Ezekiel

Old Testament · 48 chapters · 1,273 verses.

Chapter 1

1:1And it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was among the exiles by the river Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.
1:2On the fifth day of the month—it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin—
1:3the word of the LORD came indeed to Ezekiel son of Buzi the priest, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the hand of the LORD was upon him there.
1:4Then I looked, and behold, a storm wind was coming from the north, a great cloud with fire flashing continually, and brightness all around it; and from its midst came something like glowing metal, from the midst of the fire.
1:5And from its midst came the likeness of four living creatures. This was their appearance: they had a human likeness.
1:6Each had four faces, and each of them had four wings.
1:7Their legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the sole of a calf’s hoof; and they gleamed like burnished bronze.
1:8They had human hands under their wings on their four sides; and all four had their faces and their wings.
1:9Their wings touched one another. They did not turn as they went; each went straight forward.
1:10As for the likeness of their faces: each had the face of a man; all four had the face of a lion on the right, all four had the face of an ox on the left, and all four had the face of an eagle.
1:11Such were their faces. Their wings were spread upward; each had two wings touching those of another, and two covering its body.
1:12Each went straight forward. Wherever the spirit would go, they went; they did not turn as they went.
1:13As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, like the appearance of torches. The fire moved back and forth among the living creatures; the fire was bright, and lightning went forth from the fire.
1:14And the living creatures darted to and fro like flashes of lightning.
1:15Then I looked at the living creatures, and behold, one wheel was upon the earth beside each living creature, toward its four faces.
1:16The appearance of the wheels and their workmanship was like the gleam of beryl; all four had the same likeness, and their appearance and workmanship were as though a wheel were within a wheel.
1:17When they went, they went in any of their four directions; they did not turn as they went.
1:18As for their rims, they were high and awesome; and the rims of all four were full of eyes all around.
1:19When 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.
1:20Wherever the spirit would go, they went, wherever the spirit was to go; and the wheels were lifted up alongside them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.
1:21When they went, the wheels went; when they stood, the wheels stood; and when they were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up alongside them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.
1:22Over the heads of the living creatures was the likeness of an expanse, like the awesome gleam of crystal, stretched out above their heads.
1:23Under the expanse their wings were stretched out, one toward another; each had two wings covering its body, one on either side.
1:24Then I heard the sound of their wings, like the sound of many waters, like the voice of the Almighty when they went—a sound of tumult, like the sound of an army. When they stood, they lowered their wings.
1:25And there was a voice from above the expanse that was over their heads. When they stood, they lowered their wings.
1:26Above the expanse that was over their heads was something like a sapphire stone, in appearance like a throne; and above the likeness of the throne was a likeness with the appearance of a man.
1:27Then I saw something like glowing metal, with the appearance of fire enclosed all around, from what appeared to be His waist upward; and from what appeared to be His waist downward, I saw something like fire, with brightness all around Him.
1:28Like the appearance of the rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the brightness all around. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. When I saw it, I fell upon my face and heard the voice of One speaking.

Chapter 2

2:1Then He said to me, “Son of man, stand upon your feet, and I will speak with you.”
2:2Then the Spirit entered me as He spoke to me and caused me to stand upon my feet; and I heard Him who was speaking to me.
2:3Then He said to me, “Son of man, I am sending you to the sons of Israel, to rebellious nations who have rebelled against Me; they and their fathers have transgressed against Me to this very day.
2:4The sons are brazen-faced and hard-hearted to whom I am sending you; and you shall say to them, Thus says Lord, the LORD.
2:5Whether they listen or refuse—for they are a house of rebellion—they shall know that a prophet has been among them.
2:6And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them or of their words, though briers and thorns are with you and you dwell among scorpions. Do not be afraid of their words or be dismayed by their faces, for they are a house of rebellion.
2:7You shall speak My words to them, whether they listen or refuse, for they are rebellious.
2:8And you, son of man, hear what I am speaking to you. Do not be rebellious like that house of rebellion. Open your mouth and eat what I am giving you.”
2:9Then I looked, and behold, a hand was extended to me; and behold, a scroll was in it.
2:10He spread it before me, and it was written on the front and the back; and written upon it were lamentations, mourning, and woe.

Chapter 3

3:1Then He said to me, “Son of man, eat what you find. Eat this scroll, then go and speak to the house of Israel.”
3:2So I opened my mouth, and He caused me to eat the scroll.
3:3Then He said to me, “Son of man, feed your belly and fill your inward parts with this scroll that I am giving you.” So I ate it, and in my mouth it was as sweet as honey.
3:4Then He said to me, “Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak My words to them.
3:5For you are not sent to a people of obscure speech and difficult language, but to the house of Israel;
3:6not to many peoples of obscure speech and difficult language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely, if I had sent you to them, they would have listened to you.
3:7But the house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you, for they are not willing to listen to Me; for all the house of Israel are brazen-faced and hard-hearted.
3:8Behold, I have made your face hard against their faces and your forehead hard against their foreheads.
3:9Like adamant, harder than flint, I have made your forehead. Do not fear them or be dismayed by their faces, for they are a house of rebellion.”
3:10Then He said to me, “Son of man, receive into your heart all My words that I speak to you, and hear them with your ears.
3:11Go to the exiles, to the sons of your people, and speak to them. Say to them, Thus says Lord, the LORD, whether they listen or refuse.”
3:12Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me the sound of a great rushing: “Blessed is the glory of the LORD from His place!”
3:13It was the sound of the wings of the living creatures touching one another, and the sound of the wheels alongside them—the sound of a great rushing.
3:14So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away; and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit, and the hand of the LORD was strong upon me.
3:15Then I came to the exiles at Tel-Abib, who dwelt by the river Chebar; and where they dwelt, there I sat seven days, stunned among them.
3:16And it came to pass at the end of seven days that the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
3:17“Son of man, I have appointed you as a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from My mouth, warn them from Me.
3:18When I say to the wicked, You shall surely die, and you do not warn him or speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, that he may live—that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require from your hand.
3:19But if you warn the wicked and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your life.
3:20And when a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits injustice, and I place a stumbling-block before him, he shall die. Because you did not warn him, he shall die in his sin, and the righteous deeds he has done shall not be remembered; but his blood I will require from your hand.
3:21But if you warn the righteous man not to sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live because he took warning; and you have delivered your life.”
3:22Then the hand of the LORD was upon me there, and He said to me, “Rise, go out to the plain, and there I will speak with you.”
3:23So I rose and went out to the plain, and behold, the glory of the LORD stood there, like the glory I had seen by the river Chebar; and I fell upon my face.
3:24Then the Spirit entered me and caused me to stand upon my feet. He spoke with me and said to me, “Go, shut yourself within your house.
3:25And you, son of man, behold, they shall put ropes upon you and bind you with them, so that you cannot go out among them.
3:26And I will make your tongue cling to your palate, so that you shall be mute and unable to rebuke them, for they are a house of rebellion.
3:27But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you shall say to them, Thus says Lord, the LORD. He who hears, let him hear; and he who refuses, let him refuse; for they are a house of rebellion.”

Chapter 4

4:1“And you, son of man, take a brick, set it before you, and engrave upon it a city—Jerusalem.
4:2Lay siege against it, build a fortification against it, raise a siege ramp against it, set camps against it, and place battering-rams against it all around.
4:3And you, take an iron pan and set it as an iron wall between you and the city; set your face against it, and it shall be under siege, and you shall lay siege against it. This is a sign to the house of Israel.
4:4Then lie upon your left side and place the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it. For the number of days that you lie upon it, you shall bear their iniquity.
4:5For I have assigned you the years of their iniquity according to the number of days—three hundred and ninety days. Thus you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Israel.
4:6When you have completed these, lie upon your right side a second time, and bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days. A day for a year, a day for a year, I have appointed for you.
4:7Set your face toward the siege of Jerusalem, with your arm uncovered, and prophesy against it.
4:8And behold, I will put ropes upon you, so that you cannot turn from one side to the other until you have completed the days of your siege.
4:9And you, take wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and spelt; put them into one vessel and make bread for yourself from them. During the number of days that you lie upon your side—three hundred and ninety days—you shall eat it.
4:10The food that you eat shall be by weight, twenty shekels a day; at fixed times you shall eat it.
4:11And you shall drink water by measure, a sixth of a hin; at fixed times you shall drink it.
4:12You shall eat it as a barley cake, and bake it over human dung in their sight.”
4:13Then the LORD said, “Thus shall the sons of Israel eat their unclean bread among the nations to which I drive them.”
4:14Then I said, “Ah, Lord, the LORD! Behold, I have never defiled myself. From my youth until now I have eaten neither a carcass nor an animal torn by beasts, nor has abhorrent flesh entered my mouth.”
4:15Then He said to me, “See, I have given you cow’s dung in place of human dung, and you shall prepare your bread over it.”
4:16Then He said to me, “Son of man, behold, I am breaking the staff of bread in Jerusalem. They shall eat bread by weight and with anxiety, and drink water by measure and with dismay,
4:17so that they shall lack bread and water, and look at one another in dismay, and waste away because of their iniquity.”

Chapter 5

5:1“And you, son of man, take a sharp sword and use it as a barber’s razor; pass it over your head and your beard. Then take weighing scales and divide the hair.
5:2A third you shall burn in the fire within the city when the days of the siege are completed; a third you shall take and strike with the sword all around the city; and a third you shall scatter to the wind. And I will draw a sword after them.
5:3Then take from these a few in number and bind them in the folds of your robe.
5:4And take some of them again, cast them into the midst of the fire, and burn them in the fire. From them a fire shall go forth against all the house of Israel.”
5:5Thus says Lord, the LORD: “This is Jerusalem. I have set her in the midst of the nations, with lands all around her.
5:6But she has rebelled against My judgments in wickedness more than the nations, and against My statutes more than the lands around her; for they rejected My judgments and did not walk in My statutes.”
5:7Therefore thus says Lord, the LORD: “Because you have been more turbulent than the nations around you, and have not walked in My statutes or kept My judgments, nor even acted according to the judgments of the nations around you,
5:8therefore thus says Lord, the LORD: Behold, I am against you, even I, and I will execute judgments among you in the sight of the nations.
5:9And because of all your abominations, I will do in you what I have never done and the like of which I will never do again.
5:10Therefore fathers shall eat their sons among you, and sons shall eat their fathers. I will execute judgments in you and scatter all your remnant to every wind.
5:11Therefore, as I live,” declares Lord, the LORD, “because you have defiled My sanctuary with all your detestable things and all your abominations, I also will withdraw; My eye shall not pity, nor will I spare.
5:12A third of you shall die by pestilence and be consumed by famine in your midst; a third shall fall by the sword around you; and a third I will scatter to every wind, and I will draw a sword after them.
5:13Thus My anger shall be spent, and I will cause My fury to rest upon them and be satisfied. Then they shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken in My zeal, when I have spent My fury upon them.
5:14And I will make you a ruin and a reproach among the nations around you, in the sight of everyone who passes by.
5:15You shall be a reproach and a taunt, a warning and an astonishment to the nations around you, when I execute judgments in you in anger and fury and furious rebukes. I, the LORD, have spoken.
5:16When I send against them the deadly arrows of famine, which are for destruction, which I send to destroy you, I will increase the famine upon you and break your staff of bread.
5:17And I will send famine and wild beasts against you, and they shall bereave you; pestilence and blood shall pass through you, and I will bring a sword against you. I, the LORD, have spoken.”

Chapter 6

6:1Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
6:2“Son of man, set your face toward the mountains of Israel, and prophesy against them.
6:3And say, Mountains of Israel, hear the word of Lord, the LORD. Thus says Lord, the LORD, to the mountains and the hills, to the ravines and the valleys: Behold, I am bringing a sword against you, and I will destroy your high places.
6:4Your altars shall be laid waste, and your incense altars shall be broken; and I will cause your slain to fall before your idols.
6:5And I will lay the dead bodies of the sons of Israel before their idols, and scatter your bones around your altars.
6:6In all your dwellings the cities shall lie in ruins and the high places shall be desolate, so that your altars may lie ruined and desolate, your idols may be broken and cease, your incense altars may be cut down, and your works may be blotted out.
6:7And the slain shall fall among you, and you shall know that I am the LORD.
6:8Yet I will leave a remnant, for some of you shall escape the sword among the nations when you are scattered through the lands.
6:9Then those of you who escape shall remember Me among the nations where they have been taken captive—how I was broken over their whoring heart that turned away from Me, and over their eyes that went whoring after their idols. They shall loathe themselves for the evils they have done, for all their abominations.
6:10And they shall know that I am the LORD; not in vain have I said that I would bring this calamity upon them.
6:11Thus says Lord, the LORD: Clap your hands, stamp your foot, and say, Alas, for all the evil abominations of the house of Israel! They shall fall by sword, famine, and pestilence.
6:12He who is far off shall die by pestilence, and he who is near shall fall by the sword; and he who is left and spared shall die by famine. Thus I will spend My fury upon them.
6:13And you shall know that I am the LORD, when their slain lie among their idols around their altars, on every high hill, on all the mountain tops, under every green tree, and under every leafy oak—the places where they offered a soothing aroma to all their idols.
6:14And I will stretch out My hand against them and make the land a desolation, more desolate than the wilderness toward Diblah, throughout all their dwellings; and they shall know that I am the LORD.”

Chapter 7

7:1Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
7:2“And you, son of man, thus says Lord, the LORD, to the land of Israel: An end! The end has come upon the four corners of the land.
7:3Now the end is upon you, and I will send My anger against you. I will judge you according to your ways and bring all your abominations upon you.
7:4My eye shall not pity you, nor will I spare; for I will bring your ways upon you, and your abominations shall be in your midst. Then you shall know that I am the LORD.
7:5Thus says Lord, the LORD: Disaster! A singular disaster—behold, it comes.
7:6An end has come; the end has come. It has roused itself against you; behold, it comes.
7:7Doom has come to you, O inhabitant of the land. The time has come; the day of tumult is near, and not joyful shouting on the mountains.
7:8Now I will soon pour out My wrath upon you and spend My anger against you. I will judge you according to your ways and bring all your abominations upon you.
7:9My eye shall not pity, nor will I spare. I will bring your ways upon you, and your abominations shall be in your midst. Then you shall know that it is I, the LORD, who strikes.
7:10Behold the day; behold, it has come. Doom has gone forth; the rod has blossomed; pride has flourished.
7:11Violence has risen into a rod of wickedness. None of them shall remain—none of their multitude, none of their wealth; nothing of distinction shall be among them.
7:12The time has come; the day has arrived. Let not the buyer rejoice, nor the seller mourn, for wrath is upon all their multitude.
7:13For the seller shall not return to what was sold, even if he remains among the living; for the vision concerning all their multitude shall not be revoked, and because of his iniquity no one shall preserve his life.
7:14They have blown the trumpet and made everything ready, yet no one goes to battle, for My wrath is upon all their multitude.
7:15The sword is outside, and pestilence and famine are within. He who is in the field shall die by the sword, and he who is in the city—famine and pestilence shall devour him.
7:16And those who escape shall flee to the mountains like doves of the valleys, all of them moaning, each over his iniquity.
7:17All hands shall grow feeble, and all knees shall become weak as water.
7:18They shall gird themselves with sackcloth, and trembling shall cover them; shame shall be upon every face, and baldness upon every head.
7:19They shall cast their silver into the streets, and their gold shall become an unclean thing. Their silver and gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD. They shall not satisfy their appetites or fill their stomachs, for their wealth became the stumbling-block of their iniquity.
7:20He set the beauty of His ornament for splendor; but they made in it images of their abominations and their detestable things. Therefore I have made it an unclean thing to them.
7:21And I will give it into the hands of foreigners for plunder, and to the wicked of the earth for spoil; and they shall defile it.
7:22I will turn My face from them, and they shall defile My treasured place; destroyers shall enter it and defile it.
7:23Make the chain, for the land is full of bloody judgments, and the city is full of violence.
7:24And I will bring the worst of the nations, and they shall possess their houses. I will put an end to the pride of the strong, and their sanctuaries shall be defiled.
7:25Anguish comes; they shall seek peace, but there shall be none.
7:26Disaster shall come upon disaster, and report upon report. They shall seek a vision from the prophet, but instruction shall perish from the priest, and counsel from the elders.
7:27The king shall mourn, the prince shall be clothed with horror, and the hands of the people of the land shall tremble. I will deal with them according to their way, and by their own judgments I will judge them; and they shall know that I am the LORD.”

Chapter 8

8:1Then it came to pass in the sixth year, in the sixth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I sat in my house and the elders of Judah sat before me, that the hand of Lord, the LORD, fell upon me there.
8:2Then I looked, and behold, a likeness with the appearance of fire: from what appeared to be His waist downward was fire, and from His waist upward was something like brightness, like the gleam of glowing metal.
8:3Then He extended the form of a hand and took me by a lock of my head; and the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and brought me in visions of God to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the inner gate that faces north, where the image of jealousy that provokes jealousy stood.
8:4And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, like the appearance I had seen in the plain.
8:5Then 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, north of the altar gate, at the entrance, was this image of jealousy.
8:6Then He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing—the great abominations that the house of Israel is committing here, driving Me far from My sanctuary? Yet turn again, and you shall see greater abominations.”
8:7Then He brought me to the entrance of the court; and I looked, and behold, a hole in the wall.
8:8Then He said to me, “Son of man, dig through the wall.” So I dug through the wall, and behold, an entrance.
8:9Then He said to me, “Go in and see the evil abominations they are committing here.”
8:10So I went in and looked, and behold, every form of creeping thing and detestable beast, and all the idols of the house of Israel, portrayed upon the wall all around.
8:11And standing before them were seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel, with Jaazaniah son of Shaphan standing among them. Each had his censer in his hand, and a dense cloud of incense was rising.
8:12Then He said to me, “Have you seen, son of man, what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the darkness, each in the chambers of his carved images? For they are saying, The LORD does not see us; the LORD has forsaken the land.”
8:13Then He said to me, “Turn again, and you shall see the great abominations that they are doing.”
8:14Then He brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the house of the LORD; and behold, women were sitting there, weeping for Tammuz.
8:15Then He said to me, “Have you seen this, son of man? Turn again, and you shall see greater abominations than these.”
8:16Then He brought me into the inner court of the house of the LORD; and behold, at the entrance of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men, with their backs toward the temple of the LORD and their faces toward the east; and they were bowing eastward to the sun.
8:17Then He said to me, “Have you seen this, son of man? Is it a light thing for the house of Judah to commit the abominations they have committed here, that they have filled the land with violence and again provoke Me to anger? And behold, they put the branch to their nose.
8:18Therefore I also will act in wrath. My eye shall not pity, nor will I spare; and though they cry in My ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them.”

