out in the twilight. You shall cover your face so that you cannot see the ground. For I have set you as a ^esign to the house of Israel."

7 ¶ And I did so as I was commanded. I brought out my belongings by day, as belongings for captivity. And in the evening I dug through the wall with my hand. I brought them out in the twilight, and I bore them on my shoulder in their sight.

8 ¶ And in the morning the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

9 "Son of man, has not the house of Israel, the rebellious house, said to you, ^f'What are you doing?'

10 "Say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, ^g'This burden concerns the prince in Jerusalem and all the house of Israel who are among them.'

11 "Say, ^h'I am your sign. Like I have done, so shall it be done to them. They shall be carried into captivity.

12 ⁱ'And the prince who is among them shall bear his belongings on his shoulder in the twilight and go out. He shall dig through the wall to go out. He shall cover his face so that he cannot see the ground with his eyes.

13 ^j'I will also spread My net over him and he shall be caught in My snare. And I will bring him to Babylon to the land of the Chaldeans, yet he shall not see it, though he shall die there.

14 ^k'And I will scatter toward every wind all who are around him to help him, and all his troops. And I will draw out the sword after them.

15 ^l'Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I scatter them among the nations and disperse them in the countries.

16 ^m'But I will leave a few men of them from the sword, from the famine, and from the pestilence, that they may declare all their abominations among the Gentiles where they go. Then they will know that I am the LORD.'"

17 ¶ Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

18 ⁿ"Son of man, eat your bread with quaking and drink your water with trembling and with anxiety.

19 "And say to the people of the land, 'Thus says the Lord GOD concerning the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the land of Israel: ^o'They shall eat their bread with anxiety and drink their water with dread, that their land may be desolate of its fullness, because of the violence of all who dwell in it.

20 ^p'And the cities that are inhabited shall be laid waste, and the land shall be desolate. Then you will know that I am the LORD.'"

21 ¶ And the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

22 ^q"Son of man, what is this proverb that you have in the land of Israel, saying, ^r'The days are prolonged and every vision fails'?

23 "Therefore tell them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, ^s'I will make this proverb cease, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel.' But say to them, ^t'The days are at hand and the fulfillment of every vision.'

24 ^u'For no more shall there be any false vision or flattering divination in the house of Israel.

25 ^v'For I am the LORD. I will speak, and the word that I shall speak shall be performed. It shall no more be delayed. For in your days, O rebellious house, I will say the word and perform it,' says the Lord GOD."

26 ¶ Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

27 ^w"Son of man, behold, those of the house of Israel say, ^x'The vision that he sees is for many days from now, and he prophesies of times far off.'

28 "Therefore say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, ^y'None of My words will be delayed any more. The word that I have spoken will be performed,' says the Lord GOD."

1 ¶ And the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

2 "Son of man, prophesy against the ^aprophets of Israel who prophesy, and say to those who prophesy out of their own heart, ^b'Hear the word of the LORD!'

3 ¶ Thus says the Lord GOD, ^c'Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing!'

4 ^d'O Israel, your prophets are like foxes in the deserts.

5 ^e'You have not gone up into the breaches to build a wall for the house of Israel to stand in battle in the day of the LORD.'

6 ^f'They have envisioned futility and false divination, saying, "Thus says the LORD!" But the LORD has not sent them. Yet they hope that the word may be confirmed.

7 ^g'Have you not seen a futile vision, and have you not spoken false divination? You say, "The LORD says it," but I have not spoken.'

8 ¶ Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, "Because you have spoken nonsense and envisioned lies, therefore I am indeed against you," says the Lord GOD.

9 "My hand will be against the prophets who envision futility and who divine lies. ^h'They shall not be in the assembly of My people, nor be written in the record of the house of Israel, nor shall they enter into the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord GOD.

10 ⁱ'Because, indeed, because they have seduced My people, saying, "Peace!" when there is no peace, and one builds a wall, and they cover it with untempered mortar,'

11 ^j'say to those who plaster it with untempered mortar, that it will fall. There will be overflowing rain. And you, O great hailstones, shall fall, and a stormy wind shall tear it.

12 ^k'Behold, when the wall has fallen, will it not be said to you, "Where is the mortar with which you plastered it?"'

13 ¶ Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, ^l'I will cause a stormy wind to break forth in My fury. And there shall be overflowing rain in My anger, and great hailstones in fury to consume it.

14 ^m'So I will break down the wall that you have plastered with untempered mortar and bring it down to the ground, so that its foundation will be uncovered. It will fall, and you shall be consumed in the midst of it. Then you shall know that I am the LORD.

15 ⁿ'Thus I will accomplish My wrath on the wall and on those who have plastered it with untempered mortar. And I will say to you, "The wall is no more, nor those who plastered it,

16 ^o'that is, the prophets of Israel who prophesy concerning Jerusalem and who see visions of peace for her when there is no peace,' says the Lord GOD."

17 ¶ And you, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people, who prophesy out of their own heart. Prophesy against them,

18 and say, ^p'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Woe to the women who sew magic charms on their sleeves and make veils for the heads of people of every height to hunt souls! Will you hunt the souls of My people and keep yourselves alive?

19 ^q'And for a handful of barley and a piece of bread you have profaned Me among My people for men to slay who would not slay, and for men to keep alive who would not keep alive, by your lying to My people who listen to lies."

20 ¶ Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, ^r'Behold, I am against your magic charms by which you hunt souls there like birds. I will tear them from your arms and let the souls go, even the souls you hunt like birds.

21 ^s'I will also tear your veils and deliver My people out of your hand. Then they will no longer be as prey in your hand. Then you will know that I am the LORD.

22 ^t'Because with lies you have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad. And you have strengthened the hands of the wicked, so that he does not turn from his wicked way to save his life.

23 ^u'Therefore you shall no more envision futility nor practice divination. For I will deliver My people out of your hand. Then you will know that I am the LORD.'"

1 ¶ Then came certain of the elders of Israel to me and sat before me.

2 And the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

3 ^a"Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart and put the stumbling block of their iniquity before their face. Should I be inquired of at all by them?

4 "Therefore speak to them and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, ^b'Every man of the house of Israel who sets up his idols in his heart and puts the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and ^ccomes to the prophet, I the LORD will answer him according to the multitude of his idols,

5 ^d'that I may take the house of Israel in their own heart, because they are all estranged from Me by their idols.'

6 "Therefore say to the house of Israel, ^e'Thus says the Lord GOD, ^f'Repent, turn away from your idols, and turn your faces away from all your abominations.

7 ^g'For every one of the house of Israel, or of the stranger who dwells in Israel, who separates himself from Me and sets up his idols in his heart and puts the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and ^hcomes to a prophet to inquire of him concerning Me, I the LORD will answer him by Myself.

8 ⁱ'I will set My face against that man and make him a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of My people. Then you will know that I am the LORD.

9 ^j'And if the prophet is induced to speak anything, I the LORD have induced that prophet, and I will stretch out My hand against him and destroy him from among My people Israel.

10 ^k'And they shall bear their iniquity. The punishment of the prophet shall be the same as the punishment of the one who inquired,

11 ^l'that the house of Israel may no longer stray from Me, nor be profaned anymore with all their transgressions, but that they may be My people and I may be their God,' says the Lord GOD."

12 ¶ The word of the LORD came again to me, saying,

13 ^m"Son of man, when a land sins against Me by persistent unfaithfulness, then I will stretch out My hand against it. I will cut off its supply of bread, send famine on it, and cut off man and beast from it.

14 ⁿ"Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness," says the Lord GOD.

15 ^o"If I cause wild beasts to pass through the land, and they empty it, and make it so desolate that no one may pass through because of the beasts,

16 ^p"though these three men were in it, as I live," says the Lord GOD, "they would deliver neither sons nor daughters. Only they would be delivered, and the land would be desolate.

17 ^q"Or if I bring a sword on that land, and say, 'Sword, go through the land,' and I cut off man and beast from it,

18 ^r"though these three men were in it, as I live," says the Lord GOD, "they would deliver neither sons nor daughters, but only themselves.

19 ^s"Or if I send a pestilence into that land and pour out My fury on it in blood, and cut off from it man and beast,

20 ^t"though Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live," says the Lord GOD, "they would deliver neither son nor daughter. They would deliver only themselves by their righteousness."

21 ¶ For thus says the Lord GOD, ^u"How much more it shall be when I send My four severe judgments on Jerusalem, the sword, famine, wild beasts, and pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast!

22 ^v"Yet behold, there shall be left in it a remnant who will be brought out, both sons and daughters. Surely they will come out to you, and you will see their ways and their doings. Then you will be comforted concerning the disaster that I have brought upon Jerusalem, all that I have brought upon it.

23 ^w"And they will comfort you, when you see their ways and their doings. And you will know that I have done nothing without cause that I have done in it," says the Lord GOD.

1 ¶ And the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

2 ^a"Son of man, how is the wood of the vine better than any other wood, the vine branch which is among the trees of the forest?

3 ^b"Is wood taken from it to make any object? Or can men make a peg from it to hang any vessel on?

4 ^c"Instead, it is thrown into the fire for fuel. When the fire has burned up both ends and the middle is burned, is it useful for any work?

5 ^d"Indeed, when it was whole, no object could be made from it. How much less will it be useful for any work when the fire has burned it and it is burned?

6 ^e"Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, 'Like the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so I will give up the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

7 ^f'And I will set My face against them. They will go out from one fire, and another fire shall devour them. Then you will know that I am the LORD, when I set My face against them.

8 ^g'Thus I will make the land desolate, because they have persisted in unfaithfulness,' says the Lord GOD."

1 ¶ Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

2 ^a"Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations,

3 and say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD to Jerusalem: ^b"Your birth and your nativity are from the land of the Canaanite. Your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite.

4 "As for your nativity, on the day you were born your navel cord was not cut, nor were you washed in water to cleanse you. You were not rubbed at all with salt, nor swaddled at all.

5 ^c"No eye pitied you, to do any of these for you, to have compassion on you. But you were thrown out into the open field, when you yourself were rejected on the day you were born.

6 ^d"And when I passed by you and saw you struggling in your own blood, I said to you in your blood, 'Live!' Yes, I said to you in your blood, 'Live!'

7 ^e"I made you thrive like a plant in the field. And you grew, matured, and became very beautiful. Your breasts were formed, your hair grew, but you were naked and bare.

8 ^f"When I passed by you again and looked upon you, indeed your time was the time of love. So I spread My wing over you and covered your nakedness. Yes, I swore an oath to you and entered into a covenant with you, and you became Mine," says the Lord GOD.

9 ^g"Then I washed you in water. Yes, I thoroughly washed off your blood, and I anointed you with oil.

10 ^h"I clothed you in embroidered cloth and gave you sandals of badger skin. I clothed you with fine linen and covered you with silk.

11 ⁱ"I adorned you with ornaments, put bracelets on your wrists, and a chain on your neck.

12 ^j"And I put a jewel in your nose, earrings in your ears, and a beautiful crown on your head.

13 ^k"Thus you were adorned with gold and silver, and your clothing was of fine linen, silk, and embroidered cloth. You ate fine pastry, honey, and oil. You were exceedingly beautiful, and succeeded to royalty.

14 ^l"Your fame went out among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect through My splendor which I had bestowed on you," says the Lord GOD.

15 ¶ ^m"But you trusted in your own beauty, played the harlot because of your fame, and poured out your harlotry on everyone passing by who would have it.

16 ⁿ"You took some of your garments and adorned multicolored high places for yourself, and played the harlot on them. Such things should not happen, nor be.

17 ^o"You also took your beautiful jewelry from My gold and My silver, which I had given you, and made for yourself male images and played the harlot with them.

18 ^p"You took your embroidered garments and covered them, and you set My oil and My incense before them.

19 ^q"You also set My food and My drink before them for your harlotry. Then you brought in sons and daughters born to Me. And you sacrificed them and devoured them.

20 ^r"Moreover you took your sons and your daughters, whom you bore to Me, and these you sacrificed to them to be devoured. Were your acts of harlotry a small matter,

21 ^s"that you have slain My children and offered them up to them by causing them to pass through the fire?

22 ^t"And in all your abominations and acts of harlotry you did not remember the days of your youth, when you were naked and bare, struggling in your blood.

23 ^u"And it happened, after all your wickedness, 'Woe, woe to you!' says the Lord GOD,

24 ^v"that you also built for yourself a shrine, and made a high place for yourself in every street.

25 ^w"At every head of the way you built your high place, and made your beauty abominable. You opened your feet to everyone who passed by, and multiplied your acts of harlotry.

26 ^x"You also played the harlot with the Egyptians, your very fleshly neighbors, and increased your acts of harlotry to provoke Me to anger.

27 ^y"Behold, therefore, I stretched out My hand against you, diminished your provisions, and gave you into the will of those who hate you, the daughters of the Philistines, who were ashamed of your lewd behavior.

28 ^z"You also played the harlot with the Assyrians, because you were insatiable. Indeed you were a harlot with them and still were not satisfied.

29 ^a"Moreover you multiplied your acts of harlotry as far as the land of trade, Chaldea. And even then you were not satisfied.

30 ^b"How degenerate is your heart!" says the Lord GOD, "seeing you do all these things, the deeds of a brazen harlot.

31 ^c"When you built your shrine at the head of every way, and made your high place in every street, you were not like a harlot who despises pay, but one who hires men.

32 ^d"A wife who commits adultery, who takes strangers instead of her husband.

33 ^e"They give gifts to all harlots, but you give your gifts to all your lovers, and hire them, that they may come to you from all around for your harlotry.

34 ^f"You are the opposite of other harlots in your harlotry, because no one solicited you to be a harlot. You gave payment but no payment was given to you. Therefore you are the opposite of them."

35 ¶ ^g"Therefore, O harlot, hear the word of the LORD!

36 ^h"Thus says the Lord GOD, 'Because your filthiness was poured out and your nakedness uncovered in your harlotry with your lovers, and with all your abominable idols, and by the blood of your children which you gave to them,

37 ⁱ'surely, therefore, I will gather all your lovers with whom you took pleasure, all those you loved, and all those you hated. I will gather them from all around against you and will uncover your nakedness to them, that they may see all your nakedness.

38 ^j'And I will judge you as women who break wedlock or shed blood are judged. I will bring blood upon you in fury and jealousy.

39 ^k'I will also give you into their hand, and they shall throw down your shrines and break down your high places. They shall also strip you of your clothes, take your beautiful jewelry, and leave you naked and bare.

40 ^l'They shall also bring up an assembly against you, and they shall stone you with stones and thrust you through with their swords.

41 ^m'They shall burn your houses with fire, and execute judgments on you in the sight of many women. I will make you cease playing the harlot, and you shall no longer hire lovers.

42 ⁿ'So I will lay to rest My fury toward you, and My jealousy shall depart from you. I will be quiet, and no longer be angry.

43 ^o'Because you did not remember the days of your youth, but agitated Me with all these things, surely I will also recompense your deeds on your own head,' says the Lord GOD. 'And you shall not commit lewdness above all your abominations.'

44 ¶ ^p"Indeed everyone who quotes proverbs will use this proverb against you: 'Like mother, like daughter!'

45 ^q"You are your mother's daughter, loathing husband and children. And you are the sister of your sisters, who loathed their husbands and children. Your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite.

46 ^r"Your elder sister is Samaria, who dwells with her daughters to the north of you. And your younger sister, who dwells to the south of you, is Sodom and her daughters.

47 ^s"You did not walk in their ways nor act according to their abominations. But as if that were too little, you became more corrupt than they in all your ways.

48 ^t"As I live," says the Lord GOD, "neither your sister Sodom nor her daughters have done as you and your daughters have done.

49 ^u"Behold, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughter had pride, fullness of food, and abundance of idleness. Neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.

50 ^v"And they were haughty and committed abominations before Me. Therefore I removed them when I saw it.

51 ^w"Samaria did not commit half of your sins. But you have multiplied your abominations more than they, and have justified your sisters by all the abominations which you have done.

52 ^x"You who judged your sisters, bear your own shame also, because the sins that you committed were more abominable than theirs. They are more righteous than you. Yes, be ashamed. And also bear your own shame, for you have justified your sisters.

