The Book of Ezekiel

• Author: Ezekiel
• Place Written: Babylon
• When Written: 593-570 B.C.E.[1]

CHAPTER 1

Ezekiel in Babylon Has Vision of God

1 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, the heavens were opened, and I saw visions[2] of God. ² In the fifth day of the month, which was in the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin, ³ the word of Jehovah came to Ezekiel[3] the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar, and the hand of Jehovah was upon him there.

The Vision of the Throne-Chariot

⁴ As I looked, behold, a stormy wind came out of the north, a great cloud, and flashing fire surrounded by a bright light, and from the midst of the fire was something that looked like glowing metal. ⁵ And from the midst of it came the likeness of four living creatures.[4] And this was their appearance: they had the likeness of a human, ⁶ and each had four faces, and each of them had four wings. ⁷ Their legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the sole of a calf’s foot. And they sparkled like burnished copper. ⁸ Under their wings on their four sides they had human hands. And the four had their faces and wings. ⁹ Their wings touched one another. They would not turn when they went; they went each one straight forward. 

¹⁰ As for the likeness of their faces, each had a human face. The four had the face of a lion on the right side, the four had the face of an ox on the left side, and the four had the face of an eagle. ¹¹ That is how their faces were. Their wings were spread out above. Each had two wings that touched one another and two covered their bodies. 

¹² They would each go straight forward, wherever the spirit would go, they went. They would not turn as they went. ¹³ As for the likeness[5] of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, like the appearance of torches moving to and fro among the living creatures. And the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning. ¹⁴ And the living creatures would go forth and return, like the appearance of a flash of lightning.

Four Wheels

¹⁵ Now as I looked at the living creatures,[6] behold, there was one wheel on the earth beside the living creatures, for each of the four of them. ¹⁶ The appearance of the wheels and their construction was like the appearance of beryl, and they all had the same likeness, and their appearance and their construction was like a wheel within a wheel. ¹⁷ When they went, they went in any of their four directions without turning as they went. ¹⁸ As for their rims they were lofty and awesome, and the rims of all four of them were full of eyes all around. ¹⁹ And when the living creatures went, the wheels went beside them; and when the living creatures rose from the earth, the wheels rose. ²⁰ Wherever the spirit was about to go, they would go in that direction. And the wheels rose close beside them; for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. ²¹ When those went, these went; and when those stood, these stood; and when those rose from the earth, the wheels rose along with them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.

²² Over the heads of the living creatures[7] there was the likeness of an expanse, like the awesome gleam of crystal, spread out over their heads. ²³ Under the expanse their wings were stretched out straight, one toward the other; each one also had two wings covering its body and two for covering the other side. ²⁴ And when they went, I heard the sound of their wings like the sound of many waters, like the sound of the Almighty, a sound of tumult like the sound of an army. When they stood still, they let down their wings. 

The Throne of Jehovah

²⁵ And there came a voice from above the expanse that was over their heads. When they stood still, they let down their wings. ²⁶ And above the expanse over their heads there was the likeness of a throne, in appearance like sapphire; and seated above the likeness of a throne was a likeness with the appearance of a man. ²⁷ And I saw something glowing like metal, like the appearance of fire all around within it, and from the appearance of his waist and upward; and from the appearance of his waist downward, I saw something that resembled fire, and there was brightness around him. ²⁸ Like the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud on the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness all around. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of Jehovah. And when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard the voice of one speaking.

CHAPTER 2

Ezekiel’s Call

2 And he said to me, “Son of man,[8] stand on your feet, and I will speak with you.” ² And as he spoke to me, the Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and I heard him speaking to me. 

³ And he said to me, “Son of man, I send you to the sons of Israel, to nations of rebels, who have rebelled against me. They and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day. ⁴ I am sending you to sons who are hard of face and hardhearted, and you shall say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah[9] says’ ⁵ And they, whether they listen or refuse to listen, for they are a rebellious house, they will know that a prophet was among them. 

⁶ And you, son of man, be not afraid of them, nor be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you, and you sit on scorpions. Be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house. ⁷ And you shall speak my words to them, whether they listen or refuse to listen, for they are a rebellious house.

⁸ “But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. Be not rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you.” 

⁹ And when I looked, behold, a hand was stretched out to me, and look, a scroll of a book was in it. ¹⁰ And he spread it before me, it was written on the front and back. And there were written within lamentations, and mourning, and woe.

CHAPTER 3

3 And he said to me, “Son of man, eat whatever you find here. Eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.” 

² So I opened my mouth, and he fed me the scroll. ³ And he said to me, “Son of man, feed your belly with this scroll that I give you and fill your stomach with it.” Then I ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth.

⁴ And he said to me, “Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak with my words to them. ⁵ For you are not sent to a people of unintelligible speech and a hard language, but to the house of Israel, ⁶ not to many peoples of unintelligible speech and a hard language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely, if I sent you to such, they would listen to you. ⁷ But the house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you, for they are not willing to listen to me: because all the house of Israel is hard of forehead and hard of heart. ⁸ Look, I have made your face as hard as their faces, and your forehead as hard as their foreheads. ⁹ Like emery harder than flint have I made your forehead. Fear them not, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house.” 

¹⁰ Moreover, he said to me, “Son of man, all my words that I shall speak to you receive in your heart and listen with your ears. ¹¹ And go to the exiles, to the sons of your people and speak to them and tell them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says,’ whether they listen or refuse to listen.”

¹² Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me the voice of a great earthquake: “Blessed be the glory of Jehovah from his place!”[10] ¹³ And I heard the sound of the wings of the living creatures as they touched one another, and the sound of the wheels beside them, and the sound of a great rumbling. ¹⁴ So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away; and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; and the hand of Jehovah was strong upon me. ¹⁵ And I came to the exiles at Tel-abib, who were dwelling by the river Chebar, and I dwelt[11] where they were dwelling. And I sat there overwhelmed among them seven days.

A Watchman for Israel

¹⁶ And it came about at the end of seven days, that the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, ¹⁷ “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. ¹⁸ When I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. ¹⁹ Yet if you have warned 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 soul. ²⁰ Again, if a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits injustice, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die. Because you have not warned him, he shall die for his sin, and his righteous deeds that he has done shall not be remembered, but his blood I will require at your hand. ²¹ But if you warn the righteous man not to sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live, because he took warning, and you will have delivered your soul.”

²² And the hand of Jehovah was upon me there. And he said to me, “Arise, go out into the valley plain, and there I will speak with you.” ²³ So I arose and went out into the valley plain, and look, the glory of Jehovah stood there, like the glory that I had seen by the river Chebar, and I fell on my face. ²⁴ But the Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and he spoke with me and said to me, “Go, shut yourself within your house. ²⁵ As for you, son of man, they will put ropes on you and bind you with them so that you cannot go out among them. ²⁶ And I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth, and you will become mute, unable to reprove them, because they are a rebellious house. ²⁷ But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you shall say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says.’ Let the one listening listen, and let the one refusing to listen refuse, because they are a rebellious house.

CHAPTER 4

The Siege of Jerusalem Symbolized

4 “And you, son of man, take a brick and lay it before you, and engrave on it a city, even Jerusalem. ² Then lay siege against it, and build a siege wall against it, and throw up a siege rampart against it. Set camps also against it, and plant battering rams against it all around. ³ Take an iron griddle and place it as an iron wall between you and the city. Then set your face toward it, and it will be under siege; you are to besiege it. This is a sign to the house of Israel.

⁴ “Then lie on your left side and place the guilt of the house of Israel upon it. For the number of the days that you lie on it, you shall bear their guilt. ⁵ For I have assigned you a number of days corresponding to the years of their guilt, three hundred and ninety days; thus you shall bear the guilt of the house of Israel. ⁶ And when you have completed these, you shall lie down a second time, but on your right side, and bear the guilt of the house of Judah. Forty days I assign you, a day for a year, a day for a year. ⁷ And you shall set your face toward the siege of Jerusalem with your arm bared and prophesy against it. ⁸ And behold, I will place ropes upon you, so that you cannot turn from one side to the other, till you have completed the days of your siege.

⁹ “And you, take wheat and barley, beans, lentils, millet and spelt, put them in one vessel and make your bread from them. According to the number of the days that you lie on your side, three hundred and ninety days. ¹⁰ And your food that you eat shall be by weight, twenty shekels[12] a day; from day to day, you shall eat it. 

¹¹ And water you shall drink by measure, the sixth part of a hin; from day to day, you shall drink. 

¹² And you shall eat it as a barley cake, baking it before their eyes on human dung.” ¹³ And Jehovah said, “Thus shall the sons of Israel eat their bread unclean, among the nations where I will drive them.” 

¹⁴ Then I said, “Ah, Sovereign Lord Jehovah! look, I have never defiled myself. From my youth up till now I have never eaten what died of itself or was torn by beasts, nor has unclean meat come into my mouth.”

¹⁵ Then he said to me, “See, I have given you cow’s dung in place of man’s dung, and you shall prepare your bread on it.” ¹⁶ Moreover, he said to me, “Son of man, behold, I will break the supply of bread in Jerusalem. They shall eat bread by weight and with anxiety, and they shall drink water by measure and in dismay. ¹⁷ This will happen so that they may lack bread and water and look at one another in shock and waste away because of their error.

CHAPTER 5

Jerusalem Will Be Destroyed

5 “And you, O son of man, take a sharp sword; take and use it as a barber’s razor on your head and beard. Then take scales for weighing and divide the hair. ² A third part you shall burn in the fire in the midst of the city, when the days of the siege are completed. And a third part you shall take and strike with the sword all around the city. And a third part you shall scatter to the wind, and I will draw a sword after them. 

³ And you shall take a few strands of them and bind them up in the skirts of your garment. ⁴ And of these again you shall take some and cast them into the midst of the fire and burn them in the fire. From there a fire will come out into all the house of Israel.

The Meaning of the Siege Signs

⁵ “Thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: This is Jerusalem. I have set her in the middle of the nations, with lands all around her. ⁶ And she has rebelled against my judgment decisions by doing wickedness more than the nations, and against my statutes more than the countries all around her; for they have rejected my judgment decisions and have not walked in my statutes. 

⁷ Therefore thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: Because you are more turbulent than the nations that are all around you and have not walked in my statutes or obeyed my judgment decisions but, instead, you followed the judgment decisions of the nations all around you, ⁸ therefore thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: Look, I, even I, am against you. And I will execute judgments in your midst in the eyes of the nations. ⁹ And because of all your detestable things I will do with you what I have never done before, and the likes of which I will not do again. 

¹⁰ Therefore fathers shall eat their sons in your midst, and sons shall eat their fathers. And I will execute judgments on you, and any of you who survive I will scatter to all the winds. 

¹¹ Therefore, as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, surely, because you have defiled my sanctuary with all your disgusting idols and with all your detestable things, therefore I will withdraw. My eye will not spare, and I will have no pity. ¹² A third part of you shall die of pestilence and be consumed with famine in your midst; a third part shall fall by the sword all around you; and a third part I will scatter to all the winds and will draw the sword after them. ¹³ “Thus shall my anger come to an end, and I will satisfy my wrath on them, and I will be appeased; then they will know that I, Jehovah, have spoken in my zeal when I have spent my wrath upon them. 

¹⁴ Moreover, I will make you a desolation and a reproach among the nations which surround you, in the eyes of all who pass by. ¹⁵ So it shall be[13] a reproach and a taunt, a warning, and a horror, to the nations around you, when I execute judgment on you in anger and in wrath and with furious punishments. I, Jehovah, have spoken it. 

¹⁶ When I send against you the deadly arrows of famine, arrows for destruction, which I will send to destroy you, and when I bring more and more famine upon you and break your supply of bread. ¹⁷ I will send famine and wild beasts against you, and they will rob you of your children. Pestilence and blood shall pass through you, and I will bring the sword upon you. I, Jehovah, have spoken.”

CHAPTER 6

Judgment Against Idolatry

6 And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, set your face toward the mountains of Israel, and prophesy against them, ³ and say, You mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Sovereign Lord Jehovah! Thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah to the mountains and the hills, to the ravines and the valleys: Look, I, even I, will bring a sword upon you, and I will destroy your high places. ⁴ Your altars shall become desolate, and your incense altars shall be broken, and I will cast down your slain before your disgusting idols.[14] ⁵ And I will lay the dead bodies of the sons of Israel before their disgusting idols,[15] and I will scatter your bones around your altars. ⁶ In all your dwellings, cities will become waste and the high places will be desolate, that your altars may become waste and desolate, your disgusting idols[16] may be broken and brought to an end, your incense altars may be cut down, and your works may be blotted out. ⁷ And the slain shall fall in your midst, and you shall know that I am Jehovah.[17]

⁸ “Yet I will leave a remnant, in that you will have those who escaped the sword among the nations when you are scattered among the countries. ⁹ Then those of you who escape will remember me among the nations to which they will be carried captive, how I have been hurt by their promiscuous hearts which turned away from me, and by their eyes which played the harlot after their disgusting idols; and they will loathe themselves in their own sight for the evils which they have committed, for all their detestable things. ¹⁰ And they shall know that I am Jehovah. I have not said in vain that I would do this evil to them.”

¹¹ Thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: “Clap your hands and stamp your foot and say, Alas, because of all the evil detestable things of the house of Israel, for they shall fall by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence. ¹² He who is far off shall die of pestilence, and he who is near shall fall by the sword, and he who remains and is preserved shall die of famine. Thus I will spend my wrath upon them. ¹³ And you shall know that I am Jehovah, when their slain lie among their disgusting idols[18] around their altars, on every high hill, on all the mountaintops, under every green tree, and under every leafy oak, wherever they offered pleasing aroma to all their disgusting idols. ¹⁴ And I will stretch out my hand against them and make the land desolate and waste, in all their dwelling places, from the wilderness to Diblah.[19] Then they will know that I am Jehovah.”

CHAPTER 7

The Day of the Wrath of Jehovah

7 Moreover, the word of Jehovah came to me saying, ² “And you, O son of man, thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah to the land of Israel: An end! The end has come upon the four corners of the land. ³ Now the end is upon you, and I will send my anger upon you; I will judge you according to your ways and bring all your detestable things upon you. ⁴ And my eye will not feel sorry for you; nor will I feel pity, for I will bring upon you the results of your own ways, and you will suffer the consequences of your detestable things. And you will have to know that I am Jehovah.

⁵ “Thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: A disaster, a unique disaster! Look, it comes. ⁶ An end has come; the end has come! It has awakened against you. Look, it comes! ⁷ Your doom has come to you, O inhabitant of the land. The time has come; the day is near, a day of tumult, and not of joyful shouting on the mountains. 

⁸ Now I will soon pour out my wrath upon you, and spend my anger against you, and I will judge you according to your ways and bring all your detestable things upon you. ⁹ And my eye will not feel sorry; nor will I feel pity. I will bring upon you the results of your own ways, and you will suffer the consequences of your detestable things. And you will have to know that I am Jehovah, who strikes.

¹⁰ “Look, the day! Look, it comes! Your doom has come; the rod has blossomed, and arrogance has sprouted. ¹¹ Violence has grown up into a rod of wickedness. None of them shall remain, nor their abundance, nor their wealth; neither shall there be prominence among them. ¹² The time has come; the day has arrived. Let not the buyer rejoice, nor the seller mourn, for wrath is upon all their multitude. ¹³ For the seller shall not return to what he sold, even if they live, for the vision is against the entire multitude. No one shall return, and because of his error, no one shall preserve his life.

¹⁴ “They have blown the trumpet and made everything ready, but none goes to battle, for my wrath is upon all their multitude. ¹⁵ The sword is without; pestilence and famine are within. He who is in the field dies by the sword, and him who is in the city famine and pestilence devour. ¹⁶ Even if any survivors escape, they will go to the mountains, and like the doves of the valleys, each one will moan over his error. ¹⁷ All their hands will hang limp, and all their knees will drip with water.[20] ¹⁸ They put on sackcloth, and horror covers them. Shame is on all faces, and baldness on all their heads. 

¹⁹ They cast their silver into the streets, and their gold is like an unclean thing. Their silver and gold are not able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of Jehovah. Their souls cannot be satisfied, nor can they fill their stomachs, for it was the stumbling block of their error. ²⁰ In the beauty of their ornaments they took pride, and they made their detestable images, their disgusting idols with them. Therefore I make it an abhorrent thing to them. ²¹ And I will give it into the hand of strangers for prey, and to the wicked of the earth for spoil, and they shall profane it. 

²² I will turn my face from them, and they shall profane my treasured place. Robbers shall enter and profane it.

²³ “Make the chain, for the land is full of bloody crimes and the city is full of violence. ²⁴ I will bring the worst of the nations, and they will possess their houses. I will also make the pride of the strong ones cease, and their holy places will be profaned. ²⁵ When anguish comes, they will seek peace, but there shall be none. ²⁶ Disaster comes upon disaster and rumor added to rumor; then they seek a vision from a prophet, while the law perishes from the priest and counsel from the elders. ²⁷ The king mourns, the chieftain is clothed in despair, and the hands of the people of the land tremble in terror. According to their way I will do to them, and according to their judgments I will judge them, and they shall know that I am Jehovah.”

CHAPTER 8

Ezekiel Supernaturally Transferred from Babylon to Jerusalem in a Vision

8 In the sixth year, in the sixth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I sat in my house, with the elders of Judah sitting before me, the hand of the Sovereign Lord Jehovah fell upon me there. ² Then I looked, and behold, a likeness as the appearance of a man; from his waist and downward there was the appearance of fire, and from his waist and upward the appearance of brightness, like the appearance of glowing metal.[21] ³ He put out 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 gateway of the inner court that faces north, where was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provokes to jealousy. ⁴ And look, the glory of the God of Israel was there, like the appearance which I saw in the plain.

Detestable Things Seen in the Temple

⁵ Then he said to me, “Son of man, lift up your eyes now toward the north.” So I lifted up my eyes toward the north, and look, north of the altar gate, in the entrance, was this image of jealousy. ⁶ And he said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing, the great detestable things that the house of Israel are committing here, to drive me far from my sanctuary? But you will see still greater detestable things.”

⁷ And he brought me to the entrance of the court, and when I looked, behold, there was a hole in the wall. ⁸ Then he said to me, “Son of man, dig in the wall.” So I dug in the wall, and look, there was an entrance. ⁹ And he said to me, “Go in and see the wicked detestable things that they are committing here.” ¹⁰ So I went in and saw, and look, every form of creeping things and beasts and disgusting idols,[22] with all the idols of the house of Israel, were carved on the wall all around. ¹¹ And before them stood seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel, with Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan standing among them. Each had his censer in his hand, and the smoke of the cloud of incense went up. ¹² Then he said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the dark, each man in the inner rooms of his idols? For they say, ‘Jehovah does not see us, Jehovah has forsaken the land.’” 

¹³ He said also to me, “You will see still greater detestable things that they are doing.” ¹⁴ Then he brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the house of Jehovah, and there I saw women sitting and weeping over the god Tammuz. 

¹⁵ Then he said to me, “Have you seen this, O son of man? You will see still greater detestable things than these.” ¹⁶ And he brought me into the inner court of the house of Jehovah. And look, at the entrance of the temple of Jehovah, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men, with their backs to the temple of Jehovah, and their faces toward the east, bowing down to the sun toward the east. 

¹⁷ Then he said to me, “Have you seen this, O son of man? Is it too light a thing for the house of Judah to commit the detestable things that they commit here, that they should fill the land with violence and provoke me still further to anger? Look, they put the branch to their nose. ¹⁸ Therefore I will act in wrath. My eye will not feel pity, nor will I show compassion. And though they cry in my ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them.”

CHAPTER 9

Six Executioners and Man with Inkhorn

9 Then he cried in my ears with a loud voice, saying, “Bring near the executioners of the city, each with his destroying weapon in his hand.” 

² And look, six men came from the direction of the upper gate, which faces north, each with his weapon for slaughter in his hand, and one man was in the midst of them clothed in linen, with a scribe’s inkhorn[23] at his waist. And they went in and stood beside the copper altar.

³ Now the glory of the God of Israel rose from where it had rested above the cherubs[24] and moved to the threshold of the house. And he called to the man clothed in linen, who had the scribe’s inkhorn at his waist. ⁴ Jehovah said to him, “Go through the midst of the city, even through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the detestable things which are being committed in its midst.” 

⁵ But to the others He said in my hearing, “Go through the city after him and strike; do not let your eye have pity and do not feel any compassion. ⁶ Old man, young man, virgin, little children, and women kill outright. But do not touch any man on whom there is the mark. And begin at my sanctuary.” So they began with the elders who were before the house. ⁷ Then he said to them, “Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain. Go out.” So they went out and struck in the city. 

⁸ And while they were striking, and I was left alone, I fell upon my face, and cried, “Ah, O Sovereign Lord Jehovah! Will you destroy all the remnant of Israel by pouring out your wrath on Jerusalem?”

⁹ Then he said to me, “The error of the house of Israel and Judah is very, very great, and the land is filled with blood and the city is full of corruption; for they say, ‘Jehovah has forsaken the land, and Jehovah does not see.’ ¹⁰ As for me, my eye will not feel pity, nor will I show compassion; I will bring their deeds upon their heads.”

¹¹ And look, the man clothed in linen, with the scribe’s inkhorn[25] at his waist, reported, saying, “I have done as you commanded me.”

CHAPTER 10

The Glory of Jehovah Leaves the Temple

10 Then I looked, and behold, on the expanse that was over the heads of the cherubim there appeared above them something like a sapphire, in appearance like a throne. ² And he spoke to the man clothed in linen and said, “Go in between the whirling wheels under the cherubs[26] and fill your hands with coals of fire from between the cherubim and scatter them over the city.” And he entered in before my eyes. 

³ Now the cherubim were standing on the south side of the house, when the man went in, and a cloud filled the inner court. ⁴ And the glory of Jehovah went up from the cherub 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 Jehovah. ⁵ And the sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard as far as the outer court, like the voice of God Almighty[27] when he speaks.

⁶ And when he commanded the man clothed in linen, “Take fire from between the whirling wheels, from between the cherubim,” he went in and stood beside a wheel. ⁷ And a cherub stretched out his hand from between the cherubim to the fire that was between the cherubim and took some of it and put it into the hands of the man clothed in linen, who took it and went out. ⁸ The cherubim appeared to have the form of a man’s hand under their wings.

⁹ And I looked, and behold, there were four wheels beside the cherubim, one beside each cherub, and the appearance of the wheels was like a beryl stone. ¹⁰ And as for their appearance, the four had the same likeness, as if a wheel were within a wheel. ¹¹ When they went, they went in any of their four directions without turning as they went, but they followed in the direction where the head would face, without turning as they went. ¹² And their whole body, their backs, their hands, their wings, and the wheels were full of eyes all around, the wheels that the four of them had. ¹³ As for the wheels, they were called in my hearing “the whirling wheels.”

¹⁴ And every one had four faces: the first face was the face of the cherub, and the second face was the face of a man, and the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.

¹⁵ And the cherubim mounted up. These were the living creatures that I saw by the river Chebar. ¹⁶ And when the cherubim went, the wheels went beside them. And when the cherubim lifted up their wings to mount up from the earth, the wheels did not turn from beside them. ¹⁷ When they stood still, these stood still, and when they mounted up, these mounted up with them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in them.