Chapter 9

9:1Then He cried in my ears with a loud voice, saying, “Those appointed to punish the city have drawn near, each with his destroying weapon in his hand.”
9:2And behold, six men were coming from the direction of the upper gate that faces north, each with his slaughter-weapon in his hand; and one man among them was clothed in linen, with a scribe’s writing case at his waist. They came in and stood beside the bronze altar.
9:3And the glory of the God of Israel rose from above the winged guardian on which it had rested, to the threshold of the house.
9:4Then He called to the man clothed in linen, who had the scribe’s writing case at his waist; and the LORD said to him, “Pass through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark upon the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations committed in its midst.”
9:5And to the others He said in my hearing, “Pass through the city after him, and strike. Let not your eye pity, and do not spare.
9:6Old men, young men, virgins, children, and women—you shall slay them utterly; but do not go near anyone upon whom is the mark. And begin at My sanctuary.”
9:7So they began with the elders who were before the house. And He said to them, “Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain. Go forth.” So they went forth and struck throughout the city.
9:8And as they struck, and I alone remained, I fell upon my face and cried out, saying, “Ah, Lord, the LORD! Will You destroy all the remnant of Israel as You pour out Your wrath upon Jerusalem?”
9:9Then He said to me, “The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great; the land is full of blood, and the city is full of injustice. For they say, The LORD has forsaken the land, and the LORD does not see.
9:10And as for Me, My eye shall not pity, nor will I spare; I will bring their way upon their own heads.”
9:11And behold, the man clothed in linen, with the writing case at his waist, brought back word, saying, “I have done as You commanded me.”

Chapter 10

10:1Then I looked, and behold, above the heads of the winged guardians, upon the expanse, was something like a sapphire stone, in appearance like a throne, appearing above them.
10:2Then He spoke to the man clothed in linen and said, “Go in among the wheelwork, beneath the winged guardians, and fill both your hands with coals of fire from between the winged guardians, and scatter them over the city.” And he went in before my eyes.
10:3Now the winged guardians were standing on the right side of the house when the man went in, and the cloud filled the inner court.
10:4Then the glory of the LORD rose from above the winged guardian to the threshold of the house; and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was filled with the brightness of the glory of the LORD.
10:5And the sound of the wings of the winged guardians was heard as far as the outer court, like the voice of God Almighty when He speaks.
10:6Then it came to pass, when He commanded the man clothed in linen, saying, “Take fire from among the wheelwork, from between the winged guardians,” that he went in and stood beside a wheel.
10:7Then one winged guardian extended his hand from between the winged guardians to the fire that was between them, took some of it, and put it into the hands of the man clothed in linen; and he took it and went out.
10:8And there appeared beneath the wings of the winged guardians the form of a man’s hand.
10:9Then I looked, and behold, four wheels beside the winged guardians, one wheel beside each winged guardian; and the appearance of the wheels was like the gleam of beryl.
10:10As for their appearance, all four had the same likeness, as though a wheel were within a wheel.
10:11When they went, they went in any of their four directions; they did not turn as they went. Wherever the foremost wheel faced, the others followed; they did not turn as they went.
10:12Their whole bodies, their backs, their hands, their wings, and the wheels were full of eyes all around—the wheels belonging to all four of them.
10:13As for the wheels, they were called “the whirling wheels” in my hearing.
10:14Each had four faces: the first face was the face of a winged guardian, the second the face of a man, the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.
10:15Then the winged guardians rose. These were the living creatures I had seen by the river Chebar.
10:16When the winged guardians went, the wheels went beside them; and when the winged guardians lifted their wings to rise from the earth, the wheels did not turn away from beside them.
10:17When they stood, the wheels stood; and when they rose, the wheels rose with them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in them.
10:18Then the glory of the LORD went out from the threshold of the house and stood over the winged guardians.
10:19And the winged guardians lifted their wings and rose from the earth before my eyes. As they went out, the wheels went beside them; and they stood at the entrance of the east gate of the house of the LORD, with the glory of the God of Israel above them.
10:20These were the living creatures I had seen beneath the God of Israel by the river Chebar; and I knew that they were winged guardians.
10:21Each had four faces and four wings, and beneath their wings was the likeness of human hands.
10:22Their faces had the same likeness as the faces I had seen by the river Chebar; their appearance was the same. Each went straight forward.

Chapter 11

11:1Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the east gate of the house of the LORD, which faces east; and behold, at the entrance of the gate were twenty-five men. And among them I saw Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah, leaders of the people.
11:2Then He said to me, “Son of man, these are the men who devise iniquity and give evil counsel in this city,
11:3who say, The time is not near to build houses; this city is the pot, and we are the flesh.
11:4Therefore prophesy against them; prophesy, son of man.”
11:5Then the Spirit of the LORD fell upon me, and He said to me, “Say, Thus says the LORD: This is what you have said, O house of Israel; and I know the thoughts of your spirit.
11:6You have multiplied your slain in this city and filled its streets with the slain.
11:7Therefore thus says Lord, the LORD: Your slain whom you have laid in its midst—they are the flesh, and this city is the pot; but you I will bring out from its midst.
11:8You have feared the sword, and I will bring the sword against you, declares Lord, the LORD.
11:9And I will bring you out from its midst, give you into the hands of foreigners, and execute judgments among you.
11:10You shall fall by the sword. I will judge you at the border of Israel, and you shall know that I am the LORD.
11:11This city shall not be a pot for you, nor shall you be flesh in its midst. I will judge you at the border of Israel.
11:12And you shall know that I am the LORD; for you have not walked in My statutes or kept My judgments, but have acted according to the judgments of the nations around you.”
11:13And as I prophesied, Pelatiah son of Benaiah died. Then I fell upon my face and cried with a loud voice, saying, “Ah, Lord, the LORD! Will You make a complete end of the remnant of Israel?”
11:14Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
11:15“Son of man, your brothers, your brothers, your kinsmen, and all the house of Israel—all of them—are those to whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, Keep far from the LORD; this land has been given to us as a possession.
11:16Therefore say, Thus says Lord, the LORD: Though I have removed them far among the nations, and though I have scattered them through the lands, yet I have been a little sanctuary to them in the lands where they have gone.
11:17Therefore say, Thus says Lord, the LORD: I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you from the lands into which you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.
11:18And they shall go there and remove from it all its detestable things and all its abominations.
11:19And I will give them one heart and put a new spirit within them; I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh,
11:20so that they may walk in My statutes, keep My judgments, and do them; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God.
11:21But as for those whose heart goes after their detestable things and their abominations, I will bring their way upon their own heads, declares Lord, the LORD.”
11:22Then the winged guardians lifted their wings, with the wheels beside them; and the glory of the God of Israel was above them.
11:23Then the glory of the LORD ascended from the midst of the city and stood upon the mountain east of the city.
11:24And the Spirit lifted me up and brought me in a vision by the Spirit of God to the exiles in Chaldea. Then the vision I had seen ascended from me.
11:25And I spoke to the exiles all the words of the LORD that He had shown me.

Chapter 12

12:1Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
12:2“Son of man, you dwell in the midst of a house of rebellion, who have eyes to see but do not see, and ears to hear but do not hear; for they are a house of rebellion.
12:3And you, son of man, prepare for yourself baggage for exile, and go into exile by day in their sight. Go from your place to another place in their sight. Perhaps they will understand, though they are a house of rebellion.
12:4Bring out your baggage by day in their sight, as baggage for exile; and in the evening go out in their sight, as those who go into exile.
12:5Dig through the wall in their sight, and bring your baggage out through it.
12:6Carry it upon your shoulder in their sight and bring it out in the darkness. Cover your face so that you cannot see the land, for I have made you a sign to the house of Israel.”
12:7So I did as I was commanded. I brought out my baggage by day as baggage for exile, and in the evening I dug through the wall with my hand. I brought it out in the darkness and carried it upon my shoulder in their sight.
12:8Then the word of the LORD came to me in the morning, saying,
12:9“Son of man, has not the house of Israel, the house of rebellion, said to you, What are you doing?
12:10Say to them, Thus says Lord, the LORD: This oracle concerns the prince in Jerusalem and all the house of Israel who are in its midst.
12:11Say, I am your sign. As I have done, so shall it be done to them; into exile, into captivity they shall go.
12:12And the prince who is among them shall carry his baggage upon his shoulder in the darkness and go out. They shall dig through the wall to bring him out through it. He shall cover his face so that he cannot see the land with his eyes.
12:13And I will spread My net over him, and he shall be caught in My snare. I will bring him to Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans, yet he shall not see it; and there he shall die.
12:14And all who surround him—his helpers and all his troops—I will scatter to every wind, and I will draw a sword after them.
12:15And they shall know that I am the LORD, when I scatter them among the nations and disperse them through the lands.
12:16But I will spare a few men from the sword, famine, and pestilence, so that they may recount all their abominations among the nations where they go; and they shall know that I am the LORD.”
12:17Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
12:18“Son of man, eat your bread with trembling, and drink your water with quaking and anxiety.
12:19And say to the people of the land, Thus says Lord, the LORD, concerning the inhabitants of Jerusalem in the land of Israel: They shall eat their bread with anxiety and drink their water with dismay, because their land shall be stripped of all it contains, on account of the violence of all who dwell in it.
12:20And the inhabited cities shall be laid waste, and the land shall become a desolation; and you shall know that I am the LORD.”
12:21Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
12:22“Son of man, what is this proverb you have concerning the land of Israel, saying, The days are prolonged, and every vision comes to nothing?
12:23Therefore say to them, Thus says Lord, the LORD: I will put an end to this proverb, and they shall no longer use it as a proverb in Israel. But say to them, The days have drawn near, and so has the fulfillment of every vision.
12:24For there shall no longer be any false vision or deceptive divination within the house of Israel.
12:25For I, the LORD, will speak, and the word that I speak shall be done. It shall no longer be delayed; for in your days, O house of rebellion, I will speak the word and do it, declares Lord, the LORD.”
12:26Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
12:27“Son of man, behold, the house of Israel is saying, The vision that he sees is for many days from now, and he prophesies of times far off.
12:28Therefore say to them, Thus says Lord, the LORD: None of My words shall be delayed any longer; the word that I speak shall be done, declares Lord, the LORD.”

Chapter 13

13:1Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
13:2“Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who are prophesying, and say to those who prophesy from their own heart, Hear the word of the LORD.
13:3Thus says Lord, the LORD: Woe to the foolish prophets, who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing.
13:4Your prophets have been like foxes among ruins, O Israel.
13:5You have not gone up into the breaches or built a wall for the house of Israel, that it might stand in battle in the day of the LORD.
13:6They have seen false visions and lying divinations. They say, An utterance of the LORD, though the LORD has not sent them; yet they expect Him to fulfill their word.
13:7Have you not seen a false vision and spoken a lying divination when you say, An utterance of the LORD, though I have not spoken?
13:8Therefore thus says Lord, the LORD: Because you have spoken falsehood and seen a lie, behold, I am against you, declares Lord, the LORD.
13:9And My hand shall be against the prophets who see false visions and divine lies. They shall not be in the council of My people, nor be written in the register of the house of Israel, nor enter the land of Israel. Then you shall know that I am Lord, the LORD.
13:10Because, even because, they have led My people astray, saying, Peace, when there is no peace; and when one builds a flimsy wall, behold, others coat it with whitewash.
13:11Say to those who coat it with whitewash: It shall fall. There shall be a flooding rain, hailstones shall fall, and a violent wind shall break out.
13:12And behold, when the wall has fallen, will it not be said to you, Where is the coating with which you coated it?
13:13Therefore thus says Lord, the LORD: In My fury I will make a violent wind break out; in My anger there shall be a flooding rain, and in My fury hailstones shall fall to destroy it.
13:14And I will break down the wall that you coated with whitewash and level it to the ground, so that its foundation is exposed. It shall fall, and you shall be consumed in its midst; and you shall know that I am the LORD.
13:15Thus I will spend My wrath upon the wall and upon those who coated it with whitewash; and I will say to you, The wall is gone, and those who coated it are gone—
13:16the prophets of Israel who prophesy concerning Jerusalem and see visions of peace for her, though there is no peace, declares Lord, the LORD.
13:17And you, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people who prophesy from their own heart, and prophesy against them.
13:18And say, Thus says Lord, the LORD: Woe to the women who sew amulet bands for every wrist and make veils for the heads of persons of every height, in order to hunt lives. Will you hunt the lives of My people and preserve your own lives?
13:19You profane Me among My people for handfuls of barley and pieces of bread, putting to death persons who should not die and preserving alive persons who should not live, by lying to My people who listen to lies.
13:20Therefore thus says Lord, the LORD: Behold, I am against your amulet bands, with which you hunt lives like birds. I will tear them from your arms and let the lives go free—the lives you hunt like birds.
13:21I will tear off your veils and deliver My people from your hand; they shall no longer be prey in your hand. Then you shall know that I am the LORD.
13:22Because you have disheartened the righteous with falsehood, though I have not disheartened him, and strengthened the hands of the wicked so that he does not turn from his evil way and live,
13:23therefore you shall no longer see false visions or practice divination; and I will deliver My people from your hand, and you shall know that I am the LORD.”

Chapter 14

14:1Then some of the elders of Israel came to me and sat before me.
14:2Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
14:3“Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their hearts and placed the stumbling block of their iniquity before their faces. Shall I indeed allow them to inquire of Me?
14:4Therefore speak to them and say, Thus says Lord, the LORD: Every man of the house of Israel who sets up his idols in his heart, places the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and then comes to the prophet—I, the LORD, will answer him according to the multitude of his idols,
14:5so that I may seize the house of Israel by their hearts, for all of them have become estranged from Me through their idols.
14:6Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says Lord, the LORD: Return and turn away from your idols; turn your faces away from all your abominations.
14:7For every man of the house of Israel, or of the sojourners who dwell in Israel, who withdraws from following Me, sets up his idols in his heart, places the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and then comes to the prophet to inquire of Me through him—I, the LORD, will answer him Myself.
14:8I will set My face against that man and make him a sign and a proverb; I will cut him off from the midst of My people. Then you shall know that I am the LORD.
14:9And if the prophet is enticed and speaks a word, I, the LORD, have enticed that prophet; I will stretch out My hand against him and destroy him from the midst of My people Israel.
14:10They shall bear their iniquity: the iniquity of the inquirer shall be the same as the iniquity of the prophet,
14:11so that the house of Israel may no longer stray from following Me or defile themselves with all their transgressions. They shall be My people, and I will be their God, declares Lord, the LORD.”
14:12Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
14:13“Son of man, when a land sins against Me by acting unfaithfully, and I stretch out My hand against it, break its staff of bread, send famine upon it, and cut off man and beast from it—
14:14even if these three men—Noah, Daniel, and Job—were in its midst, they would deliver only their own lives by their righteousness,” declares Lord, the LORD.
14:15“If I cause wild beasts to pass through the land, and they bereave it, so that it becomes desolate and no one passes through because of the beasts—
14:16even if these three men were in its midst—as I live,” declares Lord, the LORD, “they would deliver neither sons nor daughters. They alone would be delivered, and the land would become desolate.
14:17Or if I bring a sword against that land and say, Sword, pass through the land, and I cut off man and beast from it—
14:18even if these three men were in its midst—as I live,” declares Lord, the LORD, “they would deliver neither sons nor daughters. They alone would be delivered.
14:19Or if I send pestilence into that land and pour out My fury upon it in blood, to cut off man and beast from it—
14:20even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in its midst—as I live,” declares Lord, the LORD, “they would deliver neither son nor daughter. By their righteousness they would deliver only their own lives.”
14:21For thus says Lord, the LORD: “How much more when I send My four severe judgments—sword, famine, wild beasts, and pestilence—against Jerusalem, to cut off man and beast from it!
14:22Yet behold, survivors shall be left in it, sons and daughters who will be brought out. Behold, they shall come out to you; and when you see their way and their deeds, you shall be comforted concerning the calamity I have brought upon Jerusalem—all that I have brought upon it.
14:23They shall comfort you when you see their way and their deeds; and you shall know that I have not done without cause all that I have done in her,” declares Lord, the LORD.

Chapter 15

15:1Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
15:2“Son of man, how is the wood of the vine better than any other wood—the vine branch among the trees of the forest?
15:3Is wood taken from it to make anything? Do men take a peg from it on which to hang any vessel?
15:4Behold, it is given to the fire for fuel. The fire consumes both its ends, and its middle is scorched. Is it fit for any work?
15:5Behold, when it was whole, it could not be made into anything. How much less, after the fire has consumed and scorched it, can it still be made into anything!”
15:6Therefore thus says Lord, the LORD: “As the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so I have given the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
15:7I will set My face against them. Though they have escaped from the fire, the fire shall consume them; and you shall know that I am the LORD when I set My face against them.
15:8I will make the land desolate because they have acted unfaithfully,” declares Lord, the LORD.