53 ^y"When I bring back their captives, the captives of Sodom and her daughters, and the captives of Samaria and her daughters, then I will also bring back the captives of your captivity among them,

54 ^z"that you may bear your own shame and be ashamed of all that you did, being a comfort to them.

55 ^a"When your sisters, Sodom and her daughters, return to their former state, and Samaria and her daughters return to their former state, then you and your daughters will return to your former state.

56 ^b"For your sister Sodom was not a byword in your mouth in the days of your pride,

57 ^c"before your wickedness was uncovered. It was like the time of the reproach of the daughters of Syria and all those around her, and of the daughters of the Philistines who despise you everywhere.

58 ^d"You have paid your lovers and have been paid for. You have even multiplied your harlotry as far as the land of trade, Chaldea.

59 ^e"For thus says the Lord GOD, 'I will deal with you as you have gone, despising your oath by breaking the covenant.

60 ^f"'Nevertheless I will remember My covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you.

61 ^g"'Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed when you receive your sisters, your older and your younger. I will give them to you as daughters, but not because of your covenant.

62 ^h"'And I will establish My covenant with you. Then you shall know that I am the LORD,

63 ⁱ"'that you may remember and be ashamed, and never open your mouth anymore because of your shame, when I provide you an atonement for all you have done,' says the Lord GOD."

1 ¶ And the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

2 ^a"Son of man, set a riddle and speak a proverb to the house of Israel,

3 and say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, ^b"A great eagle with large wings, long pinions, full of feathers of various colors, came to Lebanon and took from the cedar the highest branch.

4 ^c"He cropped off its topmost young twig and carried it to a land of trade. He set it in a city of merchants.

5 ^d"He also took some of the seed of the land and planted it in a fertile field. He placed it by abundant waters and set it out like a willow tree.

6 ^e"And it grew and became a spreading vine of low stature. Its branches turned toward him, but its roots were under it. So it became a vine, brought forth branches, and shot out sprigs.

7 ^f"There was also another great eagle with large wings and many feathers. And behold, this vine bent its roots toward him, and shot out its branches toward him, from the garden terrace where it was planted, that he might water it.

8 ^g"It was in a fertile field, by abundant waters, that it might shoot out branches, bear fruit, and become a magnificent vine."'

9 ^h"Say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Will it thrive? Will he not pull up its roots and cut off its fruit, so that it withers? That all its springing leaves may wither? And neither by great might nor by many people shall it be raised up again.

10 ⁱ"Behold, it is planted. Will it thrive? Will it not utterly wither when the east wind touches it? It will wither in the garden terrace where it grew."'"

11 ¶ Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

12 ^j"Say now to the rebellious house, 'Do you not know what these things mean?' Tell them, 'Indeed the king of Babylon went to Jerusalem and took its king and princes, and brought them to Babylon.

13 ^k"And he took one of the royal offspring and made a covenant with him, putting him under oath. He also took away the mighty of the land,

14 ^l"that the kingdom might be brought low and not lift itself up, but that by keeping his covenant it might stand.

15 ^m"But he rebelled against him by sending his ambassadors to Egypt, that they might give him horses and many people. Will he succeed? Will he who does such things escape? Can he break a covenant and still be delivered?

16 ⁿ"As I live," says the Lord GOD, "surely in the place where the king dwells who made him king, whose oath he despised and whose covenant he broke, with him he shall die in Babylon.

17 ^o"Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company will not help him in the war, when they cast up mounds and build siegeworks to cut off many persons.

18 ^p"For he has despised the oath by breaking the covenant. Indeed, he had given his hand and done all these things. He shall not escape."

19 ¶ Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, ^q"As I live, surely My oath which he despised, and My covenant which he broke, I will recompense on his own head.

20 ^r"I will spread My net over him, and he shall be taken in My snare. I will bring him to Babylon and judge him there for the treason that he has committed against Me.

21 ^s"All his choice men in all his troops shall fall by the sword, and those who remain shall be scattered toward every wind. And you shall know that I the LORD have spoken it."

22 ¶ ^t"Thus says the Lord GOD, 'I will also take a sprig from the lofty top of the cedar and set it out. I will crop off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one and will plant it on a high and lofty mountain.

23 ^u"On the mountain height of Israel I will plant it. And it shall bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a majestic cedar. Under it shall dwell birds of every sort. And in the shadow of its branches they shall dwell.

24 ^v"And all the trees of the field shall know that I, the LORD, have brought down the high tree and exalted the low tree. I have dried up the green tree and made the dry tree flourish. I, the LORD, have spoken and have done it."

1 ¶ The word of the LORD came to me again, saying,

2 ^a"What do you mean when you use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying: ^b'The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge'?

3 ^c"As I live," says the Lord GOD, "you shall no longer use this proverb in Israel.

4 ^d"Behold, all souls are Mine. The soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine. The soul who sins shall die.

5 ¶ ^e"But if a man is just and does what is lawful and right;

6 ^f"If he has eaten on the mountains or lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, or defiled his neighbor's wife, or if he has oppressed the poor and needy, committed robbery, or if he has not restored the pledge, lifted up his hand to the borrower, or committed extortion,

7 ^g"If he has not exacted usury nor taken any increase, but has withdrawn his hand from iniquity and executed true judgment between man and man;

8 ^h"If he has walked in My statutes and kept My judgments faithfully, he is just. He shall surely live!" says the Lord GOD.

9 ⁱ"If he begets a son who is a robber or a shedder of blood, who does any of these things

10 ^j"and does not do any of those duties, but has eaten on the mountains or defiled his neighbor's wife,

11 ^k"if he has oppressed the poor and needy, robbed by violence, not restored the pledge, lifted his hand to the borrower, committed extortion, lifted his hand to false witness, or if he has committed iniquity,

12 ^l"if he has exacted usury or taken increase, shall he then live? He shall not live! If he has done any of these abominations, he shall surely die. His blood shall be upon him.

13 ^m"If he begets a son who sees all the sins which his father has done, and considers but does not do likewise,

14 ⁿ"who has not eaten on the mountains, nor lifted his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, nor defiled his neighbor's wife,

15 ^o"has not oppressed the poor and needy, nor robbed by violence, nor restored the pledge, nor lifted his hand to the borrower, nor committed extortion, nor withdrawn his hand from iniquity, but has executed true judgment between man and man;

16 ^p"has walked in My statutes and kept My judgments faithfully, he shall surely live. He shall not die.

17 ^q"The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.

18 ^r"But if the wicked turns from all his sins which he has committed, keeps all My statutes, and does what is lawful and right, he shall surely live. He shall not die.

19 ^s"None of his transgressions which he has committed shall be remembered against him. Because of the righteousness which he has done, he shall live.

20 ^t"Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?" says the Lord GOD, "and not that he should turn from his ways and live?

21 ^u"But if the righteous turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and does according to all the abominations that the wicked man does, shall he live? All the righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered. Because of the unfaithfulness of which he is guilty and the sin which he has committed, he shall die.

22 ^v"Yet you say, 'The way of the LORD is not fair.' Hear now, O house of Israel, is it not My way which is fair, and your ways which are not fair?

23 ^w"When a righteous man turns away from his righteousness, commits iniquity, and dies in it, it is because of the iniquity which he has done that he dies.

24 ^x"Again, when a wicked man turns away from the wickedness which he committed, and does what is lawful and right, he shall save himself alive.

25 ^y"Because he considered and turned away from all the transgressions which he had committed, he shall surely live. He shall not die.

26 ^z"Yet the children of Israel say, 'The way of the LORD is not fair.' O house of Israel, is it not My ways which are fair, and your ways which are not fair?

27 ^a"Therefore say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "I will not judge you according to your ways, nor will I reprove you according to your deeds," says the Lord GOD.

28 ^b"For when the righteous turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, he shall die in it.

29 ^c"But when the wicked turns from his wickedness and does what is lawful and right, he shall live because of it.

30 ^d"Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways," says the Lord GOD. ^e"Repent, and turn from all your transgressions, so that iniquity will not be your ruin.

31 ^f"Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O house of Israel?

32 ^g"For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies," says the Lord GOD. "Therefore turn and live!"

1 ¶ Moreover take up a lamentation for the princes of Israel,

2 and say: ^a'What is your mother? A lioness. She lay down among the lions. Among the young lions she nourished her cubs.

3 ^b'She brought up one of her cubs. He became a young lion. He learned to catch prey. He devoured men.

4 ^c'The nations also heard of him. He was trapped in their pit. And they brought him with chains to the land of Egypt.

5 ^d'When she saw that she had waited, that her hope was lost, she took another of her cubs and made him a young lion.

6 ^e'He roved among the lions. He became a young lion. He learned to catch prey. He devoured men.

7 ^f'He knew their desolate places, and laid waste their cities. The land and its fullness were desolated by the sound of his roaring.

8 ^g'Then the nations from every province set up their siege works against him. They spread their net over him. He was trapped in their pit.

9 ^h'With hooks they put him in a cage and brought him to the king of Babylon. They brought him in nets, that his voice should no more be heard on the mountains of Israel.'

10 ¶ ⁱ'Your mother was like a vine in your bloodline, planted by the waters. She was fruitful and full of branches because of abundant waters.

11 ^j'She had strong branches for the scepters of rulers. She towered in stature among the thick branches, and was seen in her height amid the dense foliage.

12 ^k'But she was plucked up in fury, cast down to the ground, and the east wind dried her fruit. Her strong branches were broken and withered. The fire consumed them.

13 ^l'And now she is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty land.

14 ^m'Fire has come out from a branch of her branches and devoured her fruit, so that she has no more strong branch, a scepter for ruling.'

15 ⁿ'This is a lamentation and has become a lamentation.'

1 ¶ And it came to pass in the seventh year, in the fifth month, the tenth day of the month, that certain of the elders of Israel came to inquire of the LORD, and sat before me.

2 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

3 ^a"Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel, and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Have you come to inquire of Me? As I live," says the Lord GOD, "I will not be inquired of by you."

4 ^b"Will you judge them, son of man, will you judge them? Then cause them to know the abominations of their fathers.

5 ^c"Say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "On the day when I chose Israel and raised My hand in an oath to the descendants of the house of Jacob, and made Myself known to them in the land of Egypt, I raised My hand in an oath to them, saying, I am the LORD your God.

6 ^d"On that day I raised My hand in an oath to them, to bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had searched out for them, flowing with milk and honey, the glory of all lands.

7 ^e"Then I said to them, 'Each of you, throw away the abominations which are before his eyes, and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.'

8 ^f"But they rebelled against Me and would not obey Me. They did not all cast away the abominations which were before their eyes, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt. Then I said, 'I will pour out My fury on them and fulfill My wrath against them in the midst of the land of Egypt.'

9 ^g"But I acted for My name's sake, that it should not be profaned before the eyes of the Gentiles among whom they were, in whose sight I had made Myself known to them, in bringing them out of the land of Egypt.

10 ^h"So I made them go out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness.

11 ⁱ"And I gave them My statutes and showed them My judgments, which, if a man does, he shall live by them.

12 ^j"Moreover I also gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between them and Me, that they might know that I am the LORD who sanctifies them.

13 ^k"Yet the house of Israel rebelled against Me in the wilderness. They did not walk in My statutes. They despised My judgments, which, if a man does, he shall live by them. And they greatly defiled My Sabbaths. Then I said I would pour out My fury on them in the wilderness, to consume them.

14 ^l"But I acted for My name's sake, that it should not be profaned before the eyes of the Gentiles, in whose sight I had brought them out.

15 ^m"So I also raised My hand in an oath to them in the wilderness, that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, flowing with milk and honey, the glory of all lands,

16 ⁿ"because they despised My judgments and did not walk in My statutes, but profaned My Sabbaths. For their heart went after their idols.

17 ^o"Nevertheless My eye spared them from destruction. I did not make an end of them in the wilderness.

18 ^p"But I said to their children in the wilderness, 'Do not walk in the statutes of your fathers, nor observe their judgments, nor defile yourselves with their idols.

19 ^q"I am the LORD your God. Walk in My statutes, keep My judgments, and do them.

20 ^r"Hallow My Sabbaths, and they will be a sign between Me and you, that you may know that I am the LORD your God.'

21 ^s"Yet the children rebelled against Me. They did not walk in My statutes, nor were they careful to keep My judgments, which, if a man does, he shall live by them. They profaned My Sabbaths. Then I said I would pour out My fury on them and fulfill My wrath against them in the wilderness.

22 ^t"Nevertheless I withdrew My hand and acted for My name's sake, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the Gentiles, in whose sight I had brought them out.

23 ^u"Also I raised My hand in an oath to those in the wilderness, that I would scatter them among the Gentiles and disperse them throughout the countries,

24 ^v"because they had not executed My judgments, but had despised My statutes, profaned My Sabbaths, and their eyes were fixed on their fathers' idols.

25 ^w"Therefore I also gave them up to statutes that were not good, and judgments by which they could not live.

26 ^x"And I pronounced them unclean because of their ritual gifts, in that they caused all their firstborn to pass through the fire, that I might make them desolate and that they might know that I am the LORD."

27 ^y"Therefore, son of man, speak to the house of Israel, and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "In this too your fathers have blasphemed Me, by being unfaithful to Me.

28 ^z"When I brought them into the land concerning which I had raised My hand in an oath to give them, and they saw every high hill and every thick tree, there they offered their sacrifices and there they presented the provocation of their offering. There also they sent up their sweet aromas and poured out their drink offerings.

29 ^a"Then I said to them, 'What is this high place to which you go?' So its name is called High Place to this day."'

30 ^b"Therefore say to the house of Israel, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Are you still defiled, in the manner of your fathers? Do you still commit harlotry with their abominations?

31 ^c"For when you offer your gifts and make your sons pass through the fire, you defile yourselves with all your idols, even to this day. So shall I be inquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live," says the Lord GOD, "I will not be inquired of by you.

32 ^d"What you have in your mind shall never be, when you say, 'We will be like the Gentiles, like the families in other countries, serving wood and stone.'

33 ^e"As I live," says the Lord GOD, "surely with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, and with fury poured out, I will rule over you.

34 ^f"I will bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you are scattered, with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, and with fury poured out.

35 ^g"And I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there I will plead My case with you face to face.

36 ^h"Just as I pleaded My case with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will plead My case with you," says the Lord GOD.

37 ⁱ"I will make you pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant.

38 ^j"I will purge from you the rebels, and those who transgress against Me. I will bring them out of the land where they sojourn, but they shall not enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the LORD.

39 ^k"As for you, O house of Israel," thus says the Lord GOD, "Go, serve every one of you his idols, and hereafter, if you will not obey Me, then no more shall you profane My holy name with your gifts and your idols.

40 ^l"For on My holy mountain, on the mountain height of Israel," says the Lord GOD, "there all the house of Israel, all of them in the land, shall serve Me. There I will accept them, and there I will require your offerings and the firstfruits of your sacrifices, together with all your holy things.

41 ^m"I will accept you as a sweet aroma when I have brought you out from the peoples and gathered you out of the countries where you have been scattered. And I will be hallowed in you before the Gentiles.

42 ⁿ"Then you shall know that I am the LORD, when I bring you into the land of Israel, into the country for which I raised My hand in an oath to give to your fathers.

43 ^o"And there you shall remember your ways and all your doings with which you have defiled yourselves. And you shall loathe yourselves in your own sight because of all the evils which you have done.

44 ^p"Then you shall know that I am the LORD, when I have dealt with you for My name's sake, not according to your wicked ways nor according to your corrupt doings, O house of Israel," says the Lord GOD.'"

45 ¶ ^q"Furthermore, I turned and saw in the valley, and behold, ^ra burning fire that was spreading toward the south. And behold, a whirlwind came from the north, a great cloud with raging fire engulfing itself. And brightness was all around it and radiating out of its midst like the color of amber, out of the midst of the fire.

46 ^s"The likeness of the living creatures was as the likeness of a man. Under their wings were human hands. And the likeness of their faces was the same as the faces which I had seen by the River Chebar, their appearance and their persons. They each went straight forward.

47 ^t"The sound of their wings was like the sound of many waters, like the voice of the Almighty, a tumult like the noise of an army. And when they stood, they let down their wings.