¹⁸ Then the glory of Jehovah went out from the threshold of the house and stood over the cherubim. ¹⁹ And the cherubim lifted up their wings and mounted up from the earth before my eyes as they went out, with the wheels beside them. And they stood at the entrance of the east gate of the house of Jehovah, and the glory of the God of Israel was over them.

²⁰ These were the living creatures that I saw under the God of Israel by the river Chebar; and I knew that they were cherubim. ²¹ Each one had four faces, and there were four wings for each, and the likeness of human hands was under their wings. ²² And as for the likeness of their faces, they were the same faces whose appearance I had seen by the river Chebar. Each one of them went straight forward.

CHAPTER 11

Judgment on Wicked Leaders

11 Now the Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the east gate of the house of Jehovah, which faces east. And look, at the entrance of the gateway there were twenty-five men. And I saw among them Jaazaniah the son of Azzur, and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, leaders of the people. ² And he said to me, “Son of man, these are the men who devise iniquity and who give wicked counsel in this city; ³ who say, ‘The time is not near to build houses. This city is the cooking pot, and we are the meat.’ 

⁴ Therefore prophesy against them; prophesy, O son of man.”

⁵ And the Spirit of Jehovah fell upon me, and he said to me, “Say, Thus says Jehovah: So you think, O house of Israel. For I know the things that come into your mind. ⁶ You have multiplied your slain in this city and have filled its streets with the slain. ⁷ Therefore thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: Your slain whom you have laid in the midst of it, they are the meat, and this city is the cooking pot, but you shall be brought out[28] of the midst of it.

⁸ You have feared the sword, and I will bring the sword upon you, declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah. ⁹ And I will bring you out of the midst of the city and deliver you into the hand of strangers and execute judgments against you. ¹⁰ You shall fall by the sword. I will judge you at the border of Israel, and you shall know that I am Jehovah. ¹¹ This city shall not be your cooking pot, nor shall you be the meat in the midst of it. I will judge you at the border of Israel, ¹² and you shall know that I am Jehovah. For you have not walked in my regulations, nor carried out my judgments, but have acted according to the regulations of the nations that are around you.”

¹³ And it came about, while I was prophesying, that Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died. Then I fell down on my face and cried out with a loud voice and said, “O Sovereign Lord Jehovah! Will you make a full end of the remnant of Israel?”

Promise of Israel’s Restoration

¹⁴ And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, ¹⁵ “Son of man, your brothers, even your brothers, your kinsmen, the whole house of Israel, all of them, are those of whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, ‘Go far from Jehovah; to us this land is given for a possession.’ ¹⁶ Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: Though I removed them far off among the nations, and though I scattered them among the countries, yet I have been a sanctuary to them for a while in the countries where they have gone.’ 

¹⁷ Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.’ ¹⁸ And when they come there, they will remove all its detestable things and all its detestable practices from it. ¹⁹ And I will give them one heart and put a new spirit within them.[29] And I will take the heart of stone out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, ²⁰ that they may walk in my statutes and keep my regulations and obey them. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. 

²¹ But as for those whose heart goes after their detestable things and their detestable practices, I will bring their deeds upon their own heads, declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.”

²² Then the cherubim lifted up their wings, with the wheels beside them, and the glory of the God of Israel was over them. ²³ And the glory of Jehovah went up from the midst of the city and stood on the mountain that is on the east side of the city. ²⁴ And the Spirit lifted me up and brought me in the vision by the Spirit of God into Chaldea, to the exiles. Then the vision that I had seen went up from me. ²⁵ Then I told the exiles all the things that Jehovah had shown me.

CHAPTER 12

Judah’s Exile Symbolized

12 And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, you dwell in the midst of a rebellious house, who have eyes to see, but see not, who have ears to hear, but hear not, for they are a rebellious house. ³ As for you, son of man, prepare for yourself baggage for going into exile by day before their eyes. You shall go like an exile from your place to another place before their eyes. Perhaps they will understand, though they are a rebellious house. ⁴ And you shall bring out your baggage by day before their eyes, as baggage for exile, and you shall go out yourself at evening before their eyes, as those do who must go into exile. 

⁵ Dig a hole through the wall before their eyes and go out through it. ⁶ Before their eyes, you shall carry the baggage on your shoulder and carry it out in the darkness. You shall cover your face so that you cannot see the land because a sign is what I have made you to the house of Israel.”

⁷ And I did as I was commanded. I brought out my baggage by day, as baggage for exile, and in the darkness, I dug through the wall with my own hands. I brought out my baggage at dusk, carrying it on my shoulder before their eyes.

Jerusalem’s People Will Attempt to Escape the Babylonian Siege

⁸ In the morning the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, ⁹ “Son of man, has not the house of Israel, the rebellious house, said to you, ‘What are you doing?’ ¹⁰ Say to them, ‘Thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: This pronouncement concerns the chieftain[30] in Jerusalem and all the house of Israel who are in it.’ 

¹¹ Say, ‘I am a sign for you: as I have done, so shall it be done to them. They shall go into exile, into captivity.’ ¹² And the chieftain who is among them shall carry his baggage upon his shoulder in the darkness and shall go out. They shall dig through the wall to bring him out through it. He shall cover his face, that he may not see the land with his eyes. ¹³ And I will spread my net over him, and he shall be taken in my snare. And I will bring him to Babylon,[31] the land of the Chaldeans, yet he shall not see it, and he shall die there. ¹⁴ And I will scatter toward every wind all who are around him, his helpers and all his troops, and I will unsheathe the sword after them. ¹⁵ And they shall know that I am Jehovah, when I disperse them among the nations and scatter them among the countries. ¹⁶ But I will spare a few of them from the sword, the famine and the pestilence that they may tell all their detestable practices among the nations where they go and may know that I am Jehovah.”

Bread with Trembling, Water with Anxiety

¹⁷ Moreover, the word of Jehovah came to me saying, ¹⁸ “Son of man, eat your bread with quaking, and drink water with trembling and with anxiety. ¹⁹ And say to the people of the land, Thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah concerning the inhabitants of Jerusalem in the land of Israel:[32] They shall eat their bread with anxiety, and drink water in dismay. In this way her land will be stripped of all it contains, on account of the violence of all those who dwell in it. ²⁰ And the inhabited cities shall be laid waste, and the land shall become a desolation; and you shall know that I am Jehovah.”

²¹ And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, ²² “Son of man, what is this proverb that you have about the land of Israel, saying, ‘The days grow long, and every vision comes to nothing’? ²³ Tell them therefore, ‘Thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: I will put an end to this proverb, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel.’ But say to them, The days are near, and the word[33] of every vision. ²⁴ For there shall be no more any false vision or flattering divination within the house of Israel. ²⁵ For I am Jehovah; I will speak the word that I will speak, and it will be performed. It will no longer be delayed, but in your days, O rebellious house, I will speak the word and perform it, declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.”

²⁶ And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, ²⁷ “Son of man, behold, they of the house of Israel say, ‘The vision that he sees is for many days from now, and he prophesies of times far off.’ ²⁸ Therefore say to them, Thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: None of my words will be delayed any longer, but the word that I speak will be performed, declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.”

CHAPTER 13

Against the False Prophets

13 And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who prophesy, and say to those who prophesy from their own hearts, ‘Listen to the word of Jehovah!’ ³ Thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing! ⁴ O Israel, your prophets have been like foxes among ruins. ⁵ You have not gone up into the breaches or built up a wall for the house of Israel, that it might stand in battle in the day of Jehovah. ⁶ They see false visions and lying divination who are saying, ‘Jehovah declares,’ when Jehovah has not sent them; yet they hope for their word to come true. ⁷ Have you not seen a false vision and uttered a lying divination, when you said, ‘Declares Jehovah,’ although I have not spoken?”

⁸ Therefore thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: “Because you have spoken falsehood and seen lying visions, therefore look, I am against you, declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah. ⁹ My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and who give lying divinations. They shall not be in the council of my people, nor be written down in the register of the house of Israel, nor shall they enter the land of Israel. And you shall know[34] that I am the Sovereign Lord Jehovah. ¹⁰ Because, yes, because they led my people astray, saying ‘Peace!’ And there is not peace. And when anyone builds a flimsy wall, look, they plaster it over with whitewash. 

¹¹ Say to those who plaster it over with whitewash that it shall fall! There will be a deluge of rain, and you, O great hailstones, will fall, and a stormy wind break out. ¹² And when the wall falls, will it not be said to you, ‘Where is the plaster with which you plastered it?’ 

¹³ Therefore thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: I will make a stormy wind break out in my wrath, and there shall be a deluge of rain in my anger, and hailstones in destructive fury. ¹⁴ And I will break down the wall that you have plastered with whitewash, and bring it down to the ground, so that its foundation will be laid bare. When it falls, you shall perish in the midst of it, and you shall know that I am Jehovah. 

¹⁵ Thus will I spend my wrath upon the wall and upon those who have plastered it with whitewash, and I will say to you, The wall is no more, nor those who plastered it, ¹⁶ the prophets of Israel who prophesied concerning Jerusalem and saw visions of peace for her, when there was no peace, declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.

Against the False Prophetesses

¹⁷ “And you, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people, who prophesy out of their own hearts. Prophesy against them ¹⁸ and say, Thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: Woe to the women who sew magic bands upon all wrists, and make veils for the heads of persons of every stature, in the hunt for souls! Will you hunt down souls belonging to my people and keep your own souls alive? ¹⁹ You have profaned me among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, putting to death souls who should not die and keeping alive souls who should not live, by your lying to my people, who listen to lies.

²⁰ “Therefore thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: Look, I am against your magic bands with which you hunt the souls like birds, and I will tear them from your arms, and I will let the souls whom you hunt go free, the souls like birds. ²¹ Your veils also I will tear off and deliver my people out of your hand, and they shall be no more in your hand to be hunted, and you shall know that I am Jehovah. ²² For you have disheartened the righteous one with your falsehood when I have not caused him distress, and you have strengthened the hands of the wicked one, so that he does not turn back from his bad way and stay alive. ²³ therefore you shall no more see false visions nor practice divination. I will deliver my people out of your hand. And you shall know that I am Jehovah.”

CHAPTER 14

Idolatrous Elders Condemned

14 Then certain of the elders of Israel came to me and sat before me. ² And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, ³ “Son of man, these men have set up disgusting idols[35] in their hearts and set the stumbling block of their error before their faces. Should I actually let them inquire of me? ⁴ Therefore speak to them and say to them, Thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: Any man of the house of Israel who takes his disgusting idols into his heart and sets the stumbling block of his error before his face, and yet comes to the prophet, I Jehovah will answer him as he comes with the multitude of his disgusting idols, ⁵ that I may lay hold of the hearts of the house of Israel, who are all estranged from me through their disgusting idols.

⁶ “Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: Repent and turn away from your disgusting idols, and turn away your faces from all your detestable practices. ⁷ For any man of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who sojourn in Israel, who separates himself from me, taking his disgusting idols into his heart and putting the stumbling block of his error before his face, and yet comes to a prophet to consult me through him, I Jehovah will answer him myself. ⁸ And I will set my face against that man; I will make him a sign and a proverb and cut him off from the midst of my people, and you shall know that I am Jehovah. ⁹ And if the prophet is deceived and speaks a word, I, Jehovah, have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand against him and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel. ¹⁰ And they shall bear their error. The error of the inquirer shall be the same as the error of the prophet, ¹¹ that the house of Israel may no more go astray from me, nor defile themselves anymore with all their transgressions, but that they may be my people and I may be their God, declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.”

Judgment on Jerusalem Unavoidable

¹² And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, ¹³ “Son of man, when a land sins against me by acting unfaithfully, and I stretch out my hand against it and break its supply of bread and send famine upon it, and cut off from it man and beast, ¹⁴ even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, by their own righteousness they could only deliver their souls,[36] declares Jehovah God.

¹⁵ “If I were to cause wild beasts to pass through the land and they depopulate it,[37] and it be made desolate so that no man may pass through because of the beasts, ¹⁶ though these three men were in it, as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, they would deliver neither sons nor daughters. They alone would be delivered, but the land would be desolate.

¹⁷ “Or if I bring a sword upon that land and say, Let a sword pass through the land, and I cut off from it man and beast, ¹⁸ though these three men were in it, as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, they would deliver neither sons nor daughters, but they alone would be delivered.

¹⁹ “Or if I send a plague into that land and pour out my wrath upon it with blood, to cut off from it man and beast, ²⁰ even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as surely as I am alive,’ declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, ‘they would save neither their sons nor their daughters; they would save only their soul[38] because of their righteousness.’”

²¹ “For thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: How much more when I send upon Jerusalem my four detrimental acts of judgment, sword, famine, wild beasts, and plague, to cut off from it man and beast! ²² But look, some survivors will be left in it, sons and daughters who will be brought out; look, when they come out to you, and you see their ways and their deeds, you will be comforted for the disaster that I have brought upon Jerusalem, for all that I have brought upon it. ²³ They will comfort you, when you see their ways and their deeds, and you shall know that I have not done without cause all that I have done in it, declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.”

CHAPTER 15

Jerusalem, a Useless Vine

15 And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, how does the wood of the vine surpass any wood, the vine branch that is among the trees of the forest? ³ Is wood taken from it to make anything? Do men take a peg from it to hang any vessel on it? ⁴ Look, it is cast into the fire for fuel. When the fire has consumed both ends of it, and the middle of it gets scorched, is it useful for anything? ⁵ Look, when it was whole, it was used for nothing. How much less, when the fire has consumed it and it is scorched, can it ever be used for anything! 

⁶ Therefore thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: Like the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so have I given up the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ⁷ And I will set my face against them. Though they escape from the fire, the fire shall yet consume them, and you will know that I am Jehovah, when I set my face against them. 

⁸ And I will make the land desolate, because they have acted unfaithfully, declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.”

CHAPTER 16

God’s Love for Jerusalem

16 And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, make known to Jerusalem her detestable practices, ³ and say, Thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah to Jerusalem: Your origin and your birth are of the land of the Canaanites; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite. ⁴ And as for your birth, on the day you were born your umbilical cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to cleanse you, nor rubbed with salt, nor wrapped in swaddling cloths. ⁵ No eye pitied you to do for you one of these things in compassion upon you, but you were cast out on the open field, for that your soul was abhorred, on the day that you were born.

⁶ “And when I passed by you and saw you kicking about in your blood, and I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’ Yes, I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’ ⁷ I made you a very great multitude, like plants of the field, and you grew up became tall and wore the finest ornaments. Your breasts became firm, and your hair grew; but you were still naked and bare.

God and the Young Woman

⁸ “And I passed by you, and I saw you, and look, you were at the time for making love,[39] and so I spread the corner of my garment over you[40] and covered your nakedness and swore an oath to you and entered into a covenant with you, declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, and you became mine. ⁹ Then I bathed you with water and washed off your blood from you and anointed you with oil. ¹⁰ I clothed you also with embroidered garment and gave you fine leather[41] sandals. I wrapped you in fine linen and covered you with costly garments. ¹¹ And I adorned you with ornaments and put bracelets on your wrists and a chain on your neck. ¹² And I put a ring on your nose and earrings in your ears and a beautiful crown on your head. ¹³ Thus you were adorned with gold and silver, and your clothing was of fine linen and costly material and embroidered garment. You ate fine flour and honey and oil. You grew exceedingly beautiful and advanced to royalty. ¹⁴ And your name went forth among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect through the splendor that I had bestowed on you, declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.

The Young Woman Becomes Unfaithful

¹⁵ “But you trusted in your beauty and played the prostitute because of your name, and you poured out your prostitution on everyone passing by, and your beauty became his. ¹⁶ You took some of your garments and made for yourself colorful high places where you prostituted yourself; such things should not come about, nor happen. ¹⁷ You also took your beautiful jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given you, and made for yourself images of men, and with them played the prostitute. ¹⁸ And you took your embroidered garments to cover them and set my oil and my incense before them. ¹⁹ Also my bread which I gave you, fine flour, oil and honey with which I fed you, you would offer before them for a restful aroma;[42] so it happened,” declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah. ²⁰ And you took your sons and your daughters, whom you had borne to me, and these you sacrificed to them to be devoured. Were your acts of prostitution so small a matter ²¹ that you slaughtered my sons,[43] and you offered them as sacrifices by making them pass through the fire? ²² And in all your detestable practices and your acts of prostitution you did not remember the days of your youth, when you were naked and bare, kicking about in your blood.

²³ “And after all your evil, woe, woe to you, declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah. ²⁴ You built yourself a mound and made a high place for yourself in every public square. ²⁵ You built your high places at the most prominent place of every street, and you turned your beauty into something detestable by spreading your legs to everyone passing by, and you multiplied your acts of prostitution. ²⁶ You prostituted yourself to the sons of Egypt, your neighbors great of flesh,[44] and you offended me with your countless acts of prostitution. ²⁷ Look, therefore, I stretched out my hand against you and diminished your allotted portion and delivered you to the soul of those who hate you, the daughters of the Philistines, who were ashamed of your obscene conduct. ²⁸ You prostituted yourself to the sons of Assyria because you were unsatisfied; yes, you have played the prostitute with them, and yet you were not satisfied. ²⁹ Moreover, you increased your prostitution toward the land of Canaan,[45] and toward the Chaldeans; and yet you were not satisfied there.

³⁰ “How sick[46] your heart was,[47] declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, because you did all these things, when you behaved like a brazen prostitute! ³¹ When you built your mound at the head of every way and you made your own height in every public square, yet you were unlike a prostitute in that you despised payment. ³² You adulteress wife, who takes strangers instead of her husband! ³³ To all prostitutes they give a gift, but you, you gave your gifts to all your lovers, and you bribe them to come to you from every side in your prostitution. ³⁴ And you were different from that of other women in your acts of prostitution, in that following your way no one commits prostitution, as you gave payment when no payment was given to you, and so you were the opposite.

Punished as an Adulteress

³⁵ “Therefore, O prostitute, hear the word of Jehovah: ³⁶ Thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, For your lust was poured out and your nakedness uncovered in your acts of prostitution with your lovers and toward all your disgusting idols,[48] even with the blood of your sons whom you gave to them, ³⁷ therefore, look, I will gather all your lovers with whom you took pleasure, all those you loved and all those you hated. I will gather them against you from every side and will uncover your nakedness[49] to them, that they may see all your nakedness. ³⁸ And I will judge you with the judgments of adulteresses and women shedding blood and bring upon you the blood of wrath and jealousy. ³⁹ And I will give you into their hand, and they will tear down your mounds and your high places will be pulled down, and they must strip you of your garments and take your beautiful jewels and leave you behind naked and bare. ⁴⁰ They shall bring up a crowd against you, and they shall pelt you with stones and cut you to pieces with their swords. ⁴¹ And they shall burn your houses and execute judgments upon you before the eyes of many women. I will stop you from being a prostitute, and you shall also give payment no more. ⁴² So will I satisfy my wrath on you, and my jealousy shall depart from you. I will be calm and will no more be angry. ⁴³ Because you have not remembered the days of your youth, but have enraged me with all these things, therefore, look, I will also bring your way upon your head, declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah. Have you not committed lewdness in addition to all your detestable practices?

Compared to Samaria and Sodom

⁴⁴ “Look, everyone who uses proverbs will use this proverb about you: ‘Like mother, like daughter.’ ⁴⁵ You are the daughter of your mother, who loathed her husband and her children; and you are the sister of your sisters, who loathed their husbands and their children. Your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite. ⁴⁶ And your older sister is Samaria, who dwelled with her daughters[50] on your left;[51] and your younger sister, who dwelled on your right,[52] is Sodom with her daughters. ⁴⁷ Not only did you walk in their ways and follow their detestable practices, but in a short while you were more corrupt than they in all your ways. ⁴⁸ As I live, declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, your sister Sodom and her daughters have not done as you and your daughters have done. ⁴⁹ Look, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, abundant food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy. ⁵⁰ And they were haughty and did a detestable practice before my face. So I removed them, when I saw it. ⁵¹ Samaria has not committed even half as many sins as you did. You have multiplied your detestable practices more than they, to the point that your sisters appeared righteous because of all your detestable practices that you have committed. ⁵² You also, bear your disgrace in that you have argued in favor of your sisters. Because of your sins in which you acted more detestably than they have, they are more righteous than you. And you also, be ashamed and bear your disgrace in that you make your sisters appear righteous.

⁵³ “I will restore their captivity, the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, and along with them your own captivity, ⁵⁴ in order that you may bear your disgrace and be ashamed of all that you have done, becoming a consolation to them. ⁵⁵ As for your sisters, Sodom and her daughters shall return to their former state, and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former state, and you and your daughters shall return to your former state. ⁵⁶ And Sodom your sister was not worthy of your mention in the day of your pride, ⁵⁷ before your wickedness was uncovered, so now you have become the reproach of the daughters of Syria[53] and of all who are around her, of the daughters of the Philistines, those all around you, who treat you with scorn. ⁵⁸ You bear the consequences of your lewdness and your detestable practices, declares Jehovah.

God Recalls His Covenant

⁵⁹ “For thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: I will deal with you as you have done, you who have despised the oath in breaking the covenant, ⁶⁰ yet I will remember my covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish for you an everlasting covenant. ⁶¹ Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed when you receive your sisters, both your older and your younger; and I will give them to you as daughters, but not because of your covenant. ⁶² I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall know that I am Jehovah, ⁶³ that you may remember and be confounded, and never open your mouth again because of your shame, when I have forgiven you for all that you have done, declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.”

CHAPTER 17

Parable of Two Eagles and a Vine

17 The word of Jehovah came to me: ² “Son of man, propound a riddle and speak a parable to the house of Israel, ³ say, Thus says Jehovah God: A great eagle with great wings and long pinions, rich in plumage of many colors, came to Lebanon and took the top of the cedar. ⁴ He plucked off the topmost of its young twigs and carried it to a land of merchants and set it in a city of traders. ⁵ Then he took of the seed of the land and planted it in fertile soil.[54] He placed it beside abundant waters; he set it like a willow, ⁶ and it sprouted and became a spreading vine, low in height with its branches turned toward him, yet its roots stayed under it. So it became a vine, produced branches, and sent out shoots.

⁷ “And there was another great eagle with great wings and much plumage, and behold, this vine bent its roots toward him and shot forth its branches toward him from the bed where it was planted, that he might water it. ⁸ It had been planted in good soil[55] by abundant waters, that it might produce branches and bear fruit and become a noble vine.

⁹ “Say, Thus says Jehovah God: Will it thrive? Will he not pull up its roots and cut off its fruit, so that it withers, so that all its fresh sprouting leaves wither? It will not take a strong arm or many people to pull it from its roots. ¹⁰ Look, though it is planted, will it thrive? Will it not completely wither as soon as the east wind strikes it, wither on the bed where it sprouted?’”

¹¹ And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying ¹² “Say now to the rebellious house, Do you not know what these things mean? Tell them, look, the king of Babylon[56] came to Jerusalem, and took her king and her officials and brought them to him to Babylon. ¹³ And he took one of the royal offspring[57] and made a covenant with him, putting him under oath, and he took the chief men of the land, ¹⁴ that the kingdom might be humble and not lift itself up, and keep his covenant that it might stand. ¹⁵ But he rebelled against him by sending his ambassadors to Egypt, that they might give him horses and a large army. Will he succeed? Can one escape who does such things? Can he break the covenant and yet escape?