Chapter 16

16:1Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
16:2“Son of man, make Jerusalem know her abominations,
16:3and say, Thus says Lord, the LORD, to Jerusalem: Your origin and your birth are from the land of the Canaanites; your father was an Amorite, and your mother a Hittite.
16:4As for your birth, on the day you were born your cord was not cut, you were not washed clean with water, you were not rubbed with salt, and you were not wrapped in cloths.
16:5No eye pitied you or had compassion enough to do any of these things for you. Instead, you were cast into the open field, for your life was despised on the day you were born.
16:6Then I passed by you and saw you struggling in your blood; and I said to you in your blood, Live! Indeed, I said to you in your blood, Live!
16:7I made you flourish like a plant of the field. You grew and became great and reached full maturity; your breasts were formed and your hair had grown, yet you were naked and bare.
16:8Then I passed by you and saw you; and behold, your time was the time for love. I spread the corner of My garment over you and covered your nakedness; I swore to you and entered into covenant with you, declares Lord, the LORD, and you became Mine.
16:9Then I washed you with water, washed the blood from you, and anointed you with oil.
16:10I clothed you with embroidered cloth, put fine leather sandals on your feet, wrapped you in fine linen, and covered you with silk.
16:11I adorned you with ornaments, placed bracelets on your wrists, and put a chain around your neck.
16:12I put a ring in your nose, earrings in your ears, and a beautiful crown upon your head.
16:13So you were adorned with gold and silver, and your clothing was fine linen, silk, and embroidered cloth. You ate fine flour, honey, and oil; you became exceedingly beautiful and rose to royalty.
16:14Your fame spread among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect through My splendor, which I had placed upon you, declares Lord, the LORD.
16:15But you trusted in your beauty and prostituted yourself because of your fame. You lavished your prostitution upon everyone passing by; your beauty became his.
16:16You took some of your garments and made multicolored high places for yourself, and you prostituted yourself upon them. Such things had never happened and should never have been.
16:17You also took your beautiful jewels made from My gold and My silver, which I had given you, and made male images for yourself, and prostituted yourself with them.
16:18You took your embroidered garments and covered them, and you set My oil and My incense before them.
16:19And My bread that I gave you—fine flour, oil, and honey with which I fed you—you set it before them as a soothing aroma. So it was, declares Lord, the LORD.
16:20You took your sons and daughters, whom you had borne to Me, and sacrificed them to be devoured. Was your prostitution too small a thing,
16:21that you slaughtered My sons and gave them up by causing them to pass through the fire?
16:22In all your abominations and prostitution, you did not remember the days of your youth, when you were naked and bare, struggling in your blood.
16:23Then after all your wickedness—woe, woe to you, declares Lord, the LORD—
16:24you built a vaulted shrine for yourself and made a high place for yourself in every city square.
16:25At every street corner you built your high place. You made your beauty abominable, spread your legs to everyone passing by, and multiplied your prostitution.
16:26You prostituted yourself with the Egyptians, your neighbors, great of flesh, and multiplied your prostitution to provoke Me to anger.
16:27Behold, I stretched out My hand against you, reduced your portion, and delivered you to the desire of those who hate you—the daughters of the Philistines, who were ashamed of your lewd way.
16:28You also prostituted yourself with the Assyrians because you were not satisfied; you prostituted yourself with them, yet even then you were not satisfied.
16:29You multiplied your prostitution in the land of traders, Chaldea; yet even with this you were not satisfied.
16:30How sick is your heart, declares Lord, the LORD, that you do all these things—the deeds of a brazen prostitute!
16:31When you built your vaulted shrine at every street corner and made your high place in every city square, you were unlike a prostitute, for you scorned payment.
16:32You adulterous wife, who takes foreigners in place of her husband!
16:33Men give gifts to all prostitutes, but you gave your gifts to all your lovers and bribed them to come to you from every side for your prostitution.
16:34Thus in your prostitution you were the opposite of other women: no one pursued you for prostitution, and you gave payment while no payment was given to you. So you were the opposite.
16:35Therefore, O prostitute, hear the word of the LORD.
16:36Thus says Lord, the LORD: Because your lewdness was poured out and your nakedness exposed in your prostitution with your lovers and with all your detestable idols, and because of the blood of your sons whom you gave to them,
16:37therefore behold, I will gather all your lovers with whom you took pleasure—all whom you loved, together with all whom you hated. I will gather them against you from every side and expose your nakedness to them, so that they shall see all your nakedness.
16:38I will judge you with the judgments of adulteresses and women who shed blood, and I will bring upon you the bloodshed of fury and jealousy.
16:39I will give you into their hand, and they shall tear down your vaulted shrine and demolish your high places. They shall strip you of your garments, take your beautiful jewels, and leave you naked and bare.
16:40They shall bring an assembly against you, stone you with stones, and cut you through with their swords.
16:41They shall burn your houses with fire and execute judgments upon you in the sight of many women. I will put an end to your prostitution, and you shall no longer give payment.
16:42So I will satisfy My fury against you, and My jealousy shall turn away from you. Then I will be quiet and no longer angry.
16:43Because you did not remember the days of your youth but enraged Me in all these things, behold, I will bring your conduct upon your own head, declares Lord, the LORD. You shall not commit this lewdness in addition to all your abominations.
16:44Behold, everyone who quotes a proverb shall quote this proverb concerning you: As the mother, so her daughter.
16:45You are your mother’s daughter, who loathed her husband and her sons; and you are the sister of your sisters, who loathed their husbands and their sons. Your mother was a Hittite, and your father an Amorite.
16:46Your older sister is Samaria, who dwells with her daughters at your left hand; and your younger sister, who dwells with her daughters at your right hand, is Sodom.
16:47Yet you did not merely walk in their ways or act according to their abominations; in a very little time you acted more corruptly than they in all your ways.
16:48As I live, declares Lord, the LORD, your sister Sodom and her daughters have not done as you and your daughters have done.
16:49Behold, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: pride, fullness of bread, and prosperous ease were hers and her daughters’, yet she did not strengthen the hand of the afflicted and needy.
16:50They were haughty and committed abomination before Me; therefore I removed them when I saw it.
16:51Samaria did not commit half your sins. You multiplied your abominations beyond theirs and made your sisters appear righteous by all the abominations you committed.
16:52You also must bear your shame, for you have judged your sisters. Because your sins were more abominable than theirs, they appear more righteous than you. So be ashamed and bear your shame, for you have made your sisters appear righteous.
16:53I will restore their fortunes—the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters, the fortunes of Samaria and her daughters—and I will restore your fortunes among them,
16:54so that you may bear your shame and be ashamed of all you have done, and so become a comfort to them.
16:55Your sisters, Sodom and her daughters, shall return to their former state; Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former state; and you and your daughters shall return to your former state.
16:56Was not your sister Sodom a byword in your mouth in the day of your pride,
16:57before your wickedness was exposed, as it now is amid the reproach of the daughters of Aram and all her neighbors, and of the daughters of the Philistines, who despise you on every side.
16:58You have borne your lewdness and your abominations, an utterance of the LORD.
16:59For thus says Lord, the LORD: I will deal with you as you have done, for you despised the oath by breaking the covenant.
16:60Yet I will remember My covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you.
16:61Then you shall remember your ways and be ashamed when you receive your sisters, both older and younger than you. I will give them to you as daughters, though not because of your covenant.
16:62I will establish My covenant with you, and you shall know that I am the LORD,
16:63so that you may remember and be ashamed, and never open your mouth again because of your shame, when I make atonement for you for all that you have done, declares Lord, the LORD.”

Chapter 17

17:1Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
17:2“Son of man, propound a riddle and speak a parable to the house of Israel,
17:3and say, Thus says Lord, the LORD: A great eagle with great wings, long pinions, and full plumage of many colors came to Lebanon and took the crown of the cedar.
17:4He broke off the topmost of its young twigs and carried it to the land of traders; he set it in a city of merchants.
17:5Then he took some of the seed of the land and planted it in fertile soil. He placed it beside abundant waters and set it like a willow.
17:6It sprouted and became a spreading vine, low in stature, with its branches turned toward him and its roots beneath it. So it became a vine, produced branches, and sent out shoots.
17:7But there was another great eagle with great wings and abundant feathers; and behold, this vine bent its roots toward him and sent its branches toward him, that he might water it from the bed where it was planted.
17:8It was planted in good soil beside abundant waters, that it might produce branches, bear fruit, and become a noble vine.
17:9Say, Thus says Lord, the LORD: Shall it prosper? Will he not pull up its roots, strip off its fruit, and cause all its fresh leaves to wither? It will wither, and no great strength or many people will be needed to pull it up by its roots.
17:10Behold, though it is planted, shall it prosper? Shall it not utterly wither when the east wind touches it? It shall wither on the bed where it grew.”
17:11Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
17:12“Now say to the rebellious house, Do you not know what these things mean? Say, Behold, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, took its king and its princes, and brought them back with him to Babylon.
17:13He took one of the royal seed, made a covenant with him, and put him under oath. He also took away the leading men of the land,
17:14so that the kingdom might be brought low and unable to exalt itself, but might stand by keeping his covenant.
17:15But he rebelled against him by sending his envoys to Egypt, that they might give him horses and many troops. Shall he prosper? Shall the one who does these things escape? Shall he break the covenant and still escape?
17:16As I live, declares Lord, the LORD, he shall die in Babylon, in the place of the king who made him reign, whose oath he despised and whose covenant he broke.
17:17Pharaoh with his great army and vast company shall not help him in battle, when siege ramps are raised and siege walls built to cut off many lives.
17:18He despised the oath by breaking the covenant. Behold, he had pledged his hand, yet he did all these things; he shall not escape.
17:19Therefore thus says Lord, the LORD: As I live, surely I will bring upon his own head My oath that he despised and My covenant that he broke.
17:20I will spread My net over him, and he shall be caught in My snare. I will bring him to Babylon and enter into judgment with him there for the unfaithfulness he committed against Me.
17:21All the choice men of his troops shall fall by the sword, and those who remain shall be scattered to every wind. Then you shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken.
17:22Thus says Lord, the LORD: I Myself will take a sprig from the crown of the high cedar and set it out. From the topmost of its young twigs I will pluck a tender one, and I will plant it upon a high and lofty mountain.
17:23On the high mountain of Israel I will plant it. It shall produce branches, bear fruit, and become a majestic cedar. Birds of every kind shall dwell beneath it; they shall dwell in the shade of its branches.
17:24Then all the trees of the field shall know that I, the LORD, bring down the high tree and exalt the low tree; I dry up the green tree and make the dry tree flourish. I, the LORD, have spoken, and I will do it.”

Chapter 18

18:1Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
18:2“What do you mean by using this proverb concerning the land of Israel: The fathers eat sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge?
18:3As I live,” declares Lord, the LORD, “you shall no longer use this proverb in Israel.
18:4Behold, every life is Mine; the life of the father and the life of the son are Mine. The one who sins shall die.
18:5If a man is righteous and practices justice and righteousness—
18:6if he has not eaten at the mountain shrines or lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, has not defiled his neighbor’s wife or approached a woman in menstrual impurity,
18:7has not oppressed anyone, but has returned the debtor’s pledge, committed no robbery, given his bread to the hungry, and covered the naked with a garment;
18:8if he has not lent at interest or taken profit, but has withheld his hand from injustice and executed true justice between man and man;
18:9if he has walked in My statutes and kept My judgments, acting faithfully—he is righteous; he shall surely live, declares Lord, the LORD.
18:10But if he fathers a violent son who sheds blood or does any of these things to a brother,
18:11though the father has done none of them—if the son eats at the mountain shrines, defiles his neighbor’s wife,
18:12oppresses the afflicted and needy, commits robbery, does not return a pledge, lifts up his eyes to idols, and commits abomination,
18:13lends at interest and takes profit—shall he live? He shall not live. He has committed all these abominations; he shall surely die. His blood shall be upon him.
18:14But behold, if this man fathers a son who sees all the sins his father has committed, considers them, and does not do likewise—
18:15if he has not eaten at the mountain shrines or lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, has not defiled his neighbor’s wife,
18:16has not oppressed anyone or withheld a pledge, has committed no robbery, but has given his bread to the hungry and covered the naked with a garment;
18:17if he has withheld his hand from injustice, taken no interest or profit, carried out My judgments, and walked in My statutes—he shall not die for his father’s iniquity; he shall surely live.
18:18As for his father, because he practiced oppression, robbed his brother, and did what was not good among his people, behold, he shall die for his iniquity.
18:19Yet you say, Why does the son not bear the iniquity of the father? Because the son has practiced justice and righteousness, kept all My statutes, and done them, he shall surely live.
18:20The one who sins shall die. A son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, and a father shall not bear the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.
18:21But if the wicked turns away from all the sins he has committed, keeps all My statutes, and practices justice and righteousness, he shall surely live; he shall not die.
18:22None of the transgressions he committed shall be remembered against him. Because of the righteousness he has practiced, he shall live.
18:23Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares Lord, the LORD. Is it not rather that he turn from his way and live?
18:24But when the righteous turns away from his righteousness, commits injustice, and acts according to all the abominations the wicked man commits, shall he live? None of the righteous deeds he has done shall be remembered. For the unfaithfulness he committed and the sin he sinned, he shall die.
18:25Yet you say, “The way of the Lord is not just.” Hear now, O house of Israel: Is My way not just? Are not your ways unjust?
18:26When the righteous turns away from his righteousness, commits injustice, and dies because of it, he dies for the injustice he committed.
18:27But when the wicked turns away from the wickedness he committed and practices justice and righteousness, he shall preserve his life.
18:28Because he considered and turned away from all the transgressions he committed, he shall surely live; he shall not die.
18:29Yet the house of Israel says, “The way of the Lord is not just.” Are My ways not just, O house of Israel? Are not your ways unjust?
18:30Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, each according to his ways, declares Lord, the LORD. Return and turn away from all your transgressions, so that iniquity may not become your stumbling block.
18:31Cast away from yourselves all the transgressions you have committed, and make for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. Why should you die, O house of Israel?
18:32For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies, declares Lord, the LORD. Therefore return, and live.

Chapter 19

19:1“And you, take up a lamentation for the princes of Israel,
19:2and say: What was your mother? A lioness. She lay among lions; among young lions she raised her cubs.
19:3She brought up one of her cubs; he became a young lion, learned to tear prey, and devoured men.
19:4The nations heard of him; he was caught in their pit, and they brought him with hooks to the land of Egypt.
19:5When she saw that she had waited and her hope was lost, she took another of her cubs and made him a young lion.
19:6He prowled among the lions; he became a young lion, learned to tear prey, and devoured men.
19:7He ravaged their strongholds and laid waste their cities; the land and all that filled it were appalled at the sound of his roaring.
19:8Then the nations from the surrounding lands set themselves against him. They spread their net over him, and he was caught in their pit.
19:9They put him in a cage with hooks and brought him to the king of Babylon. They confined him in a fortress, so that his voice would no longer be heard on the mountains of Israel.
19:10Your mother was like a vine in a vineyard, planted beside waters; it was fruitful and full of branches because of abundant waters.
19:11It had strong branches fit for rulers’ scepters, and its height rose among the thick boughs. It was visible in its height with the abundance of its branches.
19:12But it was uprooted in fury and cast to the ground. The east wind dried up its fruit; its strong branches were broken and withered, and fire consumed them.
19:13Now it is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty land.
19:14Fire went out from one of its main branches and consumed its fruit, so that no strong branch remains in it, no scepter for ruling. This is a lamentation, and it has become a lamentation.”

Chapter 20

20:1Then in the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month, some of the elders of Israel came to inquire of the LORD and sat before me.
20:2Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
20:3“Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel and say to them, Thus says Lord, the LORD: Have you come to inquire of Me? As I live, I will not allow you to inquire of Me, declares Lord, the LORD.
20:4Will you judge them, son of man? Will you judge them? Make known to them the abominations of their fathers,
20:5and say to them, Thus says Lord, the LORD: On the day when I chose Israel, I lifted up My hand to the seed of the house of Jacob and made Myself known to them in the land of Egypt. I lifted up My hand to them and said, I am the LORD your God.
20:6On that day I lifted up My hand to them, to bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land I had searched out for them, flowing with milk and honey, the glory of all lands.
20:7I said to them, Let each of you cast away the detestable things before his eyes, and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.
20:8But they rebelled against Me and were unwilling to listen to Me. None of them cast away the detestable things before their eyes, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt. Then I said I would pour out My wrath upon them and spend My anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt.
20:9But I acted for My Name’s sake, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations among whom they lived, before whose eyes I had made Myself known to Israel by bringing them out of the land of Egypt.
20:10So I brought them out of the land of Egypt and led them into the wilderness.
20:11I gave them My statutes and made known to them My judgments, which, if a man does them, he shall live by them.
20:12Moreover, I gave them My Sabbaths as a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD who sanctifies them.
20:13But the house of Israel rebelled against Me in the wilderness. They did not walk in My statutes and rejected My judgments, which, if a man does them, he shall live by them; and they greatly profaned My Sabbaths. Then I said I would pour out My wrath upon them in the wilderness and consume them.
20:14But I acted for My Name’s sake, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations before whose eyes I had brought them out.
20:15I also lifted up My hand to them in the wilderness, swearing that I would not bring them into the land I had given them, flowing with milk and honey, the glory of all lands,
20:16because they rejected My judgments, did not walk in My statutes, and profaned My Sabbaths; for their hearts went after their idols.
20:17Yet My eye pitied them, so that I did not destroy them or make a complete end of them in the wilderness.
20:18Then I said to their children in the wilderness, Do not walk in the statutes of your fathers; do not observe their judgments or defile yourselves with their idols.
20:19I am the LORD your God. Walk in My statutes, keep My judgments, and do them.
20:20Sanctify My Sabbaths, and they shall be a sign between Me and you, that you may know that I am the LORD your God.
20:21But the children rebelled against Me. They did not walk in My statutes or keep My judgments, which, if a man does them, he shall live by them; and they profaned My Sabbaths. Then I said I would pour out My wrath upon them and spend My anger against them in the wilderness.
20:22Yet I withdrew My hand and acted for My Name’s sake, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations before whose eyes I had brought them out.
20:23I also lifted up My hand to them in the wilderness, swearing that I would scatter them among the nations and disperse them through the lands,
20:24because they did not carry out My judgments, but despised My statutes, profaned My Sabbaths, and set their eyes upon the idols of their fathers.
20:25I also gave them statutes that were not good and judgments by which they could not live.
20:26I defiled them through their own gifts, by causing every firstborn to pass through the fire, that I might make them desolate and that they might know that I am the LORD.
20:27Therefore speak to the house of Israel, son of man, and say to them, Thus says Lord, the LORD: In this also your fathers blasphemed Me by acting unfaithfully against Me.
20:28For when I brought them into the land that I had lifted up My hand to give them, they saw every high hill and every leafy tree. There they offered their sacrifices, presented their provoking offerings, offered their soothing aromas, and poured out their drink offerings.
20:29Then I said to them, What is this high place to which you go? So its name has been called High Place to this day.
20:30“Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says Lord, the LORD: Will you defile yourselves after the manner of your fathers and prostitute yourselves after their detestable things?
20:31When you present your gifts and cause your sons to pass through the fire, you defile yourselves with all your idols to this day. And shall I allow you to inquire of Me, O house of Israel? As I live, declares Lord, the LORD, I will not allow you to inquire of Me.
20:32What arises in your mind shall never happen, when you say, We will be like the nations, like the families of the lands, serving wood and stone.
20:33As I live, declares Lord, the LORD, surely with a strong hand, an outstretched arm, and fury poured out, I will rule over you.
20:34I will bring you out from the peoples and gather you from the lands where you have been scattered, with a strong hand, an outstretched arm, and fury poured out.
20:35I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there I will enter into judgment with you face to face.
20:36As I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you, declares Lord, the LORD.
20:37I will cause you to pass under the rod and bring you into the bond of the covenant.
20:38I will purge from among you the rebels and those who transgress against Me. I will bring them out from the lands where they sojourn, but they shall not enter the land of Israel. Then you shall know that I am the LORD.
20:39As for you, O house of Israel, thus says Lord, the LORD: Go, each of you, serve your idols now and afterward, if you will not listen to Me. But you shall no longer profane My holy Name with your gifts and your idols.
20:40For on My holy mountain, on the lofty mountain of Israel, declares Lord, the LORD, 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 contributions and the firstfruits of your gifts, with all your holy things.
20:41As a soothing aroma I will accept you when I bring you out from the peoples and gather you from the lands where you have been scattered; and I will be sanctified in you before the eyes of the nations.
20:42Then you shall know that I am the LORD when I bring you into the land of Israel, into the land that I lifted up My hand to give to your fathers.
20:43There you shall remember your ways and all your deeds by which you defiled yourselves, and you shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for all the evils you have committed.
20:44Then you shall know that I am the LORD when I deal with you for My Name’s sake, not according to your evil ways or your corrupt deeds, O house of Israel, declares Lord, the LORD.”