48 ^u"A voice came from above the firmament that was over their heads. When they stood, they let down their wings.

49 ^v"And above the firmament over their heads was something like a throne, in appearance like a sapphire stone. On the throne, a likeness with the appearance of a man was on it.

50 ^w"Then I looked, and behold, a whirlwind came from the north, a great cloud with raging fire engulfing itself. And brightness was all around it and radiating out of its midst like the color of amber, out of the midst of the fire.

51 ^x"Also from the appearance of His waist and upward I saw as it were the color of amber with the appearance of fire all around within it. And from the appearance of His waist and downward I saw, as it were, the appearance of fire, and it had brightness all around.

52 ^y"Like the appearance of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the brightness all around it. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. So when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard a voice of One speaking."

1 ¶ And the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

2 ^a"Son of man, set your face toward Jerusalem, preach against the holy places, and prophesy against the land of Israel.

3 ^b"And say to the land of Israel, 'Thus says the LORD, "Behold, I am against you, and I will draw My sword out of its sheath and cut off both righteous and wicked from you.

4 ^c"Because I will cut off both righteous and wicked from you, therefore My sword shall be drawn out of its sheath against all flesh from south to north,

5 ^d"that all flesh may know that I, the LORD, have drawn My sword out of its sheath. It shall not return anymore."'

6 ^e"Sigh therefore, son of man. Sigh with broken heart, with bitter sighing, before their eyes.

7 ^f"And it shall be when they say to you, 'Why are you sighing?' that you shall answer, 'Because of the news. When it comes, every heart will melt, all hands will become feeble, every spirit will faint, and all knees will be as weak as water. Behold, it is coming and shall be brought to pass,' says the Lord GOD."

8 ¶ Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

9 ^g"Son of man, prophesy and say, 'Thus says the LORD!' Say, ^h'A sword, a sword is sharpened and also polished!

10 ⁱ'It is sharpened to make a dreadful slaughter. Polished to flash like lightning! Should we then make mirth? ^j'It despises the scepter of My son, as it does all wood.'

11 ^k'He has given it to be polished, that it may be handled. This sword is sharpened, and it is polished to be given into the hand of the slayer.'

12 ^l'Cry and wail, son of man. For it will be against My people, against all the princes of Israel. Terrors including the sword will be against My people. Therefore strike your thigh.'

13 ^m'Because it is a testing, and what if the sword despises even the scepter? The sword will not be at rest.'

14 ⁿ'Therefore the sword, slaying the sons of My people, shall be in his hand. Strike your thigh.'

15 ^o'Again the sword is turned to one that is slain. And it will be at rest when it has made an end of the slain.'

16 ^p'Cause it to go toward the right, toward the left, wherever your face is set.

17 ^q'I will also strike My hands together, and I will cause My fury to rest. I the LORD have spoken.'

18 ¶ The word of the LORD came to me again, saying,

19 ^r"Now you, son of man, mark two ways for the sword of the king of Babylon to go. Both of them shall come from the same land. Make a sign. Put it at the head of the road to the city.

20 ^s"Mark a way for the sword to come to Rabbah of the Ammonites, and to Judah, into fortified Jerusalem.

21 ^t"For the king of Babylon stands at the parting of the road, at the fork of the two roads, to use divination. He shakes the arrows, he consults the household idols, he looks at the liver.

22 ^u"In his right hand is the divination for Jerusalem: to set up battering rams, to call for a slaughter, to open the mouth with bloodshed, to set up battering rams against the gates, to heap up a siege mound, and to build a wall.

23 ^v"And it will be to them like a false divination in the eyes of those who have sworn oaths with him. But he will bring the remembrance of iniquity, that they may be taken.

24 ^w"Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, 'Because you have made your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are uncovered, so that in all your deeds your sins appear, because you have come to remembrance, you shall be taken in hand.

25 ^x'And you, O deadly wounded wicked prince of Israel, whose day has come, whose iniquity shall end,

26 ^y'thus says the Lord GOD, "Remove the turban, and take off the crown. Nothing shall remain the same. Exalt the humble, and humble the exalted.

27 ^z'Overthrown, overthrown, I will make it overthrown! It shall be no longer, until He comes whose right it is, and I will give it to Him."

28 ^a'And you, son of man, prophesy and say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD concerning the Ammonites and concerning their reproach,' and say, ^b'A sword, a sword is drawn, polished for slaughter, for consuming, for flashing like lightning.'

29 ^c'While they see for you false visions, while they divine a lie to you, to bring you on the necks of the wicked who are slain, whose day has come, whose iniquity shall end.

30 ^d'Return it to its sheath. I will judge you in the place where you were created, in the land of your nativity.

31 ^e'I will pour out My indignation on you. I will blow against you with the fire of My wrath, and deliver you into the hands of brutal men who are skillful to destroy.

32 ^f'You shall be fuel for the fire. Your blood shall be in the midst of the land. You shall not be remembered, for I the LORD have spoken.'"

1 ¶ Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

2 ^a"Now you, son of man, will you judge, will you judge the bloody city? Yes, show her all her abominations!

3 ^b"Then say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "The city sheds blood in her own midst, that her time may come. And she makes idols against herself to defile herself.

4 ^c"You have become guilty by the blood which you have shed, and have defiled yourself with the idols which you have made. You have caused your days to draw near, and have come to the end of your years. Therefore I have made you a reproach to the nations, and a scorn to all countries.

5 ^d"Those near and those far from you will mock you as infamous and full of tumult.

6 ^e"Look, the princes of Israel, every one according to his power, are in you to shed blood.

7 ^f"In you they have made light of father and mother. In your midst they have oppressed the stranger. In you they have wronged the fatherless and the widow.

8 ^g"You have despised My holy things and profaned My Sabbaths.

9 ^h"In you are men who slander to cause bloodshed. In you are those who eat on the mountains. In your midst they commit lewdness.

10 ⁱ"In you men uncover their fathers' nakedness. In you they violate women who are set apart during their impurity.

11 ^j"One commits abomination with his neighbor's wife. Another wickedly defiles his daughter-in-law. And another in you violates his sister, his father's daughter.

12 ^k"In you they take bribes to shed blood. You take usury and increase. You have made profit from your neighbors by extortion, and have forgotten Me," says the Lord GOD.

13 ^l"Behold, therefore, I strike My hand at your dishonest gain which you have made, and at the blood which has been in your midst.

14 ^m"Can your heart endure, or can your hands remain strong, in the days when I shall deal with you? I, the LORD, have spoken, and will do it.

15 ⁿ"I will scatter you among the nations, disperse you throughout the countries, and remove your filthiness from you.

16 ^o"You shall take your inheritance in yourself in the sight of the Gentiles. Then you shall know that I am the LORD."

17 ¶ The word of the LORD came to me, saying,

18 ^p"Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to Me. They are all bronze, tin, iron, and lead, in the midst of a furnace. They have become dross from silver.

19 ^q"Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, 'Because you have all become dross, therefore behold, I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem.

20 ^r'As men gather silver, bronze, iron, lead, and tin into the midst of a furnace, to melt it with fire, so I will gather you in My anger and in My fury, and I will leave you there and melt you.

21 ^s'Yes, I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of My wrath, and you shall be melted in its midst.

22 ^t'As silver is melted in the midst of a furnace, so shall you be melted in its midst. Then you shall know that I, the LORD, have poured out My fury on you.'

23 ¶ And the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

24 ^u"Son of man, say to her, 'You are a land that is not cleansed or rained on in the day of indignation.'

25 ^v"The conspiracy of her prophets in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing the prey. They have devoured souls. They have taken treasure and precious things. They have made many widows in her midst.

26 ^w"Her priests have violated My law and have profaned My holy things. They have not distinguished between the holy and unholy, nor have they made known the difference between the unclean and the clean. They have hidden their eyes from My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them.

27 ^x"Her princes in her midst are like wolves tearing the prey, to shed blood, to destroy people, and to get dishonest gain.

28 ^y"Her prophets plaster them with untempered mortar, seeing false visions and divining lies for them, saying, 'Thus says the Lord GOD,' when the LORD has not spoken.

29 ^z"The people of the land have used oppressions, committed robbery, and mistreated the poor and needy. They have wronged the stranger wrongfully.

30 ^a"I searched for a man among them, who would build a wall and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it. But I found no one.

31 ^b"Therefore I have poured out My indignation on them. I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath. And I have recompensed their deeds on their own heads," says the Lord GOD.

1 ¶ The word of the LORD came again to me, saying,

2 ^a"Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother.

3 ^b"They committed harlotry in Egypt. They committed harlotry in their youth. They were there their breasts pressed, and there they bruised the teats of their virginity.

4 ^c"The names of them were Aholah the elder and Aholibah her sister. They were Mine, and they bore sons and daughters. As for their names, Samaria is Aholah, and Jerusalem is Aholibah.

5 ^d"Aholah played the harlot when she was Mine. And she was lusting for her lovers, the Assyrians, her neighbors,

6 ^e"who were clothed in purple, captains and rulers, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding on horses.

7 ^f"Thus she committed her harlotry with them, with all of them the choice men of Assyria. And with all of them for whom she lusted, she defiled herself and became a harlot with all their idols.

8 ^g"She did not give up her harlotry from the time she was in Egypt. For in her youth they had lain with her, bruised her virgin bosom, and poured out their lust on her.

9 ^h"Therefore I have delivered her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the Assyrians, for whom she lusted.

10 ⁱ"They uncovered her nakedness, took away her sons and daughters, and slew her with the sword. Then she became a byword among women, for they had executed judgment on her.

11 ^j"And when her sister Aholibah saw this, she became more corrupt in her lust than she, and in her harlotry more corrupt than her sister's harlotry.

12 ^k"She lusted for the neighboring Assyrians, captains and rulers clothed most gorgeously, horsemen riding on horses, all of them desirable young men.

13 ^l"And I saw that she was defiled, and both of them had one way.

14 ^m"But she increased her harlotry. She saw men portrayed on the wall, the images of the Chaldeans portrayed in vermilion,

15 ⁿ"girded with belts around their waists, flowing turbans on their heads, all of them looking like captains, like the sons of Babylonians, natives of the land of Chaldea.

16 ^o"And as soon as she saw them with her eyes, she lusted after them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea.

17 ^p"Then the Babylonians came to her, into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their lust. And when she had been defiled by them, she became disgusted with them.

18 ^q"So she revealed her harlotry and uncovered her nakedness. Then I became disgusted with her, as I had become disgusted with her sister.

19 ^r"Yet she multiplied her harlotry, calling to remembrance the days of her youth, when she had played the harlot in the land of Egypt.

20 ^s"For she lusted for her paramours, whose flesh is like the flesh of donkeys, and whose issue is like the issue of horses.

21 ^t"Thus you called to remembrance the lewdness of your youth, when the Egyptians pressed your bosom, because of your youthful breasts.

22 ^u"Therefore, Aholibah, thus says the Lord GOD, 'Behold, I will stir up your lovers against you, from whom you have turned away in disgust. And I will bring them against you from every side:

23 ^v'The Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, Pekod and Shoa and Koa, all the Assyrians with them, all of them desirable young men, governors and rulers, princes and nobles, all of them riding on horses.

24 ^w'And they shall come against you with chariots, wagons, and warhorses, with a horde of people. They shall array against you with buckler, shield, and helmet all around. I will delegate judgment to them, and they shall judge you according to their judgments.

25 ^x'I will set My jealousy against you, and they shall deal furiously with you. They shall remove your nose and your ears, and the rest of you shall fall by the sword. They shall take your sons and your daughters, and the rest of you shall be devoured by fire.

26 ^y'They shall also strip you of your clothes and take away your beautiful jewelry.'

27 ^z'Thus I will make you cease your lewdness and your harlotry brought from the land of Egypt. You shall not lift up your eyes to them, nor remember Egypt anymore.'

28 ^a'For thus says the Lord GOD, "Surely I will deliver you into the hand of those whom you hate, into the hand of those from whom you turned away in disgust.

29 ^b'And they shall deal with you in hatred. They shall take away all your earnings, and leave you naked and bare. The nakedness of your harlotry shall be uncovered, both your lewdness and your harlotry.

30 ^c'These things shall be done to you because you have played the harlot with the nations, because you have defiled yourself with their idols.'

31 ^d'You have walked in the way of your sister. Therefore I will put her cup in your hand.'

32 ^e'Thus says the Lord GOD, "You shall drink of your sister's cup, the deep and wide one. You shall be laughed to scorn and held in derision. It contains much.

33 ^f'You will be filled with drunkenness and sorrow, the cup of horror and desolation, the cup of your sister Samaria.

34 ^g'You shall drink it and drain it. You shall break its shards, and tear at your own breasts. For I have spoken,' says the Lord GOD.

35 ^h'Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, "Because you have forgotten Me and cast Me behind your back, therefore you shall also bear your lewdness and your harlotry."'

36 ¶ The LORD also said to me, ⁱ"Son of man, will you judge Aholah and Aholibah? Then declare to them their abominations.

37 ^j"For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands. They have committed adultery with their idols. And even they have made their sons pass through the fire to them, whom they bore to Me, to devour them.

38 ^k"Moreover this they have done to Me: They have defiled My sanctuary on the same day and profaned My Sabbaths.

39 ^l"For after they had slain their children for their idols, on the same day they came into My sanctuary to profane it. And indeed thus they have done in the midst of My house.

40 ^m"Furthermore they sent for men to come from afar, to whom a messenger was sent. And indeed they came. For them you washed yourself, painted your eyes, and adorned yourself with ornaments.

41 ⁿ"You sat on a stately couch, with a table prepared before it, on which you had set My incense and My oil.

42 ^o"The sound of a carefree multitude was with her. Sabeans were brought from the wilderness with men of the common sort, who put bracelets on their wrists and beautiful crowns on their heads.

43 ^p"Then I said concerning her who had grown old in adulteries, 'Now they will commit harlotry with her, and she with them.'

44 ^q"And they committed harlotry with her. Indeed, they committed harlotry with her, as with a harlotrous woman of the lowest and basest sort.

45 ^r"They are righteous men, who would judge her according to the judgment of adulteresses and according to the judgment of those who shed blood. For they are adulteresses, and blood is on their hands.

46 ^s"For thus says the Lord GOD, 'Bring up an assembly against them, and give them over to trouble and plunder.

47 ^t'The assembly shall stone them with stones and despatch them with their swords. They shall slay their sons and their daughters, and burn their houses with fire.

48 ^u'Thus I will cause lewdness to cease from the land, that all women may be taught not to practice your lewdness.

49 ^v'They shall repay your lewdness upon you, and you shall bear the sins of your idols. Then you shall know that I am the Lord GOD.'"

1 ¶ Again in the ninth year, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

2 ^a"Son of man, write down the name of the day, this very day. The king of Babylon started his siege against Jerusalem this very day.

3 ^b"And utter a proverb against the rebellious house, and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Put on the pot, put it on, and also pour water into it.

4 ^c"Gather pieces in it, every good piece, the thigh and the shoulder. Fill it with the best of the flock. Take from the flock the choice pieces, and also put firewood under it.

5 ^d"Let it boil well, and let its pieces be boiled in it, and let its bones be burned in it.

6 ^e"Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, 'Woe to the bloody city, to the pot whose scum is in it, and whose scum is not gone from it! Bring it out piece by piece, on which no lot has fallen.

7 ^f'For her blood is in her midst. She set it on the bare rock. She did not pour it on the ground, to cover it with dust.

8 ^g'That it may arouse wrath, to take vengeance. I have set her blood on the bare rock, that it should not be covered.'

9 ^h'Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, 'Woe to the bloody city! I also will make the pile great.

10 ⁱ'Heap on the wood, kindle the fire, consume the flesh, and spice it well. And let the bones be burned.

11 ^j'Then set it empty upon its coals, that it may become hot and its bronze may burn, and that its filthiness may be melted in it, its scum consumed.

12 ^k'She has grown weary with lies, and her great scum has not gone from her. Let her scum be in the fire!'

13 ^l'In your filthiness is lewdness. Because I have cleansed you, and you were not cleansed, you will not be cleansed of your filthiness anymore, till I have caused My fury to rest upon you.