¹⁶ “As I live, declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, surely in the place where the king dwells who made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant with him he broke, in Babylon he shall die. ¹⁷ Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company will not help him in war, when mounds are cast up and siege walls built to cut off many lives ¹⁸ He despised the oath in breaking the covenant, and look, he gave his hand and did all these things; he shall not escape. ¹⁹ Therefore thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: As I live, surely it is my oath that he despised, and my covenant that he broke. I will return it upon his head. ²⁰ I will spread my net over him, and he shall be taken in my snare, and I will bring him to Babylon and enter into judgment with him there for the unfaithfulness he has committed against me. ²¹ All the fugitives of his troops will fall by the sword, and those who remain will be scattered to every wind. And you shall know that I am Jehovah, I have spoken.”

²² Thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: “I myself will take a sprig from the lofty top of the cedar and will set it out. I will break off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and I myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain. ²³ On the high mountain of Israel I will plant it, that it may bring forth boughs and bear fruit and become a majestic cedar. And under it will dwell every kind of bird; in the shade of its branches birds of every sort will nest. ²⁴ And all the trees of the field shall know that I am Jehovah; I bring low the high tree, and make high the low tree, dry up the green tree, and make the dry tree flourish. I am Jehovah; I have spoken, and I will do it.”

CHAPTER 18

The Soul Who Sins Shall Die

18 The word of Jehovah came to me: ² “What do you mean by repeating this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying, ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge’? ³ As I live, declares Jehovah God, it shall not be to you any more to use this proverb in Israel. ⁴ Look, all souls are mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine: the soul who sins will die.

⁵ “Suppose that a man is righteous and does what is just and right: ⁶ He does not eat upon the mountains or lift up his eyes to the disgusting idols of the house of Israel, does not defile his neighbor’s wife or approach a woman who is menstruating, ⁷ does not oppress anyone, but restores to the debtor his pledge, commits no robbery, gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with a garment, ⁸ and a man does not oppress anyone, but restores to the debtor his pledge, commits no robbery, gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with a garment, ⁹ and he walks in my statutes, and keeps my judgment decisions by acting faithfully. Such a man is righteous; he shall surely live, declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.

¹⁰ “If he fathers a son who is violent, a shedder of blood, who does any of these things, ¹¹ though he himself did not do any of these things, who even eats upon the mountains, defiles his neighbor’s wife, ¹² oppresses the poor and needy, commits robbery, does not restore the pledge, lifts up his eyes to the disgusting idols, commits detestable practices, ¹³ lends at interest, and takes profit; shall he then live? He shall not live. He has done all these detestable things; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon himself.

¹⁴ “Now look, suppose that a father has a son who sees all the sins his father has committed, and he sees, and does not do likewise. ¹⁵ he does not eat upon the mountains or lift up his eyes to the disgusting idols of the house of Israel, does not defile his neighbor’s wife, ¹⁶ and no man has he oppressed, no pledge has he seized, nor has he taken by robbery, but gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with a garment, ¹⁷ he keeps his hand from the poor, does not take interest or increase, but executes my judgment decisions, and walks in my statutes; he shall not die because of the error of his father, he shall surely live. ¹⁸ As for his father, because he practiced extortion, robbed his brother, and did what is not good among his people, look, he shall die for his error.

¹⁹ “Yet you say, ‘Why does the son not bear guilt because of his father’s error?’ When the son has done what is just and righteous, and has been careful to observe all my statutes, he shall surely live. ²⁰ The soul[58] that sins shall die. The son shall not bear the error of the father, neither shall the father bear the error of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be on him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be on him.

²¹ “But if a wicked man turns away from all his sins that he has committed and keeps all my statutes and does what is just and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die. ²² None of the transgressions that he has committed shall be remembered against him; for the righteousness that he has done he shall live. ²³ Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live? ²⁴ But when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness, and does injustice and does according to all the detestable things that a wicked man does, will he live? None of the righteous deeds that he has done shall be remembered for his treachery which he has committed and his sin which he has committed; for them he shall die.

²⁵ “Yet you say, ‘The way of Jehovah[59] is not just.’ Hear now, O house of Israel: Is my way not just? Is it not your ways that are not just? ²⁶ When a righteous man turns away from his righteousness, commits injustice and dies because of it, for his injustice which he has committed he shall die. ²⁷ Again, when a wicked man turns away from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and righteousness, he shall save his soul. ²⁸ Because he considered and turned away from all the transgressions that he had committed, he shall surely live; he shall not die. ²⁹ Yet the house of Israel says, ‘The way of Jehovah^[60] is not just.’ O house of Israel, are my ways not just? Is it not your ways that are not just?

³⁰ “Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, each one according to his ways, declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah. Repent and turn from all your transgressions, so that they will not be a stumbling block bringing guilt upon you. ³¹ Cast away from you all your transgressions which you have committed and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! For why will you die, O house of Israel? ³² For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah; so turn, and live.”

CHAPTER 19

A Lament for the Chieftains of Israel

19 And you, take up a lamentation for the chieftains[61] of Israel, ² and say:

What was your mother? A lioness!
    Among lions she crouched;
in the midst of young lions
    she reared her cubs.
³ And she brought up one of her cubs;
    he became a young lion,
and he learned to catch prey;
    he devoured men.
⁴ The nations heard about him;
    he was caught in their pit,
and they brought him with hooks
    to the land of Egypt.
⁵ When she saw that she waited in vain,
    that her hope was lost,
she took another of her cubs
    and made him a young lion.
⁶ He walked about among the lions;
    he became a young lion,
and he learned to catch prey;
    he devoured men.
⁷ He destroyed their fortified towers.[62]
    He laid waste their cities,
and the land was appalled and all who were in it
    at the sound of his roaring.
⁸ Then the nations set against him
    from provinces on every side;
they spread their net over him;
    he was taken in their pit.
⁹ With hooks they put him in a cage
    and brought him to the king of Babylon;[63]
    they brought him into confinement,
that his voice should no more be heard
    on the mountains of Israel.

¹⁰ Your mother was like a vine in a vineyard[^v]
    planted by the water,
fruitful and full of branches
    by reason of abundant water.
¹¹ Its strong branches became
    fit for the scepters of rulers;
it grew and towered
    among the thick boughs;
it was seen in its height
    with the mass of its branches.
¹² But it was plucked up in fury,
    cast down to the ground;
the east wind dried up its fruit;
    they were torn off and withered.
As for its strong stem,
    fire consumed it.
¹³ Now it is planted in the wilderness,
    in a dry and thirsty land.
¹⁴ And fire has gone out from the stem of its shoots,
    has consumed its fruit,
so that there remains in it no strong stem,
    a scepter to rule.

This is a lamentation and has become a lamentation.

CHAPTER 20

Israel’s Continuing Rebellion

20 In the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month, certain of the elders of Israel came to inquire of Jehovah and sat before me. ² And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, ³ “Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel, and say to them, Thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, Is it to inquire of me that you come? As I live, declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, I will not be inquired of by you.

⁴ Will you judge them, son of man, will you judge them? Let them know the detestable things of their forefathers, ⁵ and say to them, Thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: On the day when I chose Israel, I raised my hand to the offspring[64] of the house of Jacob, making myself known to them in the land of Egypt; I swore to them, saying, I am Jehovah your God. ⁶ On that day I swore to them that I would bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had searched out for them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the most glorious of all lands. ⁷ And I said to them, ‘Cast away the detestable things your eyes feast on, every one of you, and do not defile yourselves with the disgusting idols of Egypt; I am Jehovah your God.’ 

⁸ But they rebelled against me and were not willing to listen to me. None of them cast away the detestable things their eyes feasted on, nor did they forsake the disgusting 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. ⁹ But I acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations among whom they lived, in whose sight I made myself known to them in bringing them out of the land of Egypt. ¹⁰ So I led them out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness. 

¹¹ I gave them my statutes and made known to them my judgment decisions, by which, if a man does them, he shall live. ¹² Moreover, I gave them my Sabbaths, as a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am Jehovah who sanctifies them. ¹³ But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness. They did not walk in my statutes but rejected my judgment decisions, by which, if a man does them, he shall live; and my Sabbaths they greatly profaned. “Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them in the wilderness, to destroy them. ¹⁴ But I acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I had brought them out. ¹⁵ Moreover, I swore to them in the wilderness that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands, ¹⁶ because they rejected my judgment decisions and did not walk in my statutes, and profaned my Sabbaths; for their heart went after their disgusting idols.[65] ¹⁷ Nevertheless, my eye spared them, and I did not destroy them or make a full end of them in the wilderness.

¹⁸ “And I said to their sons in the wilderness, ‘Do not walk in the statutes of your forefathers, nor keep their judgment decisions, nor defile yourselves with their disgusting idols. ¹⁹ I am Jehovah your God; walk in my statutes and keep my judgment decisions and follow them. ²⁰ And sanctify my Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that you may know that I am Jehovah your God. ²¹ But the sons rebelled against me. They did not walk in my statutes and were not careful to obey my judgment decisions, by which, if a man does them, he shall live; they profaned my Sabbaths.

“Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them and spend my anger against them in the wilderness. ²² But I withheld my hand and acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I had brought them out. ²³ Moreover, I swore to them in the wilderness that I would scatter them among the nations and disperse them through the countries, ²⁴ because they had not obeyed my judgment decisions, but had rejected my statutes and profaned my Sabbaths, and their eyes were set on their forefathers’ disgusting idols. ²⁵ Moreover, I also gave them statutes that were not good and judgment decisions by which they could not live; ²⁶ and I pronounced them unclean because of their gifts, in that they caused all their firstborn to pass through the fire so that I might make them desolate, in order that they might know that I am Jehovah.

²⁷ “Therefore, son of man, speak to the house of Israel and say to them, Thus says the Jehovah: In this also your forefathers blasphemed me, by dealing treacherously with me. ²⁸ When I had brought them into the land which I swore to give to them, then they saw every high hill and every leafy tree, and they offered there their sacrifices and there they presented the provocation of their offering. There also they made their restful aroma and there they poured out their drink offerings. ²⁹ Then I said to them, ‘What is the high place to which you go?’ So its name is called Bamah to this day.

³⁰ “Therefore, say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, “Will you defile yourselves after the manner of your forefathers and play the harlot after their detestable things? ³¹ When you offer your gifts, when you cause your sons to pass through the fire, you are defiling yourselves with all your disgusting idols to this day. And shall I be inquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live,” declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, “I will not be inquired of by you.

³² “And that which comes into your mind shall not be at all, in that you say, ‘We will be as the nations, as the families of the nations, to serve wood and stone.’

Jehovah Will Restore Israel

³³ “As I live,” declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, “surely with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm and with wrath poured out, I shall be king over you. ³⁴ I will bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you are scattered, with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and with wrath poured out. ³⁵ And I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there I will enter into judgment with you face to face. ³⁶ As I entered into judgment with your forefathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you, declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah. ³⁷ I will make you pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant. ³⁸ And I will purge from rebels from among you, and those who transgress against me. I will bring them out of the land where they sojourn, but they shall not enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am Jehovah.

³⁹ “As for you, O house of Israel, thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: Go serve every one of you his disgusting idols, now and hereafter, if you will not listen to me; but my holy name you shall no more profane with your gifts and your disgusting idols.

⁴⁰ “For on my holy mountain, the mountain height of Israel, declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, there all the house of Israel, all of them, shall serve me in the land. There I will accept them, and there I will require your contributions and the choicest of your gifts, with all your holy things. ⁴¹ As a restful aroma I will accept you, when I bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you have been scattered. And I will manifest my holiness among you in the sight of the nations. ⁴² And you shall know that I am Jehovah, when I bring you into the land of Israel, the country that I swore to give to your forefathers. ⁴³ And there you shall remember your ways and all your deeds with which you have defiled yourselves, and you shall loathe yourselves for all the evils that you have committed. ⁴⁴ And you shall know that I am Jehovah, when I deal with you for my name’s sake, not according to your evil ways, nor according to your corrupt deeds, O house of Israel, declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.”

⁴⁵ And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, ⁴⁶ “Son of man, set your face toward Teman, and speak out against the south and prophesy against the forest land of the Negev.[66] ⁴⁷ Say to the forest of the Negev, Hear the word of Jehovah: Thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, Look, I will kindle 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 all faces from south to north shall be scorched by it. ⁴⁸ All flesh shall see that I Jehovah have kindled it; it shall not be quenched.” ⁴⁹ Then I said, “O Sovereign Lord Jehovah! They are saying of me, ‘Is he not a maker of parables?’”

CHAPTER 21

God Has Drawn His Sword of Judgment

21 [67]And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, set your face toward Jerusalem, and speak against the sanctuaries and prophesy against the land of Israel; ³ and say to the land of Israel, Thus says Jehovah: Look, I am against you and will draw my sword from its sheath and will cut off from you both righteous and wicked. ⁴ Because I will cut off from you the righteous and the wicked, therefore My sword will go forth from its sheath against all flesh from south to north. ⁵ And all flesh shall know that I am Jehovah. I have drawn my sword from its sheath; it shall not be sheathed again.

⁶ “As for you, son of man, groan; with breaking heart and bitter grief, groan before their eyes. ⁷ And when they say to you, ‘Why do you groan?’ you shall say, ‘Because of the news that it is coming, and every heart will melt, and all hands will be feeble; every spirit will faint, and all knees will be weak as water. Look, it is coming, and it will be fulfilled,’ ” declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.

⁸ And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, ⁹ “Son of man, prophesy, and you must say, Thus says Jehovah,[68] say,

“A sword, a sword is sharpened
    and also polished,
¹⁰ sharpened for slaughter,
    polished to flash like lightning!

Or shall we rejoice? The scepter of my son, the sword despises every tree. ¹¹ It is given to be polished, that it may be handled; the sword is sharpened and polished, to give it into the hand of the slayer. ¹² Cry out and wail, son of man, for it is against my people. It is against all the chieftains of Israel. They are delivered over to the sword with my people. Strike therefore upon your thigh. ¹³ For there is a testing; and what if even the rod which despises shall be no more?” declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.

¹⁴ “You therefore, son of man, prophesy and clap your hands together; and let the sword be doubled the third time, the sword for the slain. It is the sword for the great one slain, which surrounds them. ¹⁵ Their hearts will melt with fear, and many will fall at their city gates; I will inflict a slaughter by the sword. Yes, it flashes like lightning and is polished for a slaughter! ¹⁶ Show yourself sharp, go to the right; set your position; go to the left, wherever your face is directed. ¹⁷ I will also clap my hands and satisfy my rage. I myself, Jehovah, have spoken.”

Babylon’s King to Attack Jerusalem

¹⁸ And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, ¹⁹ “As for you, son of man, make two ways for the sword of the king of Babylon[69] to come; both of them will go out of one land. And make a signpost; make it at the head of the way to the city. ²⁰ You shall mark a way for the sword to come to Rabbah of the sons of Ammon, and to Judah into fortified Jerusalem. ²¹ For the king of Babylon stands at the mother of the way,[70] at the head of the two ways, to use divination; he shakes the arrows, he consults the teraphim,[71] he looks at the liver. ²² Into his right hand comes the divination for Jerusalem, to set battering rams, to open the mouth for slaughter, to lift up the voice with shouting, to set battering rams against the gates, to throw up a siege rampart, to build a siege wall. ²³ And it shall be to them like a false divination in their eyes; they have sworn solemn oaths. But he brings guilt to remembrance, that they may be taken.

Wicked chieftain of Israel to be removed

²⁴ “Therefore thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: Because you have made your guilt to be remembered, in that your transgressions are uncovered, so that in all your deeds your sins appear; because you have come to remembrance, you shall be taken in hand. ²⁵ And you, O fatally wounded, wicked one, the chieftain of Israel, whose day has come, in the time of the punishment of the end, ²⁶ thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, ‘Remove the turban and take off the crown; this will no longer be the same. Exalt that which is low and abase that which is high. ²⁷ A ruin, a ruin, a ruin I shall make it. This also shall be no more until he comes whose right it is, and I will give it him.

Sword against the Ammonites

²⁸ “And you, son of man, prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah concerning the sons of Ammon and concerning their reproach,’ and say: ‘A sword, a sword is drawn, polished for the slaughter, to cause it to consume, that it may be like lightning, ²⁹ while they see for you false visions, while they divine lies for you, to place you on the necks of the wicked who are slain, whose day has come, in the time of the punishment of the end. ³⁰ Return it to its sheath. In the place where you were created, in the land of your origin, I will judge you. ³¹ And I will pour out my indignation upon you; I will blow upon you with the fire of my wrath, and I will deliver you into the hands of brutish men, skillful to destroy. ³² You shall be fuel for the fire. Your blood shall be in the midst of the land. You shall be no more remembered, for I Jehovah have spoken.”

CHAPTER 22

Israel’s Shedding of Blood

22 And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, ² “And you, son of man, will you judge, will you judge the bloody city? Then cause her to know all her detestable things. ³ You shall say, Thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: A city that sheds blood in her midst, so that her time may come, and that makes disgusting idols to defile herself! ⁴ You have become guilty by the blood that you have shed, and defiled by the disgusting idols that you have made, and you have brought your days near, the appointed time of your years has come. Therefore, I have made you a reproach to the nations, and a mockery to all the lands. ⁵ Those who are near and those far away from you will mock you, you infamous one full of tumult.

⁶ “Behold, the chieftains of Israel in you, each one according to his power, have been given over to shedding blood. ⁷ Father and mother they have treated with contempt in you. The sojourner they have oppressed in the midst of you. Fatherless boy and widow they have maltreated in you. ⁸ You have despised my holy things and profaned my Sabbaths. ⁹ Outright men of slander have been in you to shed blood; and in you they have eaten at the mountain. In the midst of you they have committed obscene conduct. ¹⁰ In you they have uncovered the nakedness of their father;[72] in you they have humbled her who was unclean in her menstrual impurity. ¹¹ And a man has committed a detestable thing with his neighbor’s wife, and another has lewdly defiled his daughter-in-law. And another in you has humbled his sister, his father’s daughter. ¹² In you they have taken bribes to shed blood; you have taken interest and profits, and you have injured your neighbors for gain by oppression, and you have forgotten me,” declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.

¹³ “And, look! I have struck my hand at your unjust gain that you have made, and at the blood that has been in the midst of you. ¹⁴ Can your heart endure, or can your hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal with you? I Jehovah have spoken, and I will do it. ¹⁵ I will scatter you among the nations and disperse you through the lands, and I will consume your uncleanness out of you. ¹⁶ And you shall be profaned within yourself before the eyes of the nations, and you shall know that I am Jehovah.”

¹⁷ And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, ¹⁸ “Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to me; all of them are copper and tin and iron and lead in the furnace; they are dross of silver. ¹⁹ Therefore thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: Because you have all become dross, therefore, look, I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem. ²⁰ As they gather silver and copper and iron and lead and tin into the furnace to blow fire on it in order to melt it, so I will gather you in my anger and in my wrath and I will lay you there and melt you. ²¹ I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of my wrath, and you shall be melted in the midst of it. ²² As silver is melted in a furnace, so you shall be melted in the midst of it, and you shall know that I am Jehovah; I have poured out my wrath upon you.”

²³ And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, ²⁴ “Son of man, say to her, You are a land that is not cleansed or rained upon in the day of indignation. ²⁵ The conspiracy of her prophets in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing the prey; they have devoured souls; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in her midst. ²⁶ Her priests have done violence to my law and have profaned my holy things. They have made no distinction between the holy and the common, neither have they taught the difference between the unclean and the clean, and they have disregarded my Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them. ²⁷ Her officials in her midst are like wolves tearing the prey, shedding blood, destroying souls to get dishonest gain. ²⁸ And her prophets have smeared whitewash for them, seeing false visions and divining lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah,’ when Jehovah has not spoken. ²⁹ The people of the land have practiced oppression and committed robbery, and they have wronged the poor and needy and have oppressed the sojourner without justice. ³⁰ And I sought for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none. ³¹ Therefore I have poured out my indignation upon them. I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath. I have returned their way upon their heads, declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.”

CHAPTER 23

Oholah and Oholibah

23 And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother; ³ and they prostituted themselves in Egypt. They engaged in prostitution in their youth; there their breasts were squeezed and there their virgin bosom was caressed. ⁴ Their names were Oholah the elder and Oholibah her sister. And they became mine, and they bore sons and daughters. And as for their names, Samaria is Oholah, and Jerusalem is Oholibah.

⁵ “Oholah played the harlot while she was Mine; and she lusted after her lovers, after the Assyrians, her neighbors, ⁶ who were clothed in purple, governors and officials, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding on horses. ⁷ She bestowed her prostitutions on them, all of whom were the choicest sons of Assyria; and with all whom she lusted after, with all their disgusting idols[73] she defiled herself. ⁸ She did not forsake her prostitutions from the time in Egypt; for in her youth men had lain with her, and they caressed her virgin bosom and poured out their immoral intercourse on her. ⁹ Therefore, I gave her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the sons of Assyria, after whom she lusted. ¹⁰ These uncovered her nakedness; they took her sons and her daughters, but they slew her with the sword. Thus she became notorious among women, and they executed judgments on her.

¹¹ “Now her sister Oholibah saw this, yet she was more corrupt in her lust than she, and her prostitutions were more than the fornications of her sister. ¹² She lusted after the sons of Assyria, governors and officials, the ones near, clothed in splendor, horsemen riding on horses, all of them desirable young men. ¹³ And I saw that she was defiled; they both took the same way. ¹⁴ So she increased her acts of prostitution. And she saw men portrayed on the wall, images of the Chaldeans portrayed with vermilion, ¹⁵ girded with belts on their waist, with flowing turbans on their heads, all of them looking like officers, like the Babylonians in Chaldea, the land of their birth. ¹⁶ And when she saw them, she lusted after them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea. ¹⁷ And the Babylonians came to her into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their immoral intercourse. And after she was defiled by them, her soul turned from them in disgust. ¹⁸ When she uncovered her acts of prostitution and uncovered her nakedness; then my soul became disgusted with her, as my soul had become disgusted with her sister. ¹⁹ Yet she multiplied her acts of prostitution, remembering the days of her youth, when she prostituted herself in the land of Egypt. ²⁰ She lusted after their concubines, whose fleshly member is like the fleshly member of donkeys and whose seminal emission is like the seminal emission of horses. ²¹ Thus you longed for the lewdness of your youth, when the Egyptians caressed your bosom and squeezed the breasts of your youth.”

²² Therefore, O Oholibah, thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: “Look, I will stir up your lovers against you, from whom your soul turned in disgust, and I will bring them against you from every side: ²³ the sons of Babylon and all the Chaldeans, Pekod and Shoa and Koa, and all the sons of Assyria with them; desirable young men, governors and officials all of them, officers and men of renown, all of them riding on horses. ²⁴ And they shall come against you[74] with weapons, chariots, and wagons, and with a company of peoples. They shall set themselves against you on every side with buckler[75] and shield and helmet; and I will commit the judgment to them, and they shall judge you according to their judgments. ²⁵ And I will set my jealousy against you, that they may deal with you in fury. They shall cut off your nose and your ears, and those of you who remain shall fall by the sword. They shall seize your sons and your daughters, and your survivors shall be devoured by fire. ²⁶ They shall also strip you of your clothes and take away your beautiful jewels. ²⁷ Thus I will put an end to your lewdness and your prostitution, which started in the land of Egypt, so that you shall not lift up your eyes to them or remember Egypt anymore.