Chapter 21

21:1Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
21:2“Son of man, set your face toward the south, preach against the south, and prophesy against the forest land of the Negev.
21:3And you shall say to the forest of the Negev, Hear the word of the LORD. Thus says Lord, the LORD: Behold, I am kindling a fire in you, and it shall devour every green tree in you and every dry tree. The blazing flame shall not be quenched, and every face from south to north shall be scorched by it.
21:4And all flesh shall see that I, the LORD, have kindled it; it shall not be quenched.”
21:5Then I said, “Ah, Lord, the LORD! They are saying of me, Is he not speaking in parables?”
21:6Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
21:7“Son of man, set your face toward Jerusalem, preach against the sanctuaries, and prophesy against the land of Israel.
21:8And you shall say to the land of Israel, Thus says the LORD: Behold, I am against you. I will draw My sword from its scabbard and cut off from you both righteous and wicked.
21:9Because I will cut off from you both righteous and wicked, My sword shall go out from its scabbard against all flesh, from south to north.
21:10And all flesh shall know that I, the LORD, have drawn My sword from its scabbard; it shall not return again.
21:11And you, son of man, sigh with trembling loins; sigh bitterly before their eyes.
21:12And when they say to you, Why are you sighing? you shall say, Because of the report, for it is coming. Every heart shall melt, every hand shall grow weak, every spirit shall faint, and all knees shall become weak as water. Behold, it is coming, and it shall be, declares Lord, the LORD.”
21:13Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
21:14“Son of man, prophesy and say, Thus says the LORD: Say, A sword, a sword is sharpened and also polished.
21:15It is sharpened for the slaughter; it is polished to flash like lightning. Shall we rejoice? It despises the scepter of My son, as it does every tree.
21:16It has been given to be polished, to be grasped by the hand. The sword is sharpened and polished, to be given into the hand of the slayer.
21:17Cry out and wail, son of man, for it has come against My people; it is against all the princes of Israel. They are delivered to the sword with My people; therefore strike your thigh.
21:18For the testing has come—and what if the sword despises even the scepter? It shall be no more, declares Lord, the LORD.
21:19And you, son of man, prophesy and strike your hands together. Let the sword strike twice, even three times—the sword of the slain, the sword of the great slaughter, closing in upon them.
21:20To make hearts melt and multiply the fallen, I have set the point of the sword against all their gates. Ah! It is made to flash like lightning; it is drawn for slaughter.
21:21Slash to the right; set yourself to the left, wherever your edge is directed.
21:22I also will strike My hands together, and I will satisfy My fury. I, the LORD, have spoken.”
21:23Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
21:24“And you, son of man, mark out two roads for the sword of the king of Babylon to come; both shall come from one land. Make a signpost; make it at the head of the road to the city.
21:25Mark out a road for the sword to come to Rabbah of the Ammonites, and to Judah, into fortified Jerusalem.
21:26For the king of Babylon stands at the fork of the road, at the head of the two roads, to practice divination. He shakes the arrows, consults the household idols, and examines the liver.
21:27In his right hand is the divination for Jerusalem: to set battering-rams, to give the command for slaughter, to raise the battle cry, to set battering-rams against the gates, to cast up a siege ramp, and to build a siege wall.
21:28It shall seem to them like false divination, for they have sworn solemn oaths; but it shall bring their guilt to remembrance, so that they may be seized.
21:29Therefore thus says Lord, the LORD: Because you have brought your guilt to remembrance, exposing your transgressions so that your sins are seen in all your deeds—because you have been remembered, you shall be seized by the hand.
21:30And you, O profane and wicked prince of Israel, whose day has come, at the time of final punishment,
21:31thus says Lord, the LORD: Remove the turban and take off the crown. Things shall not remain as they are. Exalt the low and bring down the high.
21:32A ruin, a ruin, a ruin, I will make it. Yet even this shall not be until He comes whose right it is, and I will give it to Him.
21:33And you, son of man, prophesy and say, Thus says Lord, the LORD, concerning the Ammonites and concerning their reproach; and say: A sword, a sword is drawn for slaughter, polished to consume and to flash like lightning,
21:34while they see false visions for you and divine lies for you, to place it upon the necks of the profane wicked who are slain, whose day has come at the time of final punishment.
21:35Return it to its scabbard. In the place where you were created, in the land of your origin, I will judge you.
21:36I will pour out My indignation upon you; I will blow upon you with the fire of My wrath and give you into the hand of brutish men, skilled in destruction.
21:37You shall be fuel for the fire; your blood shall be in the midst of the land. You shall be remembered no more, for I, the LORD, have spoken.”

Chapter 22

22:1Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
22:2“And you, son of man, will you judge—will you judge the city of bloodshed? Then make known to her all her abominations,
22:3and say, Thus says Lord, the LORD: O city that sheds blood in her midst, so that her time may come, and makes idols for herself, so that she may be defiled,
22:4by the blood you have shed you have become guilty, and by the idols you have made you have defiled yourself. You have brought your days near and come to the end of your years; therefore I have made you a reproach to the nations and a mockery to all lands.
22:5Those near and those far from you shall mock you, O infamous city, full of turmoil.
22:6Behold, the princes of Israel in you have each used his power to shed blood.
22:7In you they have dishonored father and mother; among you they have oppressed the sojourner; in you they have wronged the fatherless and the widow.
22:8You have despised My holy things and profaned My Sabbaths.
22:9In you are slanderers bent on shedding blood; in you they eat at the mountain shrines; in your midst they commit lewdness.
22:10In you they uncover a father’s nakedness; in you they violate a woman in her menstrual impurity.
22:11One commits abomination with his neighbor’s wife; another lewdly defiles his daughter-in-law; and another violates his sister, his father’s daughter, in you.
22:12In you they take bribes to shed blood. You take interest and profit and extort gain from your neighbor; and you have forgotten Me, declares Lord, the LORD.
22:13Behold, I strike My hands together at the dishonest gain you have made and at the bloodshed in your midst.
22:14Shall your heart endure, or shall your hands remain strong, in the days when I deal with you? I, the LORD, have spoken, and I will do it.
22:15I will scatter you among the nations and disperse you through the lands, and I will consume your uncleanness from you.
22:16You shall be profaned in the sight of the nations, and you shall know that I am the LORD.”
22:17Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
22:18“Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to Me; all of them are bronze, tin, iron, and lead in the furnace. They are the dross of silver.
22:19Therefore thus says Lord, the LORD: Because you have all become dross, behold, I am gathering you into the midst of Jerusalem.
22:20As one gathers silver, bronze, iron, lead, and tin into a furnace and blows fire upon them to melt them, so I will gather you in My anger and wrath, leave you there, and melt you.
22:21I will gather you and blow upon you with the fire of My wrath, and you shall be melted in its midst.
22:22As silver is melted in a furnace, so you shall be melted in its midst; and you shall know that I, the LORD, have poured out My wrath upon you.”
22:23Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
22:24“Son of man, say to her, You are a land not cleansed or rained upon in the day of indignation.
22:25The conspiracy of her prophets in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing prey. They devour lives; they seize treasure and precious things; they multiply widows in her midst.
22:26Her priests have violated My law and profaned My holy things. They have made no distinction between holy and common, nor taught the difference between unclean and clean; they have hidden their eyes from My Sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.
22:27Her princes in her midst are like wolves tearing prey, shedding blood and destroying lives to gain dishonest gain.
22:28Her prophets coat their deeds with whitewash, seeing false visions and divining lies for them, saying, Thus says Lord, the LORD, when the LORD has not spoken.
22:29The people of the land practice oppression and commit robbery. They oppress the afflicted and needy and deny justice to the sojourner.
22:30I sought among them for a man who would build up the wall and stand in the breach before Me on behalf of the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found none.
22:31Therefore I poured out My indignation upon them; I consumed them with the fire of My wrath. I brought their own way upon their heads, declares Lord, the LORD.”

Chapter 23

23:1Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
23:2“Son of man, there were two women, daughters of one mother.
23:3They prostituted themselves in Egypt; they prostituted themselves in their youth. There their breasts were fondled, and there their virgin bosoms were caressed.
23:4Their names were Oholah, the elder, and Oholibah, her sister. They became Mine and bore sons and daughters. As for their names, Samaria is Oholah, and Jerusalem is Oholibah.
23:5Oholah prostituted herself while she was Mine, and she lusted after her lovers, the neighboring Assyrians,
23:6clothed in blue, governors and commanders, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding on horses.
23:7She lavished her prostitution upon them, all the choicest of the Assyrians; and with every one for whom she lusted, she defiled herself with all their idols.
23:8She did not forsake her prostitution begun in Egypt, for in her youth they had lain with her, caressed her virgin bosom, and poured out their lust upon her.
23:9Therefore I gave her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the Assyrians for whom she had lusted.
23:10They uncovered her nakedness; they took her sons and daughters and slew her with the sword. She became a byword among women, and they executed judgments upon her.
23:11Her sister Oholibah saw this, yet she became more corrupt in her lust than Oholah, and her prostitution exceeded her sister’s prostitution.
23:12She lusted after the Assyrians—governors and commanders, neighbors splendidly clothed, horsemen riding on horses, all of them desirable young men.
23:13I saw that she too had defiled herself; both followed the same way.
23:14But she increased her prostitution. She saw men portrayed on the wall, images of Chaldeans portrayed in vermilion,
23:15with belts girded around their waists and flowing turbans upon their heads, all of them having the appearance of officers, the likeness of Babylonians, Chaldeans by birth.
23:16As soon as she saw them, she lusted after them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea.
23:17Then the Babylonians came to her, to the bed of love, and defiled her with their prostitution. After she was defiled by them, she turned from them in disgust.
23:18When she exposed her prostitution and uncovered her nakedness, I turned from her in disgust, as I had turned from her sister.
23:19Yet she multiplied her prostitution, remembering the days of her youth when she prostituted herself in the land of Egypt.
23:20She lusted after their paramours, whose flesh was like the flesh of donkeys and whose emission was like the emission of horses.
23:21Thus you longed for the lewdness of your youth, when the Egyptians caressed your bosom and fondled your youthful breasts.
23:22Therefore, O Oholibah, thus says Lord, the LORD: Behold, I am stirring up your lovers against you, those from whom you turned in disgust, and I will bring them against you from every side:
23:23the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, Pekod, Shoa, and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them—desirable young men, governors and commanders, officers and men of renown, all riding on horses.
23:24They shall come against you with weapons, chariots, and wagons, and with an assembly of peoples. They shall set large shield, shield, and helmet against you on every side. I will entrust judgment to them, and they shall judge you according to their judgments.
23:25I will set My jealousy against you, and they shall deal with you in fury. They shall cut off your nose and ears, and your survivors shall fall by the sword. They shall take your sons and daughters, and what remains of you shall be devoured by fire.
23:26They shall strip you of your garments and take your beautiful jewels.
23:27Thus I will put an end to your lewdness and to your prostitution begun in the land of Egypt. You shall not lift your eyes toward them or remember Egypt anymore.
23:28For thus says Lord, the LORD: Behold, I am giving you into the hand of those you hate, into the hand of those from whom you turned in disgust.
23:29They shall deal with you in hatred, take all the fruit of your labor, and leave you naked and bare. The nakedness of your prostitution shall be exposed—your lewdness and your prostitution.
23:30These things shall be done to you because you prostituted yourself after the nations and defiled yourself with their idols.
23:31You have walked in the way of your sister; therefore I will put her cup into your hand.
23:32Thus says Lord, the LORD: You shall drink your sister’s cup, deep and wide. You shall be laughed to scorn and held in derision, for it holds much.
23:33You shall be filled with drunkenness and sorrow—the cup of horror and desolation, the cup of your sister Samaria.
23:34You shall drink it and drain it; you shall gnaw its fragments and tear your breasts, for I have spoken, declares Lord, the LORD.
23:35Therefore thus says Lord, the LORD: Because you have forgotten Me and cast Me behind your back, you also shall bear your lewdness and your prostitution.”
23:36Then the LORD said to me, “Son of man, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah? Then declare their abominations to them.
23:37For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands. They committed adultery with their idols, and even caused their sons, whom they bore to Me, to pass through the fire as food for them.
23:38Moreover, they have done this to Me: on that same day they defiled My sanctuary and profaned My Sabbaths.
23:39For after slaughtering their sons to their idols, they entered My sanctuary on that same day to profane it. Behold, this is what they did within My house.
23:40Furthermore, they sent for men coming from afar, to whom a messenger was sent; and behold, they came. For them you bathed yourself, painted your eyes, and adorned yourself with ornaments.
23:41You sat upon a stately couch, with a table spread before it, and upon it you placed My incense and My oil.
23:42The sound of a carefree multitude was with her, and Sabeans were brought from the wilderness with men of the common multitude. They put bracelets on the women’s wrists and beautiful crowns upon their heads.
23:43Then I said of the woman worn out by adultery, Will they now commit prostitution with her—even with her?
23:44Yet they went in to her as men go in to a prostitute. So they went in to Oholah and Oholibah, the lewd women.
23:45But righteous men shall judge them with the judgment of adulteresses and with the judgment of women who shed blood, for they are adulteresses, and blood is on their hands.
23:46For thus says Lord, the LORD: Bring up an assembly against them, and give them over to terror and plunder.
23:47The assembly shall stone them and cut them down with their swords. They shall slay their sons and daughters and burn their houses with fire.
23:48Thus I will put an end to lewdness in the land, so that all women may take warning and not act according to your lewdness.
23:49They shall bring your lewdness upon you, and you shall bear the sins of your idols; and you shall know that I am Lord, the LORD.”

Chapter 24

24:1Then the word of the LORD came to me in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, saying,
24:2“Son of man, write down the name of this day—this very day. The king of Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem this very day.
24:3Speak a parable to the rebellious house, and say to them, Thus says Lord, the LORD: Set on the pot; set it on, and pour water into it.
24:4Gather the pieces into it, every good piece, thigh and shoulder; fill it with the choicest bones.
24:5Take the choicest of the flock and pile the bones beneath it. Bring it to a boil; indeed, cook its bones in its midst.
24:6Therefore thus says Lord, the LORD: Woe to the city of bloodshed, the pot encrusted with rust, whose rust has not gone out of it! Bring it out piece by piece, without casting lots for it.
24:7For the blood she shed is in her midst; she set it upon bare rock. She did not pour it upon the ground to cover it with dust.
24:8To stir up wrath and take vengeance, I have set her blood upon bare rock, so that it may not be covered.
24:9Therefore thus says Lord, the LORD: Woe to the city of bloodshed! I also will make the pile great.
24:10Heap on the wood, kindle the fire, boil the flesh thoroughly, mix in the spices, and let the bones be burned.
24:11Then set the empty pot upon its coals, so that its bronze may grow hot and glow, its uncleanness may melt within it, and its rust may be consumed.
24:12It has exhausted itself with toil, yet its thick rust has not gone out of it. Its rust shall be consumed by the fire.
24:13Lewdness is in your uncleanness. Because I cleansed you and you would not be cleansed, you shall not be cleansed from your uncleanness again until I have satisfied My fury upon you.
24:14I, the LORD, have spoken. It is coming, and I will do it. I will not hold back, nor spare, nor relent. According to your ways and according to your deeds you shall be judged, declares Lord, the LORD.”
24:15Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
24:16“Son of man, behold, with one blow I am taking from you the desire of your eyes; yet you shall not mourn or weep, nor shall your tears flow.
24:17Groan silently; make no mourning for the dead. Bind your headdress upon your head and put your sandals on your feet. Do not cover your upper lip or eat the bread of mourners.”
24:18So I spoke to the people in the morning, and my wife died in the evening; and in the morning I did as I had been commanded.
24:19Then the people said to me, “Will you not tell us what these things mean for us, that you are doing them?”
24:20Then I said to them, “The word of the LORD came to me, saying,
24:21Say to the house of Israel, Thus says Lord, the LORD: Behold, I am about to profane My sanctuary, the pride of your strength, 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.
24:22Then you shall do as I have done: you shall not cover your upper lip or eat the bread of mourners.
24:23Your headdresses shall remain upon your heads and your sandals upon your feet. You shall not mourn or weep, but you shall waste away in your iniquities and groan to one another.
24:24Thus Ezekiel shall be a sign to you; according to all that he has done, you shall do. When it comes, you shall know that I am Lord, the LORD.”
24:25“And you, son of man, on the day when I take from them their stronghold, the joy of their splendor, the desire of their eyes, and the longing of their soul—their sons and daughters—
24:26on that day a fugitive shall come to you and bring the news to your ears.
24:27On that day your mouth shall be opened when the fugitive comes; you shall speak and be silent no more. Thus you shall be a sign to them, and they shall know that I am the LORD.”

Chapter 25

25:1Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
25:2“Son of man, set your face toward the Ammonites and prophesy against them.
25:3Say to the Ammonites, Hear the word of Lord, the LORD. Thus says Lord, the LORD: Because you said, Aha! over My sanctuary when it was profaned, over the land of Israel when it was made desolate, and over the house of Judah when they went into exile,
25:4therefore behold, I am giving you to the sons of the east as a possession. They shall set up their encampments among you and make their dwellings among you. They shall eat your fruit and drink your milk.
25:5I will make Rabbah a pasture for camels and the land of the Ammonites a fold for flocks; and you shall know that I am the LORD.
25:6For thus says Lord, the LORD: Because you clapped your hands, stamped your feet, and rejoiced with all the malice of your soul against the land of Israel,
25:7therefore behold, I have stretched out My hand against you and will give you as plunder to the nations. I will cut you off from the peoples and cause you to perish from the lands. I will destroy you, and you shall know that I am the LORD.
25:8Thus says Lord, the LORD: Because Moab and Seir have said, Behold, the house of Judah is like all the nations,
25:9therefore behold, I am opening the flank of Moab, beginning with its frontier cities—the glory of the land: Beth-jeshimoth, Ba‘al-Meon, and Kiriathaim.
25:10I will give Moab, together with the Ammonites, to the sons of the east as a possession, so that the Ammonites may no longer be remembered among the nations.
25:11I will execute judgments upon Moab, and they shall know that I am the LORD.
25:12Thus says Lord, the LORD: Because Edom acted against the house of Judah by taking vengeance, and became deeply guilty by avenging itself upon them,
25:13therefore thus says Lord, the LORD: I will stretch out My hand against Edom and cut off man and beast from it. I will make it a ruin; from Teman to Dedan they shall fall by the sword.
25:14I will lay My vengeance upon Edom by the hand of My people Israel. They shall deal with Edom according to My anger and fury, and they shall know My vengeance, declares Lord, the LORD.
25:15Thus says Lord, the LORD: Because the Philistines acted in vengeance and took revenge with malicious contempt, seeking destruction in enduring enmity,
25:16therefore thus says Lord, the LORD: Behold, I am stretching out My hand against the Philistines. I will cut off the Cherethites and destroy the remnant of the seacoast.
25:17I will execute great vengeance upon them with furious rebukes; and they shall know that I am the LORD when I lay My vengeance upon them.”

Chapter 26

26:1Then it came to pass in the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, that the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
26:2“Son of man, because Tyre has said of Jerusalem, Aha! The gateway of the peoples is broken; it has swung open to me. I shall be filled, now that she is laid waste,
26:3therefore thus says Lord, the LORD: Behold, I am against you, O Tyre, and I will bring many nations against you, as the sea brings up its waves.
26:4They shall destroy the walls of Tyre and tear down her towers. I will scrape her soil from her and make her a bare rock.
26:5She shall become a place for spreading nets in the midst of the sea, for I have spoken, declares Lord, the LORD; and she shall become plunder for the nations.
26:6Her daughter towns on the mainland shall be slain by the sword, and they shall know that I am the LORD.”
26:7For thus says Lord, the LORD: “Behold, I am bringing against Tyre from the north Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, king of kings, with horses, chariots, horsemen, and a vast assembly of people.
26:8He shall slay your daughter towns on the mainland with the sword. He shall build a siege wall against you, cast up a ramp against you, and raise a shield against you.
26:9He shall direct the blows of his battering engines against your walls and break down your towers with his weapons.
26:10The dust raised by his multitude of horses shall cover you. Your walls shall shake at the noise of the cavalry, the wheels, and the chariots, when he enters your gates as men enter a city that has been breached.
26:11With the hooves of his horses he shall trample all your streets. He shall slay your people with the sword, and your mighty pillars shall fall to the ground.
26:12They shall seize your wealth, plunder your merchandise, tear down your walls, and demolish your fine houses. They shall cast your stones, timber, and soil into the waters.
26:13I will silence the noise of your songs, and the sound of your harps shall be heard no more.
26:14I will make you a bare rock. You shall become a place for spreading nets; you shall never be rebuilt. For I, the LORD, have spoken, declares Lord, the LORD.
26:15Thus says Lord, the LORD, to Tyre: “Shall not the coastlands tremble at the sound of your fall, when the wounded groan and slaughter is carried out in your midst?
26:16Then all the princes of the sea shall come down from their thrones, remove their robes, and strip off their embroidered garments. They shall clothe themselves with trembling, sit upon the ground, tremble every moment, and be appalled at you.
26:17They shall raise a lamentation over you and say to you: How you have perished, O renowned city inhabited by seafarers, mighty in the sea, she and her inhabitants, who imposed their terror upon all the mainland!
26:18Now the coastlands shall tremble on the day of your fall; the coastlands in the sea shall be terrified at your end.”
26:19For thus says Lord, the LORD: “When I make you a desolate city, like cities that are not inhabited, when I bring up the deep over you and the great waters cover you,
26:20then I will bring you down with those who descend to the pit, to the people of old. I will make you dwell in the lowest parts of the earth, in ancient ruins, with those who descend to the pit, so that you shall not be inhabited. And I will set glory in the land of the living.
26:21I will make you an object of terror, and you shall be no more. Though you are sought, you shall never be found again,” declares Lord, the LORD.