14 ^m'I, the LORD, have spoken it. It shall come to pass, and I will do it. I will not hold back, nor will I spare, nor will I relent. According to your ways and according to your deeds, they will judge you,' says the Lord GOD."

15 ¶ Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

16 ⁿ"Son of man, behold, I take away from you the desire of your eyes with one stroke. Yet you shall neither mourn nor weep, nor shall your tears run down.

17 ^o"Forbear to cry, make no mourning for the dead. Bind the turban on your head, and put your sandals on your feet. Do not cover your lips, and do not eat man's bread of sorrow."

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

19 ^q"And the people said to me, 'Will you not tell us what these things signify to us, that you behave so?'

20 ^r"Then I answered them, 'The word of the LORD came to me, saying,

21 ^s"Speak to the house of Israel, "Thus says the Lord GOD, 'Behold, I will profane My sanctuary, and the pride of your power, the desire of your eyes, and the delight of your soul. And your sons and daughters whom you left behind shall fall by the sword.

22 ^t'And you shall do as I have done. You shall not cover your lips, nor eat man's bread of sorrow.

23 ^u'Your turbans shall be on your heads and your sandals on your feet. You shall not mourn nor weep. But you shall pine away in your iniquities and mourn with one another.

24 ^v'Thus Ezekiel is a sign to you. According to all that he has done, you shall do. And when this comes, you shall know that I am the Lord GOD.'

25 ^w'And you, son of man, will it not be in the day when I take from them their strength, the joy of their glory, the desire of their eyes, and that on which they set their minds, their sons and their daughters?

26 ^x'That day he who escapes will come to you to let you hear it with your ears?

27 ^y'In that day your mouth will be opened to him who has escaped. You shall speak and no longer be mute. Thus you will be a sign to them, and they shall know that I am the LORD.'"

1 ¶ The word of the LORD came to me, saying,

2 ^a"Son of man, set your face against the Ammonites and prophesy against them.

3 ^b"Say to the Ammonites, 'Hear the word of the Lord GOD! Thus says the Lord GOD, "Because you said, ^c'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 ^d"indeed, therefore, I will deliver you as a possession to the men of the East. They shall set their fortresses against you, and they shall pitch their tents and set up their dwellings all around you. They shall eat your fruit and drink your milk.

5 ^e"I will make Rabbah a stable for camels, and the Ammonites a couch for flocks. Then you shall know that I am the LORD."

6 ^f"For thus says the Lord GOD, 'Because you clapped your hands, stamped your feet, and rejoiced in heart with all your disdain for the land of Israel,

7 ^g"indeed, therefore, I will stretch out My hand against you and give you as plunder to the nations. I will cut you off from the peoples, and make you perish from the countries. I will destroy you. Then you shall know that I am the LORD."

8 ^h"Thus says the Lord GOD, 'Because Moab and Seir say, "Behold, the house of Judah is like all the Gentiles,"

9 ⁱ"therefore, behold, I will make the most inhabited places of Moab a waste, and I will take from it all its wealth. I will take from it all the men of the city. I will give them as plunder to the Ammonites and will not be a nation anymore.

10 ^j"I will execute vengeance upon Moab. And they shall know that I am the LORD."

11 ^k"Thus says the Lord GOD, 'Because Edom has taken vengeance on the house of Judah, and has committed a trespass by retaliating against them,

12 ^l"therefore, thus says the Lord GOD, 'I will stretch out My hand against Edom, cut off man and beast from it, make it desolate from Teman, and Dedan shall fall by the sword.

13 ^m"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.

14 ⁿ"Thus says the Lord GOD, 'Because the Philistines dealt vengefully and took vengeance with a spiteful heart, to destroy with everlasting enmity,'

15 ^o"therefore thus says the Lord GOD, 'I will stretch out My hand against the Philistines, cut off the Cherethites, and destroy the remnant of the seacoast.

16 ^p"I will execute great vengeance on them with furious rebukes. Then they shall know that I am the LORD, when I lay My vengeance upon them."

1 ¶ And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first day of the month, that the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

2 ^a"Son of man, because 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 ^c"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 ^d"And they shall destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers. I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her like the top of a rock.

5 ^e"She shall be a place for spreading nets in the midst of the sea. For I have spoken,' says the Lord GOD. 'She shall become plunder for the nations.

6 ^f"Also her daughter villages which are in the fields shall be slain by the sword. Then they shall know that I am the LORD."

7 ^g"For thus says the Lord GOD, 'Behold, I will bring against Tyre from the north Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, king of kings, with horses, with chariots, and with horsemen, and an army with many people.

8 ^h"He will slay with the sword your daughter villages in the fields. He will make a siege mound against you, build a wall against you, and raise a defense against you.

9 ⁱ"He will set his battering rams against your walls, and with his axes he will break down your towers.

10 ^j"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 ^k"With the hooves of his horses he will trample all your streets. He will slay your people with the sword, and your strong pillars will fall to the ground.

12 ^l"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 midst of the water.

13 ^m"I will put an end to the sound of your songs, and the sound of your harps shall be heard no more.

14 ⁿ"I will make you like the top of a rock. You shall be a place for spreading nets. You shall never be rebuilt, for I the LORD have spoken,' says the Lord GOD.

15 ^o"Thus says the Lord GOD to Tyre, 'Will the seacoasts not shake at the sound of your fall, when the wounded cry, when slaughter is made in your midst?

16 ^p"Then all the princes of the sea will come down from their thrones, lay aside their robes, and take off their embroidered garments. They will clothe themselves with trembling. They will sit on the ground, tremble at every moment, and be astonished at you.

17 ^q"And they will take up a lamentation for you, and say to you, ^r'How you have perished, O one inhabited by seafaring men, O renowned city, who was strong on the sea, she and her inhabitants, who caused their terror to be on all who inhabit it!'

18 ^s"Now the coastlands tremble on the day of your fall. Yes, the coastlands that are by the sea are troubled at your departure."

19 ^t"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 ^u"then I will bring you down with those who descend into the Pit, to the people of old, and make you dwell in the lowest parts 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 in the land of the living.

21 ^v"I will make you a terror, and you shall be no more. Though you are sought for, you will never be found again,' says the Lord GOD."

1 ¶ The word of the LORD came again to me, saying,

2 ^a"Now, son of man, take up a lamentation for Tyre,

3 ^b"and say to Tyre, who dwells at the entrance to the sea, merchant of the peoples on many coastlands, thus says the Lord GOD, ^c'O Tyre, you have said, "I am perfect in beauty."

4 ^d'Your borders are in the midst of the seas. Your builders have perfected your beauty.

5 ^e'They made all your planks of fir trees from Senir. They took a cedar from Lebanon to make you a mast.

6 ^f'They made your oars of oaks from Bashan. They made your deck of inlaid ivory from the coastlands of Cyprus.

7 ^g'Fine embroidered linen from Egypt was what you spread for your sail. Blue and purple from the coasts of Elishah was what covered you.

8 ^h'The inhabitants of Sidon and Arvad were your rowers. Your wise men, O Tyre, were in you. They were your pilots.

9 ⁱ'The elders of Gebal and its wise men were in you, calking your seams. All the ships of the sea and their sailors were in you to barter for your merchandise.

10 ^j'Those from Persia, Lud, and Put were in your army as men of war. They hung shield and helmet in you. They gave splendor to you.

11 ^k'Men 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 your beauty perfect.'

12 ^l'Tarshish was your merchant because of your many luxury goods. They gave you silver, iron, tin, and lead for your goods.

13 ^m'Javan, Tubal, and Meshech were your traders. They gave people and bronze vessels for your merchandise.

14 ⁿ'Those from the house of Togarmah traded for your wares with horses, horsemen, and mules.

15 ^o'The men of Dedan were your traders. Many coastlands were your market. They brought you ivory tusks and ebony as payment.

16 ^p'Syria was your merchant because of the abundance of goods you made. They gave you emeralds, purple, embroidery, fine linen, and coral for your payment.

17 ^q'Judah and the land of Israel were your traders. They traded for your merchandise with wheat of Minnith, millet, honey, oil, and balm.

18 ^r'Damascus was your merchant because of the abundance of goods you made, because of your many luxury items, because of the wine of Helbon and white wool.

19 ^s'Dan and Javan paid for your wares. Uzal paid for your merchandise. Wrought iron, cassia, and cane were among your merchandise.

20 ^t'Dedan was your merchant in precious cloths for riding. Arabia, and all the princes of Kedar were your companions in trade.

21 ^u'They traded with you for lambs, rams, and goats. They traded with you for your merchandise.'

22 ^v'The merchants of Sheba and Raamah were your merchants. They traded for your wares the choicest spices, all kinds of precious stones, and gold.

23 ^w'Haran, Canneh, Eden, the merchants of Sheba, Asshur, and Chilmad were your merchants.

24 ^x'These traded with you in excellent garments, in boxes of embroidered cloth, in multicolored cloths, and in tightly bound cords, which were in your market.

25 ^y'The ships of Tarshish were carriers of your merchandise. You were filled and very glorious in the midst of the seas.

26 ^z'Your rowers brought you into great waters. But the east wind broke you in the midst of the seas.

27 ^a'Your riches, wares, and merchandise, your mariners, pilots, caulkers, and the merchants of your merchandise, all the men of war who are in you, with all your company who are in your midst, will fall into the midst of the seas on the day of your ruin.

28 ^b'The countryside will shake at the sound of your fall, when the wounded cry, when slaughter is made in your midst.

29 ^c'All who handle the oar, the mariners, and all the pilots of the sea will come down from their ships and stand on the shore.

30 ^d'They will make their voice heard because of you, and will cry bitterly. They will cast dust on their heads and wallow in ashes.

31 ^e'They will shave themselves completely bald because of you, and gird themselves with sackcloth. They will weep for you with bitterness of soul and bitter wailing.

32 ^f'Also in their wailing they will take up a lamentation for you, and lament over you, saying: "Who is like Tyre, destroyed in the midst of the sea?"

33 ^g'When 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.

34 ^h'But now you are broken by the seas, your deep waters have come upon you, and all your merchandise has gone down into the depths with you.

35 ⁱ'All the inhabitants of the isles are astonished at you. And their kings are greatly afraid. Their faces are troubled.

36 ^j'The merchants among the people hiss at you. You have become a horror, and you shall be no more forever.'

1 ¶ The word of the LORD came again to me, saying,

2 ^a"Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, ^b"Because your heart is lifted up, and you say, "I am a god, I sit in the seat of gods, in the midst of the seas," yet you are a man and not a god, though you set your heart as the heart of a god.

3 ^c"Behold, you are wiser than Daniel! Nothing is hidden from you!

4 ^d"With your wisdom and your understanding you have gained riches for yourself, and have gathered gold and silver into your treasuries.

5 ^e"By your great wisdom in trade you have increased your riches, and your heart is lifted up because of your riches."

6 ^f"Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, 'Because you have set your heart as the heart of a god,

7 ^g"Behold, therefore, I will bring strangers against you, the most terrible of the nations. And they shall draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom, and defile your splendor.

8 ^h"They shall throw you down into the Pit, and you shall die the death of the slain in the midst of the seas.

9 ⁱ"Will you still say 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.

10 ^j"You shall die the death of the uncircumcised by the hand of strangers. For I have spoken," says the Lord GOD."

11 ¶ Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

12 ^k"Son of man, take up a lamentation for the king of Tyre, and say to him, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, ^l"You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.

13 ^m"You were in Eden, 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 your timbrels and flutes was prepared for you on the day you were created.

14 ⁿ"You were the anointed cherub who covers. I established you. You were on the holy mountain of God. You walked back and forth in the midst of the fiery stones.

15 ^o"You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was found in you.

16 ^p"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, O covering cherub, from the midst of the fiery stones.

17 ^q"Your heart was lifted 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 ^r"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.

19 ^s"All who knew you among the peoples are astonished at you. You have become a horror, and shall be no more forever."

20 ¶ Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

21 ^t"Son of man, set your face against Sidon, and prophesy against her,

22 ^u"and say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, ^v"Behold, I am against you, O Sidon. I will be glorified in your midst. And they shall know that I am the LORD, when I execute judgments in her and am hallowed in her.

23 ^w"For I will send pestilence into her, and blood into her streets. The wounded shall fall in her midst by the sword upon her on every side. Then they shall know that I am the LORD.

24 ^x"And there shall no longer be a pricking brier for the house of Israel, nor a hurting thorn of any that are around them, who despise them. Then they will know that I am the Lord GOD.

25 ^y"Thus says the Lord GOD, 'When I have gathered the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, and am hallowed in them in the sight of the Gentiles, then they will dwell in their own land which I gave to My servant Jacob.

26 ^z"And they will dwell safely there, build houses, and plant vineyards. Yes, they will dwell securely, when I have executed judgments on all those around them who despise them. Then they shall know that I am the LORD their God."

1 ¶ In the tenth year, in the tenth month, in the twelfth day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

2 ^a"Son of man, set your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him, and against all Egypt.

3 ^b"Speak, and say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, ^c"Behold, I am against you, O Pharaoh king of Egypt, O great monster who lies in his rivers, who has said, ^d'My River is my own. I have made it for myself.'

4 ^e"But I 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 of your rivers will stick to your scales.

5 ^f"I will leave you in the wilderness, you and all the fish of your rivers. You shall fall on the open field. You shall not be picked up or gathered. I have given you as food to the beasts of the field and to the birds of the heavens.

6 ^g"Then all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the LORD, because they have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel.

7 ^h"When they took hold of you with the hand, you broke and tore all their shoulders. When they leaned on you, you broke and made all their backs quiver."

8 ⁱ"Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, 'Surely I will bring a sword upon you and cut off from you man and beast.

9 ^j"The land of Egypt shall become desolate and waste. Then they will know that I am the LORD. Because he said, ^k'The River is mine, and I have made it.'

10 ^l"Therefore, behold, I am against you and against your rivers. I will make the land of Egypt utterly waste and desolate, from Migdol to Syene, as far as the border of Ethiopia.

11 ^m"Neither foot of man shall pass through it nor foot of beast pass through it. It shall be uninhabited for forty years.

12 ⁿ"I will make the land of Egypt desolate in the midst of the desolate countries. Her cities shall be desolate for forty years among desolate cities. I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries."

13 ^o"For thus says the Lord GOD, 'At the end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the peoples among whom they were scattered.

14 ^p"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 lowly kingdom.

15 ^q"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 ^r"No longer shall it be the confidence of the house of Israel, but will remind them of their iniquity when they turned to follow them. Then they shall know that I am the LORD GOD."

17 ^s"And it came to pass in the twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

18 ^t"Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon caused his army to serve a great service against Tyre. Every head was made bald, and every shoulder was rubbed raw. Yet neither he nor his army received pay from Tyre for the service that he had served against it.

19 ^u"Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, 'Surely I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. He shall take away her multitude, take her spoil, and take her plunder. And it shall be pay for his army.

20 ^v"I have given him the land of Egypt for his labor, because they worked for Me,' says the Lord GOD.

21 ^w"In that day I will cause the horn of the house of Israel to spring forth, and I will open your mouth to speak in their midst. Then they shall know that I am the LORD."

1 ¶ The word of the LORD came again to me, saying,

2 ^a"Son of man, prophesy and say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, ^b'Wail, ^c'Woe to the day! For the day is near, the day of the LORD is near. It will be a day of clouds, the time of the Gentiles.

3 ^d"The sword shall come upon Egypt, and great anguish shall be in Ethiopia, when the slain fall in Egypt. They shall take away her multitude, and her foundations shall be broken down.

4 ^e"Ethiopia, Libya, Lydia, all the mingled people, Chub, and the men of the lands who are allied, shall fall with them by the sword, and they shall fall into the land of the Chaldeans.

5 ^f"They shall be terrified in the land of Egypt when I take away their multitude, and her foundations are broken down.

6 ^g"'Thus says the LORD, 'Those who uphold Egypt shall fall. The pride of her power shall fall from Migdol to Syene. They shall fall by the sword,' says the Lord GOD.

7 ^h"They shall be desolate in the midst of the desolate countries. Her cities shall be in the midst of desolate cities.

8 ⁱ"Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I set a fire in Egypt and all her helpers are broken.

