Bible in 90 Days

Israel to Come Home

36 “Human being, prophesy to the mountains of Israel and say: ‘Mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord. ² This is what the Lord God says: The enemy has said this against you: “Now the old places to worship false gods have become ours.”’ ³ So prophesy and say: ‘This is what the Lord God says: They have made you an empty ruin. They have crushed you from all around. You belonged to the other nations. People talked and whispered against you. ⁴ So, mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God. The Lord God speaks to the mountains, hills, ravines and valleys. And he speaks to the empty ruins and abandoned cities that have been robbed and laughed at by the other nations. ⁵ This is what the Lord God says: I have spoken in hot anger against the other nations. I have spoken against Edom. The Edomites took my land for themselves. They did this with joy and with hate in their hearts. They forced out the people and took their pastureland.’ ⁶ So prophesy about the land of Israel. Say to the mountains, hills, ravines and valleys: ‘This is what the Lord God says: I speak in my jealous anger. This is because you have suffered the insults of the nations. ⁷ So this is what the Lord God says: I promise that the nations around you will also have to suffer insults.

⁸ “‘But you, mountains of Israel, you will grow branches and fruit for my people. My people will soon come home. ⁹ I am concerned about you. I am for you. You will be plowed, and seed will be planted in you. ¹⁰ I will multiply the people who live on you. All the people of Israel will come. The cities will have people living in them. The ruins will be rebuilt. ¹¹ I will make the people and animals living on you increase in number. They will grow and be fruitful. You will have people living on you as you did before. I will make you better off than at the beginning. Then you will know that I am the Lord. ¹² I will cause my people Israel to walk on you. Then they will take you, and you will belong to them. You will never again take their children away from them.

¹³ “‘This is what the Lord God says: People say about you: “You eat people and take children from your nation.” ¹⁴ You will not destroy people anymore. You will not make your nation stumble anymore, says the Lord God. ¹⁵ I will not make you listen to insults from the nations anymore. You will not suffer shame from them anymore, says the Lord God.’”

The Lord Acts for Himself

¹⁶ The Lord spoke his word to me again. He said: ¹⁷ “Human being, the nation of Israel was living in their own land. But they made it unclean by their ways and the things they did. Their ways were like a woman’s uncleanness in her time of monthly bleeding. ¹⁸ So I poured out my anger against them. I did it because of the murders they did in the land. And I did it because they made the land unclean with their idols. ¹⁹ I scattered them among the nations. And they were spread through all the countries. I punished them for how they lived and the things they did. ²⁰ They dishonored my holy name in the nations where they went. The nations said about them: ‘These are the people of the Lord. But they had to leave the land which he gave them.’ ²¹ But I felt bad about my holy name. The nation of Israel had dishonored it among the nations where they went.

²² “So say to the people of Israel, ‘This is what the Lord God says: Israel, I am going to act, but not for your sake. Israel, I will do something to help my holy name. You have dishonored it among the nations where you went. ²³ I will prove the holiness of my great name. It has been dishonored among the nations. You have dishonored it among these nations. But the nations will know that I am the Lord. I will prove myself holy before their eyes, says the Lord God.

²⁴ “‘I will take you from the nations. I will gather you out of all the lands. And I will bring you back into your own land. ²⁵ Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your uncleanness and your idols. ²⁶ Also, I will teach you to respect me completely. I will put a new way to think inside you. I will take out the stubborn heart like stone from your bodies. And I will give you an obedient heart of flesh. ²⁷ I will put my Spirit inside you. And I will help you live by my rules. You will be careful to obey my laws. ²⁸ Then you will live in the land I gave to your ancestors. So you will be my people, and I will be your God. ²⁹ Also, I will save you from all your uncleanness. I will command the grain to come and grow. I will not allow a time of hunger to hurt you. ³⁰ I will multiply the harvest of the field. You will never again suffer shame among the nations because of hunger. ³¹ And you will remember your evil ways and the things you did that were not good. Then you will hate yourselves because of your sins and terrible acts that I hate. ³² I want you to know that I am not doing this for your sake, says the Lord God. Be ashamed and embarrassed about your ways, Israel.

³³ “‘This is what the Lord God says: This is what will happen on the day I cleanse you from all your sins: I will cause the cities to have people living in them again. And the destroyed places will be rebuilt. ³⁴ The empty land will be plowed. It will no longer be a ruin for everyone who passes by to see. ³⁵ They will say: “This land was ruined. Now it has become like the garden of Eden. The cities were destroyed. They were empty and ruined. But now they are protected and have people living in them.” ³⁶ Then those nations still around you will know. They will know that I, the Lord, have rebuilt what was destroyed. And I have planted what was empty. I, the Lord, have spoken. And I will do it.’

³⁷ “This is what the Lord God says: I will again be asked by the people of Israel to do this thing for them. I will make their people grow to be as many as a flock of sheep. ³⁸ They will be like the flocks brought to Jerusalem during her holy feasts. Her ruined cities will be filled with flocks of people. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

The Vision of Dry Bones

37 I felt the power of the Lord was on me. He brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord. And he put me down in the middle of a valley. It was full of bones. ² The Lord led me around among the bones. There were many bones on the bottom of the valley. I saw the bones were very dry. ³ Then he asked me, “Human being, can these bones live?”