²⁸ “For thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: Look, I will deliver you into the hands of those whom you hate, into the hands of those from whom your soul turned in disgust. ²⁹ And they shall deal with you in hatred and take away all the fruit of your labor and leave you naked and bare, and the nakedness of your acts of fornication shall be uncovered. Your lewdness and your acts of prostitution. ³⁰ These things will be done to you because you chased after the nations like a prostitute, because you defiled yourself with their disgusting idols. ³¹ You have walked in the way of your sister; therefore I will give her cup into your hand. ³² Thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah:

“You shall drink your sister’s cup
    that is deep and large;
you shall be laughed at and held in derision,
    for it contains much;
³³ you will be filled with drunkenness and sorrow.
A cup of horror and desolation,
    the cup of your sister Samaria;
³⁴ you shall drink it and drain it out,
    and gnaw its shards,
    and tear your breasts;

for I have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah. ³⁵ Therefore thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: Because you have forgotten me and cast me behind your back, you yourself also bear your lewdness and your acts of prostitution.”

³⁶ Jehovah said to me: “Son of man, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah? Declare to them their disgusting practices. ³⁷ For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands. With their disgusting idols they have committed adultery and they have even caused their sons, whom they bore to me, to pass through the fire to them as food. ³⁸ Moreover, this they have done to me: they have defiled my sanctuary on the same day and profaned my Sabbaths. ³⁹ For when they had slaughtered their sons in sacrifice to their disgusting idols, on the same day they came into my sanctuary to profane it. And look, this is what they did in my house. ⁴⁰ Furthermore, they have even sent for men to come from afar, to whom a messenger was sent; and look, they came. For them you bathed yourself, painted your eyes, and adorned yourself with ornaments. ⁴¹ You sat on a stately couch, with a table spread before it on which you had set my incense and my oil. ⁴² The sound of a carefree multitude was with her; and with men of the common sort, drunkards were brought from the wilderness; and they put bracelets on the hands of the women, and beautiful crowns on their heads.

⁴³ “Then I said concerning her who was worn out with adultery: Now she will keep committing her prostitution. ⁴⁴ But they went in to her as they would go in to a harlot. Thus they went in to Oholah and to Oholibah, the lewd women. ⁴⁵ But they, righteous men, will judge them with the judgment of adulteresses and with the judgment of women who shed blood, because they are adulteresses and blood is on their hands.”

⁴⁶ For thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, ‘Bring up an army against them and give them over to terror and plunder. ⁴⁷ And the army shall stone them and cut them down with their swords. They shall kill their sons and their daughters and burn up their houses. ⁴⁸ Thus I will make lewdness cease from the land, that all women may be warned and not commit lewdness as you have done. ⁴⁹ And they shall return your lewdness upon you, and you shall bear the penalty for your disgusting idols, and you shall know that I am the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.”

CHAPTER 24

The Siege of Jerusalem

24 In the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, write the name of the day, this very day. The king of Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem this very day. ³ And utter a parable to the rebellious house and say to them, Thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah:

“Set on the pot, set it on;
    pour in water also;
⁴ put in it the pieces of meat,
    all the good pieces, the thigh and the shoulder;
    fill it with choice bones.
⁵ Take the choicest sheep of the flock;
    and stack the logs all around under the pot;
boil the pieces;
    and cook the bones inside it.

⁶ “Therefore thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: Woe to the bloody city, to the pot whose rust is in it, and whose rust has not gone out of it! Take out of it piece after piece, without making any choice. ⁷ For her blood is in the midst of her; she put it on the bare rock; she did not pour it out on the ground to cover it with dust. ⁸ That it may cause wrath to come up to take vengeance, I have put her blood on the bare rock, so that it may not be covered. ⁹ Therefore thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: Woe to the bloody city! I also will make the pile great. ¹⁰ Heap on the wood, kindle the fire, boil the meat well, mix in the spices, and let the bones be burned up. ¹¹ Then set it empty upon the coals, that it may become hot, and its copper may burn, that its filthiness may be melted in it, its rust consumed. ¹² She has wearied me with toil, yet her great rust has not gone from her; let her rust be in the fire! ¹³ In your filthiness is lewdness. Because I would have cleansed you, but you were not clean, you shall not be cleansed from your filthiness again until I have spent my wrath on you. ¹⁴ I am Jehovah. I have spoken; it shall come to pass; I will do it. I will not go back; I will not spare; I will not regret; and according to your deeds I will judge you,[76] declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.”

Ezekiel’s Wife Dies

¹⁵ And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, ¹⁶ “Son of man, look, I am about to take the delight of your eyes away from you at a stroke; yet you shall not mourn or weep, nor shall your tears run down. ¹⁷ Sigh, but not aloud; make no mourning for the dead. Bind on your turban and put your shoes on your feet; do not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of men.” ¹⁸ So I spoke to the people in the morning, and at evening my wife died. And in the morning, I did as I was commanded.

¹⁹ And the people said to me, “Will you not tell us what these things mean for us, that you are doing?” ²⁰ Then I said to them, “The word of Jehovah came to me, saying, ²¹ ‘Say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: Look, I will profane my sanctuary, the pride of your power, the delight of your eyes, and the yearning of your soul, and your sons and your daughters whom you left behind shall fall by the sword. ²² And you shall do as I have done; you shall not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of men. ²³ Your turbans shall be on your heads and your shoes on your feet; you shall not mourn or weep, but you shall rot away in your errors and groan to one another. ²⁴ Thus shall Ezekiel be to you a sign; according to all that he has done you shall do. When this comes, then you will know that I am the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.’

²⁵ “As for you, son of man, will it not be on the day when I take from them their stronghold, the joy of their pride, the desire of their eyes and their soul’s desire, and also their sons and daughters, ²⁶ on that day the one who escapes shall come to you, to cause you to hear it with your ears. ²⁷ On that day, your mouth will be opened to him who escaped, and you will speak, and you will no longer be mute. Thus you will be a sign to them, and they will know that I am Jehovah.”

CHAPTER 25

Prophecy Against Ammon

25 And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, set your face toward the sons of Ammon and prophesy against them. ³ and say to the sons of Ammon, ‘Hear the word of the Sovereign Lord Jehovah! Thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, “Because you said, ‘Aha!’ against my sanctuary when it was profaned, and against the land of Israel when it was made desolate, and against the house of Judah when they went into exile, ⁴ therefore look, I am handing you over to the sons of the East for a possession, and they shall set their encampments among you and make their dwellings in your midst. They shall eat your fruit, and they shall drink your milk. ⁵ I will make Rabbah a pasture for camels and the sons of Ammon a resting place for flocks. Thus you will know that I am Jehovah. ⁶ For thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: Because you have clapped your hands and stamped your feet and rejoiced with all the malice within your soul against the land of Israel, ⁷ therefore, look, I have stretched out my hand against you, and will hand you over as plunder to the nations. And I will cut you off from the peoples and will make you perish out of the countries; I will destroy you. Then you will know that I am Jehovah.

Prophecy against Moab

⁸ “Thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: Because Moab and Seir said, ‘Look, the house of Judah is like all the other nations,’ ⁹ therefore I will lay open the flank of Moab from the cities, from its cities on its frontier, the glory of the country, Beth-jeshimoth, Baal-meon, and Kiriathaim. ¹⁰ I will give it as a possession along with the sons of Ammon to the sons of the east, so that the sons of Ammon may be remembered among the nations, ¹¹ and I will execute judgments upon Moab. Then they will know that I am Jehovah.

Prophecy Against Edom

¹² “Thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, “Because Edom has acted against the house of Judah by taking vengeance, and has incurred great guilt, and avenged themselves upon them, ¹³ therefore thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, I will stretch out my hand against Edom and cut off from it man and beast. And I will make it desolate; from Teman even to Dedan they shall fall by the sword. ¹⁴ And I will lay my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel, and they shall do in Edom according to my anger and according to my wrath, and they shall know my vengeance, declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.

Prophecy Against Philistia

¹⁵ “Thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, “Because the Philistines acted in vengeance and have taken vengeance with scorn of soul to destroy with everlasting enmity, ¹⁶ therefore thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, Look, I will stretch out my hand against the Philistines, and I will cut off the Cherethites and destroy the rest of the seacoast. ¹⁷ I will execute great vengeance on them with wrathful rebukes. Then they will know that I am Jehovah, when I lay my vengeance upon them.”

CHAPTER 26

Prophecy Against Tyre

26 Now in the eleventh year, on the first of the month, the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, because Tyre said concerning Jerusalem, ‘Aha, the gate of the peoples is broken; it has swung open to me. I shall be replenished, now that she is laid waste,’ ³ therefore thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: Look, I am against you, O Tyre, and will bring up many nations against you, as the sea brings up its waves. ⁴ They shall destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers, and I will scrape her soil from her and make her a bare rock. ⁵ She shall be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea; for I have spoken it, says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah; and she shall become a spoil to the nations. ⁶ and her daughters on the mainland shall be killed by the sword. Then they will know that I am Jehovah.

⁷ “For thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: Look, I will bring against Tyre from the north Nebuchadnezzar[77] king of Babylon,[78] king of kings, with horses and chariots, and with horsemen and a host of many soldiers. ⁸ He will kill with the sword your daughters on the mainland. He will set up a siege wall against you and throw up a siege rampart against you and raise up a great shield against you. ⁹ He will direct the pounds of his battering rams against your walls, and with his axes he will break down your towers. ¹⁰ From the abundance of his horses their dust will cover you. Your walls will shake at the noise of the horsemen and wagons and chariots, when he enters your gates like men enter a city that has been breached. ¹¹ With the hoofs of his horses he will trample all your streets. He will slay your people with the sword; and your strong pillars will come down[79] to the ground. ¹² Also they will make a spoil of your riches and a prey of your merchandise, break down your walls and destroy your pleasant houses. Your stones and timber and soil they will cast into the midst of the waters. ¹³ And I will stop the noise of your songs, and the sound of your lyres shall be heard no more. ¹⁴ I will make you a bare rock; you shall be a place for the spreading of nets. You shall be built no more, for I Jehovah have spoken,” declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.

¹⁵ “Thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah to Tyre: Will not the islands shake at the sound of your fall, when the wounded groan, when slaughter is made in your midst? ¹⁶ Then all the princes of the sea will step down from their thrones and remove their robes and strip off their embroidered garments. They will clothe themselves with trembling; they will sit on the ground and tremble every moment and be appalled at you. ¹⁷ And they will raise a lamentation over you and say to you,

“‘How you have perished,
    you who were inhabited from the seas,[80]
O city renowned,
    who was mighty on the sea;
she and her inhabitants imposed their terror
    on all her inhabitants!
¹⁸ Now the islands tremble
    on the day of your fall,
and the islands that are on the sea
    are dismayed at your passing.’

¹⁹ “For thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: When I make you a city laid waste, like the cities that are not inhabited, when I bring up the deep over you, and the great waters cover you, ²⁰ then I will bring you down with those who go down to the pit, to the people of old, and I will make you dwell in the lower parts of the earth, like the ancient waste places, with those who go down to the pit, so that you will not be inhabited; but I will set glory in the land of the living. ²¹ I will bring sudden terror upon you, and you shall be no more. Though you be sought for, you will never be found again, declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.”

CHAPTER 27

A Lament for the Sinking Ship of Tyre

27 And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, ² “And you, son of man, take up a lamentation over Tyre; ³ and say to Tyre, who dwells at the entrances to the sea, merchant of the peoples to many islands, thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah:

“O Tyre, you have said,
    ‘I am perfect in beauty.’
⁴ Your borders are in the heart of the seas;
    your builders have perfected your beauty.
⁵ They made all your planks
    of fir trees from Senir;
they took a cedar from Lebanon
    to make a mast for you.
⁶ Of oaks of Bashan
    they made your oars;
they made your deck of cypress
    from the islands of Kittim,
    inlaid with ivory.
⁷ Of fine embroidered linen from Egypt
    was your sail,
    serving as your banner;
blue and purple from the islands of Elishah
    was your awning.
⁸ The inhabitants of Sidon and Arvad
    were your rowers;
your wise men, O Tyre, were in you;
    they were your pilots.
⁹ The elders of Gebal and her wise men were in you,
    caulking your seams;
all the ships of the sea with their mariners were in you
    to deal in your merchandise.

¹⁰ “Persia and Lud and Put were in your army, your men of war. They hung shield and helmet in you; they gave you splendor. ¹¹ The sons of Arvad and your army were on your walls, all around, and the Gammadim were in your towers. They hung their shields on your walls all around; they perfected your beauty.

¹² “Tarshish was your customer because of the abundance of all kinds of wealth; with silver, iron, tin and lead they paid for your goods. ¹³ Javan, Tubal and Meshech, they were your traders; with the slaves of men and vessels of copper they paid for your merchandise. ¹⁴ The house of Togarmah exchanged horses and steeds and mules for your goods. ¹⁵ The men of Dedan[81] traded with you; you employed merchants on many islands; they gave ivory tusks and ebony as your tribute. ¹⁶ Edom[82] did business with you because of the abundance of your products. They gave turquoise, purple wool, colorful embroidery, fine fabric, corals, and rubies in exchange for your goods. ¹⁷ Judah and the land of Israel traded with you; they exchanged for your goods wheat of Minnith, meal, honey, oil, and balm. ¹⁸ Damascus did business with you because of the abundance of your products and all your wealth, trading the wine of Helbon and wool of Zahar. ¹⁹ Vedan and Javan from Uzal gave wrought iron, cassia, and cane in exchange for your goods. ²⁰ Dedan traded with you in garments of woven material for riding. ²¹ Arabia and all the chieftains of Kedar were your favored dealers in lambs, rams, and goats; in these they did business with you. ²² The traders of Sheba and Raamah, they traded with you; they paid for your goods with the best of all kinds of spices, and with all kinds of precious stones and gold. ²³ Haran, Canneh, Eden, the traders of Sheba, Asshur and Chilmad traded with you. ²⁴ In your marketplace they traded beautiful garments, cloaks made of blue and embroidered work, and in carpets of colored material, bound with cords and made secure. ²⁵ The ships of Tarshish were the caravans for your merchandise. And you were filled and loaded down in the heart of the sea.

²⁶ “Your rowers have brought you out
    into the great waters.
The east wind has broken you
    in the heart of the seas.
²⁷ Your riches, your wares, your merchandise,
    your mariners and your pilots,
your caulkers, your dealers in merchandise,
    and all your men of war who are in you,
with all your crew
    that is in your midst,
sink into the heart of the seas
    on the day of your fall.
²⁸ At the sound of the cry of your pilots
    the coastlands will shudder.
²⁹ All who handle the oar,
    the sailors, and all the pilots of the sea
will come down from their ships
    and stand on the land,
³⁰ and shout aloud over you
    and cry out bitterly.
They cast dust on their heads
    and wallow in ashes;
³¹ they make themselves bald for you
    and put sackcloth on their waist,
and they weep over you in bitterness of soul,
    with bitter mourning.
³² And in their wailing they shall take up a lamentation for you
    and lament over you:
‘Who is like Tyre,
    like her who is silent in the midst of the sea?
³³ When your goods went out from the seas,
    you satisfied many peoples;
with the abundance of your wealth and merchandise
    you enriched the kings of the earth.
³⁴ Now you are broken by seas,
    in the depths of the waters;
your merchandise and all your crew
    in your midst have sunk.
³⁵ All the inhabitants of the islands
    are appalled at you,
and their kings will bristle with horror;
    their faces are troubled.
³⁶ The merchants among the peoples hiss at you;
    Your end will become terrified
    and you shall cease to exist forever.’”

CHAPTER 28

Prophecy Against the Prince of Tyre

28 And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, Thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah:

“Because your heart is proud,
    and you have said, ‘I am a god,
I sit in the seat of the gods,
    in the heart of the seas,’
yet you are but a man, and no god,
    though you make your heart like the heart of a god.
³ Look, you are wiser than Daniel;
    no secret is hidden from you;
⁴ by your wisdom and your understanding
    you have made wealth for yourself,
and have gathered gold and silver
    into your treasuries.
⁵ Your skillful trading brought you great wealth
    and your heart has grown proud because of your wealth.
⁶ therefore thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah:
    Because you make your heart like the heart of a god,
⁷ therefore, look, I will bring strangers upon you,
    the most ruthless of the nations;
and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom
    and defile your splendor.
⁸ They shall bring you down to the pit,
    and you shall die the death of the slain
    in the heart of the seas.
⁹ Will you still say, ‘I am a god,’
    in the presence of the one killing you,
though you are but a man, and not a god,
    in the hand of those who defile you?
¹⁰ You shall die the death of the uncircumcised
    by the hand of strangers;
    for I have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.”

A Lament over the King of Tyre

¹¹ Moreover, the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, ¹² “Son of man, raise a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and say to him, Thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah:

“You were the seal of a pattern,[83]
    full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
¹³ You were in Eden, the garden of God;
    every precious stone was your covering,
sardius, topaz, and diamond,
    beryl, onyx, and jasper,
sapphire, emerald, and carbuncle;
    and crafted in gold were your settings
    and your mountings.
On the day that you were created
    they were prepared.
¹⁴ You were an anointed guardian cherub.
    I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God;
    you walked in the midst of stones of fire.
¹⁵ You were blameless in your ways
    from the day you were created,
    till unrighteousness was found in you.
¹⁶ In the abundance of your trade
    you were filled with violence in your midst, and you sinned;
so I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God,
    and I destroyed you, O guardian cherub,
    from the midst of the stones of fire.
¹⁷ Your heart was proud because of your beauty;
    you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor.
I cast you to the ground;
    I exposed you before kings,
    that they may look upon you.
¹⁸ By the multitude of your iniquities,
    in the unrighteousness of your trade
    you profaned[84] your sanctuaries;
so I brought fire out from your midst;
    it consumed you,
and I turned you to ashes on the earth
    in the eyes of all who saw you.
¹⁹ All who know you among the peoples
    are appalled at you;
you have come to a sudden and terrible end
    and shall be no more forever.”

Prophecy Against Sidon

²⁰ And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, ²¹ “Son of man, set your face toward Sidon, and prophesy against her ²² and say, Thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah:

“Look, I am against you, O Sidon,
    and I will be glorified in your midst.
And they shall know that I am Jehovah
    when I execute judgments in her
    and manifest my holiness in her;
²³ for I will send pestilence into her,
    and blood into her streets;
and the slain shall fall in her midst,
    by the sword that is against her on every side.
Then they will know that I am Jehovah.

²⁴ And there will be no more for the house of Israel a prickling brier or a painful thorn from any round about them who scorned them; then they will know that I am Jehovah God.”

Israel to be Restored

²⁵ “Thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: When I gather the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered and manifest my holiness in them in the sight of the nations, then they shall dwell in their own land that I gave to my servant Jacob. ²⁶ And they shall dwell securely in it, and they shall build houses and plant vineyards. They shall dwell securely, when I execute judgment on all those around them who treat them with scorn. Then they will know that I am Jehovah their God.”

CHAPTER 29

Prophecy Against Egypt

29 In the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth of the month, the word of Jehovah came to me saying, ² “Son of man, set your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him and against all Egypt; ³ speak, and say, Thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah:

“Look, I am against you,
    Pharaoh king of Egypt,
the great dragon that lies
    in the midst of his streams,
that says, ‘My Nile is my own;
    I made it for myself.’
⁴ I will put hooks in your jaws,
    and make the fish of your streams stick to your scales;
and I will draw you up out of the midst of your streams,
    with all the fish of your streams
    that stick to your scales.
⁵ And I will cast you out into the wilderness,
    you and all the fish of your streams;
you shall fall on the open field,
    and not be brought together or gathered.
I have given you for food to the beasts of the earth and to the birds of the sky.

⁶ Then all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am Jehovah.

“Because they[85] have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel, ⁷ when they took hold of you with the hand,[86] you broke and tore all their shoulders;[87] and when they leaned on you, you broke and made all their hips to wobble.[88] ⁸ Therefore thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: Look, I will bring a sword upon you, and will cut off from you man and beast, ⁹ and the land of Egypt shall be a desolation and a waste. Then they will know that I am Jehovah. “Because you said, ‘The Nile is mine, and I made it.’ ¹⁰ therefore, look, I am against you and against your streams, and I will make the land of Egypt an utter waste and desolation, from Migdol to Syene and even to the border of Cush.[89] ¹¹ No foot of man shall pass through it, and no foot of beast shall pass through it; it shall be uninhabited forty years. ¹² And I will make the land of Egypt a desolation in the midst of desolated countries, and her cities shall be a desolation forty years among cities that are laid waste. I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them through the countries.

¹³ “For thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: At the end of forty years, I will gather the Egyptians from the peoples among whom they were scattered, ¹⁴ and I 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. ¹⁵ It shall be the lowest of the kingdoms, and it will never again lift itself up above the nations. And I will make them so small that they will not be able to rule over the nations. ¹⁶ And it shall never again be the reliance of the house of Israel, recalling their error, when they turn to them for aid. Then they will know that I am the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.”

¹⁷ Now in the twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first of the month, the word of Jehovah came to me saying, ¹⁸ “Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar[90] king of Babylon[91] made his army labor hard against Tyre. Every head was made bald, and every shoulder was rubbed bare, yet neither he nor his army got anything from Tyre to pay for the labor that he had performed against her. ¹⁹ Therefore thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: Look, I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and he shall carry off its wealth and despoil it and plunder it; and it shall be the wages for his army. ²⁰ I have given him the land of Egypt as his payment for which he labored, because they worked for me, declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.

²¹ “On that day I will make a horn sprout for the house of Israel, and I will open your mouth in their midst. Then they will know that I am Jehovah.”

CHAPTER 30

A Lament for Egypt

30 And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah:

“Wail, ‘Alas for the day!’
³ For the day is near,
    the day of Jehovah is near;
it will be a day of clouds,
    a time of doom for the nations.
⁴ A sword shall come upon Egypt,
    and anguish shall be in Cush,[92]
when the slain fall in Egypt,
    and her wealth is carried away,
    and her foundations are torn down.

⁵ Cush, and Put, and Lud, and all the mixed populations,[93] and Kub,[94] along with the sons of the land of the covenant, shall fall with them by the sword.

⁶ “Thus says Jehovah:
Those who support Egypt shall fall,
    and her proud might shall come down;
from Migdol to Syene
    they shall fall within her by the sword,
declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.
⁷ And they shall be desolate in the midst of desolated lands,
    and their cities shall be in the midst of cities that are devastated cities.
⁸ Then they will know that I am Jehovah,
    when I have set fire to Egypt,
    and all her helpers are broken.

⁹ “On that day messengers shall go out from me in ships[95] to terrify the unsuspecting people of Cush, and anguish shall come upon them as on the day of Egypt; for look, it comes!