9 ^j"On that day, messengers shall go forth from Me in ships to make the careless Ethiopians afraid. Great anguish shall come upon them, as on the day of Egypt. For indeed it is coming!'

10 ^k"Thus says the Lord GOD, 'I will also make the multitude of Egypt to cease by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.

11 ^l"He and his people with him, the 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.

12 ^m"I will make the rivers dry, and sell the land to the wicked. I will make the land desolate, and all that is in it, by the hand of strangers. I, the LORD, have spoken."

13 ⁿ"Thus says the Lord GOD, 'I will also destroy the idols, and cause the images to cease from Noph. No more shall there be a prince from the land of Egypt. And I will put fear in the land of Egypt.

14 ^o"I will make Pathros desolate, set fire in Zoan, and execute judgments in No.

15 ^p"I will pour My fury on Sin, the strength of Egypt. I will cut off the multitude of No, and set a fire in Egypt. She shall be tormented greatly, and No shall be broken down. The women of Noph shall be put to the sword. Her young men shall fall by the sword.

16 ^q"They shall also take from her a multitude of captives, and bring the spoils to the land of the Chaldeans.

17 ^r"I will also make the cities of Egypt desolate, from Migdol to Syene, as far as the border of Ethiopia. Then they shall know that I am the LORD."

18 ^s"As I live," says the Lord GOD, "surely in the place where the king dwells who left him, in the place where the king dwells who abandoned him, you shall despise Egypt and all her multitude, says the Lord GOD.

19 ^t"For I have strengthened Pharaoh king of Egypt, and they will stumble when they lean on him. All his helpers will fall, and all his allies will go down to the slaughter.

20 ^u"Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, 'Behold, I will bring a sword upon Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he shall stumble and fall by the sword. All his helpers shall fall with him.

21 ^v"His hired men also, who are in the midst of his army, shall fall by the sword. They shall surrender, each one to his own place, and shall flee when they see the sword."

22 ^w"'In that day,' says the Lord GOD, 'I will cause the sword to fall throughout Egypt. Great anguish shall be in Ethiopia when the slain fall in Egypt. They shall take away her multitude, and her foundations shall be broken down.

23 ^x"Ethiopia, Libya, Lydia, all the mingled people, Chub, and the men of the lands who are allied, shall fall with them by the sword, and they shall fall into the land of the Chaldeans.

24 ^y"They shall be terrified in the land of Egypt when I take away their multitude, and her foundations are broken down. They shall fall by the sword,' says the Lord GOD.

25 ^z"'Thus says the LORD, 'Those who uphold Egypt shall fall. The pride of her power shall fall from Migdol to Syene. They shall fall by the sword,' says the Lord GOD.

26 ^a"They shall be desolate in the midst of the desolate countries. Her cities shall be in the midst of desolate cities.

27 ^b"Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I set a fire in Egypt and all her helpers are broken."

28 ^c"On that day, messengers shall go forth from Me in ships to make the careless Ethiopians afraid. Great anguish shall come upon them, as on the day of Egypt. For indeed it is coming!'

29 ^d"Thus says the Lord GOD, 'I will also make the multitude of Egypt to cease by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.

30 ^e"He and his people with him, the 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.

31 ^f"I will make the rivers dry, and sell the land to the wicked. I will make the land desolate, and all that is in it, by the hand of strangers. I, the LORD, have spoken."

32 ^g"Thus says the Lord GOD, 'I will also destroy the idols, and cause the images to cease from Noph. No more shall there be a prince from the land of Egypt. And I will put fear in the land of Egypt.

33 ^h"I will make Pathros desolate, set fire in Zoan, and execute judgments in No.

34 ⁱ"I will pour My fury on Sin, the strength of Egypt. I will cut off the multitude of No, and set a fire in Egypt. She shall be tormented greatly, and No shall be broken down. The women of Noph shall be put to the sword. Her young men shall fall by the sword.

35 ^j"They shall also take from her a multitude of captives, and bring the spoils to the land of the Chaldeans.

36 ^k"I will also make the cities of Egypt desolate, from Migdol to Syene, as far as the border of Ethiopia. Then they shall know that I am the LORD."

1 ¶ And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the third month, in the first day of the month, that the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

2 ^a"Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his multitude, ^b'Whom are you like in your greatness?

3 ^c"Indeed 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.

4 ^d"The waters made it grow. The deep waters brought it up. The rivers ran around its base. The deep waters sent out their streams to every tree that grew on the bank.

5 ^e"Thus it became more beautiful than all the trees of the field, and its boughs were multiplied, and its branches became long because of the abundance of water, as it sent them out.

6 ^f"All the birds 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 made their home.

7 ^g"Thus it was beautiful in its greatness, in the length of its branches, because its roots reached to abundant waters.

8 ^h"The cedars in the garden of God could not hide it. The fir trees were not like its boughs, and the plane trees were not as its branches. No tree in the garden of God was like it in beauty.

9 ⁱ"I have made it beautiful with the multitude of its branches, and all the trees of Eden envied it, that were in the garden of God.

10 ^j"Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, 'Because it was high in stature, and its top was among the thick boughs, and its heart was lifted up in its height,

11 ^k"I will deliver it into the hand of the mighty one of the nations. He shall surely deal with it. I have driven it out for its wickedness.

12 ^l"Strangers, the most terrible of the nations, have cut it down and left it. Its branches lie on the mountains and in all the valleys. Its boughs lie broken in all the watercourses of the land. All the peoples of the earth have gone from under its shadow and left it.

13 ^m"On its trunk remain the birds of the heavens, and the beasts of the field. They shall nest in its boughs. All the great nations are under its shade. Its branches lie broken in all the watercourses of the land.

14 ⁿ"Thus all the trees of Eden, which were by the waters, were comforted because they were brought low. They are put under the shade of the one who was great and tall.

15 ^o"Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, 'Because you have lifted yourself in height, and he shot his top among the thick boughs, and his heart was lifted up in his height,

16 ^p"I will deliver him into the hand of the mighty one of the nations. He shall surely deal with him. I have driven him out for his wickedness.

17 ^q"Strangers, the most terrible of the nations, have cut him down and left him. His branches lie on the mountains and in all the valleys. His boughs lie broken in all the watercourses of the land. All the peoples of the earth have gone from under his shadow and left him.

18 ^r"On his trunk remain the birds of the heavens, and the beasts of the field. They shall nest in his boughs. All the great nations are under his shade. His branches lie broken in all the watercourses of the land.

19 ^s"Thus all the trees of Eden, which were by the waters, were comforted because they were brought low. They are put under the shade of the one who was great and tall.

20 ^t"Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, 'Like him, so shall the sons of Israel be brought low, because they trusted in their own strength and wickedness. They will be brought down from their high estate.

21 ^u"They shall fall by the sword, the sons of mighty and terrible ones, who are of the nations, and shall be brought low. They shall lie under the sword, and though they have a multitude, they shall be brought low.

22 ^v"And they shall be comforted in the land of the slain, when I bring down their pride with the terror of the mighty. They shall be comforted in their low estate.

23 ^w"I will plant in the land the house of Israel, that they may possess it. And they shall dwell in their own place safely. They shall build houses and plant vineyards. Yes, they shall dwell securely when I have executed judgments on all those around them who despise them."

24 ^x"Then they shall know that I am the LORD, when I have brought down the house of Israel. They shall dwell in their own land, which I gave to My servant Jacob.

25 ^y"And they shall dwell safely there. They shall build houses and plant vineyards. Yes, they shall dwell securely, when I have executed judgments on all those around them who despise them."

26 ^z"Then they shall know that I am the LORD their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, that I might dwell among them. I am the LORD their God."

27 ^a"Thus says the Lord GOD, 'When I have gathered the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, and am hallowed in them in the sight of the Gentiles, then they will dwell in their own land which I gave to My servant Jacob.

^b"And they will dwell safely there. They will build houses and plant vineyards. Yes, they will dwell securely, when I have executed judgments on all those around them who despise them."

^c"Then they shall know that I am the LORD their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, that I might dwell among them. I am the LORD their God."

1 ¶ And it came to pass in the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, in the first day of the month, that the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

2 ^a"Son of man, take up a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say to him, ^b'You are like a young lion among the nations. You are like a monster in the seas. You break forth in your rivers and trouble the waters with your feet. You foul their rivers.'

3 ^c"Thus says the Lord GOD, 'I will spread My net over you with a company of many people. And they will bring you up in My net.

4 ^d"I will leave you on the land. I will cast you out on the open field. I will fill you with the birds of the heavens. And I will make the beasts of the whole earth eat you.

5 ^e"I will lay your flesh on the mountains, and fill the valleys with your height.

6 ^f"I will also water the land with your blood which you shed, even to the mountains. The watercourses shall be full of you, and the rivers shall be filled with your blood.

7 ^g"When I put out your light, I will cover the heavens, and make its stars dark. I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give its light.

8 ^h"I will bring darkness on your land, says the Lord GOD. I will bring darkness on the land, and all the lights shall be put out. I will bring darkness on the land, and all the lights shall be put out.

9 ⁱ"I will also vex the hearts of many peoples, when I bring your destruction among the nations, to the lands of which you have never heard.

10 ^j"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. They shall tremble every moment, every man for his own life, on the day of your fall."

11 ^k"For thus says the Lord GOD, ^l'The sword of the king of Babylon shall come upon you. By the swords of the mighty I will cause your multitude to fall.

12 ^m"By his swords they shall fall down. All the people of the land shall fall. They shall be brought down in their multitude, says the Lord GOD.

13 ⁿ"I will destroy all the beasts of the land from beside the waters. Neither shall the foot of man trouble them anymore, nor the hoofs of beasts trouble them anymore."

14 ^o"Then I will make their waters clear, and their rivers run like oil,' says the Lord GOD.

15 ^p"When I have made Egypt desolate and the land is laid waste, when I strike all who dwell in it, then they shall know that I am the LORD.

16 ^q"This is the lamentation, and they shall lament for her. The daughters of the nations shall lament for Egypt. They shall lament for Egypt and for all her multitude, says the Lord GOD."

17 ^r"It came to pass in the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, that the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

18 ^s"Son of man, wail over the multitude of Egypt, and cast them down, her and the daughters of the famous nations, to the nether parts of the earth, with those who go down to the Pit.

19 ^t"Whom do you surpass in beauty? Go down, be laid with the uncircumcised, with those who are slain by the sword.

20 ^u"They shall fall in the midst of the slain with the sword. She is delivered to the sword. Draw her and all her multitudes.

21 ^v"The strong among the mighty shall speak to him out of the midst of hell with those who help him. They shall say, ^w'They shall go down to lie with the uncircumcised, with those slain by the sword.'

22 ^x"Asshur is there also, and all its company. Its graves are all around it. All of them are slain, fallen by the sword.

23 ^y"Her graves are set in the sides of the Pit. Her company is all around her grave, all slain by the sword, who caused terror in the land of the living.

24 ^z"Elam is there with all her multitude, around her grave. All of them are slain, fallen by the sword, who caused terror in the land of the living. They bore their shame with those who go down to the Pit.

25 ^a"They have set her bed with her company all around her grave, all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who caused terror in the land of the living. They bear their shame with those who go down to the Pit. They have put their terror in the land of the living.

26 ^b"There is Meshech, Tubal, and all her multitude. Her graves are around it. All of them are uncircumcised, slain by the sword, though they caused their terror in the land of the living.

27 ^c"They do not lie with the mighty who are fallen of the uncircumcised, who have gone down to Sheol with their weapons of war. Their swords are under their heads. Their iniquities have caused their terror to be on their bones, though the terror of their might was in the land of the living.

28 ^d"You too shall be broken and lie among the uncircumcised, with those slain by the sword.

29 ^e"There is Edom, her kings and all her princes, who, despite their might, are laid with those slain by the sword. They lie with the uncircumcised, with those who go down to the Pit.

30 ^f"The princes of the north are there, all of them, and all the Zidonians, who went down with the slain, ashamed of the might of the uncircumcised, and lie with those who go down to the Pit.

31 ^g"Pharaoh will see them and will be comforted over all his multitude, even Pharaoh and all his army, fallen by the sword,' says the Lord GOD.

32 ^h"For I have caused My terror in the land of the living. And he shall be laid in the midst of the uncircumcised, with those slain by the sword, with Pharaoh and all his multitude,' says the Lord GOD.

1 ¶ Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

2 ^a"Son of man, speak to the children of your people, and say to them, 'When I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from their territory and set him as their watchman,

3 ^b"if he sees the sword coming upon the land, and blows the trumpet and warns the people,

^c"whoever hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, if the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be on his own head.

4 ^d"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, he is taken away in his iniquity. But his blood I will require at the watchman's hand.'

5 ^e"As for you, son of man, the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

6 ^f"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, he is taken away in his iniquity. But his blood I will require at the watchman's hand.'

7 ^g"So you, son of man, I have set you as a watchman for the house of Israel. Therefore hear the word from My mouth, and warn them from Me.

8 ^h"When I say to the wicked, 'O wicked one, you shall surely die,' but you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked one shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand.

ⁱ"But if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, he shall live. You have delivered your soul."

9 ^j"Now as for you, son of man, the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

10 ^k"Say to them, 'As I live,' says the Lord GOD, 'I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways. For why should you die, O house of Israel?'

11 ^l"Say to them, 'As I live,' says the Lord GOD, 'I have no pleasure in the death of the righteous, but that the righteous turn from his righteousness and sin, and do not live in his righteousness. He shall die for his iniquity which he has committed.

12 ^m"When the righteous turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and does according to all the abominations that the wicked man does, he shall die for his iniquity that he has committed.

13 ⁿ"When I say to the righteous that he shall surely live, but he trusts in his own righteousness and commits iniquity, none of his righteous deeds shall be remembered. He shall die for his iniquity that he has committed.

14 ^o"Again, when I say to the wicked, 'You shall surely die,' but he turns from his sin and does what is just and right,

^p"if he restores the pledge, restores what he has taken by robbery, walks in the statutes of life without committing iniquity, he shall surely live. He shall not die.

15 ^q"If the wicked restores the pledge, restores what he has taken by robbery, walks in the statutes of life without committing iniquity, he shall surely live. He shall not die.

16 ^r"None of his transgressions that he has committed shall be remembered. For his righteousness that he has done he shall live.

17 ^s"Yet your people say, 'The way of the LORD is not fair.' But they are not fair in their ways.

^t"When the righteous turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, he shall die for his iniquity that he has committed.

18 ^u"When the wicked turns from his wickedness and does what is just and right, he shall live because of his righteousness that he has done.

19 ^v"If the wicked turns from his wickedness and does what is just and right, he shall live because of his righteousness that he has done.

20 ^w"Yet the children of Israel say, 'The way of the LORD is not fair.' But they are not fair in their ways.

^x"When the righteous turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, he shall die for his iniquity that he has committed.

21 ^y"When the wicked turns from his wickedness and does what is just and right, he shall live because of his righteousness that he has done.

22 ^z"Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways," says the Lord GOD. ^a"Repent, and turn from all your transgressions, so that iniquity will not be your ruin.

23 ^b"Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O house of Israel?

24 ^c"For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies," says the Lord GOD. "Therefore turn and live!"

1 ¶ And the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

2 ^a"Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD to the shepherds: "Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks?

3 ^b"You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool; you slaughter the fatlings, but you do not feed the flock.

4 ^c"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 sought what was lost; but with force and cruelty you have ruled them.

5 ^d"So they were scattered because there was no shepherd; and they became food for all the beasts of the field when they were scattered.

6 ^e"My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and on every high hill; and My sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, and no one was seeking or searching for them."

7 ^f"Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD:

8 ^g"As I live," says the Lord GOD, "surely because My flock became a prey, and My flock became food for every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, nor did My shepherds search for My flock, but the shepherds fed themselves and did not feed My flock."

9 ^h"Therefore, O shepherds, hear the word of the LORD!

10 ⁱ"Thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will require My flock at their hand; I will cause them to cease feeding the sheep, and the shepherds shall feed themselves no more. For I will deliver My flock from their mouths, that they may no longer be food for them."

11 ^j"For thus says the Lord GOD: "Indeed I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out.

12 ^k"As a shepherd seeks out his flock on the day he is among his scattered sheep, so will I seek out My sheep and deliver them from all the places where they were scattered on a cloudy and dark day.