Chapter 27

27:1Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
27:2“And you, son of man, raise a lamentation over Tyre,
27:3and say to Tyre, O you who dwell at the entrances of the sea, merchant of the peoples to many coastlands, thus says Lord, the LORD: O Tyre, you have said, I am perfect in beauty.
27:4Your borders are in the heart of the seas; your builders perfected your beauty.
27:5They made all your planks of fir trees from Senir; they took a cedar from Lebanon to make a mast for you.
27:6They made your oars of oaks from Bashan; they made your deck of ivory inlaid in boxwood from the coastlands of Kittim.
27:7Fine embroidered linen from Egypt was your sail and served as your banner; blue and purple from the coastlands of Elishah were your awning.
27:8The inhabitants of Sidon and Arvad were your rowers; your wise men, O Tyre, were within you as your pilots.
27:9The elders of Gebal and its wise men were within you, repairing your seams. All the ships of the sea and their mariners were within you to trade for your merchandise.
27:10Persia, Lud, and Put served in your army as your men of war. They hung shield and helmet within you; they gave you splendor.
27:11Men of Arvad and your army stood upon your walls all around, and warriors were in your towers. They hung their shields upon your walls all around; they perfected your beauty.
27:12Tarshish traded with you because of your abundance of every kind of wealth; they exchanged silver, iron, tin, and lead for your wares.
27:13Greece, Tubal, and Meshech traded with you; they exchanged human lives and vessels of bronze for your merchandise.
27:14Those of the house of Togarmah exchanged horses, war horses, and mules for your wares.
27:15The people of Rodan traded with you; many coastlands were the market under your hand. They brought you ivory tusks and ebony as tribute.
27:16Aram traded with you because of the abundance of your products; they exchanged emeralds, purple cloth, embroidery, fine linen, coral, and rubies for your wares.
27:17Judah and the land of Israel traded with you; they exchanged wheat from Minnith, confections, honey, oil, and balm for your merchandise.
27:18Damascus traded with you because of the abundance of your products and every kind of wealth, supplying wine from Helbon and white wool.
27:19Vedan and Greeks from Uzal exchanged wrought iron, cassia, and cane for your merchandise.
27:20Dedan traded with you in saddlecloths for riding.
27:21Arabia and all the princes of Kedar were your customers; they traded with you in lambs, rams, and male goats.
27:22The merchants of Sheba and Raamah traded with you; they exchanged the finest of all spices, every precious stone, and gold for your wares.
27:23Haran, Canneh, Eden, the merchants of Sheba, Assyria, and Chilmad traded with you.
27:24They traded with you in choice garments, cloaks of blue and embroidered fabric, and chests of multicolored apparel, bound with cords and made secure.
27:25The ships of Tarshish carried your merchandise. You were filled and heavily laden in the heart of the seas.
27:26Your rowers brought you into great waters; the east wind shattered you in the heart of the seas.
27:27Your wealth, your wares, your merchandise, your mariners, your pilots, those who repaired your seams, those who traded in your merchandise, all your men of war within you, and all your company in your midst shall fall into the heart of the seas on the day of your fall.
27:28At the sound of your pilots’ cry, the shorelands shall shake.
27:29All who handle the oar shall come down from their ships; the mariners and all the pilots of the sea shall stand upon the shore.
27:30They shall raise their voices over you and cry bitterly. They shall cast dust upon their heads and roll in ashes.
27:31They shall shave themselves bald for you and gird themselves with sackcloth. They shall weep over you in bitterness of soul, with bitter mourning.
27:32In their wailing they shall raise a lamentation over you and lament over you: Who was like Tyre, now silenced in the midst of the sea?
27:33When your wares went out over the seas, you satisfied many peoples. With the abundance of your riches and merchandise, you enriched the kings of the earth.
27:34Now you are shattered by the seas in the depths of the waters; your merchandise and all your company have fallen in your midst.
27:35All the inhabitants of the coastlands are appalled at you; their kings shudder in horror, their faces convulsed.
27:36The merchants among the peoples hiss at you. You have become an object of terror, and you shall be no more forever.”

Chapter 28

28:1Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
28:2“Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, Thus says Lord, the LORD: Because your heart is lifted up, and you say, I am a god; I sit in the seat of gods, in the heart of the seas; yet you are a man and not God, though you set your heart like the heart of God.
28:3Behold, you are wiser than Daniel; no secret is hidden from you.
28:4By your wisdom and understanding you have gained wealth for yourself and gathered gold and silver into your treasuries.
28:5By your great wisdom in trade you have multiplied your wealth, and your heart is lifted up because of your wealth.
28:6Therefore thus says Lord, the LORD: Because you have set your heart like the heart of God,
28:7therefore behold, I am bringing foreigners against you, the most ruthless of the nations. They shall draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom and profane your splendor.
28:8They shall bring you down to the pit, and you shall die the death of the slain in the heart of the seas.
28:9Will you still say, I am God, before the one who kills you? Yet you shall be a man, and not God, in the hand of the one who wounds you.
28:10You shall die the death of the uncircumcised by the hand of foreigners, for I have spoken, declares Lord, the LORD.”
28:11Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
28:12“Son of man, lift up a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and say to him, Thus says Lord, the LORD: You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
28:13You were in Eden, the garden of God. Every precious stone was your covering: ruby, topaz, and diamond; beryl, onyx, and jasper; sapphire, emerald, and carbuncle; and gold. The workmanship of your settings and sockets was in you; on the day you were created they were prepared.
28:14You were an anointed winged guardian who covers, and I placed you on the holy mountain of God; you walked among the stones of fire.
28:15You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, until unrighteousness was found in you.
28:16By the abundance of your trade, your midst was filled with violence, and you sinned. Therefore I cast you as profane from the mountain of God, and I destroyed you, O covering winged guardian, from among the stones of fire.
28:17Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. I cast you to the earth; I set you before kings, that they might gaze upon you.
28:18By the multitude of your iniquities, through the unrighteousness of your trade, you profaned your sanctuaries. Therefore I brought fire out from your midst; it consumed you, and I turned you to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all who saw you.
28:19All who knew you among the peoples are appalled at you. You have become an object of terror, and you shall be no more forever.”
28:20Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
28:21“Son of man, set your face against Sidon, and prophesy against it.
28:22And you shall say, Thus says Lord, the LORD: Behold, I am against you, O Sidon, and I will be glorified in your midst. Then they shall know that I am the LORD, when I execute judgments in you and show Myself holy in you.
28:23I will send pestilence into you and blood into your streets. The slain shall fall in your midst by the sword against you on every side. Then they shall know that I am the LORD.
28:24And there shall no longer be a pricking brier or a painful thorn for the house of Israel among all who surround them and treat them with contempt. Then they shall know that I am Lord, the LORD.
28:25Thus says Lord, the LORD: When I gather the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they were scattered, I will show Myself holy in them in the sight of the nations. Then they shall dwell in their own land, which I gave to My servant Jacob.
28:26They shall dwell securely upon it, build houses, and plant vineyards. They shall dwell securely when I execute judgments upon all who surround them and treat them with contempt. Then they shall know that I am the LORD their God.”

Chapter 29

29:1In the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth of the month, the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
29:2“Son of man, set your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him and against all Egypt.
29:3Speak, and say, Thus says Lord, the LORD: Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great sea dragon lying in the midst of his Nile channels, who has said, My Nile is my own, and I made it for myself.
29:4I will put hooks in your jaws and cause the fish of your Nile channels to cling to your scales. I will bring you up from the midst of your Nile channels, with every fish of your Nile channels clinging to your scales.
29:5I will cast you into the wilderness, you and every fish of your Nile channels. You shall fall upon the open field; you shall not be gathered or collected. I have given you as food to the beasts of the earth and the birds of the heavens.
29:6Then 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.
29:7When they grasped you with the hand, you splintered and tore every shoulder; and when they leaned upon you, you broke and made all their loins tremble.
29:8Therefore thus says Lord, the LORD: Behold, I am bringing a sword against you, and I will cut off man and beast from you.
29:9The land of Egypt shall become a desolation and a ruin. Then they shall know that I am the LORD, because you said, The Nile is mine, and I made it.
29:10Therefore behold, I am against you and against your Nile channels. I will make the land of Egypt an utter waste and desolation, from Migdol to Syene, even to the border of Cush.
29:11No human foot shall pass through it, nor shall the foot of beast pass through it; and it shall remain uninhabited forty years.
29:12I will make the land of Egypt a desolation among desolate lands, and its cities shall be a desolation among ruined cities for forty years. I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them through the lands.
29:13But thus says Lord, the LORD: At the end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the peoples among whom they were scattered.
29:14I will restore the fortunes of Egypt and bring them back to the land of Pathros, the land of their origin; and there they shall be a lowly kingdom.
29:15It shall be the lowest of the kingdoms and shall never again exalt itself above the nations. I will make them few, so that they shall not rule over the nations.
29:16It shall no longer be a source of confidence for the house of Israel, but a reminder of guilt when they turn after Egypt. Then they shall know that I am Lord, the LORD.”
29:17Then it came to pass, in the twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first of the month, that the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
29:18“Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made his army labor hard against Tyre. Every head was rubbed bald, and every shoulder was rubbed bare; yet neither he nor his army received wages from Tyre for the labor they performed against it.
29:19Therefore thus says Lord, the LORD: Behold, I am giving the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. He shall carry off its wealth, plunder its spoil, and seize its prey; and it shall be wages for his army.
29:20I have given him the land of Egypt as his wages for which he labored, because they worked for Me, declares Lord, the LORD.
29:21In that day I will cause a horn to spring up for the house of Israel, and I will open your mouth among them. Then they shall know that I am the LORD.”

Chapter 30

30:1Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
30:2“Son of man, prophesy and say, Thus says Lord, the LORD: Wail, Alas for the day!
30:3For the day is near; the day of the LORD is near. It shall be a day of clouds, a time of doom for the nations.
30:4A sword shall come against Egypt, and anguish shall be in Cush when the slain fall in Egypt. Her wealth shall be carried away, and her foundations shall be torn down.
30:5Cush, Put, Lud, all the mixed peoples, Cub, and the people of the land of the covenant shall fall by the sword.
30:6Thus says the LORD: Those who support Egypt shall fall, and the pride of her strength shall come down. From Migdol to Syene they shall fall within her by the sword, declares Lord, the LORD.
30:7They shall be desolate among desolate lands, and her cities shall be among ruined cities.
30:8Then they shall know that I am the LORD, when I set fire to Egypt and all her helpers are shattered.
30:9In that day messengers shall go out from before Me in ships to terrify unsuspecting Cush. Anguish shall come upon them as in the day of Egypt, for behold, it is coming.
30:10Thus says Lord, the LORD: I will put an end to the multitude of Egypt by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.
30:11He and his people with him, the most ruthless of the nations, shall be brought in to destroy the land. They shall draw their swords against Egypt and fill the land with the slain.
30:12I will make the Nile channels dry and sell the land into the hand of evil men. By the hand of foreigners I will make the land and all that fills it desolate. I, the LORD, have spoken.
30:13Thus says Lord, the LORD: I will destroy the idols and put an end to the worthless gods of Memphis. There shall no longer be a prince from the land of Egypt, and I will put fear in the land of Egypt.
30:14I will make Pathros desolate, set fire to Zoan, and execute judgments in Thebes.
30:15I will pour out My wrath upon Sin, the stronghold of Egypt, and cut off the multitude of Thebes.
30:16I will set fire to Egypt. Sin shall writhe in anguish, Thebes shall be breached, and Memphis shall face enemies by day.
30:17The young men of On and Pi-beseth shall fall by the sword, and these cities shall go into captivity.
30:18At Tahpanhes the day shall grow dark, when I break there the yoke bars of Egypt and the pride of her strength comes to an end. A cloud shall cover her, and her daughters shall go into captivity.
30:19Thus I will execute judgments in Egypt. Then they shall know that I am the LORD.”
30:20Then it came to pass, in the eleventh year, in the first month, on the seventh of the month, that the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
30:21“Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and behold, it has not been bound up for healing or wrapped with a bandage to make it strong enough to grasp the sword.
30:22Therefore thus says Lord, the LORD: Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt. I will break both his arms, the strong one and the broken one, and I will cause the sword to fall from his hand.
30:23I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them through the lands.
30:24I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put My sword into his hand; but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he shall groan before him with the groans of a mortally wounded man.
30:25I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh shall fall. Then they shall know that I am the LORD, when I put My sword into the hand of the king of Babylon and he stretches it out against the land of Egypt.
30:26I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them through the lands. Then they shall know that I am the LORD.”

Chapter 31

31:1Then it came to pass, in the eleventh year, in the third month, on the first of the month, that the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
31:2“Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his multitude: To whom are you like in your greatness?
31:3Behold, Assyria was a cedar in Lebanon, with beautiful branches and forest shade, towering in height; its top was among the clouds.
31:4Waters made it grow; the deep made it tall, with its rivers flowing around its planting, and it sent out its channels to all the trees of the field.
31:5Therefore it towered higher than all the trees of the field. Its boughs multiplied, and its branches grew long because of the abundant waters when it sent them forth.
31:6Every bird of the heavens nested in its boughs, every beast of the field gave birth beneath its branches, and all the great nations dwelt in its shade.
31:7It was beautiful in its greatness and in the length of its branches, for its roots were beside abundant waters.
31:8The cedars could not rival it in the garden of God. The cypresses were not like its boughs, and the plane trees were not like its branches. No tree in the garden of God was like it in beauty.
31:9I made it beautiful in the multitude of its branches, and all the trees of Eden in the garden of God envied it.
31:10Therefore thus says Lord, the LORD: Because it towered high and set its top among the clouds, and its heart was proud of its height,
31:11I gave it into the hand of the mighty one of the nations; he dealt with it according to its wickedness. I cast it out.
31:12Foreigners, the most ruthless of the nations, cut it down and left it. Its branches fell upon the mountains and in every valley; its boughs were broken beside all the streams of the land. All the peoples of the earth departed from its shade and left it.
31:13Every bird of the heavens settled upon its fallen trunk, and all the beasts of the field were upon its branches,
31:14so that no tree beside the waters may exalt itself because of its height or set its top among the clouds, and no tree that drinks water may stand proudly in its height. For they are all given over to death, to the earth below, among the sons of men, with those who go down to the pit.
31:15Thus says Lord, the LORD: On the day it went down to the realm of the dead, I caused mourning. I closed the deep over it and held back its rivers, and the abundant waters were stopped. I made Lebanon mourn for it, and all the trees of the field fainted because of it.
31:16I made the nations quake at the sound of its fall, when I brought it down to the realm of the dead with those who go down to the pit. Then all the trees of Eden, the choicest and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, were comforted in the earth below.
31:17They also went down with it to the realm of the dead, to those slain by the sword, along with its allies, who dwelt in its shade among the nations.
31:18To whom are you thus equal in glory and greatness among the trees of Eden? Yet you shall be brought down with the trees of Eden to the earth below. You shall lie among the uncircumcised, with those slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, declares Lord, the LORD.”

Chapter 32

32:1Then it came to pass, in the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, on the first of the month, that the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
32:2“Son of man, lift up a lamentation over Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say to him: You considered yourself a young lion among the nations, yet you were like a sea dragon in the seas. You burst forth in your rivers, churned the waters with your feet, and muddied their streams.
32:3Thus says Lord, the LORD: I will spread My net over you with an assembly of many peoples, and they shall bring you up in My net.
32:4I will cast you upon the land and fling you upon the open field. I will cause every bird of the heavens to settle upon you and satisfy every beast of the earth with you.
32:5I will lay your flesh upon the mountains and fill the valleys with your carcass.
32:6I will drench the land with your flowing blood up to the mountains, and the ravines shall be filled with you.
32:7When I extinguish you, I will cover the heavens and darken their stars. I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not shine its light.
32:8All the shining lights in the heavens I will darken over you, and I will put darkness over your land, declares Lord, the LORD.
32:9I will trouble the hearts of many peoples when I bring your destruction among the nations, into lands you have not known.
32:10I will make many peoples appalled at you, and their kings shall shudder in horror because of you when I brandish My sword before their faces. They shall tremble every moment, each for his own life, on the day of your fall.
32:11For thus says Lord, the LORD: The sword of the king of Babylon shall come upon you.
32:12I will cause your multitude to fall by the swords of mighty men, all of them the most ruthless of the nations. They shall devastate the pride of Egypt, and all her multitude shall be destroyed.
32:13I will destroy all her livestock from beside abundant waters. No human foot shall muddy them again, nor shall the hooves of beasts muddy them.
32:14Then I will make their waters settle and cause their rivers to flow like oil, declares Lord, the LORD.
32:15When I make the land of Egypt desolate, when the land is emptied of all that fills it, and when I strike all who dwell in it, then they shall know that I am the LORD.
32:16This is a lamentation, and they shall chant it. The daughters of the nations shall chant it; over Egypt and all her multitude they shall chant it, declares Lord, the LORD.”
32:17Then it came to pass, in the twelfth year, on the fifteenth of the month, that the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
32:18“Son of man, wail over the multitude of Egypt and bring her down, her and the daughters of majestic nations, to the earth below, with those who go down to the pit.
32:19Whom do you surpass in beauty? Go down and be laid with the uncircumcised.
32:20They shall fall among those slain by the sword. The sword is appointed; drag her away with all her multitude.
32:21The mighty chiefs shall speak to him from the midst of the realm of the dead, with his helpers: They have come down; they lie still, the uncircumcised, slain by the sword.
32:22There is Assyria and all her company; her graves are around her, all of them slain, fallen by the sword.
32:23Her graves are set in the deepest parts of the pit, and her company is around her grave, all of them slain, fallen by the sword, because they spread terror in the land of the living.
32:24There is Elam and all her multitude around her grave, all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who went down uncircumcised to the earth below. Because they spread their terror in the land of the living, they bear their shame with those who go down to the pit.
32:25A bed has been made for her among the slain, with all her multitude. Their graves are around her, all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword. Because their terror was spread in the land of the living, they bear their shame with those who go down to the pit. She is laid among the slain.
32:26There are Meshech and Tubal and all their multitude. Their graves are around them, all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword, because they spread their terror in the land of the living.
32:27They do not lie with the fallen warriors of the uncircumcised, who went down to the realm of the dead with their weapons of war, whose swords were laid under their heads and whose iniquities were upon their bones, because the terror of the mighty was in the land of the living.
32:28But you shall be broken and lie among the uncircumcised, with those slain by the sword.
32:29There 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.
32:30There are all the princes of the north and all the Sidonians, who went down with the slain, ashamed despite all the terror caused by their might. They lie uncircumcised with those slain by the sword and bear their shame with those who go down to the pit.
32:31Pharaoh shall see them and be comforted concerning all his multitude—Pharaoh and all his army, slain by the sword—declares Lord, the LORD.
32:32For I spread his terror in the land of the living; yet he shall be laid among the uncircumcised, with those slain by the sword—Pharaoh and all his multitude—declares Lord, the LORD.”