¹⁰ “Thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah:

“I will put an end to the hordes[96] of Egypt,
    by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.
¹¹ He and his people with him, the most ruthless of nations,
    shall be brought in to destroy the land,
and they shall draw their swords against Egypt
    and fill the land with the slain.
¹² And I will dry up the Nile
    and will sell the land into the hand of evildoers;
I will make the land desolate and everything in it,
    by the hand of foreigners;
I am Jehovah; I have spoken.

¹³ “Thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah:

“I will destroy the disgusting idols[97]
    and put an end to the images in Noph;[98]
there shall no longer be a prince from the land of Egypt;
    so I will put fear in the land of Egypt.
¹⁴ I will make Pathros desolate
    and will set fire to Zoan
    and will execute judgments on Thebes.
¹⁵ And I will pour out my wrath on Sin,[99]
    the stronghold of Egypt,
    and cut off the multitude of No.[100]
¹⁶ And I will set fire to Egypt;
    Sin shall be in great agony;
No shall be breached,
    and Noph[101] shall face adversaries during the daytime.
¹⁷ The young men of On[102] and of Pi-beseth shall fall by the sword,
    and the women shall go into captivity.
¹⁸ At Tehaphnehes the day shall be dark,
    when I break there the yoke bars of Egypt,
and the pride of her power will cease in her;
    she shall be covered by a cloud,
    and her daughters shall go into captivity.
¹⁹ Thus I will execute judgments on Egypt.
    Then they will know that I am Jehovah.”

Egypt Shall Fall to Babylon

²⁰ In the eleventh year, in the first month, on the seventh day of the month, the word of Jehovah came to me saying, ²¹ “Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and look, it will not be bound up to be healed or wrapped with a bandage to make it strong enough to hold the sword. ²² Therefore thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: Look, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt and will break his arms, both the strong arm and the one that was broken, and I will make the sword fall from his hand. ²³ I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them through the lands. ²⁴ And I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put my sword in his hand, but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan before him with the groanings of a wounded man. ²⁵ I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh shall fall. Then they shall know that I am Jehovah, when I put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon and he stretches it out against the land of Egypt. ²⁶ And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the lands, and they will know that I am Jehovah.”

CHAPTER 31

Pharaoh to Be Slain

31 In the eleventh year, in the third month, on the first of the month, the word of Jehovah came to me saying, ² “Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his hordes:[103]

“Whom are you like in your greatness?
³ Look, Assyria was a cedar in Lebanon,
with beautiful branches and forest shade,
    and of towering height,
    its top among the clouds.[104]
⁴ The waters nourished it;
    the deep made it grow tall,
making its rivers flow
    around the place of its planting,
sending forth its streams
    to all the trees of the field.
⁵ So it grew taller than
    all the other trees of the field;
its boughs multiplied
    and its branches grew long
    from abundant water in its shoots.
⁶ All the birds of the heavens
    made their nests in its boughs;
under its branches all the beasts of the field
    gave birth to their young,
and under its shadow
    dwelt all great nations.
⁷ It was beautiful in its greatness,
    in the length of its branches;
for its roots went down
    into abundant waters.
⁸ The cedars in the garden of God could not rival it,
    nor the fir trees equal its boughs;
and none of the plane trees
    could match its branches;
no other tree in the garden of God
    could compete with its beauty.
⁹ I made it beautiful
    with the multitude of its branches,
and all the trees of Eden,
    that were in the garden of God envied it.

¹⁰ “Therefore thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: Because it[105] became so tall, lifting its top among the clouds,[106] and its heart was arrogant because of its height, ¹¹ I will give it into the hand of a mighty one of the nations. He shall surely act against it, and I will reject it for its wickedness. ¹² Foreigners, the most ruthless of nations, have cut it down and left it. On the mountains and in all the valleys its branches have fallen, and its boughs have been broken in all the ravines of the land, and all the peoples of the earth have gone away from its shadow and left it. ¹³ On its ruin all the birds of the heavens dwell, and all the beasts of the field are on its fallen branches. ¹⁴ This is so that no tree near the waters should grow so tall or lift up its top among the clouds, and that no trees that drink water may reach up to them in height. For they are all given over to death, to the world below, among the sons of man, with those who go down to the pit.

¹⁵ “Thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: On the day the cedar went down to Sheol I caused mourning; I closed the deep over it, and restrained its rivers, and many waters were stopped. I made Lebanon mourn for it, and all the trees of the field fainted because of it. ¹⁶ I made the nations quake at the sound of its fall, when I cast it down to Sheol with those who go down to the pit. And all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, were comforted in the land below. ¹⁷ They also went down to Sheol with it, to those who are slain by the sword; yes, those who were its arm, who dwelt under its shadow among the nations.

¹⁸ “To whom are you thus like in glory and in greatness among the trees of Eden? You shall be brought down with the trees of Eden to the land below. You shall lie among the uncircumcised, with those who are slain by the sword. “This is Pharaoh and all his hordes, declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.”

CHAPTER 32

A Lament over Pharaoh and Egypt

32 In the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, on the first of the month, the word of Jehovah came to me saying, ² “Son of man, raise a lamentation over Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him:

“You consider yourself a lion of the nations,
    but you are like a dragon in the seas;
you burst forth in your rivers,
    trouble the waters with your feet,
    and foul their rivers.
³ Thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah:
    I will throw my net over you
    with an assembly of many peoples,
    and they[107] will haul you up in my dragnet.
⁴ And I will abandon you on the land;
    on the open field I will fling you,
and will cause all the birds of the heavens to settle on you,
    and I will satisfy the beasts of the whole earth with you.
⁵ I will cast your flesh upon the mountains
    and fill the valleys with your carcass.[108]
⁶ I will drench the land even to the mountains
    with your gushing blood,
    and the ravines will be filled from you.
⁷ And when I extinguish you, I will cover the heavens
    and make their stars dark;
I will cover the sun with a cloud,
    and the moon shall not give its light.
⁸ All the bright lights of heaven
    will I make dark over you,
    and put darkness on your land,
declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.

⁹ “I will trouble the hearts of many peoples, when I bring your destruction[109] among the nations, into the countries that you have not known. ¹⁰ I will make many peoples appalled at you, and their kings shall be horribly afraid of you when I brandish my sword before them; and they will tremble every moment, every man for his own life, on the day of your fall.

¹¹ “For thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: The sword of the king of Babylon shall come upon you. ¹² By the swords of the mighty ones I will cause your hordes to fall, all of them most ruthless of nations.

“They shall bring down the pride of Egypt,
    and all her hordes shall be destroyed.
¹³ I will destroy all its beasts
    from beside many waters;
and no foot of man shall trouble them anymore,
    nor shall the hoofs of beasts trouble them.
¹⁴ Then I will make their waters clear,
    and cause their rivers to run like oil,
declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.
¹⁵ When I make the land of Egypt desolate,
    and when the land is destitute of all that fills it,
when I strike down all who dwell in it,
    then they will know that I am Jehovah.

¹⁶ This is a lamentation that shall be chanted; the daughters of the nations shall chant it; over Egypt, and over all her hordes, shall they chant it, declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.”

¹⁷ In the twelfth year,[110] on the fifteenth of the month, the word of Jehovah came to me saying, ¹⁸ “Son of man, wail over the hordes[111] of Egypt, and send them down, her and the daughters of mighty nations, to the land below, to those who have gone down to the pit:

¹⁹ ‘Whom do you surpass in beauty?
    Go down and be laid to rest with the uncircumcised.’

²⁰ They shall fall in the midst of those who are slain by the sword. Egypt is delivered to the sword; drag her away, and all her hordes. ²¹ The strong among the mighty ones shall speak to him, with their helpers, out of the midst of Sheol: ‘They have come down, they lie still, the uncircumcised, slain by the sword.’

²² “Assyria is there and all her assembly; her graves are round about her. All of them are slain, fallen by the sword, ²³ whose graves are set in the uttermost parts of the pit; and her assembly is all around her grave, all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who spread terror in the land of the living.

²⁴ “Elam is there, and all her hordes around her grave; all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who went down uncircumcised into the land below, who spread their terror in the land of the living; and they bear their shame with those who go down to the pit. ²⁵ They have made her a bed among the slain with all her hordes, her graves all around it, all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword; for terror of them was spread in the land of the living, and they bear their shame with those who go down to the pit; they are placed in the midst of the slain.

²⁶ “Meshech and Tubal are there, and all her hordes, her graves all around it, all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword; for they spread their terror in the land of the living. ²⁷ And they do not lie with the mighty, the fallen from among the uncircumcised, who went down to Sheol with their weapons of war, whose swords were laid under their heads, and whose sins are upon their bones; for the terror of the mighty men was in the land of the living. ²⁸ But in the midst of the uncircumcised you shall be broken and lie with those slain by the sword.

²⁹ “Edom is there, her kings and all her chieftains, who for all their might are laid with those who are slain by the sword; they lie with the uncircumcised, with those who go down to the pit.

³⁰ “The leaders of the north are there, all of them, and all the Sidonians, who have gone down in shame with the slain, for all the terror that they caused by their might; they lie uncircumcised with those who are slain by the sword and bear their shame with those who go down to the pit.

³¹ “When Pharaoh sees them, he will be comforted for all his hordes, Pharaoh and all his army, slain by the sword, declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah. ³² For I spread terror in the land of the living; and he shall be laid to rest among the uncircumcised, with those who are slain by the sword, Pharaoh and all his hordes, declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.”

CHAPTER 33

Ezekiel Is Israel’s Watchman

33 And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, speak to your people and say to them, If I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from among them, and make him their watchman, ³ and if he sees the sword coming upon the land and blows the horn and warns the people, ⁴ then if someone 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. ⁵ He heard the sound of the horn and did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But if he had taken warning, he would have saved his life. ⁶ But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the horn, so that the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes a person from them, that person is taken away in his error, but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand.

⁷ “So you, son of man, I have made a watchman for the house of Israel. And when you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. ⁸ When I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you will 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. ⁹ But if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, that person shall die in his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul.

The Message before the Fall of Jerusalem

¹⁰ “And you, son of man, say to the house of Israel, Thus have you said: ‘Surely our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we rot away because of them. How then can we live?’ ¹¹ Say to them, As I live, declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, I have 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, for why will you die, O house of Israel?

¹² “And you, son of man, say to your people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression, and as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall by it when he turns from his wickedness, and a righteous man shall not be able to live by his righteousness when he sins. ¹³ When I say to the righteous one: You will surely keep living, and he trusts in his own righteousness and does injustice, none of his righteous acts will be remembered, but he will die for the wrong that he has done. ¹⁴ And when I say to the wicked one: You will surely die, and he turns away from his sin and does what is just and righteous, ¹⁵ and the wicked one returns what was taken in pledge and pays back what was taken by robbery, and he walks in the statutes of life by not doing what is wrong, he will surely keep living. He will not die. ¹⁶ None of his sins that he has committed will be remembered against him. He has practiced justice and righteousness; he shall surely live.

¹⁷ “Yet your people say, ‘The way of Jehovah[112] is unjust,’ when it is their own way that is unjust. ¹⁸ When the righteous turns from his righteousness and does what is wrong, he must die for it. ¹⁹ And when the wicked turns from his wickedness and does what is just and righteous, he shall live by this. ²⁰ Yet you say, ‘The way of Jehovah[113] is not just.’ O house of Israel, I will judge each of you according to his ways.”

Jerusalem Struck Down

²¹ In the twelfth year of our exile, in the tenth month, on the fifth day of the month, a man who escaped from Jerusalem came to me and said, “The city has been struck down.” ²² Now the hand of Jehovah had been upon me the evening before the fugitive came; and he had opened my mouth by the time the man came to me in the morning, so my mouth was opened, and I was no longer speechless.

²³ And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, ²⁴ “Son of man, the inhabitants of these waste places in the land of Israel keep saying, ‘Abraham was only one man, yet he took possession of the land; but we are many; the land is surely given us to possess.’ ²⁵ Therefore say to them, Thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: You eat flesh with the blood and lift up your eyes to your disgusting idols and shed blood; shall you then possess the land? ²⁶ You have relied on your sword, you engage in detestable practices, and each of you has defiled his neighbor’s wife. So why should you possess the land? ²⁷ Say this to them, Thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: As I live, surely those who are in the waste places shall fall by the sword, and whoever is in the open field I will give to the beasts to be devoured, and those who are in strongholds and in caves shall die by pestilence. ²⁸ And I will make the land a desolation and a waste, and the pride of her power will cease; and the mountains of Israel will be desolate so that no one will pass through. ²⁹ Then they will know that I am Jehovah, when I have made the land a desolation and a waste because of all their detestable things that they have committed.

³⁰ “As for you, son of man, your people who talk together about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses, say to one another, each to his brother, ‘Come, and hear what the word is that comes from Jehovah.’ ³¹ And they come to you as people come, and they will hear your words, but they will not do them. For with their mouth, they speak lustfully,[114] but their heart goes after dishonest gain. ³² And look! You are to them like a romantic love song, sung with a beautiful voice and plays well on an instrument. They will hear your words, but no one will act on them. ³³ And when this comes about, look, it comes; then they shall know that a prophet has been among them.”

CHAPTER 34

Prophecy Against the Shepherds of Israel

34 And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and you must say to them, to the shepherds, ‘Thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: “Woe to the shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not shepherds feed the flock? ³ You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, and you slaughter the fattest animal, but you do not feed the flock. ⁴ The weak you have not strengthened or healed the sick or bandaged the injured or brought back the strays or looked for the lost; rather, but with force and with violence you have ruled over them. ⁵ So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and they became food for every beast of the field and were scattered. ⁶ My flock strayed on all the mountains and on every high hill; my sheep were scattered over all the surface of the earth, and there was no one to search or seek for them.

⁷ “Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of Jehovah: ⁸ As I live, declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, surely because my flock has become a prey, and my flock has become food for all the wild beasts, since there was no shepherd, and because my shepherds have not searched for my flock, but the shepherds have fed themselves, and have not fed my flock, ⁹ therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of Jehovah: ¹⁰ Thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, Look, I am against the shepherds, and I will require my flock at their hand and put a stop to their feeding the flock. No longer shall the shepherds feed themselves. I will rescue my flock from their mouths, that they may not be food for them.

Jehovah’s Care for His Sheep

¹¹ “For thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: Look, I, I myself will search for my flock and will seek them out. ¹² As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered in the day of clouds and thick gloom. ¹³ And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country. ¹⁴ I will feed them with good pasture, and on the high mountains of Israel shall be their grazing land. There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on choice pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. ¹⁵ I myself will be the shepherd of my flock, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah. ¹⁶ I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy.[115] I will feed that one[116] with justice.

¹⁷ “As for you, my flock, thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: Look, I judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and male goats. ¹⁸ It is not enough for you to feed on the very best pastures, that you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pastures; and to drink the clearest waters, that you must foul the rest with your feet? ¹⁹ And as for my flock, they must eat what you have trodden with your feet, and they must drink what you have fouled with your feet?

²⁰ “Therefore, thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah to them: Look, I, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. ²¹ Because you push with side and shoulder, and thrust at all the weak with your horns, till you have scattered them abroad, ²² Therefore, I will save my flock; they shall no longer be a prey. And I will judge between sheep and sheep. ²³ And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. ²⁴ And I, Jehovah, will be their God, and my servant David shall be a leader among them. I am Jehovah; I have spoken.

A Covenant of Peace

²⁵ “I will make with them a covenant of peace and remove wild beasts from the land, so that they may dwell securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. ²⁶ And I will make them and the places all around my hill a blessing, and I will send down the showers in their season; they shall be showers of blessing. ²⁷ And the trees of the field shall yield its fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase, and they shall be secure in their land. And they shall know that I am Jehovah, when I break the bars of their yoke, and deliver them from the hand of those who enslaved them. ²⁸ And they shall no more be a prey to the nations, nor shall the beasts of the land devour them, and they shall dwell securely, and none shall make them afraid. ²⁹ And I will establish for them a plantation for a name, and they shall no longer be consumed with famine in the land, and they shall no longer be shamed by the nations. ³⁰ And they shall know that I am Jehovah their God with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah. ³¹ And you are my flock, the flock of my pasture, and I am your God, declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.”

CHAPTER 35

Prophecy Against Mount Seir

35 And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, set your face against Mount Seir, and prophesy against it, ³ and say to it, Thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: Look, I am against you, Mount Seir, and I will stretch out my hand against you, and I will make you a desolation and a waste. ⁴ I will lay your cities waste, and you shall become a desolation, and you shall know that I am Jehovah. ⁵ Because you cherished perpetual enmity and gave over the sons of Israel to the power of the sword at the time of their calamity, at the time of their final punishment, ⁶ therefore, as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, I will prepare you for blood, and blood shall pursue you; since you have not hated bloodshed, therefore blood shall pursue you. ⁷ I will make Mount Seir a waste and a desolation, and I will cut off from it anyone passing through and anyone returning. ⁸ And I will fill its mountains with the slain. On your hills and in your valleys and in all your ravines those slain with the sword shall fall. ⁹ I will make you a perpetual desolation, and your cities shall not be inhabited. Then you will know that I am Jehovah.

¹⁰ “Because you said, ‘These two nations and these two countries shall be mine, and we will possess them,’ although Jehovah was there, ¹¹ therefore, as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, I will deal with you according to your anger and according to your envy which you showed because of your hatred against them. And I will make myself known among them[117] when I judge you. ¹² And you shall know that I am Jehovah. “I have heard all the revilings that you uttered against the mountains of Israel, saying, ‘They are laid desolate;[118] they are given us to devour.’ ¹³ And you magnified yourselves against me with your mouth, and multiplied your words against me; I heard it. ¹⁴ Thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: While the whole earth rejoices, I will make you desolate. ¹⁵ As you rejoiced over the inheritance of the house of Israel, because it was desolate, so I will do to you; you shall be desolate, Mount Seir, and all Edom, all of it. Then they will know that I am Jehovah.

CHAPTER 36

Prophecy to the Mountains of Israel

36 “And you, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel, and say, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of Jehovah. ² Thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: Because the enemy said of you, ‘Aha!’ and, ‘The ancient high places have become our possession,’ ³ therefore prophesy, and say, Thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: Because they made you desolate and crushed you from every side, so that you became a possession of the rest of the nations, and you have been taken up in the talk, and slander of the people, ⁴ therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: Thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah to the mountains and the hills, the ravines and the valleys, the desolate wastes and to the cities that are forsaken, which have become a prey and derision to the rest of the nations all around, ⁵ therefore thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: Surely I have spoken in my jealousy against the rest of the nations and against all Edom, who gave my land to themselves as a possession with wholehearted joy and with contempt of soul, that they might make its pastureland plunder. ⁶ So prophesy concerning the land of Israel, and say to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys, Thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: Look, I have spoken in my jealous wrath, because you have endured the shame of the nations. ⁷ Therefore thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: I swear that the nations that are all around you shall themselves bear their shame.

⁸ “But you, O mountains of Israel, shall shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit to my people Israel, for they will soon come home. ⁹ For look, I am for you, and I will turn to you, and you shall be tilled and sown. ¹⁰ I will multiply men on you, all the house of Israel, all of it; and the cities shall be inhabited, and the waste places shall be rebuilt. ¹¹ And I will multiply on you man and beast, and they shall increase and be fruitful. And I will cause you to be inhabited as in your former times and will do better to you than ever before. Then you will know that I am Jehovah. ¹² I will let people walk on you, even my people Israel. And they shall possess you,[119] and you shall be their inheritance, and you shall no longer bereave them of children. ¹³ Thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: Because they say to you, ‘You are a devourer of men and you bereave your nation of children,’ ¹⁴ therefore you shall no longer devour men and no longer bereave your nation of children,[120] declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah. ¹⁵ And I will not let you hear anymore the shame of the nations, and you shall no longer bear the reproach of the peoples and no longer cause your nation to stumble,[121] declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.”

Jehovah’s Concern for His Holy Name

¹⁶ And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, ¹⁷ “Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their ways and their deeds. Their ways before me were like the uncleanness of a woman in her menstrual impurity. ¹⁸ So I poured out my wrath upon them for the blood that they had shed in the land, because they had defiled it with their disgusting idols.[122] ¹⁹ I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed through the lands. In accordance with their ways and their deeds I judged them. ²⁰ But when they[123] came to the nations where they went, they profaned my holy name, in that people said of them, ‘These are the people of Jehovah, and yet they had to leave his land.’ ²¹ But I had concern for my holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations where they went.

I Will Put My Spirit Within You

²² “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, “It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you went. ²³ And I will sanctify my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am Jehovah, declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, when I shall be sanctified among you before their eyes. ²⁴ For I will take you from among the nations, and gather you out of all the lands, and will bring you into your own land. ²⁵ And I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your disgusting idols, I will cleanse you. ²⁶ A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you. And I will take away the heart of stone from your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. ²⁷ And I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my judgment decisions. ²⁸ You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God. ²⁹ And I will save you from all your uncleanness: and I will call for the grain, and will multiply it, and lay no famine upon you. ³⁰ And I will multiply the fruit of the tree, and the increase of the field, that you may receive no more the reproach of famine among the nations. ³¹ Then you shall remember your evil ways, and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves for your guilt and your detestable practices. ³² It is not for your sake that I do this, declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah; let that be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel.

³³ “Thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: On the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause the cities to be inhabited, and the waste places shall be rebuilt. ³⁴ And the land that was desolate shall be tilled, where it was a desolation in the sight of all who passed by. ³⁵ And they shall say, ‘This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden, and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited.’ ³⁶ Then the nations that are left all around you shall know that I am Jehovah; I have built the ruined places and planted that which was desolate. I am Jehovah; I have spoken, and I will do it.

³⁷ “Thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, “This also I will let the house of Israel ask me to do for them: I will increase their men like a flock. ³⁸ Like the flock for sacrifices, like the flock at Jerusalem during her appointed feasts, so shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of men. Then they will know that I am Jehovah.”

CHAPTER 37

The Valley of Dry Bones

37 The hand of Jehovah was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of Jehovah and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. ² And he caused me to pass among them round about, and look, there were very many on the surface of the valley; and lo, they were very dry. ³ And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Sovereign Lord Jehovah, you know.” ⁴ Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of Jehovah. ⁵ Thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah to these bones: Look, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. ⁶ And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am Jehovah.”

⁷ So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and look, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. ⁸ And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. ⁹ Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the wind;[124] prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: From the four winds[125] come in, O wind,[126] and blow upon these slain, that they may live.”[127] ¹⁰ So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet,[128] an exceedingly great army.

¹¹ Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Look, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are completely cut off.’ ¹² Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: Look, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. ¹³ Then you shall know that I am Jehovah, when I open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves, my people. ¹⁴ And I will put my Spirit[129] within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am Jehovah; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares Jehovah.”

I Will Be Their God, They Shall Be My People

¹⁵ And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, ¹⁶ “And you, son of man, take for yourself one stick and write on it, ‘For Judah and for the sons of Israel, his companions’; then take another stick and write on it, ‘For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim and all the house of Israel, his companions.’ ¹⁷ And join them one to another into one stick, that they may become one in your hand. ¹⁸ And when the sons of your people speak to you saying, ‘Will you not declare to us what you mean by these?’ ¹⁹ say to them, ‘Thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, “Look, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel, his companions; and I will put them with it, with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they will be one in my hand. ²⁰ And the sticks on which you write will be in your hand before their eyes. ²¹ And say to them, Thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: Look, I will take the sons of Israel from the nations among which they have gone, and I will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land ²² and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king will be king for all of them; and they will no longer be two nations and no longer be divided into two kingdoms. ²³ They shall not defile themselves with their disgusting idols and their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions. But I will save them from all their dwelling places in which they have sinned and will cleanse them; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.