13 ^l"And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land; I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, in the valleys and in all the inhabited places of the country.

14 ^m"I will feed them in good pasture, and their fold shall be on the high mountains of Israel. There they shall lie down in a good fold and feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel.

15 ⁿ"I will feed My flock, and I will make them lie down," says the Lord GOD.

16 ^o"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 the fat and the strong, and feed them in judgment."

17 ^p"And as for you, O My flock, thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, I shall judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and goats.

18 ^q"Is it too little for you to have eaten up the good pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the residue of your pasture? And to have drunk of the clear waters, that you must foul the residue with your feet?

19 ^r"And as for My flock, they eat what you have trampled with your feet, and drink what you have fouled with your feet."

20 ^s"Therefore thus says the Lord GOD to them: "Behold, I Myself will judge between the fat and the lean sheep.

21 ^t"Because you have pushed with side and shoulder, and thrust at all the weak with your horns, till you have scattered them abroad,

22 ^u"therefore I will save My flock, and they shall no longer be a prey; and I will judge between sheep and sheep.

23 ^v"I will establish one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them; My servant David. He shall feed them and be their shepherd.

24 ^w"And I, the LORD, will be their God, and My servant David a prince among them; I, the LORD, have spoken it.

25 ^x"I will make a covenant of peace with them, and cause wild beasts to cease from the land; and they will dwell safely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods.

26 ^y"I will make them and the places all around My hill a blessing; and I will cause showers to come down in their season; there shall be showers of blessing.

27 ^z"Then the trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase. They shall be safe in their land; and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I have broken the bands of their yoke and delivered them from the hand of those who enslaved them.

28 ^a"And they shall no longer be a prey for the nations, nor shall beasts of the land devour them; but they shall dwell safely, and none shall make them afraid."

29 ^b"I will raise up for them a garden of renown, and they shall no longer be consumed with hunger in the land, nor bear the shame of the Gentiles.

30 ^c"Thus they shall know that I, the LORD their God, am with them, and they, the house of Israel, are My people," says the Lord GOD.

31 ^d"You are My flock, the flock of My pasture; you are men, and I am your God," says the Lord GOD.

1 ¶ Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

2 ^a"Son of man, set your face against Mount Seir and prophesy against it,

3 ^b"and say to it, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, O Mount Seir, I am against you; I will stretch out My hand against you, and make you most desolate.

4 ^c"I will lay your cities waste, and you shall be desolate. Then you shall know that I am the LORD.

5 ^d"Because you have had an ancient hatred, and have shed the blood of the children of Israel by the force of the sword in the time of their calamity, when they were in their iniquity,

6 ^e"therefore, as I live," says the Lord GOD, "I will prepare you for blood, and blood shall pursue you. Since you have not hated blood, therefore blood shall pursue you.

7 ^f"Thus I will make Mount Seir most desolate, and cut off from it all who come and go.

8 ^g"I will fill its mountains with the slain. In your hills, in your valleys, and in all your ravines, those who are slain by the sword shall fall.

9 ^h"I will make you a perpetual desolation, and your cities shall not be inhabited. Then you shall know that I am the LORD.

10 ⁱ"Because you have said, 'These two nations and these two countries shall be mine, and we will possess them,' although the LORD was there,

11 ^j"therefore, as I live," says the Lord GOD, "I will do according to your anger and according to your envy which you have shown in your hatred against them. And I will make Myself known among them when I judge you.

12 ^k"Then you shall know that I am the LORD. I have heard all your blasphemies which you have spoken against the mountains of Israel, saying, 'They are desolate; they are given to us to consume.'

13 ^l"And with your mouth you have boasted against Me and multiplied your words against Me. I have heard them."

14 ^m"Thus says the Lord GOD: "The whole earth will rejoice when I make you desolate.

15 ⁿ"As you rejoiced because the inheritance of the house of Israel was desolate, so I will do to you. You shall be desolate, O Mount Seir, as well as all of Edom; all of it! Then they shall know that I am the LORD."

1 ¶ Also, you son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel, and say, You mountains of Israel, hear the word of the LORD:

2 ^a"Thus says the Lord GOD: "Because the enemy has said of you, 'Aha! The ancient heights have become our possession!'"

3 ^b"Therefore prophesy and say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Because they have made you desolate and swallowed you up on every side, so that you have become the possession of the rest of the nations, and you are taken up by the lips of talkers and slandered by the people."

4 ^c"Therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD! Thus says the Lord GOD to the mountains and to the hills, to the ravines and to the valleys, to the desolate wastes and to the cities that have been forsaken, which became a prey and derision to the rest of the nations all around.

5 ^d"Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: "Surely I have spoken in My burning jealousy against the rest of the nations and against all Edom, who gave My land to themselves as a possession, with wholehearted joy and spiteful minds, in order to plunder its open country."

6 ^e"Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel, and say to the mountains, to the hills, to the ravines, and to the valleys: 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, I have spoken in My jealousy and My fury, because you have borne the shame of the nations."

7 ^f"Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: "I have raised My hand in an oath that surely the nations that are around you shall bear their own shame.

8 ^g"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 ^h"For indeed I am for you, and I will turn to you, and you shall be tilled and sown.

10 ⁱ"I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, all of it. And the cities shall be inhabited, and the wastes shall be rebuilt.

11 ^j"I will multiply upon you man and beast; and they shall increase and bear young. I will make you inhabited as in former times, and do better for you than at your beginnings. Then you shall know that I am the LORD.

12 ^k"Yes, I will cause men to walk on you, My people Israel; and they shall take possession of you, and you shall be their inheritance; and you shall no longer bereave them of children."

13 ^l"Thus says the Lord GOD: "Because they say to you, 'You devour men and bereave your nation of children,'

14 ^m"therefore you shall no longer devour men, nor bereave your nation of children anymore," says the Lord GOD.

15 ⁿ"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."

16 ^o¶ Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying:

17 ^p"Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their own ways and deeds. Their conduct before Me was like the uncleanness of a woman in her customary impurity.

18 ^q"Therefore I poured out My fury on them for the blood they had shed on the land, and for their idols with which they had defiled it.

19 ^r"So I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed throughout the countries. I judged them according to their ways and their deeds.

20 ^s"When they came to the nations, wherever they went, they profaned My holy name; when they said of them, 'These are the people of the LORD, and yet they have gone out of His land.'

21 ^t"But I had concern for My holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations wherever they went.

22 ^u"Therefore say to the house of Israel, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "I do not do this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My holy name's sake, which you have profaned among the nations wherever you went.

23 ^v"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 hallowed in you before their eyes.

24 ^w"For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land.

25 ^x"Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean. I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols.

26 ^y"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you. I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

27 ^z"I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.

28 ^a"Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers. You shall be My people, and I will be your God.

29 ^b"I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. I will call for the grain and multiply it, and bring no famine upon you.

30 ^c"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 ^d"Then you will remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good. And you will loathe yourselves in your own sight, for your iniquities and your abominations.

32 ^e"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 ^f"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, and the ruins shall be rebuilt.

34 ^g"The desolate land shall be tilled instead of lying desolate in the sight of all who pass by.

35 ^h"Then they will say, 'This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden. And the wasted, desolate, and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited.'

36 ⁱ"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. I, the LORD, have spoken it, and I will do it."

37 ^j"Thus says the Lord GOD: "I will also let the house of Israel inquire of Me to do this for them: I will increase their men like a flock.

38 ^k"Like a flock offered as holy sacrifices, like the flock at Jerusalem on its feast days, so shall the ruined cities be filled with flocks of men. Then they shall know that I am the LORD."

1 ¶ The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones,

2 ^aand caused me to pass by them round about. And behold, there were very many in the open valley. And indeed they were very dry.

3 ^bAnd He said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" And I answered, "O Lord GOD, You know."

4 ^cAgain He said to me, "Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, 'O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD!

5 ^d'Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: "Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live.

6 ^e"I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the LORD."'"

7 ^fSo I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling. And the bones came together, bone to bone.

8 ^gIndeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over. But there was no breath in them.

9 ^hAlso He said to me, "Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live."'"

10 ⁱSo I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army.

11 ^jThen He said to me, "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They indeed say, 'Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off!'

12 ^k"Therefore prophesy and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.

13 ^l"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 ^m"I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken it and performed it," says the LORD.'"

15 ⁿ¶ Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

16 ^o"As for you, son of man, take a stick for yourself and write on it: 'For Judah and for the children of Israel, his companions.' Then take another stick and write on it: 'For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel, his companions.'

17 ^p"Then join them one to another for yourself into one stick, and they will become one in your hand.

18 ^q"And when the children of your people speak to you, saying, 'Will you not show us what you mean by these?'

19 ^r"say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel, his companions. And I will join them with it, with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they will be one in My hand."'"

20 ^s"And the sticks on which you write will be in your hand before their eyes.

21 ^t"Then say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, where they have gone, and will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land.

22 ^u"And I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. And one king shall be king over them all. They shall no longer be two nations, nor shall they ever be divided into two kingdoms again.

23 ^v"They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions. But I will deliver them from all their dwelling places in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them. Then they shall be My people, and I will be their God.

24 ^w"David My servant shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd. They shall also walk in My judgments and observe My statutes, and do them.

25 ^x"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, forever. And My servant David shall be their prince forever.

26 ^y"Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will establish them and multiply them, and I will set My sanctuary in their midst forevermore.

27 ^z"My tabernacle also shall be with them. Indeed I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

28 ^a"The nations also will know that I, the LORD, sanctify Israel, when My sanctuary is in their midst forevermore."'"

1 ¶ And the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

2 ^a"Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him,

3 ^b"and say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal.

4 ^c"I will turn you around, put hooks in your jaws, and bring you out with all your army, horses, and horsemen, all splendidly clothed, a great company with buckler and shield, all of them handling swords.

5 ^d"Persia, Cush, and Put are with them, all of them with shield and helmet.

6 ^e"Gomer and all its troops, the house of Togarmah from the far north and all its troops; many people are with you.

7 ^f"Prepare yourself and be ready, you and all your companies that are gathered about you. And be a guard for them.

8 ^g"After many days you will be visited. In the latter years you will come into the land of those brought back from the sword and gathered from many peoples on the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate. They were brought out of the nations, and now all of them dwell safely.

9 ^h"You will ascend, coming like a storm, covering the land like a cloud, you and all your troops and many peoples with you."

10 ⁱ"Thus says the Lord GOD: "On that day it shall come to pass that things will come into your mind and you will think an evil thought.

11 ^j"You will say, 'I will go up against a land of unwalled villages. I will go to a peaceful people, who dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates.'

12 ^k"To take plunder and to take booty, to stretch out your hand on the inhabited places of the people who have gathered together, to bring a people from the far east, to a land of restored wastes, whose people have been gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel which had long been desolate.

13 ^l"Sheba, Dedan, the merchants of Tarshish, and all their young lions will say to you, 'Have you come to take plunder? Have you gathered your army to take booty, to carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods, to take great plunder?'"

14 ^m"Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say to Gog, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "On that day when My people Israel dwell safely, will you not know it?

15 ⁿ"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 ^o"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 know Me, when I am hallowed in you, O Gog, before their eyes."

17 ^p"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?

18 ^q"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 ^r"For in My jealousy and in the fire of My wrath I have spoken: 'Surely in that day there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel.

20 ^s"So that the fish of the sea, the birds of the heavens, the beasts of the field, all creeping things that creep on the earth, and all men who are on the face of the earth shall shake at My presence. The mountains shall be thrown down, the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.'

21 ^t"I will call for a sword against Gog throughout all My mountains," says the Lord GOD. "Every man's sword will be against his brother.

22 ^u"And I will bring him to judgment with pestilence and bloodshed. I will rain down on him, on his troops, and on the many peoples who are with him, flooding rain, great hailstones, fire, and brimstone.

23 ^v"Thus I will magnify Myself and sanctify Myself, and I will be known in the eyes of many nations. Then they shall know that I am the LORD."

1 ¶ Therefore, you son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus says the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:

2 ^a"And I will turn you around and lead you on, bringing you up from the far north, and bring you against the mountains of Israel on the northern slopes.

3 ^b"Then I will knock the bow out of your left hand, and cause the arrows to fall out of your right hand.

4 ^c"You shall fall upon the mountains of Israel, you and all your troops and the peoples who are with you. I will give you to the birds of prey of every sort and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.

5 ^d"You shall fall on the open field, for I have spoken," says the Lord GOD.

6 ^e"And I will send fire on Magog and on those who live securely in the coastlands. Then they shall know that I am the LORD.

7 ^f"And I will make My holy name known in the midst of My people Israel, and I will not let them profane My holy name anymore. Then the nations shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.

8 ^g"Surely it is coming, and it shall be done," says the Lord GOD. "This is the day of which I have spoken.

9 ^h"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 javelins and spears. And they will make fires with them for seven years.

10 ⁱ"They will not take wood from the field or cut down timber from the forests, because they will make fires with the weapons. And they will plunder those who plundered them, and pillage those who pillaged them," says the Lord GOD.

11 ^j"And 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 stop the noses of those who pass by. Therefore they will call it the Valley of Hamon Gob.

12 ^k"For seven months the house of Israel will be burying them, in order to cleanse the land.

13 ^l"Indeed all the people of the land will be burying, and they will gain honor by it on the day of My glory," says the Lord GOD.

14 ^m"They will set apart men regularly employed, with the help of a contingent, to pass through the land and bury those bodies remaining on the face of the land, to cleanse it. At the end of seven months they will make a search.

15 ⁿ"The search party will pass through the land. And when one sees a man's bone, he will set up a marker by it, till the buriers have buried it in the Valley of Hamon Gob.

16 ^o"The name of the city shall also be Hamonah. Thus they shall cleanse the land."

17 ^p¶ "And as for you, son of man, thus says the Lord GOD: 'Speak to every sort of bird and to every beast of the field: "Assemble yourselves and come. Gather together from all sides to My sacrificial feast which I am preparing for you, a great feast on the mountains of Israel, that you may eat flesh and drink blood.

18 ^q"You 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 fatlings of Bashan.

19 ^r"You shall eat fat till you are full, and drink blood till you are drunk, at My sacrificial feast which I am preparing for you.

20 ^s"You shall fill your courts with myriads of people, and all the princes shall fall with them," says the Lord GOD.'

21 ^t"And I will set My glory among the nations. All the nations shall see My judgment which I have executed, and My hand which I have laid on them.

22 ^u"So the house of Israel shall know that I am the LORD their God from that day forward.

23 ^v"The nations shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity, because they were unfaithful to Me. Therefore I hid My face from them, and gave them into the hand of their enemies. So they all fell by the sword.

24 ^w"According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions I have dealt with them, and hidden My face from them."

25 ^x"Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: 'Now I will bring back the captives of Jacob, and have mercy on the whole house of Israel. And I will be jealous for My holy name.

26 ^y"They shall forget their shame and all their unfaithfulness in which they were unfaithful to Me, when they dwell securely in their land, with none to make them afraid.

27 ^z"When I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them from their enemies' lands, and am hallowed in them in the sight of many nations.

28 ^a"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 captive any longer.

29 ^b"And I will not hide My face from them anymore. For I have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel," says the Lord GOD."

1 ¶ In the twenty-fifth year of our captivity, in the beginning of the year, in the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after ^athe city was captured, in the same day ^bthe hand of the LORD was on me and He took me there.

2 ^cIn the visions of God He took me into the land of Israel and set me on a very high mountain. On it was like the structure of a city to the south.

3 ^dHe took me there, and behold, there was a man whose appearance was like the appearance of bronze. He had a line of flax in his hand, and a measuring rod. He stood in the gateway.

4 ^eAnd the man said to me, "Son of man, look with your eyes and hear with your ears, and set your heart on all that I show you. For you were brought here so that I might show them to you. Declare to the house of Israel everything you see."

5 ^fNow there was a wall all around the outside of the temple. In the man's hand was a measuring rod six cubits long, each being a cubit and a handbreadth. He measured the width of the wall structure, one rod; and the height, one rod.

6 ^gThen he went to the gateway which faced east. He went up its steps and measured the threshold of the gateway. It was one rod wide, and the other threshold was one rod wide.