Chapter 33

33:1Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
33:2“Son of man, speak to the sons of your people, and say to them: When I bring a sword upon a land, and the people of the land take one man from among them and appoint him as their watchman,
33:3and he sees the sword coming against the land and blows the horn and warns the people,
33:4then whoever hears the sound of the horn but does not heed the warning, and the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be upon his own head.
33:5He heard the sound of the horn but did not heed the warning; his blood shall be upon him. But whoever heeds the warning shall deliver his life.
33:6But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the horn, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes one of them away, that person is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood I will require from the hand of the watchman.
33:7And you, son of man, I have appointed as a watchman for the house of Israel. You shall hear a word from My mouth and warn them from Me.
33:8When I say to the wicked, O wicked one, you shall surely die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require from your hand.
33:9But if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity, but you shall have delivered your life.
33:10And you, son of man, say to the house of Israel: You have said, Our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we are wasting away because of them. How, then, can we live?
33:11Say to them, As I live, declares Lord, the LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways! Why will you die, O house of Israel?
33:12And you, son of man, say to the sons of your people: The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him when he transgresses; and the wickedness of the wicked shall not cause him to fall when he turns from his wickedness. Nor shall the righteous be able to live by his righteousness when he sins.
33:13When I say of the righteous, He shall surely live, and he trusts in his righteousness and commits injustice, none of his righteous deeds shall be remembered; but for the injustice he has committed, he shall die.
33:14And when I say to the wicked, You shall surely die, and he turns from his sin and does justice and righteousness,
33:15if the wicked restores a pledge, repays what he took by robbery, and walks in the statutes of life without committing injustice, he shall surely live; he shall not die.
33:16None of the sins he committed shall be remembered against him. He has done justice and righteousness; he shall surely live.
33:17Yet the sons of your people say, The way of the Lord is not just; but it is their own way that is not just.
33:18When the righteous turns from his righteousness and commits injustice, he shall die for it.
33:19And when the wicked turns from his wickedness and does justice and righteousness, he shall live because of them.
33:20Yet you say, The way of the Lord is not just. I will judge each of you according to his ways, O house of Israel.”
33:21Then it came to pass, in the twelfth year of our exile, in the tenth month, on the fifth of the month, that a fugitive from Jerusalem came to me, saying, “The city has been struck down.”
33:22Now the hand of the LORD had been upon me in the evening, before the fugitive came; and He had opened my mouth before the man came to me in the morning. So my mouth was opened, and I was no longer silent.
33:23Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
33:24“Son of man, the inhabitants of these ruins in the land of Israel are saying, Abraham was only one, yet he possessed the land; but we are many—the land has been given to us as a possession.
33:25Therefore say to them, Thus says Lord, the LORD: You eat meat with the blood in it, lift up your eyes to your idols, and shed blood. Shall you then possess the land?
33:26You rely upon your sword, commit abominations, and each of you defiles his neighbor’s wife. Shall you then possess the land?
33:27Thus you shall say to them, Thus says Lord, the LORD: As I live, those who are in the ruins shall surely fall by the sword; whoever is in the open field I have given as food to the wild beasts; and those in strongholds and caves shall die by pestilence.
33:28I will make the land a desolate waste, and the pride of its strength shall cease. The mountains of Israel shall be desolate, with no one passing through.
33:29Then they shall know that I am the LORD, when I make the land a desolate waste because of all the abominations they have committed.
33:30And you, son of man, the sons of your people are talking about you beside the walls and in the doorways of the houses. They speak to one another, each to his brother, saying, Come, and hear what word has come forth from the LORD.
33:31They come to you as people come, and they sit before you as My people. They hear your words, but they do not do them. With their mouths they speak of lustful love, but their hearts pursue dishonest gain.
33:32And behold, you are to them like one who sings love songs with a beautiful voice and plays well on an instrument. They hear your words, but they do not do them.
33:33And when it comes—behold, it is coming—then they shall know that a prophet has been among them.”

Chapter 34

34:1Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
34:2“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy, and say to them, Thus says Lord, the LORD, to the shepherds: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flock?
34:3You eat the fat, clothe yourselves with the wool, and slaughter the fattened sheep, but you do not feed the flock.
34:4You have not strengthened the weak, healed the sick, bound up the injured, brought back the straying, or sought the lost; but you have ruled them ruthlessly and by force.
34:5So they were scattered because there was no shepherd, and they became food for every beast of the field. They were scattered,
34:6and My flock wandered upon all the mountains and every high hill. My flock was scattered over the whole face of the earth, and there was no one searching or seeking.
34:7Therefore, shepherds, hear the word of the LORD:
34:8As I live, declares Lord, the LORD, because My flock has become prey and food for every beast of the field, since there was no shepherd, and because My shepherds have not searched for My flock, but the shepherds fed themselves and did not feed My flock—
34:9therefore, O shepherds, hear the word of the LORD.
34:10Thus says Lord, the LORD: Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will require My flock from their hand and put an end to their feeding the flock. The shepherds shall no longer feed themselves. I will rescue My flock from their mouths, and they shall no longer be food for them.
34:11For thus says Lord, the LORD: Behold, I Myself will search for My flock and seek them out.
34:12As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his scattered sheep, so I will seek out My flock and rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of cloud and thick darkness.
34:13I will bring them out from the peoples, gather them from the lands, and bring them into their own land. I will feed them upon the mountains of Israel, beside the streams, and in all the inhabited places of the land.
34:14I will feed them in good pasture, and their dwelling place shall be upon the high mountains of Israel. There they shall lie down in a good fold and feed in rich pasture upon the mountains of Israel.
34:15I Myself will feed My flock, and I will cause them to lie down, declares Lord, the LORD.
34:16I will seek the lost, bring back the straying, bind up the injured, and strengthen the sick; but I will destroy the fat and the strong. I will feed them with justice.
34:17And as for you, My flock, thus says Lord, the LORD: Behold, I am judging between one sheep and another, between rams and male goats.
34:18Is it too little for you to feed in the good pasture, that you must tread down the rest of your pasture with your feet? Or to drink clear water, that you must muddy the rest with your feet?
34:19And My flock must feed on what your feet have trodden and drink what your feet have muddied.
34:20Therefore thus says Lord, the LORD, to them: Behold, I Myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep.
34:21Because you thrust with flank and shoulder and butt all the weak with your horns until you have scattered them abroad,
34:22I will save My flock, and they shall no longer be prey. I will judge between one sheep and another.
34:23I will raise up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them—My servant David. He shall feed them and be their shepherd.
34:24And I, the LORD, will be their God, and My servant David shall be prince among them. I, the LORD, have spoken.
34:25I will make a covenant of peace with them and cause the wild beasts to cease from the land. They shall dwell securely in the wilderness and sleep in the forests.
34:26I will make them and the places around My hill a blessing. I will cause the showers to come down in their season; they shall be showers of blessing.
34:27The trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the land shall yield its produce. They shall dwell securely upon their land. Then they shall know that I am the LORD, when I break the bars of their yoke and deliver them from the hand of those who enslaved them.
34:28They shall no longer be prey to the nations, nor shall the beasts of the earth devour them. They shall dwell securely, with no one making them afraid.
34:29I will establish for them a renowned planting place. They shall no longer be consumed by famine in the land or bear the shame of the nations anymore.
34:30Then they shall know that I, the LORD their God, am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are My people, declares Lord, the LORD.
34:31And you, My flock, the flock of My pasture, are men, and I am your God, declares Lord, the LORD.”

Chapter 35

35:1Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
35:2“Son of man, set your face against Mount Seir, and prophesy against it.
35:3And you shall say to it, Thus says Lord, the LORD: Behold, I am against you, O Mount Seir. I will stretch out My hand against you and make you a desolate waste.
35:4I will make your cities ruins, and you shall become a desolation. Then you shall know that I am the LORD.
35:5Because you harbored perpetual enmity and delivered the sons of Israel into the power of the sword at the time of their calamity, at the time of final punishment,
35:6therefore, as I live, declares Lord, the LORD, I will give you over to bloodshed, and bloodshed shall pursue you. Since you have not hated bloodshed, bloodshed shall pursue you.
35:7I will make Mount Seir a desolate waste and cut off from it everyone who passes through and returns.
35:8I will fill your mountains with the slain. On your hills, in your valleys, and in all your streams, those slain by the sword shall fall.
35:9I will make you a perpetual desolation, and your cities shall not be inhabited. Then you shall know that I am the LORD.
35:10Because you said, These two nations and these two lands shall be mine, and we shall possess them—though the LORD was there—
35:11therefore, as I live, declares Lord, the LORD, I will deal with you according to the anger and envy you showed because of your hatred against them. I will make Myself known among them when I judge you.
35:12Then you shall know that I am the LORD. I have heard all the taunts you spoke against the mountains of Israel, saying, They are laid waste and have been given to us to devour.
35:13You boasted against Me with your mouth and multiplied your words against Me. I have heard them.
35:14Thus says Lord, the LORD: While the whole earth rejoices, I will make you desolate.
35:15As you rejoiced over the inheritance of the house of Israel because it was desolate, so I will deal with you. You shall become a desolation, O Mount Seir, and all Edom, all of it. Then they shall know that I am the LORD.”

Chapter 36

36:1“You, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel, and say, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the LORD.
36:2Thus says Lord, the LORD: Because the enemy has said against you, ‘Aha! Even the ancient heights have become our possession,’
36:3therefore prophesy, and say, Thus says Lord, the LORD: Because, indeed because, they have made you desolate and crushed you from every side, so that you became a possession of the remnant of the nations, and became the talk of tongues and the evil report of the people,
36:4therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of Lord, the LORD. Thus says Lord, the LORD, to the mountains and the hills, to the streams and the valleys, to the desolate ruins and the forsaken cities, which became prey and an object of scorn to the remnant of the nations around you—
36:5therefore thus says Lord, the LORD: Surely in the fire of My jealousy I have spoken against the remnant of the nations and against all Edom, who gave My land to themselves as a possession, with wholehearted joy and utter contempt, to cast it out as prey.
36:6Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel, and say to the mountains and the hills, to the streams and the valleys, Thus says Lord, the LORD: Behold, I have spoken in My jealousy and My fury, because you have borne the shame of the nations.
36:7Therefore thus says Lord, the LORD: I have lifted up My hand; surely the nations around you shall bear their own shame.
36:8But you, O mountains of Israel, shall put forth your branches and bear your fruit for My people Israel, for they are soon to come.
36:9For behold, I am for you, and I will turn toward you; and you shall be tilled and sown.
36:10And I will multiply men upon you—the whole house of Israel, all of it. The cities shall be inhabited, and the ruins shall be rebuilt.
36:11And I will multiply man and beast upon you, and they shall multiply and be fruitful. I will cause you to be inhabited as in your former days, and I will do better for you than at your beginnings. Then you shall know that I am the LORD.
36:12And I will cause men to walk upon you—My people Israel. They shall possess you, and you shall be their inheritance; and you shall no longer bereave them of children.
36:13Thus says Lord, the LORD: Because they say to you, ‘You devour men and bereave your nation of children,’
36:14therefore you shall no longer devour men or bereave your nation of children, declares Lord, the LORD.
36:15And I will no longer let you hear the shame of the nations; you shall no longer bear the reproach of the peoples or cause your nation to stumble again, declares Lord, the LORD.”
36:16Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
36:17“Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their ways and their deeds. Their way before Me was like menstrual impurity.
36:18Therefore I poured out My wrath upon them for the blood they had shed upon the land and for the idols with which they defiled it.
36:19And I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed through the lands. According to their ways and according to their deeds I judged them.
36:20And wherever they came among the nations, they profaned My holy Name, when it was said of them, ‘These are the people of the LORD, yet they have gone out from His land.’
36:21But I had pity for My holy Name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations where they had gone.
36:22Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says Lord, the LORD: I am not acting for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My holy Name, which you have profaned among the nations where you have gone.
36:23And I will sanctify My great Name, which was profaned among the nations, which you profaned among them. And the nations shall know that I am the LORD, declares Lord, the LORD, when I am sanctified through you before their eyes.
36:24And I will take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands, and bring you into your own land.
36:25And I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean. I will cleanse you from all your uncleannesses and from all your idols.
36:26And I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you. I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
36:27And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes; and you shall keep My judgments and do them.
36:28And you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and you shall be My people, and I will be your God.
36:29And I will save you from all your uncleannesses. I will call for the grain and multiply it, and I will bring no famine upon you.
36:30And I will multiply the fruit of the tree and the produce of the field, so that you shall no longer bear the reproach of famine among the nations.
36:31Then you shall remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good, and you shall loathe yourselves in your own sight because of your iniquities and your abominations.
36:32Not for your sake am I acting, declares Lord, the LORD; let this be known to you. Be ashamed and humiliated because of your ways, O house of Israel.
36:33Thus says Lord, the LORD: On the day I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause the cities to be inhabited, and the ruins shall be rebuilt.
36:34And the desolate land shall be tilled instead of lying desolate in the sight of everyone who passes by.
36:35And they shall say, ‘This land that was desolate has become like the Garden of Eden; and the waste, desolate, and ruined cities are fortified and inhabited.’
36:36Then the nations that remain around you shall know that I, the LORD, have rebuilt what was torn down and planted what was desolate. I, the LORD, have spoken, and I will do it.
36:37Thus says Lord, the LORD: I will also let the house of Israel inquire of Me to do this for them: I will multiply their people like a flock.
36:38Like a flock for sacred offerings, like the flock of Jerusalem at her appointed feasts, so shall the ruined cities be filled with flocks of men. Then they shall know that I am the LORD.”

Chapter 37

37:1The hand of the LORD was upon me, and He brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones.
37:2And He caused me to pass among them all around; and behold, there were very many upon the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry.
37:3Then He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I said, “O Lord, the LORD, You know.”
37:4Then He said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.
37:5Thus says Lord, the LORD, to these bones: Behold, I am bringing breath into you, and you shall live.
37:6And I will put sinews upon you, cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin. I will put breath within you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the LORD.”
37:7So I prophesied as I had been commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to its bone.
37:8And I looked, and behold, sinews were upon them, flesh had come upon them, and skin covered them above; but there was no breath in them.
37:9Then He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says Lord, the LORD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.”
37:10So I prophesied as He commanded me; and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood upon their feet—an exceedingly great army.
37:11Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, our hope has perished, and we are completely cut off.’
37:12Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says Lord, the LORD: Behold, I am opening your graves, and I will bring you up out of your graves, O My people, and bring you into the land of Israel.
37:13And you shall know that I am the LORD when I open your graves and bring you up out of your graves, O My people.
37:14And I will put My Spirit within you, and you shall live; and I will settle you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken and done it, declares the LORD.”
37:15Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
37:16“You, son of man, take for yourself one stick and write upon it, ‘For Judah and for the sons of Israel joined with him.’ Then take another stick and write upon it, ‘For Joseph—the stick of Ephraim—and all the house of Israel joined with him.’
37:17And join them one to another into one stick, so that they may become one in your hand.
37:18And when the sons of your people speak to you, saying, ‘Will you not tell us what you mean by these?’
37:19speak to them, Thus says Lord, the LORD: Behold, I am taking the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel joined with him; and I will join it to the stick of Judah and make them one stick, and they shall be one in My hand.
37:20And the sticks upon which you write shall be in your hand before their eyes.
37:21And speak to them, Thus says Lord, the LORD: Behold, I am taking the sons of Israel from among the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land.
37:22And I will make them one nation in the land, upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king over them all. They shall no longer be two nations, nor shall they ever again be divided into two kingdoms.
37:23And they shall no longer defile themselves with their idols, their abominations, or any of their transgressions. I will save them from all the dwelling places in which they sinned, and I will cleanse them. Then they shall be My people, and I will be their God.
37:24And My servant David shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd. They shall walk in My judgments and keep My statutes and do them.
37:25And they shall dwell upon the land that I gave to My servant Jacob, in which your fathers dwelt. They and their sons and their sons’ sons shall dwell upon it forever; and My servant David shall be their prince forever.
37:26And I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them. I will establish them and multiply them, and I will set My sanctuary among them forever.
37:27My dwelling place shall be with them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
37:28Then the nations shall know that I, the LORD, sanctify Israel, when My sanctuary is among them forever.”

Chapter 38

38:1Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
38:2“Son of man, set your face toward Gog of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him.
38:3And you shall say, Thus says Lord, the LORD: Behold, I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal.
38:4And I will turn you around and put hooks into your jaws; and I will bring you out with all your army—horses and horsemen, all of them clothed in full armor, a great company with large shield and shield, all of them wielding swords.
38:5Persia, Cush, and Put are with them, all of them with shield and helmet;
38:6Gomer and all its bands; the house of Togarmah from the remote parts of the north, and all its bands—many peoples with you.
38:7Be prepared; indeed, prepare yourself, you and all your companies assembled around you, and be a guard for them.
38:8After many days you shall be summoned. In the latter years you shall come into a land restored from the sword, whose people have been gathered from many peoples to the mountains of Israel, which had long lain in ruin. Its people have been brought out from the peoples, and all of them dwell securely.
38:9And you shall ascend; you shall come like a storm. You shall be like a cloud covering the land—you and all your bands, and many peoples with you.
38:10Thus says Lord, the LORD: On that day thoughts shall arise in your heart, and you shall devise an evil plan.
38:11And you shall say, ‘I will ascend against a land of unwalled villages. I will go against those at rest, dwelling securely—all of them dwelling without walls and having neither bars nor gates—
38:12to take spoil and seize prey; to turn your hand against ruins now inhabited and against a people gathered from the nations, possessing livestock and possessions, dwelling at the center of the land.’
38:13Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish, with all its young lions, shall say to you, ‘Have you come to take spoil? Have you assembled your company to seize prey—to carry away silver and gold, to take livestock and possessions, to take great spoil?’
38:14Therefore prophesy, son of man, and say to Gog, Thus says Lord, the LORD: On that day, when My people Israel dwell securely, shall you not know it?
38:15And you shall come from your place, from the remote parts of the north—you and many peoples with you, all of them riding upon horses, a great company and a mighty army.
38:16And you shall ascend against My people Israel like a cloud covering the land. It shall be in the latter days, and I will bring you against My land, that the nations may know Me, when I am sanctified through you before their eyes, O Gog.
38:17Thus says Lord, the LORD: Are you the one of whom I spoke in former days by My servants the prophets of Israel, who prophesied for years in those days that I would bring you against them?
38:18And it shall come to pass on that day, when Gog comes against the land of Israel, declares Lord, the LORD, that My wrath shall rise in My nostrils.
38:19And in My jealousy, in the fire of My wrath, I have spoken: Surely on that day there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel.
38:20The fish of the sea, the birds of the heavens, the beasts of the field, every creeping thing that creeps upon the ground, and all men upon the face of the earth shall quake at My presence. The mountains shall be thrown down, the cliffs shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the earth.
38:21And I will call for a sword against him throughout all My mountains, declares Lord, the LORD. Every man’s sword shall be against his brother.
38:22And I will judge him with pestilence and bloodshed. I will rain upon him, upon his bands, and upon the many peoples with him, an overflowing rain, hailstones, fire, and sulfur.
38:23And I will magnify Myself and sanctify Myself, and I will make Myself known in the sight of many nations. Then they shall know that I am the LORD.”