²⁴ “My servant David shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd; and they shall walk in my judgment decisions and keep my statutes and observe them. ²⁵ They shall dwell in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob, where your forefathers dwelt. They and their sons and their sons’ sons shall dwell there forever, and David my servant shall be their prince forever. ²⁶ I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will place them and multiply them and will set my sanctuary in their midst forever. ²⁷ My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. ²⁸ Then the nations will know that I am Jehovah who sanctifies Israel, when my sanctuary is in their midst forever.”

CHAPTER 38

Prophecy Against Gog

38 And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, set your face against Gog of the land of Magog,[130] the head chieftain[131] of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him ³ and say, Thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: Look, I am against you, O Gog, head chieftain[132] of Meshech and Tubal. ⁴ And I will turn you about and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out, and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed in full armor, a great assembly, all of them with buckler[133] and shield, wielding swords. ⁵ Persia, Cush, and Put are with them, all of them with shield and helmet; ⁶ Gomer with all its troops; Beth-togarmah from the remote parts of the north with all its troops and many peoples with you.

⁷ “Be ready and keep ready, you and all your armies that are assembled about you and be a guard for them. ⁸ After many days you will be summoned; in the latter years you will come into the land that is restored from the sword, whose inhabitants have been gathered out of many peoples to the mountains of Israel which had been a continual waste; but the inhabitants of this land were restored from the peoples, and now dwell securely, all of them. ⁹ You will come against them like a storm. You shall be like a cloud covering the land, you and all your hordes, and many peoples with you.

¹⁰ “Thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: On that day, thoughts shall come into your mind, and you shall devise an evil plan ¹¹ and you will say, ‘I will go up against the land of unwalled villages. I will go against those who are at rest, that dwell securely, all of them dwelling without walls and having no bars or gates,’ ¹² to capture spoil and to seize plunder, to turn your hand against the waste places that are now inhabited, and against the people who are gathered from the nations, who have acquired cattle and goods, who dwell at the center of the earth. ¹³ Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish and all its strong lions shall say to you, ‘Have you come to seize spoil? Have you assembled your armies to carry off plunder, to carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods, to seize great spoil?’

¹⁴ “Therefore, son of man, prophesy, and say to Gog, Thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: On that day when my people Israel are dwelling securely, will you not know it? ¹⁵ You will come from your place out of the remote parts of the north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great assembly and a mighty army; ¹⁶ and you will come up against my people Israel like a cloud covering the land; it will be in the last days, and I will bring you against my land, so that the nations know me, when I show myself holy through you before their eyes, O Gog!”

¹⁷ “Thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: Are you he of whom I spoke in former days by my servants the prophets of Israel, who in those days prophesied for years that I would bring you against them? ¹⁸ And it shall come about on that day, when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, that my wrath shall come up into my nose. ¹⁹ For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely on that day, there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel. ²⁰ The fish of the sea and the birds of the heavens and the beasts of the field and all creeping things that creep on the ground, and all the men who are on the face of the earth, shall quake at my presence. And the mountains shall be thrown down, and the cliffs shall fall, and every wall shall tumble to the ground. ²¹ And I will call for a sword against him on all my mountains, declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: every man’s sword shall be against his brother. ²² And with pestilence and with blood will I enter into judgment with him; and I will rain upon him, and upon his armies, and upon the many peoples who are with him, a torrential downpour, and great hailstones, fire, and sulfur. ²³ And I will magnify myself, and sanctify myself, and I will make myself known in the eyes of many nations; and they shall know that I am Jehovah.

CHAPTER 39

Destruction of Gog and His Troops

39 “And you, son of man, prophesy against Gog and say, Thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: Look, I am against you, O Gog, head chieftain[134] of Meshech and Tubal. ² And I will turn you around and lead you and make you come up from the remotest parts of the north and lead you against the mountains of Israel. ³ Then I will knock your bow from your left hand and will make your arrows fall from your right hand. ⁴ You shall fall on the mountains of Israel, you and all your troops and the peoples who are with you. I will give you to birds of prey of every sort and to the beasts of the field to be devoured. ⁵ You shall fall in the open field, for I have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah. ⁶ I will send fire on Magog[135] and on those who dwell securely on the islands, and they shall know that I am Jehovah.

⁷ “And my holy name I will make known in the midst of my people Israel, and I will not let my holy name be profaned anymore. And the nations shall know that I am Jehovah, the Holy One in Israel. ⁸ Look, it is coming, and it shall be done,” declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah. “That is the day of which I have spoken.

⁹ “Then those who dwell in the cities of Israel will go out and make fires of the weapons and burn them, shields and bucklers, bow and arrows, clubs and spears; and they will make fires of them for seven years, ¹⁰ so that they will not need to take wood out of the field or cut down any out of the forests, for they shall make their fires of the weapons. They will seize the spoil of those who despoiled them, and plunder those who plundered them, declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.

Burial in the Valley of Hamon-Gog

¹¹ “On that day I will give to Gog a place for burial in Israel, the valley of those who travel east of the sea. It will block the travelers, for there Gog and all his hordes will be buried. It will be called the Valley of Hamon-Gog.[136] ¹² For seven months the house of Israel will be burying them, in order to cleanse the land. ¹³ All the people of the land will bury them; and it will be to their renown on the day that I glorify myself,” declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah. ¹⁴ They will set apart men to pass through the land continually, burying those who were passing through, those left on the face of the land, so as to cleanse it. At the end of seven months, they shall make their search. ¹⁵ And when those who pass through the land and anyone sees a human bone, then he shall set up a sign by it, till the buriers have buried it in the Valley of Hamon-Gog. ¹⁶ And even the name of the city will be Hamonah.[137] Thus shall they cleanse the land.

¹⁷ “As for you, son of man, thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: Speak to the birds of every sort and to all beasts of the field: ‘Assemble and come, gather from every side to my sacrifice which I am going to sacrifice for you, as a great sacrifice on the mountains of Israel, that you may eat flesh and drink blood. ¹⁸ You shall eat the flesh of the mighty and drink the blood of the chieftains of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of he-goats, of bulls, all of them fattened beasts of Bashan. ¹⁹ And you shall eat fat till you are filled, and drink blood till you are drunk, from my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you. ²⁰ And you shall be filled at my table with horses and charioteers, with mighty men and all the men of war,’ declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.

²¹ “And I will set my glory among the nations, and all the nations shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid on them. ²² So the house of Israel shall know that I am Jehovah their God, from that day and forward. ²³ And the nations shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their error, because they dealt so treacherously with me that I hid my face from them and gave them into the hand of their adversaries, and they all fell by the sword. ²⁴ According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions I dealt with them, and I hid my face from them.

Jehovah Will Restore Israel

²⁵ “Therefore thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob and have mercy on the whole house of Israel, and I will be jealous for my holy name. ²⁶ They shall be humiliated for all their unfaithfulness toward me, when they dwell securely in their land with none to make them afraid, ²⁷ when I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them from their enemies’ lands, then I shall be sanctified through them in the eyes of the many nations. ²⁸ Then they will know that I am Jehovah their God because I made them go into exile among the nations, and then gathered them again to their own land; and I will leave none of them there any longer. ²⁹ And I will not hide my face anymore from them, when I pour out my Spirit upon the house of Israel, declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.”

CHAPTER 40

Ezekiel Is Brought to Israel in a Vision

40 In 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 this very same day, on that very day the hand of Jehovah was upon me, and he brought me there. ² In visions of God he brought me to the land of Israel, and set me down on a very high mountain, on which there was a structure like a city to the south. ³ And he brought me there, and look, there was a man whose appearance was like the appearance of copper, with a line of flax and a measuring reed[138] in his hand; and he was standing in the gateway. ⁴ And the man said to me, “Son of man, look with your eyes, and hear with your ears, and set your heart[139] upon all that I shall show you, for you have been brought here in order to show it to you. Declare all that you are seeing to the house of Israel.”

The Outer East Gate

⁵ And look, there was a wall all around the outside of the temple area all around about, and in the hand of the man there was the measuring reed of six cubits by a cubit and a handbreadth.[140] So he measured the thickness of the wall,[141] one reed; and the height, one reed. ⁶ Then he went to the gate which faced east and went up by its steps and measured the threshold of the gate, one reed in width, and the other threshold, one reed in width. ⁷ And the guard chamber was one reed long and one reed wide; and the space between the guard chambers was five cubits. And the threshold of the gate by the porch of the gate facing inward[142] was one reed. ⁸ Then he measured the porch of the gate, facing inward[143] was one reed.[144] ⁹ He then measured the porch of the gate, eight cubits; and its side pillars, two cubits. And the porch of the gate faced inward.[145] ¹⁰ And the guard chambers of the gate toward the east were three on each side; the three were the same measurement, and the side pillars on either side were the same measurement. ¹¹ Then he measured the width of the entrance of the gate, which was ten cubits; and the length of the gate was thirteen cubits. ¹² The barrier in front of the guard chambers on either side was one cubit. The guard chambers on both sides were six cubits each. ¹³ He then measured the gate from the roof of the one guard chamber to the roof of the other, and it was twenty-five cubits wide from one entrance to the opposite entrance. ¹⁴ Then he measured the side pillars, which were sixty cubits[146] tall, and the side pillars in the gates all around the courtyard. ¹⁵ And from the front of the entrance of the gate to the front of the porch on the inner side of the gate was fifty cubits. ¹⁶ And there were windows with narrowing frames for the guard chambers and for their side pillars inside the gate on each side and the porches. And there were windows on each side and palm tree images on the side pillars.

The Outer Courtyard

¹⁷ He then brought me into the outer courtyard, and look, there were chambers and pavement around the courtyard. Thirty chambers faced the pavement. ¹⁸ And the pavement at the side of the gates corresponded to the length of the gates. This was the lower pavement. ¹⁹ Then he measured the distance from the front of the lower gate to the exterior of the inner courtyard, a hundred cubits on the east and on the north.

The North Gate

²⁰ And as for the gate of the outer courtyard which faced north, and he measured its length and its width. ²¹ There were three guard chambers on each side. Its side pillars and porch had the same measurements as the first gate. It was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide. ²² Its windows, its porch, and its palm tree images were the same measurements as those of the east gate. People could reach it by seven steps, and its porch was in front of them. ²³ There was a gate in the inner courtyard opposite the north gate and one opposite the east gate. He measured the distance from the gate to gate, and it was a hundred cubits.

The South Gate

²⁴ And then he brought me toward the south, and I saw a gate on the south side. He measured its side pillars and its porch, and they were the same measurements as the others. ²⁵ And the gate and its porch had windows all around, like these other windows. Fifty cubits were the length, and the width was twenty-five cubits. ²⁶ And there were seven steps going up to it, and its porch was in front of them. And it had palm tree images on its side pillars, one on each side. ²⁷ And there was a gate on the south of the inner courtyard. And he measured from gate to gate toward the south, a hundred cubits.

The Inner Court and Gates

²⁸ Then he brought me to the inner court by the south gate; and he measured the south gate according to those same measurements. ²⁹ Its guard chambers, its side pillars, and its porch were the same measurements as the others. There were windows all around the gate and its porch. It was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide. ³⁰ And there were porches all around, twenty-five cubits long and five cubits wide.[147] ³¹ And its porch faced the outer courtyard, and there were palm tree images on its side pillars, and its stairway had eight steps.

³² And he brought me to the inner courtyard from the east. He measured the gate, and it was the same measurements as the others. ³³ And its guard chambers, its side pillars, and its porch were the same measurements as the others. And there were windows all around the gate and its porch; it was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide. ³⁴ And its porch faced the outer courtyard, and there were palm tree images on its side pillars, on each side, and its stairway had eight steps.

³⁵ And he brought me to the north gate; and he measured it according to those same measurements. ³⁶ Its guard chambers, its side pillars, and its porch were the same as the others. It had windows all around. The length was fifty cubits and the width twenty-five cubits. ³⁷ And its side pillars faced the outer courtyard, and there were palm tree images on its side pillars, on each side, and its stairway had eight steps.

Rooms for Temple Service

³⁸ A chamber with its entrance was by the side pillars at the gates; there they rinse the burnt offering. ³⁹ And in the porch of the gate were two tables on each side, on which to slaughter the burnt offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering. ⁴⁰ And on the outer side, as one went up to the entrance toward the north, were two tables; and on the other side of the porch of the gate were two tables. ⁴¹ There were four tables on each side of the gate; eight tables on which the sacrifices were slaughtered. ⁴² For the burnt offering there were four tables of hewn stone, a cubit and a half long, a cubit and a half wide and one cubit high, on which they lay the instruments with which they slaughter the burnt offering and the sacrifice. ⁴³ And double hooks, a handbreadth long, were fastened all around within, and on the tables[148] was the flesh of the offering.

Chambers for the Priests

⁴⁴ From the outside to the inner gate were chambers for the singers in the inner courtyard, one of which was at the side of the north gate, with its front toward the south, and one at the side of the south[149] gate facing toward the north. ⁴⁵ And he said to me, “This chamber that faces south is for the priests who have charge of the temple, ⁴⁶ and the chamber that faces north is for the priests who have charge of the altar. These are the sons of Zadok, who alone among the sons of Levi may come near to Jehovah to minister to him.” ⁴⁷ And he measured the courtyard, a hundred cubits long and a hundred cubits broad, a square. And the altar was in front of the temple.

The Porch and the Temple

⁴⁸ And he brought me to the porch of the temple and measured each side pillar of the porch, five cubits on each side; and the width of the gate was three cubits on each side. ⁴⁹ The length of the porch was twenty cubits and the width eleven[150] cubits. And by steps was how they would go up to it. And there were pillars by the side posts, one on each side.

CHAPTER 41

The Sanctuary

41 Then he brought me to the sanctuary, and he measured the side pillars: six cubits wide on each side was the width of the side pillar. ² The width of the entrance was ten cubits, and the sides of the entrance were five cubits on each side. He also measured the length of the sanctuary, forty cubits, and the width, twenty cubits. ³ Then he went into the inner room and measured the side pillar of the entrance, two cubits; and the entrance, six cubits; and the sidewalls on either side of the entrance, seven cubits. ⁴ And he measured its length, twenty cubits, and the width, twenty cubits, before the sanctuary; and he said to me, “This is the Most Holy place.”

The Side Buildings

⁵ Then he measured the wall of the temple, six cubits; and the width of the side chambers, four cubits, all around about the temple, on every side. ⁶ The side chambers were three stories high, one on top of the other, with thirty chambers on each story. There were offset all around the wall of the temple to serve as supports for the side chambers so that the supports did not go into the wall of the temple itself. ⁷ A winding passage that widened as it ascended to the upper chambers was on both sides of the temple. The width increased from story to story as one ascended from the lowest story to the highest story by passing through the middle story. ⁸ I saw also that the temple, had a raised platform all around; the foundations of the side chambers were a full reed[151] of six long cubits in height. ⁹ The width of the outside wall of the side chambers was five cubits. There was an open space alongside the structure of the side chambers that were part of the temple. ¹⁰ And between the chambers was a width of twenty cubits all around the temple on every side. ¹¹ The entrance between the side chambers toward the open space consisted of one entrance toward the north and another entrance toward the south, and the width of the free space was five cubits all around.

¹² The building that was in front of the separate area at the side toward the west was seventy cubits wide; and the wall of the building was five cubits thick all around, and its length was ninety cubits.

¹³ Then he measured the temple, a hundred cubits long; the open area with the building and its walls were also a hundred cubits long. ¹⁴ And the width of the front of the temple and the separated area to the east was a hundred cubits.

¹⁵ And he measured the length of the building that faced the open area behind it, along with its galleries on both sides, a hundred cubits.

The Design Inside

He also measured the inner sanctuary and the porches of the courtyard. ¹⁶ The thresholds, the latticed windows, and the galleries round about their three stories, opposite the threshold, were paneled with wood all around, and from the ground to the windows (but the windows were covered), ¹⁷ to the space above the entrance, and to the inner temple and on the outside, and on all the wall all around inside and outside, by measurement. ¹⁸ It was carved with cherubim and palm trees; and a palm tree was between cherub and cherub, and every cherub had two faces: ¹⁹ a man’s face toward the palm tree on one side and a young lion’s face toward the palm tree on the other side; they were carved on all the temple all around. ²⁰ From the ground to above the entrance cherubim and palm trees were carved, as well as on the wall of the sanctuary.

²¹ The doorposts of the sanctuary were square; as for the front of the holy place, there was an appearance like the appearance of ²² an altar of wood, three cubits high, and its length two cubits; its corners, its base, and its sides were of wood. And he said to me, “This is the table that is before Jehovah.” ²³ The outer sanctuary and the holy place each had two doors. ²⁴ Each of the doors had two leaves, two swinging leaves: two leaves for one door and two leaves for the other. ²⁵ Also there were carved on them, on the doors of the main room, cherubim and palm trees like those carved on the walls; and there was a threshold of wood on the front of the porch outside. ²⁶ And there were latticed windows and palm trees on one side and on the other, on the sides of the porch; the same were on the side chambers of the temple and the thresholds.

CHAPTER 42

The Temple’s Chambers

42 Then he brought me out into the outer court,[152] the way toward the north; and he brought me to the chamber which was opposite the separate area and opposite the building toward the north. ² Along the length, which was a hundred cubits, was the north door; the width was fifty cubits. ³ Opposite the twenty cubits which belonged to the inner courtyard, and opposite the stone pavement which belonged to the outer courtyard, was gallery corresponding to gallery in three stories. ⁴ And before the chambers was an inner passage ten cubits wide, a way of one hundred cubits;[153] and their entrances were on the north. ⁵ Now the upper chambers were smaller because the galleries took more space away from them than from the lower and middle ones in the building. ⁶ For they were in three stories and had no pillars like the pillars of the courtyards; for that reason, the upper chambers were set back from the ground more than the lower and the middle ones. ⁷ As for the outer wall by the side of the chambers, toward the outer courtyard facing the chambers, its length was fifty cubits. ⁸ For the length of the chambers which were in the outer courtyard was fifty cubits; and look, the length of those facing the temple was a hundred cubits. ⁹ And below these chambers was the entrance on the east side, as one enters them from the outer courtyard.

¹⁰ In the thickness of the wall of the courtyard toward the east, facing the separate area and facing the building, there were chambers. ¹¹ And the way in front of them was like the appearance of the chambers which were on the north; according to their length, so was their width, and all their exits were according to their arrangements and entrances. ¹² And according to the entrances of the chambers which were toward the south was an opening at the head of the way, the way in front of the wall toward the east, as one enters them.

¹³ Then he said to me, “The north chambers and the south chambers, which are opposite the separate area, they are the holy chambers where the priests who are near to Jehovah shall eat the most holy things. There they shall set the most holy things, the grain offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering; for the place is holy. ¹⁴ When the priests enter, they shall not go out of the holy place to the outer courtyard without first removing the garments in which they minister, for these are holy. They shall put on other garments; then they shall approach that which is for the people.”

The Overall Dimensions

¹⁵ Now when he had finished measuring the inner temple, he brought me out by way of the gate which faced east and measured it all around. ¹⁶ He measured on the east side with the measuring reed[154] five hundred reeds[155] by the measuring reed. ¹⁷ He measured on the north side five hundred reeds[156] by the measuring reed. ¹⁸ On the south side he measured five hundred reeds^[157] with the measuring reed. ¹⁹ He turned to the west side and measured five hundred reeds with the measuring reed. ²⁰ He measured it on the four sides; it had a wall all around, the length five hundred and the width five hundred, to divide between the holy and the common.

CHAPTER 43

The Glory of God Returns

43 Then he led me to the gate, the gate facing east. ² And look, the glory of the God of Israel was coming from the way of the east. And his voice was like the sound of many waters; and the earth shone with his glory. ³ And the vision I saw was just like the vision that I had seen when he came to destroy the city, and just like the vision that I had seen by the river Chebar. And I fell on my face. ⁴ And the glory of Jehovah came into the temple by the way of the gate facing toward the east. ⁵ And the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and look, the glory of Jehovah filled the temple.

⁶ Then I heard one speaking to me from the temple, while a man was standing beside me. ⁷ And he said to me, “Son of man, this is the place of my throne and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the sons of Israel forever. And the house of Israel shall no more defile my holy name, neither they, nor their kings, by their spiritual prostitution and by the dead bodies of their kings at their high places, ⁸ by setting their threshold by my threshold and their doorposts beside my doorposts, with only a wall between me and them. They have defiled my holy name by their abominations that they have committed, so I have consumed them in my anger. ⁹ Now let them put away their spiritual prostitution and the dead bodies of their kings far from me, and I will dwell in their midst forever.

¹⁰ “As for you, son of man, describe the temple to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their errors; and let them measure the plan. ¹¹ If they are ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the plan of the temple, its arrangement, its exits, its entrances, all its plans, all its statutes, and all its laws. And write it in their sight, so that they may observe its whole design and all its statutes and do them. ¹² This is the law of the temple: its entire area on the top of the mountain all around shall be most holy. Look, this is the law of the temple.

The Altar of Burnt Offering

¹³ “And these are the measurements of the altar by cubits (the cubit being a cubit and a handbreadth): the base shall be a cubit and the width a cubit, and its border on its edge round about one span; and this shall be the height of the base of the altar. ¹⁴ And from the base on the ground to the lower ledge shall be two cubits, and the width one cubit; and from the smaller ledge to the larger ledge shall be four cubits, and the width one cubit. ¹⁵ And the altar hearth shall be four cubits; and from the altar hearth shall extend upward four horns. ¹⁶ Now the altar hearth shall be twelve cubits long by twelve wide, square in its four sides. ¹⁷ And the ledge shall be fourteen cubits long by fourteen wide in its four sides, the border around it shall be half a cubit, and its base shall be a cubit all around; and its steps shall face east.”

The Purification of the Altar

¹⁸ And He said to me, “Son of man, this is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says: ‘These are the statutes for the altar on the day it is built, to offer burnt offerings on it and to sprinkle blood on it. ¹⁹ You shall give to the Levitical priests who are from the offspring of Zadok, who draw near to me to minister to me, declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, ‘a young bull for a sin offering. ²⁰ And you shall take some of its blood and put it on its four horns and on the four corners of the ledge and on the border round about; thus you shall cleanse it and make atonement for it. ²¹ You shall also take the bull for the sin offering, and it shall be burned in the appointed place of the temple, outside the sanctuary. ²² And on the second day you shall offer a male goat without blemish for a sin offering, and they shall cleanse the altar as they cleansed it with the bull. ²³ When you have finished cleansing it, you shall offer a bull without blemish and a ram from the flock without blemish. ²⁴ You shall present them before Jehovah, and the priests shall throw salt on them, and they shall offer them up as a burnt offering to Jehovah. ²⁵ For seven days you shall prepare daily a goat for a sin offering; also a young bull and a ram from the flock, without blemish, shall be prepared. ²⁶ For seven days they shall make atonement for the altar and purify it; so shall they consecrate it. ²⁷ And when they have completed the days, it shall be that on the eighth day and onward, the priests shall offer your burnt offerings on the altar, and your peace offerings; and I will accept you, declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.”