7 ^hEach guardroom was one rod long and one rod wide. Between the guardrooms was a space of five cubits. The threshold of the gateway by the vestibule of the gateway on the inside was one rod.

8 ⁱHe measured the vestibule of the gateway, eight cubits. Its gateposts were two cubits. The vestibule of the gateway was on the inside.

9 ^jHe measured the vestibule of the gateway, twenty cubits wide. And the other gateway was ten cubits wide.

10 ^kHe measured the gateposts of the gateway to the inside, three cubits on each side. The same was the measure of the gateway to the inside.

11 ^lHe measured the width of the gateway to the inside, ten cubits. The length of the gateway to the inside was thirteen cubits.

12 ^mThe space in front of the guardrooms was one cubit on this side and one cubit on that side. The guardrooms were six cubits on this side and six cubits on that side.

13 ⁿThen he measured the gateway from the roof of one guardroom to the roof of the other. It was twenty-five cubits wide, as door faces door.

14 ^oHe measured the gateposts, sixty cubits high. At the gateway of the courtyard to the inside was a courtyard of fifty cubits.

15 ^pFrom the front of the gateway at the entrance to the front of the vestibule of the gateway to the inside, was fifty cubits.

16 ^qThere were beveled window frames in the gate chambers and in their vestibules by the inside of the gateway. The windows were on the outside. They were on each side of the gateways. There were three chambers on each side of the gateway.

17 ^rThen he brought me into the outer courtyard. And there were chambers and a pavement made all around the courtyard. Thirty chambers faced the pavement.

18 ^sThe pavement was by the side of the gateways, corresponding to the length of the gateways. This was the lower pavement.

19 ^tThen he measured the width from the front of the lower gateway to the front of the inner courtyard exterior, one hundred cubits eastward and northward.

20 ^uOn the outer court was a gateway facing north, and he measured its width and its length.

21 ^vIts gate chambers, three on this side and three on that side, its gateposts and its vestibule, had the same measurements as the first gateway. Its width was fifty cubits, and its length twenty-five cubits.

22 ^wIts windows, its vestibule, and its palm trees had the same measurements as the gateway that faced east. It went up by seven steps, and its vestibule was on the inside of it.

23 ^xOpposite the gateway on the north was the gateway of the inner court, as one goes to the south. He measured from gateway to gateway, one hundred cubits.

24 ^yAfter that he brought me toward the south, and there was a gateway facing south. He measured its gateposts and vestibule according to these same measurements.

25 ^zThere were windows all around and in that gateway, like the others. The length was fifty cubits and the width twenty-five cubits.

26 ^aIts steps were seven, and its vestibule was on the inside of it. It had palm trees on its gateposts, one on this side and one on that side.

27 ^bOpposite the gateway on the south, as one goes to the inner court, was the gateway on the north. He measured from gateway to gateway, one hundred cubits.

28 ^cThen he brought me to the inner court through the southern gateway. He measured the southern gateway according to these same measurements.

29 ^dIts gate chambers, its gateposts, and its vestibule were according to these same measurements. There were windows all around and in that gateway, fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide.

30 ^eThere were vestibules all around, twenty-five cubits long and five cubits wide.

31 ^fIts vestibule faced the outer court, and palm trees were on its gateposts. It went up by eight steps.

32 ^gHe brought me into the inner court through the eastern gateway. He measured the eastern gateway according to these same measurements.

33 ^hIts gate chambers, its gateposts, and its vestibule were according to these same measurements. There were windows all around and in that gateway, fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide.

34 ⁱIts vestibule faced the outer court, and palm trees were on its gateposts on this side and on that side. It went up by eight steps.

35 ^jThen he brought me to the north gateway. He measured it according to these same measurements.

36 ^kIts gate chambers, its gateposts, and its vestibule were according to these same measurements. There were windows all around. It was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide.

37 ^lIts vestibule faced the outer court, and palm trees were on its gateposts on this side and on that side. It went up by eight steps.

38 ^mThere was a chamber and its entrance by the gateposts of the gateway, where they washed the burnt offering. In the vestibule of the gateway were two tables on this side and two tables on that side, on which to slay the burnt offering, the sin offering, and the trespass offering.

39 ⁿAt the vestibule of the gateway, on the outside, was a table as one goes up to it. By the side of the gatepost was the table for the burnt offering.

40 ^oOn the outside of the vestibule, as one goes up to the entrance of the north gateway, were two tables. And on the other side of the vestibule of the gateway were two tables.

41 ^pFour tables were on this side and four tables on that side, by the side of the gate, eight tables on which they slaughtered the sacrifices.

42 ^qThere were also four tables of dressed stone for the burnt offering, one cubit and a half long, one cubit and a half wide, and one cubit high. On these they laid the instruments with which they slaughtered the burnt offering and the sacrifice.

43 ^rInside were hooks, a handbreadth wide, fastened all around. And the flesh of the sacrifices was to be laid on the tables.

44 ^sOutside the inner gate were the chambers for the singers in the inner court, one at the side of the north gate facing south, and one at the side of the south gate facing north.

45 ^tHe said to me, "This chamber which faces south is for the priests who have charge of the temple.

46 ^u"The chamber which faces north is for the priests who have charge of the altar. These are the sons of Zadok, from the sons of Levi, who come near the LORD to minister to Him."

47 ^vAnd he measured the court, one hundred cubits long and one hundred cubits wide, square. The altar was in front of the temple.

48 ^wThen he brought me to the vestibule of the temple and measured the doorposts of the vestibule, five cubits on this side and five cubits on that side. And the width of the gateway was thirteen cubits wide.

49 ^xThe length of the vestibule was twenty cubits, and the width eleven cubits. And by the steps which led up to it were ten pillars at the doorposts, one on this side and one on that side.

1 ¶ Afterward, he ^abrought me to the temple and measured the pillars, six cubits wide on the one side and six cubits wide on the other side, which was the width of the tabernacle.

2 ^bThe width of the entrance was ten cubits, and the side walls of the entrance were five cubits on this side and five cubits on that side. He also measured the length of the temple, sixty cubits, and its width, twenty cubits.

3 ^cHe went into the inner room and measured the doorposts of the entrance, two cubits. The entrance was six cubits wide, and the side walls on each side of the entrance were seven cubits wide.

4 ^dHe measured the length, twenty cubits. And the width, twenty cubits, beyond the outer court. And he said to me, "This is the Most Holy Place."

5 ^eHe measured the wall of the temple, six cubits. The width of the side chambers all around the temple was four cubits.

6 ^fThe side chambers were in three stories, one above the other, thirty chambers in each story. They rested on the supports of the temple, but did not have their supports on the wall of the temple.

7 ^gAs one went up from story to story, the side chambers became wider. For the winding of the temple went upward all around the temple. Therefore the width of the temple increased as one went up from the lowest story to the highest by way of the middle story.

8 ^hI also saw that the temple had a raised platform all around. The foundations of the side chambers were a full reed of six cubits high.

9 ⁱThe thickness of the outer wall of the side chambers was five cubits, and the open space left by the side chambers in the temple was five cubits.

10 ^jBetween the outer wall of the side chambers and the outer court was twenty cubits wide all around the temple.

11 ^kThe doors of the side chambers opened onto the open space of the outer court, one door on the north and one on the south. And the width of the open space was five cubits all around.

12 ^lThe building that faced the separating courtyard at the west side was seventy cubits wide. The wall of the building was five cubits thick all around, and its length ninety cubits.

13 ^mSo he measured the temple, one hundred cubits long. And the separating courtyard with the building and its walls was one hundred cubits long.

14 ⁿAlso the width of the front of the temple and the separating courtyard was one hundred cubits.

15 ^oHe measured the length of the building behind it, facing the separating courtyard, with its galleries on the one side and on the other side, one hundred cubits. The inner temple and the vestibules of the court, the doorposts, and the beveled windows,

16 ^pand the galleries all around their three stories, opposite the threshold, were paneled with wood all around, from the ground up to the windows. The windows were covered.

17 ^qTo the space above the door, even to the inner temple, and outside, and on every wall all around, inside and outside, by measure.

18 ^rAnd it was made with cherubim and palm trees. A palm tree was between cherub and cherub. Each cherub had two faces.

19 ^sThe face of a man was toward the palm tree on one side, and the face of a young lion toward the palm tree on the other side. Thus they were made all around the temple.

20 ^tFrom the floor to the space above the door, and on the wall of the sanctuary, were cherubim and palm trees.

21 ^uThe doorposts of the temple were square. The face of the sanctuary was like the face of the front of the temple.

22 ^vThe 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 the table that is before the LORD."

23 ^wThe temple and the sanctuary had two doors.

24 ^xEach door had two panels, two folding panels. Two panels were on one door and two panels on the other door.

25 ^yOn them were carved cherubim and palm trees, like those carved on the walls of the temple. On the front of the vestibule was a wooden canopy.

26 ^zThere were beveled windows and palm trees on the other side, on the sides of the vestibule, also on the side chambers of the temple and on their canopies.

1 ¶ Then he ^abrought me out into the outer court, the way facing the ^bnorth. And he brought me into ^cthe room that was opposite the separating courtyard that was before the building toward the north.

2 ^dIts length was one hundred cubits, and its width fifty cubits, with doors all around.

3 ^eOpposite the inner court of twenty cubits, and opposite the pavement of the outer court, was gallery upon gallery all around in three stories.

4 ^fBefore the chambers was a walkway ten cubits wide, and a walkway one cubit wide. And the doors of the chambers were on the north.

5 ^gNow the upper chambers were shorter. For the galleries were higher than the lower and middle chambers.

6 ^hFor they were in three stories and did not have pillars like the pillars of the courts. Therefore the upper chambers were shortened from the lower and middle chambers.

7 ⁱAnd a wall which was on the outside of the chambers ran parallel to the chambers, toward the outer court, in front of the chambers. Its length was fifty cubits.

8 ^jThe length of the chambers which faced the outer court was fifty cubits. But the length of those which faced the temple was one hundred cubits.

9 ^kBelow these chambers was the entrance on the east side, as one goes into them from the outer court.

10 ^lThere were chambers in the thickness of the wall of the court toward the east, opposite the separating courtyard and opposite the building.

11 ^mThere was a walkway in front of them, like the walkway of the chambers on the north. They were of the same length and width. And all their doors were according to the same pattern.

12 ⁿAnd there were doors on the east, as there were doors on the north. And the walkway was before them, like the walkway of the chambers on the north. They were of the same length and width.

13 ^oThen 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 shall eat the most holy offerings. There they shall lay the most holy offerings, the grain offering, the sin offering, and the trespass offering, for the place is holy.

14 ^p"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."

15 ^qNow when he had finished measuring the inner temple, he brought me out through the gateway which faces toward the east, and measured it all around.

16 ^rHe measured the east side with the measuring rod, five hundred cubits by the measuring rod all around.

17 ^sHe measured the north side, five hundred cubits by the measuring rod all around.

18 ^tHe measured the south side, five hundred cubits by the measuring rod all around.

19 ^uHe measured the west side, five hundred cubits by the measuring rod all around.

20 ^vHe measured it on the four sides. It had a wall all around, five hundred cubits long and five hundred cubits wide, to separate the holy areas from the common.

1 ¶ Afterward he brought me to the gate, even the gate ^athat faces toward the east.

2 ^bAnd behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east. His voice was like the sound of many waters. And the earth shone with His glory.

3 ^cIt was like the appearance of the vision which I saw; like the vision which I saw when I came to destroy the city. The visions were like the vision which I saw by the River Chebar. And I fell on my face.

4 ^dAnd the glory of the LORD came into the temple by way of the gate which faces toward the east.

5 ^eThe Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court. And behold, the glory of the LORD filled the temple.

6 ^fThen I heard Him speaking to me from the temple, while a man stood beside me.

7 ^gAnd He said to me, "Son of man, this is the place of My throne and the place of the soles of My feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel forever. No more shall the house of Israel defile My holy name, they nor their kings, by their harlotry or with the carcasses of their kings on their high places.

8 ^h"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 ⁱ"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 ^j"Son of man, describe the temple to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities. And let them measure the pattern.

11 ^k"And if they are ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the design of the temple and its arrangement, its exits and its entrances, its entire design and all its ordinances, its entire design and all its laws. Write it down in their sight, that they may keep its whole design and all its ordinances, and perform them.

12 ^l"This is the law of the temple: The whole area surrounding the mountaintop is most holy. Behold, this is the law of the temple."

13 ^m¶ "These are the measurements of the altar in cubits (the cubit is one cubit and a handbreadth). The base is 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 ⁿ"From the base on the ground to the lower ledge, two cubits. From the lower ledge to the upper ledge, four cubits. And the height of the altar was four cubits.

15 ^o"The altar hearth is four cubits high, and from the hearth a horn extends upward one cubit. The altar has four horns.

16 ^p"The altar hearth is twelve cubits long and twelve cubits wide. It is square at its four corners.

17 ^q"The ledge is fourteen cubits long and fourteen cubits wide on its four sides. The rim around it is half a cubit. The base is one cubit all around. The steps of the altar face east."

18 ^r¶ And He said to me, "Son of man, thus says the Lord GOD: 'These are the ordinances for the altar when it is made, for offering burnt offerings on it, and for sprinkling blood on it.

19 ^s"You shall give a young bull for a sin offering to the priests, the Levites, who are of the seed of Zadok, who approach Me to minister to Me," says the Lord GOD.

20 ^t"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 ^u"Then you shall take the bull of the sin offering, and burn it in the appointed place of the temple, outside the sanctuary.

22 ^v"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 ^w"When you have finished cleansing it, you shall offer a young bull without blemish, and a ram from the flock without blemish.

24 ^x"You shall offer them before the LORD. The priests shall cast salt on them, and they will offer them up as a burnt offering to the LORD.

25 ^y"Every day for seven 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 ^z"Thus they shall make atonement for the altar, and cleanse it, and consecrate it.

27 ^a"When these days are over, it shall be that on the eighth day and thereafter, the priests shall offer your burnt offerings and your peace offerings on the altar. And I will accept you," says the Lord GOD."

1 ¶ Then he brought me back the way of the gate of the outside sanctuary ^athat faces toward the east. And it was shut.

2 ^bAnd the LORD said to me, "This gate shall be shut. It shall not be opened, and no man shall enter by it, because the LORD God of Israel has entered by it. Therefore it shall be shut.

3 ^c"As for the prince, because he is the prince, he may sit in it to eat bread before the LORD. He shall enter by way of the vestibule of the gateway, and shall go out the same way."

4 ^dThen He brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the temple. So I looked, and behold, the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD. And I fell on my face.

5 ^eAnd the LORD said to me, "Son of man, pay attention, see with your eyes and hear with your ears, all that I say to you concerning all the ordinances 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 ^f"Now say to the rebellious, to the house of Israel, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "O house of Israel, let us have no more of all your abominations.

7 ^g"When you brought in foreigners, uncircumcised in heart and flesh, to be in My sanctuary to defile it; My house; and when you offered My food and My incense, they broke My covenant.

8 ^h"And you have not kept charge of My holy things, but you have set others to keep charge of My sanctuary for you."'"

9 ⁱThus says the Lord GOD: "No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart or uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter My sanctuary, including any foreigner who is among the children of Israel.

10 ^j"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 ^k"Yet they shall be ministers in My sanctuary, as gatekeepers of the house and ministers of the house. They shall slay the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before them to minister to them.

12 ^l"Because they ministered to them before their idols and caused the house of Israel to fall into iniquity, therefore I have raised My hand in an oath against them," says the Lord GOD, "that they shall bear their iniquity.

13 ^m"And they shall not come near Me to minister to Me as priest, nor come near any of My holy things, nor come into the Most Holy Place. But they shall bear their shame and their abominations which they have committed.

14 ⁿ"Nevertheless I will make them keep charge of the temple, for all its work, and for all that has to be done in it.

15 ^o"But the priests, the Levites, the sons of Zadok, who kept charge of My sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from Me, they shall come near Me to minister to Me. And they shall stand before Me to offer to Me the fat and the blood," says the Lord GOD.