Chapter 39

39:1“And you, son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus says Lord, the LORD: Behold, I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal.
39:2And I will turn you around and drive you forward. I will bring you up from the remote parts of the north and bring you against the mountains of Israel.
39:3And I will strike your bow from your left hand and cause your arrows to fall from your right hand.
39:4You shall fall upon the mountains of Israel—you, all your bands, and the peoples with you. I have given you as food to birds of prey, to every winged bird, and to the beasts of the field.
39:5You shall fall in the open field, for I have spoken, declares Lord, the LORD.
39:6And I will send fire upon Magog and upon those who dwell securely in the coastlands. Then they shall know that I am the LORD.
39:7And I will make My holy Name known among My people Israel, and I will no longer let My holy Name be profaned. Then the nations shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
39:8Behold, it is coming and shall be done, declares Lord, the LORD. This is the day of which I have spoken.
39:9And those who dwell in the cities of Israel shall go out and make fires with the weapons—with large shield and shield, bow and arrows, war club and spear—and they shall burn them as fuel for seven years.
39:10They shall take no wood from the field or cut any from the forests, for they shall make fires with the weapons. They shall spoil those who spoiled them and plunder those who plundered them, declares Lord, the LORD.
39:11And it shall come to pass on that day that I will give Gog a burial place there in Israel—the Valley of the Travelers, east of the sea. It shall block the travelers; and there they shall bury Gog and all his multitude, and they shall call it the Valley of the Multitude of Gog.
39:12And the house of Israel shall bury them for seven months, in order to cleanse the land.
39:13Indeed, all the people of the land shall bury them; and it shall be to them for renown on the day when I am glorified, declares Lord, the LORD.
39:14And they shall set apart men for continual service, who shall pass through the land and bury those who remain upon the surface of the ground, to cleanse it. At the end of seven months they shall make their search.
39:15And those who pass through the land shall pass through; and when anyone sees a human bone, he shall set up a marker beside it, until the buriers have buried it in the Valley of the Multitude of Gog.
39:16And the name of the city shall also be Hamonah. Thus they shall cleanse the land.
39:17And you, son of man, thus says Lord, the LORD: Say to every winged bird and to every beast of the field, ‘Assemble yourselves and come; gather from every side to My sacrifice, which I am preparing for you—a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel—that you may eat flesh and drink blood.
39:18You shall eat the flesh of mighty men and drink the blood of the princes of the earth—of rams, lambs, male goats, and bulls, all of them fatlings of Bashan.
39:19And you shall eat fat until you are full and drink blood until you are drunk, from My sacrifice which I have prepared for you.
39:20And you shall be filled at My table with horses and riders, with mighty men and every man of war,’ declares Lord, the LORD.
39:21And I will set My glory among the nations; and all the nations shall see My judgment which I have executed and My hand which I have laid upon them.
39:22And the house of Israel shall know that I am the LORD their God from that day onward.
39:23And the nations shall know that the house of Israel went into exile for their iniquity, because they acted unfaithfully against Me. Therefore I hid My face from them and gave them into the hand of their adversaries, and they all fell by the sword.
39:24According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions, I dealt with them; and I hid My face from them.
39:25Therefore thus says Lord, the LORD: Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob and have compassion upon the whole house of Israel, and I will be jealous for My holy Name.
39:26And they shall bear their shame and all their unfaithfulness by which they acted unfaithfully against Me, when they dwell securely in their land, with none making them afraid.
39:27When I bring them back from the peoples and gather them from the lands of their enemies, I will be sanctified through them before the eyes of many nations.
39:28Then they shall know that I am the LORD their God, when I sent them into exile among the nations and then gathered them into their own land; and I will leave none of them there any longer.
39:29And I will no longer hide My face from them, for I have poured out My Spirit upon the house of Israel, declares Lord, the LORD.”

Chapter 40

40:1In the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after the city was struck down, on that very day the hand of the LORD was upon me, and He brought me there.
40:2In visions of God He brought me into the land of Israel and set me down upon a very high mountain; and on its south side was a structure like a city.
40:3And He brought me there; and behold, there was a man whose appearance was like the appearance of bronze, with a linen cord and a measuring reed in his hand; and he was standing at the gate.
40:4And the man said to me, “Son of man, see with your eyes, hear with your ears, and set your heart upon all that I show you; for you have been brought here so that I may show it to you. Declare all that you see to the house of Israel.”
40:5And behold, there was a wall all around the outside of the house. In the man’s hand was a measuring reed six cubits long, each cubit being a cubit and a handbreadth. And he measured the thickness of the wall—one reed; and its height—one reed.
40:6Then he came to the gate whose face was eastward and ascended its steps; and he measured the threshold of the gate—one reed in width, even the one threshold—one reed in width.
40:7And each gate chamber was one reed long and one reed wide; and between the gate chambers were five cubits. And the threshold of the gate beside the porch of the gate within was one reed.
40:8Then he measured the porch of the gate within—one reed.
40:9Then he measured the porch of the gate—eight cubits; and its posts—two cubits. And the porch of the gate was within.
40:10And the gate chambers of the east gate were three on this side and three on that side. The three were of one measure, and the posts were of one measure on this side and on that side.
40:11Then he measured the width of the opening of the gate—ten cubits; and the length of the gate—thirteen cubits.
40:12And there was a barrier before the gate chambers—one cubit on this side and one cubit on that side; and each gate chamber was six cubits on this side and six cubits on that side.
40:13Then he measured the gate from the roof of one gate chamber to the roof of the other—the width was twenty-five cubits, opening opposite opening.
40:14Then he measured the posts—sixty cubits; and the court extended to the posts around the gate.
40:15And from the front of the entrance gate to the front of the inner porch of the gate were fifty cubits.
40:16And there were narrow windows in the gate chambers and in their posts, within the gate all around, and likewise in the porches. There were windows all around within, and palm trees were upon the posts.
40:17And he brought me into the outer court; and behold, there were chambers and a pavement made for the court all around—thirty chambers upon the pavement.
40:18And the pavement was beside the gates, corresponding to the length of the gates; this was the lower pavement.
40:19Then he measured the width from the front of the lower gate to the front of the inner court, outside—one hundred cubits, eastward and northward.
40:20And as for the gate of the outer court whose face was northward, he measured its length and its width.
40:21Its gate chambers were three on this side and three on that side; and its posts and its porches were according to the measure of the first gate—fifty cubits in length and twenty-five cubits in width.
40:22And its windows, its porches, and its palm trees were according to the measure of the gate whose face was eastward. They ascended to it by seven steps, and its porches were before them.
40:23And the gate of the inner court was opposite the gate toward the north and toward the east; and he measured from gate to gate—one hundred cubits.
40:24And he led me southward; and behold, there was a gate facing south. And he measured its posts and its porches according to these measurements.
40:25And there were windows in it and in its porches all around, like those windows—fifty cubits in length and twenty-five cubits in width.
40:26And seven steps were its ascent, and its porches were before them; and palm trees were upon its posts, one on this side and one on that side.
40:27And there was a gate of the inner court facing south; and he measured from gate to gate southward—one hundred cubits.
40:28And he brought me into the inner court by the south gate; and he measured the south gate according to these measurements.
40:29And its gate chambers, its posts, and its porches were according to these measurements; and there were windows in it and in its porches all around—fifty cubits in length and twenty-five cubits in width.
40:30And the porches all around were twenty-five cubits in length and five cubits in width.
40:31And its porches faced the outer court; and palm trees were upon its posts, and eight steps were its ascent.
40:32And he brought me into the inner court toward the east; and he measured the gate according to these measurements.
40:33And its gate chambers, its posts, and its porches were according to these measurements; and there were windows in it and in its porches all around—fifty cubits in length and twenty-five cubits in width.
40:34And its porches faced the outer court; and palm trees were upon its posts on this side and on that side, and eight steps were its ascent.
40:35And he brought me to the north gate and measured it according to these measurements:
40:36its gate chambers, its posts, and its porches; and there were windows in it all around—fifty cubits in length and twenty-five cubits in width.
40:37And its posts faced the outer court; and palm trees were upon its posts on this side and on that side, and eight steps were its ascent.
40:38And there was a chamber with its opening beside the posts of the gate; there they washed the burnt offering.
40:39And in the porch of the gate were two tables on this side and two tables on that side, upon which to slaughter the burnt offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering.
40:40And outside, beside the ascent to the opening of the north gate, were two tables; and on the other side, beside the porch of the gate, were two tables.
40:41Four tables were on this side and four tables on that side, beside the gate—eight tables upon which they slaughtered the sacrifices.
40:42And the four tables for the burnt offering were of hewn stone, one cubit and a half long, one cubit and a half wide, and one cubit high. Upon them they placed the instruments with which they slaughtered the burnt offering and the sacrifice.
40:43And hooks one handbreadth long were fastened within all around; and the flesh of the offering was upon the tables.
40:44And outside the inner gate, in the inner court, were chambers for the singers, beside the north gate, facing south; and one beside the east gate, facing north.
40:45And he said to me, “This chamber, which faces south, is for the priests who keep charge of the house.
40:46And the chamber that faces north is for the priests who keep charge of the altar. These are the sons of Zadok, who, from among the sons of Levi, draw near to the LORD to serve Him.”
40:47Then he measured the court—one hundred cubits long and one hundred cubits wide, square; and the altar was before the house.
40:48And he brought me to the porch of the house; and he measured each post of the porch—five cubits on this side and five cubits on that side. And the width of the entrance was three cubits on this side and three cubits on that side.
40:49The length of the porch was twenty cubits and the width eleven cubits; and they ascended to it by steps. Pillars were beside the posts, one on this side and one on that side.

Chapter 41

41:1And he brought me into the temple hall and measured the posts—six cubits wide on this side and six cubits wide on that side, the width of the tent.
41:2And the width of the entrance was ten cubits, and the sides of the entrance were five cubits on this side and five cubits on that side. And he measured the hall—forty cubits long and twenty cubits wide.
41:3Then he went into the inner room and measured the post of the entrance—two cubits; and the entrance—six cubits; and the width of the entrance—seven cubits.
41:4Then he measured the room—twenty cubits long and twenty cubits wide—before the temple hall; and he said to me, “This is the Most Holy Place.”
41:5Then he measured the wall of the house—six cubits; and the width of the side chambers—four cubits, all around the house.
41:6And the side chambers were in three stories, one above another, thirty in each story. They entered into offsets in the wall belonging to the house for the side chambers all around, so that they were supported, but not by the wall of the house.
41:7And the side chambers became wider as they rose from story to story, for the structure around the house ascended by stages all around the house. Therefore the width of the chambers increased upward; and so one ascended from the lower story to the upper through the middle story.
41:8And I saw that the house had a raised platform all around. The foundations of the side chambers measured a full reed—six long cubits.
41:9The thickness of the outer wall of the side chambers was five cubits; and there was an open space beside the side chambers belonging to the house.
41:10And between the chambers was a width of twenty cubits all around the house.
41:11And the openings of the side chambers faced the open space, one opening northward and one opening southward; and the width of the open space was five cubits all around.
41:12And the building that was before the separate place, on the west side, was seventy cubits wide; and the wall of the building was five cubits thick all around, and its length was ninety cubits.
41:13And he measured the house—one hundred cubits long; and the separate place, the building, and its walls—one hundred cubits long.
41:14And the width of the front of the house, with the separate place toward the east, was one hundred cubits.
41:15And he measured the length of the building before the separate place at its rear, with its galleries on this side and on that side—one hundred cubits; and the inner temple and the porches of the court,
41:16the thresholds, the narrow windows, and the galleries around the three stories, opposite the thresholds, were paneled with wood all around—from the ground to the windows; and the windows were covered,
41:17above the entrance and into the inner house, and outside, and upon all the wall all around, inside and outside, according to measurement.
41:18And it was made with cherubim and palm trees; and a palm tree was between cherub and cherub, and each cherub had two faces:
41:19the face of a man toward the palm tree on this side, and the face of a young lion toward the palm tree on that side. Thus it was made throughout the whole house, all around.
41:20From the ground to above the entrance, cherubim and palm trees were made upon the wall of the temple hall.
41:21The doorposts of the temple hall were square; and before the sanctuary was something resembling
41:22an altar of wood, three cubits high and two cubits long. Its corners, its base, and its sides were of wood. And he said to me, “This is the table that is before the LORD.”
41:23And the temple hall and the sanctuary each had two doors.
41:24And the doors had two leaves, two turning leaves: two leaves for one door and two leaves for the other.
41:25And upon them, upon the doors of the temple hall, were carved cherubim and palm trees, like those made upon the walls; and there was a canopy of wood before the porch outside.
41:26And narrow windows and palm trees were on this side and on that side, along the sides of the porch, and upon the side chambers of the house and the canopies.

Chapter 42

42:1And he brought me out into the outer court by the way northward; and he brought me into the chamber that was opposite the separate place and opposite the building toward the north.
42:2The length of the building whose entrance faced north was one hundred cubits, and its width was fifty cubits.
42:3Opposite the twenty cubits belonging to the inner court, and opposite the pavement belonging to the outer court, was gallery facing gallery in three stories.
42:4And before the chambers was a passage ten cubits wide toward the inner court, with a way one cubit wide; and their openings faced north.
42:5And the upper chambers were shorter, for the galleries took more space from them than from the lower and middle chambers of the building.
42:6For they were in three stories and had no pillars like the pillars of the courts; therefore the upper story was set back farther than the lower and the middle stories from the ground.
42:7And the wall outside, alongside the chambers, toward the outer court before the chambers, was fifty cubits long.
42:8For the length of the chambers in the outer court was fifty cubits; and behold, those facing the temple were one hundred cubits long.
42:9And beneath these chambers was the entrance from the east, as one entered them from the outer court.
42:10In the thickness of the wall of the court toward the east, before the separate place and before the building, were chambers.
42:11And the passage before them was like the appearance of the chambers toward the north; as their length, so was their width. And all their exits were according to their arrangements and their openings.
42:12And corresponding to the openings of the chambers toward the south, there was an opening at the head of the way—the way directly before the wall toward the east—as one entered them.
42:13Then he said to me, “The north chambers and the south chambers, which are before the separate place, are holy chambers where the priests who draw near to the LORD shall eat the most holy things. There they shall place the most holy things—the grain offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering—for the place is holy.
42:14When the priests enter, they shall not go out from the sanctuary into the outer court; but there they shall lay their garments in which they minister, for they are holy. They shall put on other garments and draw near to that which is for the people.”
42:15And when he had finished measuring the temple complex, he brought me out by the way of the gate that faced eastward; and he measured it all around.
42:16He measured the east side with the measuring reed—five hundred reeds by the measuring reed all around.
42:17He measured the north side—five hundred reeds by the measuring reed all around.
42:18He measured the south side—five hundred reeds by the measuring reed.
42:19He turned to the west side and measured—five hundred reeds by the measuring reed.
42:20He measured it on its four sides. It had a wall all around—five hundred reeds long and five hundred reeds wide—to separate the holy from the common.

Chapter 43

43:1Then he brought me to the gate, the gate that faced east.
43:2And behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the east; and His voice was like the sound of many waters, and the earth shone with His glory.
43:3The vision I saw was like the vision I had seen when He came to destroy the city, and like the vision I had seen by the river Chebar. And I fell upon my face.
43:4And the glory of the LORD entered the house by the gate that faced east.
43:5Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of the LORD filled the house.
43:6Then I heard One speaking to me from the house, while the man stood beside me.
43:7And 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 shall dwell among the sons of Israel forever. And the house of Israel shall no longer defile My holy Name—they and their kings—by their prostitution and by the corpses of their kings at their high places.
43:8They set their threshold beside My threshold and their doorpost beside My doorpost, with only a wall between Me and them; and they defiled My holy Name by the abominations they committed. Therefore I consumed them in My anger.
43:9Now let them put their prostitution and the corpses of their kings far from Me; and I shall dwell among them forever.
43:10You, son of man, describe the house to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; and let them measure its plan.
43:11And if they are ashamed of all they have done, make known to them the design of the house—its arrangement, its exits and entrances, its whole design, all its statutes, and all its laws. Write it before their eyes, that they may observe its whole design and all its statutes, and do them.
43:12This is the law of the house: upon the top of the mountain, its whole boundary all around shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house.
43:13And these are the measurements of the altar in cubits—the cubit being a cubit and a handbreadth: its base shall be one cubit high and one cubit wide, with a rim of one span around its edge. This shall be the height of the altar.
43:14From the base upon the ground to the lower ledge shall be two cubits, with a width of one cubit; and from the lower ledge to the upper ledge shall be four cubits, with a width of one cubit.
43:15And the altar hearth shall be four cubits high; and from the altar hearth upward shall be four horns.
43:16And the altar hearth shall be twelve cubits long by twelve cubits wide, square on its four sides.
43:17And the upper ledge shall be fourteen cubits long by fourteen cubits wide on its four sides; and the rim around it shall be half a cubit, and its base one cubit all around. Its steps shall face east.”
43:18Then He said to me, “Son of man, thus says Lord, the LORD: These are the statutes of the altar for the day when it is made, to offer burnt offerings upon it and to sprinkle blood upon it.
43:19And you shall give to the priests, the Levites who are of the seed of Zadok, who draw near to Me to serve Me, declares Lord, the LORD, a young bull from the herd for a sin offering.
43:20And you shall take some of its blood and put it upon its four horns, upon the four corners of its upper ledge, and upon the rim all around; and you shall cleanse it and make atonement for it.
43:21And you shall take the bull of the sin offering and burn it in the designated place of the house, outside the sanctuary.
43:22And on the second day you shall present a male goat without blemish for a sin offering; and they shall cleanse the altar as they cleansed it with the bull.
43:23When you have finished cleansing it, you shall present a young bull from the herd, without blemish, and a ram from the flock, without blemish.
43:24And you shall present them before the LORD; and the priests shall cast salt upon them and offer them as a burnt offering to the LORD.
43:25For seven days you shall prepare a goat each day for a sin offering; and they shall also prepare a young bull from the herd and a ram from the flock, both without blemish.
43:26For seven days they shall make atonement for the altar and cleanse it; and they shall consecrate it.
43:27And when these days are completed, from the eighth day onward the priests shall offer your burnt offerings and your peace offerings upon the altar; and I shall accept you, declares Lord, the LORD.”