CHAPTER 44

Laws of the Sanctuary

44 Then he brought me back by way of the outer gate of the sanctuary, which faces east; and it was shut. ² And Jehovah said to me, “This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no one shall enter by it, for Jehovah, the God of Israel has entered by it; therefore it shall be shut. ³ As for the chieftain, he shall sit in it as prince to eat bread before Jehovah; he shall enter by way of the porch of the gate and shall go out by the same way.”

⁴ Then he brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the temple; and I looked, and look, the glory of Jehovah filled the temple of Jehovah, and I fell on my face. ⁵ Jehovah said to me, “Son of man, mark well, see with your eyes and hear with your ears all that I say to you concerning all the statutes of the temple of Jehovah and concerning all its laws; and mark well the entrance of the temple, with all exits of the sanctuary. ⁶ And you shall say to the rebellious, even to the house of Israel, Thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: O you house of Israel, that is enough of you because of all your detestable practices, ⁷ when you bring foreigners, uncircumcised in heart and flesh, to be in my sanctuary, they profane my temple. You present my bread, fat, and blood while my covenant is being broken because of all your detestable practices. ⁸ And you have not taken care of my holy things, but you assign others to take care of the duties for you in my sanctuary.

⁹ “Thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: No foreigner uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, of all the foreigners who are among the sons of Israel, shall enter my sanctuary. ¹⁰ But the Levites who went far from me when Israel went astray, who went astray from me after their disgusting idols,[158] shall bear the punishment for their error. ¹¹ Yet they shall be ministers in my sanctuary, having oversight at the gates of the temple and ministering in the temple; they shall slaughter the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before them to minister to them. ¹² Because they ministered to them before their disgusting idols and became a stumbling block of error to the house of Israel, therefore I have sworn against them, declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, and they shall bear the consequences of their error. ¹³ They shall not come near to me, to serve me as priest, nor come near any of my holy things and the things that are most holy, but they shall bear their shame because of the detestable things that they have committed. ¹⁴ Yet I will appoint them caretakers of the responsibilities of the temple, to take care of its service and all the things that shall be done in it.

Rules for Levitical Priests

¹⁵ “But the Levitical priests, the sons of Zadok, who took care of my sanctuary when the sons of Israel went astray from me, shall come near to me to minister to me. And they shall stand before me to offer me the fat and the blood, declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah. ¹⁶ They shall enter my sanctuary, and they shall approach my table, to minister to me, and they shall take care of their responsibilities. ¹⁷ It shall be that when they enter at the gates of the inner courtyard, they shall be clothed with linen garments; and wool shall not be on them while they minister at the gates of the inner courtyard and within. ¹⁸ They shall have linen turbans on their heads, and linen undergarments around their waists. They shall not bind themselves with anything that causes sweat. ¹⁹ And when they go out into the outer courtyard, into the outer courtyard to the people, they shall take off their garments in which they have been ministering and lay them in the holy chambers; then they shall put on other garments, so that they will not transfer holiness to the people with their garments. ²⁰ Also they shall not shave their heads or let their locks grow long; they shall surely trim the hair of their heads. ²¹ Nor shall any of the priests drink wine when they enter the inner courtyard. ²² And they shall not marry a widow or a divorced woman but shall take virgins from the offspring of the house of Israel, or a widow who is the widow of a priest. ²³ And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the common and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean. ²⁴ And in a legal dispute they shall stand to judge; in harmony with my judgment decisions shall they judge: and they shall keep my laws and my statutes regarding all my festivals; and they shall sanctify my sabbaths. ²⁵ They shall not go to a dead person to defile themselves; however, for father, for mother, for son, for daughter, for brother, or for a sister who has not had a husband, they may defile themselves. ²⁶ And after he is cleansed, seven days shall elapse for him. ²⁷ And on the day that he goes into the sanctuary, to the inner courtyard to minister in the sanctuary, he shall offer his sin offering,” declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.

²⁸ “This shall be their inheritance: I am their inheritance: and you shall give them no possession in Israel; I am their possession. ²⁹ They shall eat the grain offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering, and every devoted thing in Israel shall be theirs. ³⁰ And the first of all the first fruits of every kind and every contribution of every kind, from all your contributions, shall be for the priests; you shall also give to the priest the first of your dough, to make a blessing rest on your households. ³¹ The priests shall not eat of anything already dead or any animal torn to pieces, whether bird or beast.

CHAPTER 45

The Allotment of Land

45 “When you allot the land as an inheritance, you should offer as a contribution to Jehovah a holy portion out of the land. Its length should be twenty-five thousand cubits, and its width, ten thousand cubits.[159] It will be a holy portion in all its boundaries round about. ² Of this there shall be a square lot for the holy place measuring five hundred cubits by five hundred cubits, with fifty cubits for pastures round about. ³ Out of this measurement, you shall measure the length of twenty-five thousand and the width of ten thousand cubits,^[160] and in it shall be the sanctuary, the Most Holy Place. ⁴ It shall be the holy portion of the land; it shall be for the priests, the ministers of the sanctuary, who come near to serve Jehovah, and it shall be a place for their houses and a holy place for the sanctuary. ⁵ A portion twenty-five thousand cubits in length and ten thousand in width shall be for the Levites, the ministers of the temple, and they will have twenty chambers[161] as a possession.

⁶ “And you shall give the city possession of an area that is five thousand cubits wide and twenty-five thousand cubits long, alongside the contribution of the holy portion; it shall be for the entire house of Israel.

The chieftain’s Portion

⁷ “And the chieftain shall have land on both sides of the holy contribution and the property of the city, adjacent to the holy contribution and the possession of the city, on the west side toward the west and on the east side toward the east, and in length correspond to one of the portions, from the west border to the east border. ⁸ This shall be his land as a possession in Israel, so my chieftains shall no longer oppress my people, but they shall give the land to the house of Israel according to their tribes.

The Chieftain’s Tasks

⁹ “Thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: Enough, O chieftains of Israel! Remove violence and oppression and execute justice and righteousness. Stop your evictions of my people,[162] declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.

¹⁰ “You shall have just balances, a just ephah,[163] and a just bath.[164] ¹¹ The ephah and the bath shall be of the same measure, the bath containing one tenth of a homer, and the ephah one tenth of a homer;[165] the homer shall be the standard measure. ¹² The shekel[166] shall be twenty gerahs;[167] twenty shekels, twenty-five shekels, and fifteen shekels shall be your mina.[168]

¹³ “This is the offering that you shall offer: a sixth of an ephah from a homer of wheat; a sixth of an ephah from a homer of barley. ¹⁴ The fixed portion of oil is to be based on the bath[169] measure, the bath is a tenth of a cor,[170] and ten baths are a homer, for ten baths equal a homer. ¹⁵ And one sheep from every flock of two hundred, from the watering places of Israel for grain offering, burnt offering, and peace offerings, to make atonement for them, declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah. ¹⁶ All the people of the land shall give to this offering for the chieftain in Israel. ¹⁷ And it shall be the chieftain’s part to provide the burnt offerings, the grain offerings, and the drink offerings, at the feasts, on the new moons, and on the Sabbaths, at 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

Temple Purification and Festivals

¹⁸ “Thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, In the first month, on the first of the month, you shall take a young bull without blemish and cleanse the sanctuary. ¹⁹ And the priest shall take some of the blood from the sin offering and put it on the door posts of the temple, on the four corners of the ledge of the altar, and on the posts of the gate of the inner courtyard. ²⁰ And you shall do this on the seventh day of the month for anyone who sins by mistake or through ignorance; so you shall make atonement for the temple.

²¹ “In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, you shall have the Passover, a feast of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten. ²² On that day the chieftain shall provide for himself and all the people of the land a young bull for a sin offering. ²³ And on the seven days of the feast he shall provide as a burnt offering to Jehovah seven young bulls and seven rams without blemish on each day of the seven days, and a male goat daily for a sin offering. ²⁴ And he shall provide as a grain offering an ephah for each bull, an ephah for each ram, and a hin[171] of oil to each ephah. ²⁵ In the seventh month, on the fifteenth day of the month, at the feast, he shall provide like these, seven days for the sin offering, the burnt offering, the grain offering, and the oil.”

CHAPTER 46

Regulations for the Chieftain’s Part in Worship

46 “Thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: The gate of the inner court that faces east shall be shut on 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. ² The chieftain shall enter by way of the porch of the gate from outside and stand by the post of the gate. Then the priests shall provide his burnt offering and his peace offerings, and he shall worship at the threshold of the gate and then go out; but the gate shall not be shut until the evening. ³ The people of the land shall also worship at the entrance of that gate before Jehovah on the Sabbaths and on the new moons. ⁴ The burnt offering which the chieftain shall offer to Jehovah on the Sabbath day shall be six lambs without blemish and a ram without blemish. ⁵ And the grain offering shall be an ephah with the ram, and the grain offering with the lambs as much as he is able to give, and a hin of oil with an ephah. ⁶ On the day of the new moon he shall offer a young bull without blemish, and six lambs and a ram, which shall be without blemish. ⁷ And he shall provide a grain offering, an ephah with the young bull and an ephah with the ram, and with the lambs as much as he is able, and a hin of oil with an ephah. ⁸ When the prince enters, he shall enter by the vestibule of the gate, and he shall go out by the same way.

⁹ “But when the people of the land come before Jehovah at the appointed feasts, one who enters by way of the north gate to worship shall go out by way of the south gate. And one who enters by way of the south gate shall go out by way of the north gate. No one shall return by way of the gate by which he[172] entered but shall go straight out. ¹⁰ And when they go in, the chieftain shall go in among them; and when they go out, he[173] shall go out.

¹¹ “At the festivals and the appointed feasts, the grain offering shall be an ephah with a young bull and an ephah with a ram, and with the lambs as much as one is able to give, and a hin of oil with an ephah. ¹² And when the chieftain provides a voluntary offering, a burnt offering, or peace offerings as a voluntary offering to Jehovah, the gate facing east shall be opened for him. And he shall provide his burnt offering and his peace offerings as he does on the Sabbath day. Then he shall go out, and the gate shall be shut after he goes out.

¹³ “And you[174] shall provide a lamb a year old without blemish for a burnt offering to Jehovah daily; morning by morning you[175] shall provide it. ¹⁴ And you[176] shall provide a grain offering with it morning by morning, a sixth of an ephah and a third of a hin of oil to moisten the fine flour, a grain offering to Jehovah continually by a lasting statute. ¹⁵ Thus the lamb and the meal offering, and the oil shall be provided, morning by morning, for a regular burnt offering.

Land Laws for the Chieftain

¹⁶ “Thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: If the chieftain makes a gift to any of his sons as his inheritance, it shall belong to his sons. It is their property by inheritance. ¹⁷ But if he makes a gift out of his inheritance to one of his servants, it shall be his to the year of liberty. Then it shall revert to the chieftain. But as for his inheritance, it shall be only his sons. ¹⁸ The chieftain shall not take from the people’s inheritance, thrusting them out of their property; he shall give his sons inheritance from his own possession so that my people will not be scattered, anyone from his property.”

The Temple Boiling Places for Offerings

¹⁹ Then he brought me through the entrance, which was at the side of the gate, into the holy chambers for the priests, which faced north; and behold, there was a place at the rear toward the west. ²⁰ And 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, in order not to bring them out into the outer courtyard so as to sanctify the people.”

²¹ Then he brought me out into the outer courtyard and led me across to the four corners of the courtyard; and look, in every corner of the courtyard there was a small courtyard. ²² In the four corners of the courtyard there were enclosed courtyards, forty cubits long and thirty wide; these four in the corners were the same size. ²³ And there was a row of masonry round about in them, around the four of them, and boiling places were made under the rows all around. ²⁴ Then he said to me, “These are the boiling places where the ministers of the house shall boil the sacrifices of the people.”

CHAPTER 47

A Life-Giving Torrent Flowing from the Temple

47 And he brought me back to the door of the house; and behold, water was flowing from under the threshold of the house toward the east, for the house faced east. And the water was flowing down from under, from the right side of the house, from south of the altar. ² Then he brought me out by way of the north gate and led me around on the outside to the outer gate that faces toward the east; and look, the water was trickling out on the south side.

³ When the man went out toward the east with a line in his hand, he measured a thousand cubits, and he led me through the water; the water was ankle deep. ⁴ Again he measured a thousand and led me through the water, and it was up to the knees. Again he measured a thousand and led me through the water, and the water was up to the hips. ⁵ Again he measured a thousand; and it was a torrent that I could not pass through, for the water had risen. It was deep enough to swim in, a torrent that could not be passed through. ⁶ And he said to me, “Son of man, have you seen this?”

Then he brought me back to the bank of the stream. ⁷ Now when I had returned, look, on the bank of the stream there were very many trees on the one side and on the other. ⁸ And he said to me, “These waters go out toward the eastern region and go down into the Arabah; then they go toward the sea. When it enters the sea, the water there shall be healed. ⁹ And it will come about that every living soul shall be able to live wherever the two streams flow. And there will be an abundance of fish, for this water goes there. The seawater will be healed, and everything will live wherever the stream goes. ¹⁰ And it shall come about that fishermen will stand beside it; from Engedi to Eneglaim where there will be a place for the spreading of nets. There will be an abundance of many kinds of fish, like the fish of the Great Sea. ¹¹ But its swamps and marshes will not be healed; they will be left for salt. ¹² And by the stream on its bank, on one side and on the other, will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither, and their fruit will not fail. They will bear fruit every month because their water flows from the sanctuary, and their fruit will be for food and their leaves for healing.”

The Boundaries of the Land

¹³ Thus says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah: “This is the boundary by which you shall divide the land for inheritance among the twelve tribes of Israel. Joseph shall have two portions. ¹⁴ And you shall divide it for an inheritance, each one equally with the other; for I swore to give it to your forefathers, and this land shall fall to you as an inheritance.

¹⁵ “And 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; ¹⁶ Hamath, Berothah, Sibraim, which is between the border of Damascus and the border of Hamath; Hazer-hatticon, which is by the border of Hauran. ¹⁷ And so the boundary shall extend from the sea to Hazar-enan[177] at the border of Damascus, and on the north toward the north is the border of Hamath. This is the north side.

¹⁸ “And the east side, from between Hauran, Damascus, Gilead, and the land of Israel, shall be the Jordan; from the north border to the eastern sea you shall measure. This is the east side.

¹⁹ “And on the south side toward the south[178] shall extend from Tamar as far as the waters of Meribath-kadesh, to the brook of Egypt and to the Great Sea. This is the south side toward the south.[179]

²⁰ “And on the west side shall be the Great Sea, from the south border to a point opposite Lebo-hamath. This is the west side.

²¹ “So you shall divide this land among yourselves according to the tribes of Israel. ²² You shall divide it by lot as an inheritance for yourselves and among the strangers[180] who stay in your midst, who bring forth sons in your midst. And they shall be to you as the native-born among the sons of Israel; they shall be allotted an inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel. ²³ And in the tribe with which the stranger resides, there you shall give him his inheritance,” declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.

CHAPTER 48

The Northern Tribes

48 “Now these are the names of the tribes: from the northern extremity, beside the way of Hethlon to Lebo-hamath, as far as Hazar-enan at the border of Damascus, toward the north beside Hamath, running from east to west, Dan, one portion. ² And beside the border of Dan, from the east side to the west side, Asher, one portion. ³ And beside the border of Asher, from the east side to the west side, Naphtali, one portion. ⁴ And beside the border of Naphtali, from the east side to the west side, Manasseh, one portion. ⁵ And beside the border of Manasseh, from the east side to the west side, Ephraim, one portion. ⁶ And beside the border of Ephraim, from the east side to the west side, Reuben, one portion. ⁷ And beside the border of Reuben, from the east side to the west side, Judah, one portion.

The Central Strip

⁸ “And beside the border of Judah, from the east side to the west side, shall be the contribution which you shall set apart, twenty-five thousand cubits in width, and in length like one of the portions, from the east side to the west side; and the sanctuary shall be in the middle of it. ⁹ The contribution that you shall set apart to Jehovah shall be twenty-five thousand cubits in length and ten thousand in width. ¹⁰ The holy contribution shall be for these, namely for the priests, toward the north twenty-five thousand cubits in length, toward the west ten thousand in width, toward the east ten thousand in width, and toward the south twenty-five thousand in length; and the sanctuary of Jehovah shall be in its midst. ¹¹ It shall be for the priests who are sanctified of the sons of Zadok, who have taken the responsibility I gave them, who did not go astray when the sons of Israel went astray as the Levites went astray. ¹² It shall be a portion to them from the contribution of the land, a most holy reserve, by the border of the Levites. ¹³ And alongside the border of the priests, the Levites shall have twenty-five thousand cubits in length and ten thousand in width. The entire length shall be twenty-five thousand cubits and the width ten thousand. ¹⁴ They shall not sell any of it, and shall not exchange, and shall not transfer any of this choicest portion of the land, for it is holy to Jehovah.

¹⁵ “The remainder, five thousand cubits in width and twenty-five thousand in length, shall be for common use for the city, for homes and for open spaces; and the city shall be in its midst. ¹⁶ And these shall be its measurements: on its side to the north, four thousand five hundred cubits; and on its side to the south, four thousand five hundred cubits; and on the eastern side, four thousand five hundred cubits; and on the western side, four thousand five hundred cubits. ¹⁷ And the city shall have pasture ground toward the north, two hundred and fifty cubits, southwards two hundred and fifty cubits, and eastwards two hundred and fifty cubits, and westwards two hundred and fifty cubits. ¹⁸ And the remainder of the length alongside the holy contribution shall be ten thousand cubits toward the east and ten thousand toward the west; and it shall be alongside the holy contribution. And its produce shall be food for the workers of the city. ¹⁹ And the workers of the city, out of all the tribes of Israel, shall cultivate it. ²⁰ The whole contribution shall be twenty-five thousand by twenty-five thousand cubits; you shall set apart the holy contribution, a square, with the property of the city.

²¹ “And the remainder shall be for the chieftain, on the one side and on the other of the holy contribution and of the property of the city; in front of the twenty-five thousand cubits of the contribution toward the east border and westward in front of the twenty-five thousand toward the west border, alongside the portions, it shall be for the chieftain. And the holy contribution and the sanctuary of the temple shall be in the middle of it. ²² And exclusive of the property of the Levites and the property of the city, which are in the middle of that which belongs to the chieftain, everything between the border of Judah and the border of Benjamin shall be for the chieftain.

The Southern Tribes

²³ “As for the rest of the tribes: from the east side to the west side, Benjamin, one portion. ²⁴ And beside the border of Benjamin, from the east side to the west side, Simeon, one portion. ²⁵ And beside the border of Simeon, from the east side to the west side, Issachar, one portion. ²⁶ And beside the border of Issachar, from the east side to the west side, Zebulun, one portion. ²⁷ And beside the border of Zebulun, from the east side to the west side, Gad, one portion. ²⁸ And beside the border of Gad, at the south side toward the south, the border shall be from Tamar to the waters of Meribath-kadesh, to the brook of Egypt, to the Great Sea. ²⁹ This is the land which you shall divide by lot to the tribes of Israel for an inheritance, and these are their several portions,” declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.

The New Jerusalem

³⁰ “And these shall be the exits of the city: From the north side, four thousand and five hundred cubits by measurement. ³¹ And the gates of the city shall be according to the names of the tribes of Israel: three gates toward the north, the gate of Reuben, one; the gate of Judah, one; the gate of Levi, one. ³² And on the east side, four thousand five hundred cubits, and three gates, and so the gate of Joseph, one; the gate of Benjamin, one; the gate of Dan, one. ³³ And on the south side, four thousand five hundred cubits by measurement, and so three gates, the gate of Simeon, one; the gate of Issachar, one; the gate of Zebulun, one. ³⁴ And on the west side, four thousand five hundred cubits, and their gates three, the gate of Gad, one; the gate of Asher, one; the gate of Naphtali, one. ³⁵ The city shall be eighteen thousand cubits all around; and the name of the city from that day shall be, ‘Jehovah is there.”

[1] “Ezekiel” יְחֶזְקֵאל Yechezqel, meaning “God Strengthens.” Ezekiel began writing his book in 593 B.C.E. (5^th year of Jehoiachin’s captivity) when he was about 30 years old. The last of Ezekiel’s writing was in the twenty-seventh year of Jehoiachin’s captivity (Ezek. 29:17–21), or 570 B.C.E.

[2] SYR AT “a vision” MT “visions”

[3] Meaning “God Strengthens”

[4] The four living creatures were four angels, in all likelihood the cherubim in 10:1–22, appearing in the appearance of a man (face, legs, feet, hands in vss. 6–8) appear to serve the Sovereign Lord Jehovah who judges. It is possible that the number four may represent the four corners of the earth, which would suggest that the angels of God carry out his commands everywhere.

[5] LXX “in the midst” MT “as for the likeness”

[6] LXX lacks “the living creatures”

[7] MT “living creature” LXX SYR VG “living creatures”

[8] Ezekiel is addressed ninety-two times with the expression “son of man.” This expression reminded Ezekiel that although he was receiving this tremendous privilege, he was but a man. Significantly, in the Gospel, Jesus is referred to as “Son of man” approximately 80 times, showing that he was completely human and divine.

[9] The expression “Sovereign Lord Jehovah” occurs 217 times in Ezekiel.

[10] MT SYR LXX VG “Blessed be the glory of Jehovah from his place” rather than the emendation suggested in BHS of בְּרוּם (bérum) for בָּרוּךְ (barukh) “Blessed be the glory of Jehovah from its place”

[11] MT^margin many Heb. MSS “and I dwelt”

[12] About 230 g (7.3 oz t).

[13] MT “it shall be” DSS LXX SYR AT VG “you shall be”

[14] Disgusting idols: The Hebrew term (גִּלּוּלִים gillûlîm) rendered “disgusting idols” is an important term in Ezekiel. The prophet prefers it to specify pagan gods or idols. It occurs forty-nine times in the Old Testament, thirty-nine of which are here in Ezekiel. The term has had a particularly scathing and excremental sense. It may have the same root as the word for “dung” and is used to express disgust. The term conveys an excessive way of identifying pagan idols as dung. It appears to be a specially coined term of disdain. – Ezek. 6:4, 5, 6, 13; 14:3, 4, 5, 6, 7; 16:36; 18:6, 12, 15; 20:7, 8, 16, 18, 24, 31, 39; 22:3, 4; 23:7, 30, 37, 39, 49; 30:13; 33:25; 36:18, 25; 37:23; Jer. 50:2; Deut. 29:17; Lev. 26:30; 1 Kings 15:12; 21:26; 2 Kings 17:12; 21:11, 21; 23:24.

[15] See 6:4 fn.

[16] See 6:4 fn.

[17] The expression “you shall know that I am Jehovah” occurs 217 times in Ezekiel.

[18] See 6:4 fn.

[19] MT LXX VG “Diblah,” one Heb. MS “Riblah”

[20] Loss of bladder control resulting in urination due to fear of an extreme crisis.