I answered, “Lord God, only you know.”

⁴ The Lord said to me, “Prophesy to these bones. Say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. ⁵ This is what the Lord God says to the bones: I will cause breath to enter you. Then you will live. ⁶ I will put muscles on you. I will put flesh on you. I will cover you with skin. Then I will put breath in you, and you will live. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”

⁷ So I prophesied as I was commanded. While I prophesied, there was a noise and a rattling. The bones came together, bone to bone. ⁸ I looked and saw muscles come on the bones. Flesh grew, and skin covered the bones. But there was no breath in them.

⁹ Then the Lord said to me, “Prophesy to the wind.^[a] Prophesy, human being, and say to the wind: ‘This is what the Lord God says: Wind, come from the four winds. Breathe on these people who were killed so they can live again.’” ¹⁰ So I prophesied as the Lord commanded me. And the breath came into them, and they came to life. They stood on their feet. They were a very large army.

¹¹ Then the Lord said to me: “Human being, these bones are like all the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope has gone. We are destroyed.’ ¹² So, prophesy, and say to them: ‘This is what the Lord God says: My people, I will open your graves. And I will cause you to come up out of your graves. Then I will bring you into the land of Israel. ¹³ This is how you, my people, will know that I am the Lord. I will open your graves and cause you to come up from them. ¹⁴ And I will put my Spirit inside you. You will come to life. Then I will put you in your own land. And you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken and done it, says the Lord.’”

Judah and Israel Back Together

¹⁵ The Lord spoke his word to me. He said, ¹⁶ “Human being, take a stick of wood. Write on it, ‘For Judah and all the Israelites with him.’ Then take another stick of wood. Write on it, ‘The stick of Ephraim, for Joseph and all the Israelites with him.’ ¹⁷ Then join them together into one stick. Then they will be one in your hand.

¹⁸ “Your people will say to you, ‘Explain to us what you mean by this.’ ¹⁹ Tell them, ‘This is what the Lord God says: I will take the stick which is for Joseph and the tribes of Israel with him. This stick is in the hand of Ephraim. Then I will put it with the stick of Judah. And I will make them into one stick. And they will be one in my hand.’ ²⁰ Hold the sticks of wood on which you wrote these names. Hold them in your hands so the people can see them. ²¹ Say to the people: ‘This is what the Lord God says: I will take the people of Israel from among the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around. I will bring them into their own land. ²² I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. One king will rule all of them. They will never again be two nations. They will not be divided into two kingdoms anymore. ²³ They will not continue to make themselves unclean by their idols, their statues of gods which I hate or their sins. But I will save them from all the ways they sin and turn against me. And I will make them clean. Then they will be my people. And I will be their God.

²⁴ “‘And my servant David will be their king. They will all have one shepherd. They will live by my rules and obey my laws. ²⁵ They will live on the land I gave to my servant Jacob. It is the land in which your ancestors lived. They will all live on the land forever: they, their children and their grandchildren. David my servant will be their king forever. ²⁶ And I will make an agreement of peace with them. It will be an agreement that continues forever. I will put them in their land. I will make them grow in number. Then I will put my Temple among them forever. ²⁷ The place where I live will be with them. I will be their God, and they will be my people. ²⁸ When my Temple is among them forever, the nations will know that I, the Lord, make Israel holy.’”

Prophecy Against Gog

38 The Lord spoke his word to me. He said: ² “Human being, turn toward Gog of the land of Magog. He is the chief ruler of the nations of Meshech and Tubal. Prophesy against him. ³ Say, ‘The Lord God says this: I am against you, Gog, chief ruler of Meshech and Tubal. ⁴ I will turn you around. I will put hooks in your jaws. And I will bring you out with all your army, horses and horsemen. All of them will be finely dressed. They will be a large army with large and small shields. All of them will have swords. ⁵ Persia, Cush and Put will be with them. All of them will have shields and helmets. ⁶ There will also be Gomer with all its troops. And there will be the nation of Togarmah from the far north. It will have all its troops. There will be many other nations with you.

⁷ “‘Be prepared. Be prepared, you and all the armies that have come together to make you their commander. ⁸ After many days you will be called for service. After many years you will come into a land that has been rebuilt from war. The people in the land will be gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel. Those mountains were empty for a long time. These people were brought out from the nations. They will all be living in safety. ⁹ And you will go up like a storm. You will be like a cloud covering the land. It will be you, all your troops and many nations with you.

¹⁰ “‘This is what the Lord God says: At that time ideas will come into your mind. You will think up an evil plan. ¹¹ You will say, “I will march against a land of towns without walls. I will attack those who are at rest and live in safety. All of them live without city walls. They have no gate bars or gates. ¹² I will capture valuable things and take good things. I will turn my power against the rebuilt ruins that now have people living in them. I will go against these people who have been gathered from the nations. They have become rich with farm animals and property. They live at the center of the world.” ¹³ Sheba, Dedan and the traders of Tarshish, with all its villages, will say this to you: “Did you come to capture valuable things? Did you bring your troops together to take things? Did you bring them to carry away silver and gold? Did you bring them to take away farm animals and property?”’