16 ^p"They shall enter My sanctuary, and they shall come near My table to minister to Me, and they shall keep My charge.

17 ^q"And it shall be, whenever they enter the gates of the inner court, that they 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.

18 ^r"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 ^s"When they go out into the outer court, to the outer court to the people, they shall take off their garments in which they have ministered, leave them in the holy chambers, and put on other garments. And in this manner they shall not sanctify the people with their garments.

20 ^t"Neither shall they shave their heads, nor let their hair grow long. But they shall keep their hair well trimmed.

21 ^u"No priest shall drink wine when he enters the inner court.

22 ^v"They shall not take as wife a widow or a divorced woman, but take virgins of the descendants of the house of Israel, or widows of priests.

23 ^w"And they shall teach My people the difference between the holy and the unholy, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.

24 ^x"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, and they shall hallow My Sabbaths.

25 ^y"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.

26 ^z"After he is cleansed, they shall count seven days for him.

27 ^a"And on the day that he goes to the sanctuary to minister in the inner court, he shall offer his sin offering," says the Lord GOD.

28 ^b"And it shall be regarding their inheritance, that I am their inheritance. You shall not give them an inheritance in Israel, for I am their inheritance.

29 ^c"They shall eat the grain offering, the sin offering, and the trespass offering. Every dedicated thing in Israel shall be theirs.

30 ^d"The best of all firstfruits of every kind, and every sacrifice of every kind, all the best of every kind, shall be theirs. They shall be the firstfruits of all that they offer to the LORD.

31 ^e"The first of the firstfruits of your land you shall bring to the house of the LORD. You shall not eat of the firstfruits of your land in your dwelling.

1 ¶ "Furthermore, when you ^adivide by allotment the land for inheritance, you will ^boffer an allotment to the LORD, a holy portion of the land. The length will be the length of 25,000 cubits and the width will be 10,000 cubits. It will be holy within all its boundary all around.

2 ^c"Of this there shall be a square for the sanctuary, 500 cubits by 500 cubits, with 50 cubits around it for an open space.

3 ^d"And in this district shall be the sanctuary, the Most Holy Place. It shall be 500 cubits by 500 cubits, all around. And it shall be 50 cubits wide all around.

4 ^e"The holy portion of the land shall be for the priests, the ministers of the sanctuary, who have come near to minister to the LORD. It shall be a place for their houses, and a holy place for the sanctuary.

5 ^f"The dwellings of the priests shall be toward the south, and the chambers of the priests shall be toward the north. Over the dwellings of the priests shall be the sanctuary, toward the west.

6 ^g"The portion of the Levites shall be 25,000 cubits in length and 10,000 cubits in width. It shall be a holy portion of the land, for the priests, the ministers of the sanctuary.

7 ^h"The prince shall have a portion on the east side and on the west side, adjacent to the holy district and the city's property. It shall be the same length as the holy district, both east and west.

8 ⁱ"This shall be his possession in the land. I will not, says the Lord GOD, give any more of the land of the children of Israel to the prince. For he shall not possess more than his portion.

9 ^j¶ "Thus says the Lord GOD: 'Enough, O princes of Israel! Remove violence and plundering, execute justice and righteousness, and stop dispossessing My people,' says the Lord GOD.

10 ^k"You shall have honest scales, an honest ephah, and an honest bath.

11 ^l"The ephah and the bath shall be of the same measure. The bath shall contain one-tenth of a homer, and the ephah one-tenth of a homer. Their measure shall be according to the homer.

12 ^m"The shekel shall be twenty gerahs. Twenty shekels, twenty-five shekels, and fifteen shekels shall be your mina.

13 ⁿ"This is the offering which you shall offer: a sixth of an ephah from a homer of wheat, and a sixth of an ephah from a homer of barley.

14 ^o"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 ^p"And one lamb from the flock, out of two hundred, from the well-watered pastures of Israel; for a grain offering, a burnt offering, and peace offerings, to make atonement for them," says the Lord GOD.

16 ^q"All the people of the land shall give this offering for the prince in Israel.

17 ^r"It shall be the prince's part to give burnt offerings, grain offerings, and drink offerings at the feasts, the New Moons, the Sabbaths, and at all 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."

18 ^s¶ 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 cleanse the sanctuary.

19 ^t"The priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering and put it on the doorposts of the temple, on the four corners of the ledge of the altar, and on the gateposts of the gate of the inner court.

20 ^u"And so you shall do on the seventh day of the month for everyone who has sinned unintentionally or through ignorance. Thus you shall make atonement for the temple.

21 ^v"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 ^w"And on that day the prince shall prepare for himself and for all the people of the land a bull for a sin offering.

23 ^x"During the seven days of the feast he shall prepare daily a burnt offering to the LORD, seven bulls and seven rams without blemish, daily for seven days, and a kid of the goats daily for a sin offering.

24 ^y"And he shall prepare a grain offering of one ephah for each bull, one ephah for each ram, and a hin of oil for each ephah.

25 ^z"In the seventh month, on the fifteenth day of the month, at the feast, he shall do likewise for seven days, according to the sin offering, the burnt offering, the grain offering, and the oil."

1 ¶ 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "The gate of the inner court that faces toward the east will be shut the six ^aworking days, but on the Sabbath it will be opened. And on the day of the new moon it will be opened.

2 ^b"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 ^c"Likewise the people of the land shall worship at the entrance to this gateway before the LORD on the Sabbaths and on the New Moons.

4 ^d"The burnt offering that the prince offers to the LORD on the Sabbath day shall be six lambs without blemish, and a ram without blemish.

5 ^e"And the grain offering shall be one ephah for a ram, and the grain offering for the lambs shall be whatever he wants to give, and a hin of oil for each ephah.

6 ^f"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 ^g"He shall prepare a grain offering of an ephah for a bull, an ephah for a ram, and for the lambs whatever he wants to give, and a hin of oil for each ephah.

8 ^h"When the prince enters, he shall go in by way of the vestibule of the gateway, and shall go out the same way.

9 ⁱ"But when the people of the land come before the LORD on the appointed feast days, whoever enters by way of the north gate 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 ^j"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 ^k"At the festivals and the appointed feast days the grain offering shall be an ephah for a bull, an ephah for a ram, and for the lambs whatever he wants to give, and a hin of oil for each ephah.

12 ^l"When the prince makes a voluntary burnt offering or voluntary peace offering to the LORD, the gate that faces toward the east shall be opened for him. He shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings as he does on the Sabbath day. Then he shall go out, and after he goes out the gate shall be shut.

13 ^m"You shall daily make a burnt offering to the LORD, a lamb of the first year without blemish. You shall prepare it every morning.

14 ⁿ"And you shall prepare a grain offering with it every morning, one-sixth of an ephah, and one-third of a hin of oil to moisten the fine flour. This is a perpetual ordinance, to be made regularly to the LORD.

15 ^o"Thus they shall prepare the lamb, the grain offering, and the oil, as a regular burnt offering every morning."

16 ^p¶ Thus says the Lord GOD: "If the prince gives a gift to any of his sons, the inheritance of it shall be his sons'. It shall be their possession by inheritance.

17 ^q"But if he gives a gift of his inheritance to one of his servants, it shall be his until the year of liberty. After that it shall return to the prince. But his inheritance shall be for his sons.

18 ^r"The prince shall not take any of the inheritance of the people by force. He shall give his sons their inheritance out of his own possession, so that My people may not be scattered, each man from his possession."

19 ^s¶ So he brought me through the gateway, through the gateway which faces north, to the holy chambers of the priests which face toward the south. And there he looked, and behold, a place was at the extreme south end.

20 ^tThen he said to me, "This is the place where the priests shall boil the trespass offering and the sin offering, and where they shall bake the grain offering, that they may not bring them out into the outer court to sanctify the people."

21 ^uThen he brought me out into the outer court and caused me to pass by the four corners of the court. And behold, in every corner of the court there was a court.

22 ^vIn the four corners of the court were enclosed courts, forty cubits long and thirty cubits wide. All four corners were of the same size.

23 ^wInside was a gallery all around, and the walls were five cubits wide all around. Inside were the chambers for the priests.

24 ^xThen he said to me, "These are the kitchens where the ministers of the temple shall boil the sacrifices of the people."

1 ¶ Afterward, he brought me again to the door of the temple. And behold, ^awaters flowed eastward out from under the threshold of the temple. And the water was flowing down from under, from the right side of the temple, from south of the altar.

2 ^bHe brought me out by way of the north gate, and led me around on the outside to the outer gate that faces east. There the water was flowing out on the right side.

3 ^cAnd when the man went out to the east with the line in his hand, he measured one thousand cubits. And he brought me through the waters. The water came up to my ankles.

4 ^dAgain he measured one thousand cubits, and brought me through the waters. The water came up to my knees. Again he measured one thousand cubits, and brought me through. The water came up to my waist.

5 ^eAgain he measured one thousand cubits. It was a river that I could not cross. For the waters had risen, enough water to swim in, a river that could not be crossed.

6 ^fHe said to me, "Son of man, have you seen this?" Then he brought me and returned me to the bank of the river.

7 ^gWhen I returned, there, along the bank of the river, were very many trees on one side and the other.

8 ^hThen he said to me: "This water flows toward the eastern region, goes down into the valley, and enters the sea. When it reaches the sea, its waters are healed.

9 ⁱ"And it shall be that every living thing that moves, wherever the river goes, will live. There will be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters go there. For they will be healed, and everything will live wherever the river goes.

10 ^j"It shall be that fishermen will stand by it from En Gedi to En Eglaim. They will be places for spreading their nets. Their fish will be of the same kinds as the fish of the Great Sea, exceedingly many.

11 ^k"But its swamps and marshes will not be healed. They will be given over to salt.

12 ^l"Along the bank of the river, on this side and that, will grow all kinds of trees used for food. Their leaves will not wither, and their fruit will not fail. They will bear fruit every month, because their water flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for medicine."

13 ^m¶ Thus says the Lord GOD: "These are the borders by which you shall divide the land as an inheritance among the twelve tribes of Israel. Joseph shall have two portions.

14 ⁿ"You shall inherit it equally with one another. I raised My hand in an oath to give it to your fathers, and this land shall fall to you as your inheritance.

15 ^o"This shall be the border of the land on the north: from the Great Sea, by the way of Hethlon, to the entrance of Hamath, as far as Hazar Enan, the border of Damascus northward.

16 ^p"Hamath, Berothah, Sibraim, which is between the border of Damascus and the border of Hamath, as far as Hazar Hatticon, which is on the border of Hauran.

17 ^q"Thus the border shall be from the Sea to Hazar Enan, the border of Damascus northward, and as far as the east side, as far as Hauran.

18 ^r"Thus the border shall be on the east side from Hauran, as far as Damascus, and along to Gilead, and the land of Israel, along the Jordan, from the border to the eastern sea. This is the east side.

19 ^s"The south side, toward the south, shall be from Tamar to the waters of Meribah by Kadesh, along the brook to the Great Sea. This is the south side, toward the south.

20 ^t"The west side shall be the Great Sea, from the southern boundary to a point opposite Hamath. This is the west side.

21 ^u"Thus you shall divide this land among yourselves according to the tribes of Israel.

22 ^v"It shall be that you shall divide it by lot as an inheritance for yourselves, and for the strangers who dwell among you, who beget children among you. And they shall be to you as native-born among the children of Israel. They shall have an inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel.

23 ^w"And it shall be that in whatever tribe the stranger dwells, there you shall give him his inheritance," says the Lord GOD.

1 ¶ "Now these are the names of the tribes. ^aFrom the north end to the coast along the way to Hethlon, as one goes to Hamath, Hazarenan, the border of Damascus northward, to the coast of Hamath, running from east to west, ^bDan, one portion.

2 ^c"On the north side, throughout the border of Dan, from the east side to the west, shall be Asher, one portion.

3 ^d"By the border of Asher, from the east side to the west, shall be Naphtali, one portion.

4 ^e"By the border of Naphtali, from the east side to the west, shall be Manasseh, one portion.

5 ^f"By the border of Manasseh, from the east side to the west, shall be Ephraim, one portion.

6 ^g"By the border of Ephraim, from the east side to the west, shall be Reuben, one portion.

7 ^h"By the border of Reuben, from the east side to the west, shall be Judah, one portion.

8 ⁱ"By the border of Judah, from the east side to the west, shall be the district which you shall set apart, 25,000 cubits in width, and in length the same as one of the tribal portions, from the east side to the west. The sanctuary shall be in the center of it.

9 ^j"The district that you shall set apart for the LORD shall be 25,000 cubits in length and 10,000 in width.

10 ^k"To these; to the priests shall be this holy district. Toward the north 25,000 cubits in length, toward the west 10,000 in width, toward the east 10,000 in width, and toward the south 25,000 in length. The sanctuary of the LORD shall be in the center.

11 ^l"It shall be for the priests of the sons of Zadok, who have been faithful to Me, who did not go astray when the children of Israel went astray, as the Levites went astray.

12 ^m"And this district shall be to them as an inheritance for the priests, a most holy district, beside the border of the Levites."

13 ⁿ"Opposite the border of the priests, the Levites shall have an inheritance 25,000 cubits in length and 10,000 in width. Its whole length shall be 25,000 cubits and its width 10,000.

14 ^o"They shall not sell or exchange any of it. They shall not alienate this best part of the land, for it is holy to the LORD.

15 ^p"The remaining 5,000 cubits in width and 25,000 in length, which is alongside the district of the holy portion, shall be for general use by the city, for dwellings and common-land. The city shall be in the center.

16 ^q"These shall be its measurements: the north side 4,500 cubits, the south side 4,500 cubits, the east side 4,500 cubits, and the west side 4,500 cubits.

17 ^r"The common-land of the city shall be: toward the north 250 cubits, toward the south 250 cubits, toward the east 250 cubits, and toward the west 250 cubits.

18 ^s"The rest of the length, alongside the district of the holy portion, shall be 10,000 cubits toward the east and 10,000 toward the west. It shall be adjacent to the district of the holy portion, and its produce shall be food for the workers of the city.

19 ^t"The workers of the city, from all the tribes of Israel, shall cultivate it.

20 ^u"The whole district shall be 25,000 cubits by 25,000 cubits. You shall set apart the holy district as a square, with the property of the city.

21 ^v"The rest shall belong to the prince, on the east side and on the west side, adjacent to the holy district and the property of the city. It shall extend westward to the western border, and eastward to the eastern border. The length shall be the same as one of the tribal portions, from the west border to the east border.

22 ^w"The property of the princes shall be between the tribal portions. The property of the princes shall be beside the property of the tribe of Judah and the property of the tribe of Benjamin.

23 ^x¶ "As for the rest of the tribes, from the east side to the west, shall be Benjamin, one portion.

24 ^y"By the border of Benjamin, from the east side to the west, shall be Simeon, one portion.

25 ^z"By the border of Simeon, from the east side to the west, shall be Issachar, one portion.

26 ^a"By the border of Issachar, from the east side to the west, shall be Zebulun, one portion.

27 ^b"By the border of Zebulun, from the east side to the west, shall be Gad, one portion.

28 ^c"By the border of Gad, on the south side, shall be the border from Tamar to the waters of Meribah by Kadesh, and along the brook to the Great Sea.

29 ^d"This is the land which you shall divide by lot as an inheritance among the tribes of Israel. These are their portions," says the Lord GOD.

30 ^e¶ "These are the exits of the city. On the north side, measuring 4,500 cubits, the gates of the city shall be named after the tribes of Israel. The three gates are: the gate of Reuben, one; the gate of Judah, one; the gate of Levi, one.

31 ^f"On the east side, measuring 4,500 cubits, shall be three gates: the gate of Joseph, one; the gate of Benjamin, one; the gate of Dan, one.

32 ^g"On the south side, measuring 4,500 cubits, shall be three gates: the gate of Simeon, one; the gate of Issachar, one; the gate of Zebulun, one.

33 ^h"On the west side, measuring 4,500 cubits, shall be three gates: the gate of Gad, one; the gate of Asher, one; the gate of Naphtali, one.

34 ⁱ"All the way around shall be 18,000 cubits. And the name of the city from that day shall be: THE LORD IS THERE."

35 ^j¶ The LORD is there.