[21] A shining metal made by combining gold and silver.

[22] The Hebrew term (גִּלּוּלִים gillûlîm) rendered “disgusting idols” is an important term in Ezekiel. The prophet prefers it to specify pagan gods or idols. It occurs forty-nine times in the Old Testament, thirty-nine of which are here in Ezekiel. The term has had a particularly scathing and excremental sense. It may have the same root as the word for “dung” and is used to express disgust. The term conveys an excessive way of identifying pagan idols as dung. It appears to be a specially coined term of disdain. – Ezek. 6:4, 5, 6, 13; 14:3, 4, 5, 6, 7; 16:36; 18:6, 12, 15; 20:7, 8, 16, 18, 24, 31, 39; 22:3, 4; 23:7, 30, 37, 39, 49; 30:13; 33:25; 36:18, 25; 37:23; Jer. 50:2; Deut. 29:17; Lev. 26:30; 1 Kings 15:12; 21:26; 2 Kings 17:12; 21:11, 21; 23:24.

[23] At Ezekiel 9:2, 3, 11, we find the man clothed in linen (pictures Jesus Christ) responsible for marking godly individuals on the forehead is depicted as having “a scribe’s inkhorn (writing case) at his waist,” which would have been secured by the girdle about his waist. The six men with smashing weapons depict the angels with Christ. This scribe’s inkhorn may have been comparable to those that appear in numerous ancient Egyptian tomb paintings. “The pen was a rush or reed cut to a point that could serve as brush or point depending on the shape of the letter being drawn. Ink was made from a mixture of carbon and gum. Red ink had iron oxide added to produce the color needed for rubrics or the lines on the scroll. Completing his kit would be a knife to sharpen his pens (Jer 36: 23).” – (Walton, Matthews and Chavalas, The IVP Bible Background Commentary (Old Testament) 2000, 697)

[24] Lit “the cherub” (הַכְּרוּב hakkerub), which is in the singular. However, this is likely meant collectively. This is the first occurrence of “cherub” being used in Eze. See 1:22-28.

[25] See 9:2 fn.

[26] “Cherubim,” LXX VG^c. See 9:3 fn. “cherubs.”

[27] Heb. (אֵל שַׁדַּי) El Shaddai

[28] MT “he will bring you out” LXX SYR AT VG some Heb. MSS “I will bring you out.”

[29] AT LXX SYR VG many Heb. MSS “them” MT “you” plural.

[30] A chieftain was a man in a ruling role, such as the head of a tribe or a paternal house. The Hebrew word (נָשִׂיא nasi) is rendered differently by Bible translators as “prince,” “leader,” “ruler,” “chieftain.” Ezekiel speaks prophetically of a chieftain in Ezekiel chapters 44 to 48.

[31] LXX VG “Babylon” MT SYR “Babel”

[32] AT LXX VG “upon the land”

[33] That is, fulfillment

[34] MT AT SYR VG “you shall know” LXX “they shall know”

[35] Disgusting idols: The Hebrew term (גִּלּוּלִים gillûlîm) rendered “disgusting idols” is an important term in Ezekiel. The prophet prefers it to specify pagan gods or idols. It occurs forty-nine times in the Old Testament, thirty-nine of which are here in Ezekiel. The term has had a particularly scathing and excremental sense. It may have the same root as the word for “dung” and is used to express disgust. The term conveys an excessive way of identifying pagan idols as dung. It appears to be a specially coined term of disdain. – Ezek. 6:4, 5, 6, 13; 14:3, 4, 5, 6, 7; 16:36; 18:6, 12, 15; 20:7, 8, 16, 18, 24, 31, 39; 22:3, 4; 23:7, 30, 37, 39, 49; 30:13; 33:25; 36:18, 25; 37:23; Jer. 50:2; Deut. 29:17; Lev. 26:30; 1 Kings 15:12; 21:26; 2 Kings 17:12; 21:11, 21; 23:24.

[36] That is, save only themselves

[37] Lit bereave of children

[38] That is, save only themselves

[39] The Hebrew (דּוֹד dod) here refers to lovemaking, i.e., sexual encounter.

[40] This was a gesture that symbolized marriage – Ruth 3:9.

[41] Or sealskin

[42] That is, pleasing, appeasing, soothing

[43] MT SYR VG “my sons” LXX eight Heb. MSS “your sons”

[44] The Hebrew (גִּדְלֵי בָשָׂר) here is referring to the lustful (great of flesh), genitalia, formally, flesh, i.e., the male or female sex organs as a soft-tissue area of the body. It refers to the sexually aroused, well-endowed neighbors.

[45] Lit land of traders

[46] Or weak

[47] MT^emendation by a small alteration of the Masoretic Text, “O how I am filled with rage against you.”

[48] Disgusting idols: The Hebrew term (גִּלּוּלִים gillûlîm) rendered “disgusting idols” is an important term in Ezekiel. The prophet prefers it to specify pagan gods or idols. It occurs forty-nine times in the Old Testament, thirty-nine of which are here in Ezekiel. The term has had a particularly scathing and excremental sense. It may have the same root as the word for “dung” and is used to express disgust. The term conveys an excessive way of identifying pagan idols as dung. It appears to be a specially coined term of disdain. – Ezek. 6:4, 5, 6, 13; 14:3, 4, 5, 6, 7; 16:36; 18:6, 12, 15; 20:7, 8, 16, 18, 24, 31, 39; 22:3, 4; 23:7, 30, 37, 39, 49; 30:13; 33:25; 36:18, 25; 37:23; Jer. 50:2; Deut. 29:17; Lev. 26:30; 1 Kings 15:12; 21:26; 2 Kings 17:12; 21:11, 21; 23:24.

[49] Prostitutes suffered humiliation and shame, a loss of dignity when their nakedness was exposed. – Jer 13:22, 26; Hos 2:12; Nah 3:5.

[50] As the older sister, Samaria may refer to her comparative significance as the capital, so the daughters were her dependent towns.

[51] That is, to the north of you

[52] That is, to the south of you

[53] MT AT LXX VG “Syria (Aram)” SYR many Heb. MSS “Edom”

[54] Lit a field of seed

[55] Lit field

[56] LXX VG “Babylon” MT AT SYR “Babel”

[57] Lit seed

[58] Or person

[59] This is one of the 134 scribal changes from יהוה [JHVH] to אדני [Adonai]. The earliest MSS have the Tetragrammaton.

[60] This is one of the 134 scribal changes from יהוה [JHVH] to אדני [Adonai]. The earliest MSS have the Tetragrammaton.

[61] A chieftain was a man in a ruling role, such as the head of a tribe or a paternal house. The Hebrew word (נָשִׂיא nasi) is rendered differently by Bible translators as “prince,” “leader,” “ruler,” “chieftain.” Ezekiel speaks prophetically of a chieftain in Ezekiel chapters 44 to 48.

[62] The difference of a letter that is easily confused (ר (resh) and ל [lamed]) “fortified towers” MT “widows”

[63] LXX VG “Babylon” MT AT SYR “Babel”

[64] That is, I swore to the offspring

[65] Disgusting idols: The Hebrew term (גִּלּוּלִים gillûlîm) rendered “disgusting idols” is an important term in Ezekiel. The prophet prefers it to specify pagan gods or idols. It occurs forty-nine times in the Old Testament, thirty-nine of which are here in Ezekiel. The term has had a particularly scathing and excremental sense. It may have the same root as the word for “dung” and is used to express disgust. The term conveys an excessive way of identifying pagan idols as dung. It appears to be a specially coined term of disdain. – Ezek. 6:4, 5, 6, 13; 14:3, 4, 5, 6, 7; 16:36; 18:6, 12, 15; 20:7, 8, 16, 18, 24, 31, 39; 22:3, 4; 23:7, 30, 37, 39, 49; 30:13; 33:25; 36:18, 25; 37:23; Jer. 50:2; Deut. 29:17; Lev. 26:30; 1 Kings 15:12; 21:26; 2 Kings 17:12; 21:11, 21; 23:24.

[66] Or the south. That is the southern part of the Promised Land. The Negev was an arid region in the southern part of Palestine, and its name came to mean south.

[67] AT SYR VG begin chapter 21 here.

[68] This is one of the 134 scribal changes from יהוה [JHVH] to אדני [Adonai]. The earliest MSS have the Tetragrammaton.

[69] LXX VG “Babylon” MT AT SYR “Babel”

[70] That is, parting of the way

[71] MT “teraphim” LXX “carved images” VG “idols”

[72] The idiomatic expression “uncover the nakedness” of their father here references sexual relations. (cf. Lev 18:6) To uncover their father’s nakedness could mean having sexual relations with their mother. (Lev 18:7) However, it is more conceivable that it refers to having sexual relations with a different wife of their father, that is, their stepmother. – Lev 18:8.

[73] Disgusting idols: The Hebrew term (גִּלּוּלִים gillûlîm) rendered “disgusting idols” is an important term in Ezekiel. The prophet prefers it to specify pagan gods or idols. It occurs forty-nine times in the Old Testament, thirty-nine of which are here in Ezekiel. The term has had a particularly scathing and excremental sense. It may have the same root as the word for “dung” and is used to express disgust. The term conveys an excessive way of identifying pagan idols as dung. It appears to be a specially coined term of disdain. – Ezek. 6:4, 5, 6, 13; 14:3, 4, 5, 6, 7; 16:36; 18:6, 12, 15; 20:7, 8, 16, 18, 24, 31, 39; 22:3, 4; 23:7, 30, 37, 39, 49; 30:13; 33:25; 36:18, 25; 37:23; Jer. 50:2; Deut. 29:17; Lev. 26:30; 1 Kings 15:12; 21:26; 2 Kings 17:12; 21:11, 21; 23:24.

[74] LXX has “from the north” after “come against you.”

[75] A shield was a broad piece of defensive armor held by the hand or arm, which may or may not be strapped to the wrist or forearm. All ancient nations used shields to thwart distinctive attacks, whether from close-ranged weapons like the sword or projectiles such as arrows. This was done by active blocks and providing a passive defense by closing one or more lines of engagement during combat. The “large shield” (צִנָּה tsinnah) was used by the heavily armed infantry (2Ch 14:8) and sometimes by a shield-bearer (the one who carried his shield). (1Sa 17:7, 41) A buckler was a small “shield” (מָגֵן magen or מְגִנָּה meginnah), 45 cm (up to 18 in), which was gripped with the fist with a central handle behind a round circle or sphere, the shape of a cone (boss, or umbo) piece of material at the center of a shield, which was usually made of thick metal but could also be made of wood. They were designed to deflect blows from the center of round shields and a place to mount the shield’s grip. Archers often carried the buckler.

[76] LXX SYR AT VG some Heb. MSS “I will judge you” MT “they will judge you”

[77] “Nebuchadnezzar” in 27:6–29:3 (consistently spelled this way); in 21:2 and other places throughout the book, “Nebuchadrezzar,” an alternate spelling.

[78] LXX VG “Babylon” MT AT SYR “Babel”

[79] MT VG “will come down” AT LXX SYR “he will bring down”

[80] MT “inhabited from the seas” SYR “O inhabitress of the seas” VG “you who dwell in the sea”

[81] MT AT VG “Dedan” LXX “the Rhodians”

[82] SYR 25 about Heb. MSS “Edom” MT “Aram” VG “The Syrian”

[83] Or the seal of perfection; the meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain

[84] MT SYR VG “You profaned” LXX^B “I profaned”

[85] MT “They” LXX SYR VG “you”

[86] MT^margin VG and many Heb. MSS “the hand” MT “your hand” LXX SYR “their hand”

[87] MT VG “shoulder” SYR “hands”

[88] SYR “wobble” MT “stand”

[89] VG “Ethiopia” LXX “the Ethiopians” MT SYR “Cush.”

[90] “Nebuchadnezzar” in 27:6–29:3 (consistently spelled this way); in 21:2 and other places throughout the book, “Nebuchadrezzar,” an alternate spelling.

[91] LXX VG “Babylon” MT AT SYR “Babel”

[92] LXX VG “Ethiopia” MT AT SYR “Cush”

[93] Or all those from other nations; MT LXX “all the mixed populations,” SYR “Arabians”

[94] LXX SYR VG “Kub” MT “Libya”

[95] MT “in the ships” VG “in triremes” LXX SYR “hastening”

[96] A horde is a large group of people, specifically an army or tribe of nomadic warriors.

[97] Disgusting idols: The Hebrew term (גִּלּוּלִים gillûlîm) rendered “disgusting idols” is an important term in Ezekiel. The prophet prefers it to specify pagan gods or idols. It occurs forty-nine times in the Old Testament, thirty-nine of which are here in Ezekiel. The term has had a particularly scathing and excremental sense. It may have the same root as the word for “dung” and is used to express disgust. The term conveys an excessive way of identifying pagan idols as dung. It appears to be a specially coined term of disdain. – Ezek. 6:4, 5, 6, 13; 14:3, 4, 5, 6, 7; 16:36; 18:6, 12, 15; 20:7, 8, 16, 18, 24, 31, 39; 22:3, 4; 23:7, 30, 37, 39, 49; 30:13; 33:25; 36:18, 25; 37:23; Jer. 50:2; Deut. 29:17; Lev. 26:30; 1 Kings 15:12; 21:26; 2 Kings 17:12; 21:11, 21; 23:24.

[98] MT “Noph” LXX SYR VG “Memphis”

[99] MT AT SYR “Sin” VG “Pelusium”

[100] MT SYR “No” AT VG “Alexandria”

[101] Or Memphis

[102] MT “Aven” LXX VG “Heliopolis”

[103] A horde is a large group of people, specifically an army or tribe of nomadic warriors.

[104] LXX “clouds” MT SYR VG “branches”

[105] MT AT LXX “you” SYR VG “it”

[106] LXX “clouds” MT “branches”

[107] MT SYR VG “they” LXX VG^c “I”

[108] MT “your height” LXX “blood” SYR “maggots” (i.e., carcass) VG “corrupted blood”

[109] MT “your destruction” LXX “your captivity”

[110] LXX adds “in the first month” after “twelfth year” MT AT SYR VG lack

[111] A horde is a large group of people, specifically an army or tribe of nomadic warriors.

[112] This is one of the 134 scribal changes from יהוה [JHVH] to אדני [Adonai]. The earliest MSS have the Tetragrammaton.

[113] This is one of the 134 scribal changes from יהוה [JHVH] to אדני [Adonai]. The earliest MSS have the Tetragrammaton.

[114] That is, they flatter you

[115] MT “I will destroy” LXX SYR VG “I will watch over”

[116] MT “her” LXX SYR VG “them”

[117] MT AT SYR VG “among them” SYR “to you” LXX “among you”

[118] MT^margin “they are” MT “she has”

[119] LXX SYR “you” plural MT AT VG “you” singular.

[120] MT^margin LXX SYR many Heb. MSS “bereave your nation of children,” MT “cause to stumble”

[121] AT some Heb. MSS “bereave your nation” MT “cause your nation to stumble”

[122] Disgusting idols: The Hebrew term (גִּלּוּלִים gillûlîm) rendered “disgusting idols” is an important term in Ezekiel. The prophet prefers it to specify pagan gods or idols. It occurs forty-nine times in the Old Testament, thirty-nine of which are here in Ezekiel. The term has had a particularly scathing and excremental sense. It may have the same root as the word for “dung” and is used to express disgust. The term conveys an excessive way of identifying pagan idols as dung. It appears to be a specially coined term of disdain. – Ezek. 6:4, 5, 6, 13; 14:3, 4, 5, 6, 7; 16:36; 18:6, 12, 15; 20:7, 8, 16, 18, 24, 31, 39; 22:3, 4; 23:7, 30, 37, 39, 49; 30:13; 33:25; 36:18, 25; 37:23; Jer. 50:2; Deut. 29:17; Lev. 26:30; 1 Kings 15:12; 21:26; 2 Kings 17:12; 21:11, 21; 23:24.

[123] AT LXX SYR VG some Heb. MSS “they” MT “he” or “it”

[124] “The wind” (הָרוּחַ haruach) See Genesis 1:2; Ezekiel 37:14.

[125] See Daniel 7:2, Daniel 11:4, Jeremiah 49:36; Revelation 7:1

[126] Or breath; spirit

[127] See Psalm 104:30

[128] See Revelation 11:11

[129] The Hebrew noun (רוּחַ ruach) means breath, wind, spirit.

[130] MT “Gog of the land of Magog” LXX “Gog and the land of Magog” SYR “Gog and against the land of Magog” VG “Gog the land of Magog.” “Magog” is a combination of “Gog” with the Semitic noun matu (“land”), which gives us “Magog,” that is, “land of Gog” (Block, 2:434). The meaning of the name (גּוֹג Gog) is uncertain. Initially, the name “Gog” might have been a proper name that over time came to be used as a general title for an enemy of God’s people.

[131] Or chief prince. A chieftain was a man in a ruling role, such as the head of a tribe or a paternal house. The Hebrew word (נָשִׂיא nasi) is rendered differently by Bible translators as “prince,” “leader,” “ruler,” “chieftain.” Ezekiel speaks prophetically of a chieftain in Ezekiel chapters 44 to 48.

[132] See 38:2 fn.

[133] A shield was a broad piece of defensive armor held by the hand or arm, which may or may not be strapped to the wrist or forearm. All ancient nations used shields to thwart distinctive attacks, whether from close-ranged weapons like the sword or projectiles such as arrows. This was done by active blocks and providing a passive defense by closing one or more lines of engagement during combat. The “large shield” (צִנָּה tsinnah) was used by the heavily armed infantry (2Ch 14:8) and sometimes by a shield-bearer (the one who carried his shield). (1Sa 17:7, 41) A buckler was a small “shield” (מָגֵן magen or מְגִנָּה meginnah), 45 cm (up to 18 in), which was gripped with the fist with a central handle behind a round circle or sphere, the shape of a cone (boss, or umbo) piece of material at the center of a shield, which was usually made of thick metal but could also be made of wood. They were designed to deflect blows from the center of round shields and a place to mount the shield’s grip. Archers often carried the buckler.

[134] Or chief prince. A chieftain was a man in a ruling role, such as the head of a tribe or a paternal house. The Hebrew word (נָשִׂיא nasi) is rendered differently by Bible translators as “prince,” “leader,” “ruler,” “chieftain.” Ezekiel speaks prophetically of a chieftain in Ezekiel chapters 44 to 48.

[135] MT AT SYR VG “Magog” LXX “Gog” See 38:2 fn.

[136] Or the Valley of Gog’s Hordes

[137] Meaning hordes. A horde is a large group of people, specifically an army or tribe of nomadic warriors.

[138] Reed (6 cubits) 2.67 m / 8.75 ft

[139] That is, pay attention 

[140] That is, each cubit had a handbreadth added to it. A cubit of 44.5 cm (17.5 in.) and a handbreadth of 7.4 cm (2.9 in.) corresponded to 51.8 cm (20.4 in.) and denoted the long cubit. Therefore, a “measuring reed of six cubits” equaled 3.11 m (10.2 ft.).

[141] Lit the thing built

[142] (Toward the interior) Lit from the house

[143] (Toward the interior) Lit from the house

[144] Reed (6 cubits) 2.67 m / 8.75 ft

[145] (Toward the interior) Lit from the house

[146] LXX “twenty cubits”

[147] Vs 30 is not found in LXX IT some Heb. MSS, It is possibly a dittography (a mistaken repetition) of vs 29.

[148] SYR adds “they would deposit”

[149] MT AT SYR VG “east” LXX “south”

[150] MT AT SYR VG “eleven” LXX “twelve”

[151] Reed (6 cubits) 2.67 m / 8.75 ft

[152] MT AT LXX SYR VG “the outer courtyard” LXX “the inner courtyard”

[153] MT AT VG “a way of one cubit” LXX SYR “the length was a hundred cubits”

[154] Reed (6 cubits) 2.67 m / 8.75 ft

[155] MT AT SYR VG “reeds” LXX omits

[156] MT AT SYR VG “reeds” LXX omits

[157] MT AT SYR VG “reeds” LXX omits

[158] Disgusting idols: The Hebrew term (גִּלּוּלִים gillûlîm) rendered “disgusting idols” is an important term in Ezekiel. The prophet prefers it to specify pagan gods or idols. It occurs forty-nine times in the Old Testament, thirty-nine of which are here in Ezekiel. The term has had a particularly scathing and excremental sense. It may have the same root as the word for “dung” and is used to express disgust. The term conveys an excessive way of identifying pagan idols as dung. It appears to be a specially coined term of disdain. – Ezek. 6:4, 5, 6, 13; 14:3, 4, 5, 6, 7; 16:36; 18:6, 12, 15; 20:7, 8, 16, 18, 24, 31, 39; 22:3, 4; 23:7, 30, 37, 39, 49; 30:13; 33:25; 36:18, 25; 37:23; Jer. 50:2; Deut. 29:17; Lev. 26:30; 1 Kings 15:12; 21:26; 2 Kings 17:12; 21:11, 21; 23:24.

[159] MT AT SYR VG “ten thousand cubits” LXX “twenty thousand cubits”

[160] MT AT SYR VG “ten thousand cubits” LXX “twenty thousand cubits”

[161] MT AT SYR VG “twenty chambers” LXX “as cities to dwell in”

[162] That is, stop unjustifiably removing people’s property or violently evicting them from their property. This is strongly alluded to as an unfair act of oppression. (Only found in Eze 45:9)

[163] An ephah was about (3 seahs / 10 omers) 22 L / 20 dry qt.

[164] A bath was about (6 hins) 22 L / 5.81 gal.

[165] A homer was about (1 cor / 10 ephahs) 220 L / 200 dry qt.

[166] The shekel was about 11.4 g / 0.367 oz t 50 shekels = 1 mina.

[167] The gerah was about (1⁄20 shekel) 0.57 g / 0.01835 oz t 10 gerahs = 1 bekah.

[168] The mina was about 570 g / 18.35 oz t 60 minas = 1 talent.

[169] Bath: (בַּת bath) An OT liquid measure that is equal to equal about 5.81 gallons (22 L), which is based on archaeological finding of jar fragments that bear this name. (1 Ki 7:26, 38; 2 Ch. 2:9; 4:5; Isa 5:10; Eze. 45:10, 11, 14) Some sources see it as 8-9 gallons based on Josephus Jos. Ant. 8:2:9; and some simply round it up to ten gallons.

[170] A Cor was about (10 baths / 60 hins) 220 L / 58.1 gal.

[171] A hin was about (12 logs) 3.67 L / 7.75 pt.

[172] MT^margin AT LXX SYR VG over 100 Heb. MSS “he” MT “they”

[173] AT LXX SYR VG 37 Heb. MSS  “he” MT “they”

[174] MT “you” LXX SYR VG some Heb. MSS “he”

[175] MT “you” LXX VG “he”

[176] MT “you” LXX SYR VG two Heb. MSS “he”

[177] MT “Hazar-enan” LXX “the courtyard of Ainan”

[178] Lit the south side southward

[179] Lit the south side southward

[180] Stranger: The Hebrew word for a stranger (zar) comes from the root (זוּר zur), meaning not of the main cultural group, and so estranged from those people. It can also mean to be estranged from a loved one or friend because they have had a falling out with that one. It can further mean to go astray, that is, to be in a state of apostasy and rebellion.