Chapter 44

44:1Then he brought me back by the way of the outer gate of the sanctuary that faced east; and it was shut.
44:2Then the LORD said to me, “This gate shall remain shut. It shall not be opened, and no man shall enter by it; for the LORD, the God of Israel, has entered by it. Therefore it shall remain shut.
44:3As for the prince, because he is the prince, he shall sit in it to eat bread before the LORD. He shall enter by the way of the porch of the gate, and by the same way he shall go out.”
44:4Then he brought me by the way of the north gate to the front of the house; and I looked, and behold, the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD. And I fell upon my face.
44:5Then the LORD said to me, “Son of man, set your heart, and see with your eyes and hear with your ears all that I speak to you concerning all the statutes of the house of the LORD and all its laws. And set your heart upon the entrance of the house and all the exits of the sanctuary.
44:6And say to the rebellious house, to the house of Israel, Thus says Lord, the LORD: Enough of all your abominations, O house of Israel.
44:7You brought foreigners, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, into My sanctuary to defile it—even My house—when you presented My food, the fat and the blood; and so you broke My covenant, in addition to all your abominations.
44:8And you did not keep the charge of My holy things, but appointed others to keep My charge in My sanctuary for you.
44:9Thus says Lord, the LORD: No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter My sanctuary—none of the foreigners who are among the sons of Israel.
44:10But the Levites who went far from Me when Israel went astray, who strayed from Me after their idols, shall bear their iniquity.
44:11Yet they shall be ministers in My sanctuary, overseeing the gates of the house and serving in the house. They shall slaughter the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and shall stand before them to serve them.
44:12Because they served them before their idols and became a stumbling block of iniquity to the house of Israel, therefore I have lifted up My hand against them, declares Lord, the LORD, and they shall bear their iniquity.
44:13And they shall not draw near to Me to serve as priests to Me, nor draw near to any of My holy things, to the most holy things; but they shall bear their shame and the abominations they committed.
44:14And I shall appoint them to keep the charge of the house, for all its service and for all that is done in it.
44:15But the priests, the Levites, the sons of Zadok, who kept the charge of My sanctuary when the sons of Israel strayed from Me, shall draw near to Me to serve Me. And they shall stand before Me to present to Me the fat and the blood, declares Lord, the LORD.
44:16They shall enter My sanctuary, and they shall draw near to My table to serve Me; and they shall keep My charge.
44:17And when they enter the gates of the inner court, they shall put on linen garments; no wool shall be upon them while they minister at the gates of the inner court and within it.
44:18Linen headdresses shall be upon their heads, and linen undergarments upon their waists; they shall not bind themselves with anything that causes sweat.
44:19And when they go out to the outer court—to the outer court, to the people—they shall take off the garments in which they ministered and place them in the holy chambers; and they shall put on other garments, so that they do not transmit holiness to the people with their garments.
44:20And they shall not shave their heads or let their hair grow long; they shall keep their hair carefully trimmed.
44:21And no priest shall drink wine when he enters the inner court.
44:22And they shall not take as wives a widow or a divorced woman, but virgins from the seed of the house of Israel, or a widow who is the widow of a priest.
44:23And they shall teach My people to distinguish between the holy and the common, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.
44:24And in a controversy they shall stand to judge; they shall judge it according to My judgments. And they shall keep My laws and My statutes in all My appointed feasts, and sanctify My Sabbaths.
44:25And no priest shall come near a dead person and so defile himself; but for a father, mother, son, daughter, brother, or an unmarried sister, he may defile himself.
44:26And after he is cleansed, seven days shall be counted for him.
44:27And on the day he enters the sanctuary, into the inner court, to minister in the sanctuary, he shall offer his sin offering, declares Lord, the LORD.
44:28And this shall be their inheritance: I am their inheritance. And you shall give them no possession in Israel; I am their possession.
44:29The grain offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering they shall eat; and every devoted thing in Israel shall be theirs.
44:30And the first of all the firstfruits of every kind, and every contribution of every kind from all your contributions, shall belong to the priests. And you shall give the first of your dough to the priest, that a blessing may rest upon your house.
44:31The priests shall not eat any bird or beast that dies naturally or is torn by wild beasts.”

Chapter 45

45:1“And when you divide the land by lot as an inheritance, you shall set apart a contribution to the LORD, a holy portion of the land: its length shall be twenty-five thousand, and its width ten thousand. It shall be holy throughout its whole boundary all around.
45:2Of this there shall be for the sanctuary five hundred by five hundred, square all around; and fifty cubits of open land shall be around it.
45:3And from this measured area you shall measure a length of twenty-five thousand and a width of ten thousand. Within it shall be the sanctuary, the Most Holy Place.
45:4It shall be the holy portion of the land for the priests, the ministers of the sanctuary, who draw near to serve the LORD. It shall be a place for their houses and a holy place for the sanctuary.
45:5And an area twenty-five thousand in length and ten thousand in width shall belong to the Levites, the ministers of the house, as their possession, with twenty chambers.
45:6And for the possession of the city you shall set apart an area five thousand in width and twenty-five thousand in length, alongside the contribution of the holy portion. It shall be for the whole house of Israel.
45:7And land shall belong to the prince on both sides of the contribution of the holy portion and the possession of the city, extending westward from their west side and eastward from their east side. Its length shall correspond to one of the tribal portions, from the west border to the east border.
45:8This land shall be his possession in Israel. And My princes shall no longer oppress My people, but shall give the land to the house of Israel according to their tribes.”
45:9Thus says Lord, the LORD: “Enough, O princes of Israel. Put away violence and plunder, and administer justice and righteousness. Put an end to your evictions of My people, declares Lord, the LORD.
45:10You shall have just balances, a just ephah, and a just bath.
45:11The ephah and the bath shall be of one measure: the bath shall contain a tenth of a homer, and the ephah a tenth of a homer. Their measure shall be according to the homer.
45:12And the shekel shall be twenty gerahs. Twenty shekels, twenty-five shekels, and fifteen shekels shall be your mina.
45:13This is the contribution you shall set apart: a sixth of an ephah from each homer of wheat, and a sixth of an ephah from each homer of barley.
45:14And the prescribed portion of oil, measured by the bath, shall be a tenth of a bath from each cor, which is a homer of ten baths—for ten baths are a homer.
45:15And one lamb from each flock of two hundred, from the well-watered pastures of Israel, shall be for a grain offering, a burnt offering, and peace offerings, to make atonement for them, declares Lord, the LORD.
45:16All the people of the land shall give this contribution to the prince in Israel.
45:17And the prince shall be responsible for the burnt offerings, the grain offering, and the drink offering at the festivals, the new moons, the Sabbaths, and all the appointed feasts of the house of Israel. He shall provide the sin offering, the grain offering, the burnt offering, and the peace offerings, to make atonement for the house of Israel.”
45:18Thus says Lord, the LORD: “In the first month, on the first day of the month, you shall take a young bull from the herd, without blemish, and cleanse the sanctuary.
45:19And the priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering and put it upon the doorpost of the house, upon the four corners of the upper ledge of the altar, and upon the post of the gate of the inner court.
45:20And so you shall do on the seventh day of the month for anyone who sins unintentionally or through ignorance; and you shall make atonement for the house.
45:21In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, you shall keep the Passover, a feast of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten.
45:22And on that day the prince shall prepare for himself and for all the people of the land a bull for a sin offering.
45:23And during the seven days of the feast he shall prepare a burnt offering to the LORD: seven bulls and seven rams, without blemish, each day for seven days; and a male goat each day for a sin offering.
45:24And he shall prepare a grain offering—an ephah for each bull and an ephah for each ram—and a hin of oil for each ephah.
45:25In the seventh month, on the fifteenth day of the month, at the feast, he shall provide the same offerings for seven days: the sin offering, the burnt offering, the grain offering, and the oil.”

Chapter 46

46:1Thus says Lord, the LORD: “The gate of the inner court that faces east shall be shut during the six working days; but on the Sabbath day it shall be opened, and on the day of the new moon it shall be opened.
46:2And the prince shall enter from outside by the porch of the gate and shall stand by the gatepost. And the priests shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings; and he shall bow himself at the threshold of the gate, and shall go out. But the gate shall not be shut until evening.
46:3And the people of the land shall bow themselves at the entrance of that gate on the Sabbaths and on the new moons before the LORD.
46:4And the burnt offering that the prince shall present to the LORD on the Sabbath day shall be six lambs without blemish and one ram without blemish.
46:5And the grain offering shall be an ephah for the ram; and for the lambs, as much as he is able to give; and a hin of oil for each ephah.
46:6And on the day of the new moon there shall be a young bull from the herd, without blemish, and six lambs and a ram; they shall be without blemish.
46:7And he shall prepare a grain offering of an ephah for the bull and an ephah for the ram; and for the lambs, according to what he can afford; and a hin of oil for each ephah.
46:8And when the prince enters, he shall enter by the porch of the gate, and by the same way he shall go out.
46:9And when the people of the land enter before the LORD at the appointed feasts, he who enters by the north gate to bow himself shall go out by the south gate; and he who enters by the south gate shall go out by the north gate. He shall not return by the gate through which he entered, but shall go out opposite it.
46:10And when they enter, the prince shall enter among them; and when they go out, he shall go out.
46:11And at the festivals and appointed feasts, the grain offering shall be an ephah for a bull and an ephah for a ram; and for the lambs, as much as he is able to give; and a hin of oil for each ephah.
46:12And when the prince prepares a freewill burnt offering or freewill peace offerings to the LORD, the gate that faces east shall be opened for him. And 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 has gone out, the gate shall be shut.
46:13And you shall prepare a daily burnt offering to the LORD: a lamb a year old, without blemish. Morning by morning you shall prepare it.
46:14And you shall prepare with it a grain offering morning by morning: a sixth of an ephah and a third of a hin of oil, to mix with the fine flour—a grain offering to the LORD, by an enduring statute, continually.
46:15And they shall prepare the lamb, the grain offering, and the oil morning by morning—a continual burnt offering.”
46:16Thus says Lord, the LORD: “If the prince gives a gift from his inheritance to any of his sons, it shall belong to his sons; it is their possession by inheritance.
46:17But if he gives a gift from his inheritance to one of his servants, it shall belong to him until the year of release; then it shall return to the prince. His inheritance belongs only to his sons; it shall remain theirs.
46:18And the prince shall not take any of the people’s inheritance, driving them from their possession. He shall give his sons an inheritance from his own possession, so that none of My people are scattered from their possession.”
46:19Then he brought me through the entrance beside the gate to the holy chambers for the priests that faced north; and behold, there was a place at the far western end.
46:20Then he said to me, “This is the place where the priests shall boil the guilt offering and the sin offering, and where they shall bake the grain offering, so that they do not bring them out into the outer court and transmit holiness to the people.”
46:21Then he brought me out into the outer court and led me past the four corners of the court; and behold, there was a court in every corner of the court.
46:22In the four corners of the court were enclosed courts, forty cubits long and thirty cubits wide; the four corner courts were of one measure.
46:23And there was a stone course around each of the four, with hearths made beneath the courses all around.
46:24Then he said to me, “These are the kitchens where the ministers of the house shall boil the sacrifices of the people.”

Chapter 47

47:1Then he brought me back to the entrance of the house; and behold, water was flowing from beneath the threshold of the house eastward, for the front of the house faced east. And the water flowed down from beneath the right side of the house, south of the altar.
47:2Then he brought me out by the north gate and led me around outside to the outer gate that faced east; and behold, water was trickling from the right side.
47:3And when the man went eastward with a measuring line in his hand, he measured one thousand cubits and led me through the water—water reaching my ankles.
47:4Then he measured another one thousand and led me through the water—water reaching my knees. Again he measured one thousand and led me through—water reaching my waist.
47:5Then he measured another one thousand; and it was a river I could not cross, for the water had risen—water deep enough to swim in, a river that could not be crossed.
47:6Then he said to me, “Have you seen this, son of man?” And he led me back to the bank of the river.
47:7And when I returned, behold, on the bank of the river were very many trees, on this side and on that side.
47:8Then he said to me, “These waters flow toward the eastern region and go down into the Arabah; then they enter the sea. When they enter the sea, its waters shall be healed.
47:9And it shall come to pass that every living creature that swarms shall live wherever the river flows. And there shall be a very great abundance of fish, because these waters have come there; the waters shall be healed, and everything shall live wherever the river flows.
47:10And it shall come to pass that fishermen shall stand beside it, from En-Gedi to En-Eglaim. It shall be a place for spreading nets; and its fish shall be of the same kinds as the fish of the Great Sea—very many.
47:11But its swamps and marshes shall not be healed; they shall be left for salt.
47:12And beside the river, upon its bank, on this side and on that side, every kind of fruit tree shall grow. Its leaves shall not wither, and its fruit shall not fail. It shall bear fresh fruit every month, because its waters flow from the sanctuary; and its fruit shall be for food, and its leaves for healing.”
47:13Thus says Lord, the LORD: “This is the boundary by which you shall divide the land as an inheritance among the twelve tribes of Israel. Joseph shall have two portions.
47:14And you shall inherit it, one equally with another, for I lifted up My hand to give it to your fathers; and this land shall fall to you as an inheritance.
47:15And this shall be the boundary of the land on the north side: from the Great Sea by the way of Hethlon, to the entrance of Zedad;
47:16Hamath, Berothah, Sibraim, which is between the boundary of Damascus and the boundary of Hamath; Hazar-Hatticon, which is by the boundary of Hauran.
47:17And the boundary from the sea shall be Hazar-Enan, with the boundary of Damascus to the north and the boundary of Hamath farther north. This shall be the north side.
47:18And the east side shall run between Hauran and Damascus, and between Gilead and the land of Israel, along the Jordan. You shall measure from the northern boundary to the Eastern Sea. This shall be the east side.
47:19And the south side shall run from Tamar to the waters of Meribah at Kadesh, then along the stream to the Great Sea. This shall be the south side.
47:20And the west side shall be the Great Sea, from the southern boundary as far as opposite Lebo-hamath. This shall be the west side.
47:21And you shall divide this land among yourselves according to the tribes of Israel.
47:22And you shall allot it as an inheritance for yourselves and for the sojourners who dwell among you and have fathered children among you. They shall be to you as native-born among the sons of Israel; they shall be allotted an inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel.
47:23And in whatever tribe the sojourner dwells, there you shall give him his inheritance, declares Lord, the LORD.

Chapter 48

48:1“And these are the names of the tribes: from the northern end, beside the way of Hethlon to Lebo-hamath, Hazar-Enan on the northern boundary of Damascus, beside Hamath; and from the east side to the west—Dan, one portion.
48:2And by the boundary of Dan, from the east side to the west side—Asher, one portion.
48:3And by the boundary of Asher, from the east side to the west side—Naphtali, one portion.
48:4And by the boundary of Naphtali, from the east side to the west side—Manasseh, one portion.
48:5And by the boundary of Manasseh, from the east side to the west side—Ephraim, one portion.
48:6And by the boundary of Ephraim, from the east side to the west side—Reuben, one portion.
48:7And by the boundary of Reuben, from the east side to the west side—Judah, one portion.
48:8And by the boundary of Judah, from the east side to the west side, shall be the contribution you shall set apart: twenty-five thousand cubits wide, and in length like one of the portions, from the east side to the west side; and the sanctuary shall be in its midst.
48:9The contribution you shall set apart to the LORD shall be twenty-five thousand cubits in length and ten thousand in width.
48:10And this holy contribution shall belong to the priests: twenty-five thousand cubits on the north side, ten thousand in width on the west side, ten thousand in width on the east side, and twenty-five thousand in length on the south side. And the sanctuary of the LORD shall be in its midst.
48:11It shall be for the sanctified priests, the sons of Zadok, who kept My charge and did not go astray when the sons of Israel went astray, as the Levites went astray.
48:12And this contribution from the contribution of the land shall be theirs—a most holy portion beside the boundary of the Levites.
48:13And alongside the boundary of the priests, the Levites shall have twenty-five thousand cubits in length and ten thousand in width. The whole length shall be twenty-five thousand, and the width ten thousand.
48:14And they shall not sell any of it or exchange it, nor shall they transfer this choice portion of the land; for it is holy to the LORD.
48:15And the five thousand cubits remaining in width, along the twenty-five thousand, shall be common—for the city, for dwellings, and for open land; and the city shall be in its midst.
48:16And these shall be its measurements: the north side, four thousand five hundred; the south side, four thousand five hundred; the east side, four thousand five hundred; and the west side, four thousand five hundred.
48:17And the open land of the city shall be two hundred and fifty cubits on the north, two hundred and fifty on the south, two hundred and fifty on the east, and two hundred and fifty on the west.
48:18And the remainder in length alongside the contribution of the holy portion shall be ten thousand cubits eastward and ten thousand westward. It shall lie alongside the contribution of the holy portion, and its produce shall be food for those who serve the city.
48:19And those who serve the city, from all the tribes of Israel, shall cultivate it.
48:20The whole contribution shall be twenty-five thousand by twenty-five thousand, square. You shall set apart the contribution of the holy portion together with the possession of the city.
48:21And the remainder shall belong to the prince, on both sides of the contribution of the holy portion and the possession of the city: extending eastward from the twenty-five thousand cubits of the contribution to the east boundary, and westward from the twenty-five thousand to the west boundary, alongside the tribal portions. It shall belong to the prince; and the contribution of the holy portion, with the sanctuary of the house, shall be in its midst.
48:22And the possession of the Levites and the possession of the city shall lie in the midst of what belongs to the prince. The prince’s portion shall lie between the boundary of Judah and the boundary of Benjamin.
48:23And as for the rest of the tribes, from the east side to the west side—Benjamin, one portion.
48:24And by the boundary of Benjamin, from the east side to the west side—Simeon, one portion.
48:25And by the boundary of Simeon, from the east side to the west side—Issachar, one portion.
48:26And by the boundary of Issachar, from the east side to the west side—Zebulun, one portion.
48:27And by the boundary of Zebulun, from the east side to the west side—Gad, one portion.
48:28And by the boundary of Gad, on the south side, the boundary shall run from Tamar to the waters of Meribah at Kadesh, then along the stream to the Great Sea.
48:29This is the land you shall divide by lot as an inheritance among the tribes of Israel; and these are their portions, declares Lord, the LORD.
48:30“And these are the exits of the city: on the north side, four thousand five hundred cubits by measure.
48:31And the gates of the city shall be named according to the tribes of Israel: three gates on the north—one gate of Reuben, one gate of Judah, and one gate of Levi.
48:32And on the east side, four thousand five hundred cubits, with three gates—one gate of Joseph, one gate of Benjamin, and one gate of Dan.
48:33And on the south side, four thousand five hundred cubits, with three gates—one gate of Simeon, one gate of Issachar, and one gate of Zebulun.
48:34On the west side, four thousand five hundred cubits, with three gates—one gate of Gad, one gate of Asher, and one gate of Naphtali.
48:35The city shall be eighteen thousand cubits all around; and the name of the city from that day shall be: The LORD Is There.”