¹⁴ “So prophesy, human being, and say to Gog: ‘This is what the Lord God says: Now that my people Israel are living in safety, you will know about it. ¹⁵ You will come from your place in the far north. And many people will be with you. All of them will ride on horses. You will be a large group with a mighty army. ¹⁶ You will come against my people Israel like a cloud that covers the land. This will happen in the days to come. I will bring you against my land. Gog, then the nations will know me. They will see me show my greatness by what I do through you.

¹⁷ “‘This is what the Lord God says: You are the one about whom I spoke in past days. I spoke through my servants the prophets of Israel. These prophets of Israel prophesied for many years. They said that I would bring you against them. ¹⁸ This is what will happen: On the day Gog comes against the land of Israel, my anger will become very great, says the Lord God. ¹⁹ With jealousy and great anger I tell you this. At that time there will surely be a great earthquake in Israel. ²⁰ The fish of the sea and the birds of the sky will shake with fear before me. The wild animals and everything that crawls on the ground will shake with fear. And all the people on the earth will shake with fear before me. Also the mountains will be thrown down. And the cliffs will fall. Every wall will fall to the ground. ²¹ And I will call for a war against Gog on all my mountains, says the Lord God. Every man’s sword will be against his brother. ²² I will punish Gog with disease and death. I will send a heavy rain, with hailstones and burning sulfur on Gog. I will send it on his army and on the many nations with him. ²³ Then I will show how great I am. I will show my holiness. And I will make myself known to the many nations that watch. Then they will know that I am the Lord.’

The Death of Gog and His Army

39 “Human being, prophesy against Gog and say: ‘This is what the Lord God says: I am against you, Gog, chief ruler of Meshech and Tubal. ² I will turn you around and lead you. I will bring you from the far north. I will send you to attack the mountains of Israel. ³ I will knock your bow out of your left hand. I will throw down your arrows from your right hand. ⁴ You will fall dead on the mountains of Israel. You, all your troops and the nations with you will fall dead. I will let you be food for every bird that eats meat and every wild animal. ⁵ You will die in the country. I have spoken, says the Lord God. ⁶ I will send fire on Magog and those who live in safety on the coastlands. Then they will know that I am the Lord.

⁷ “‘And I will make myself known among my people Israel. I will not let myself be dishonored anymore. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord. They will know I am the Holy One in Israel. ⁸ It is coming! It will happen, says the Lord God. The day I talked about is coming.

⁹ “‘Then those who live in the cities of Israel will go out. They will make fires with the enemy’s weapons and burn them. They will burn both large and small shields. They will burn bows and arrows, war clubs and spears. They will use the weapons to burn in their fires for seven years. ¹⁰ They won’t need to take wood from the field or chop firewood from the forests. This is because they will make fires with the weapons. They will take the valuable things of those who took their valuable things. They will grab the things of those who grabbed their things, says the Lord God.

¹¹ “‘On that day I will give Gog a place to be buried in Israel. It will be the Valley of the Travelers, east of the Dead Sea. It will block the road for travelers. This is because Gog and all his army will be buried there. People will call it The Valley of Gog’s Army.

¹² “‘The people of Israel will be burying them for seven months to make the land clean again. ¹³ All the people of the land will bury them. The people of Israel will be honored on the day of my victory, says the Lord God.

¹⁴ “‘They will choose men to work through the land to make it clean. With others they will bury Gog’s soldiers still lying dead on the ground. After the seven months are finished, they will still search. ¹⁵ They will go through the land. If one person sees a human bone, he will put a marker by it. The sign will stay there until the gravediggers come. They will bury the bone in The Valley of Gog’s Army. ¹⁶ A city will be there named Hamonah. So they will make the land clean again.’

¹⁷ “Human being, this is what the Lord God says: Speak to every kind of bird and wild animal: ‘Come together, come! Come together from all around to my sacrifice. I will prepare it for you. It is a great sacrifice on the mountains of Israel. Then you can eat flesh and drink blood. ¹⁸ You will eat the flesh of mighty men. You will drink the blood of the rulers of the earth. You will do it as people eat all the fat animals from Bashan: male sheep, lambs, goats and bulls. ¹⁹ You will eat and drink from my sacrifice which I have made ready for you. So you will eat fat until you are full. You will drink blood until you are drunk. ²⁰ At my table you will eat until you are full of horses and riders and all kinds of soldiers,’ says the Lord God.

²¹ “And I will show my greatness among the nations. All the nations will feel my power when I punish them. ²² From that day on the people of Israel will know that I am the Lord their God. ²³ And the nations will know Israel was taken away captive because they turned against me. So I turned away from them. And I let their enemies defeat them. All of them died in war. ²⁴ I punished them for their uncleanness and their sins. I turned away from them.

²⁵ “So this is what the Lord God says: Now I will bring the people of Jacob back from captivity. I will have mercy on the whole nation of Israel. I will not let them dishonor me. ²⁶ The people will forget their shame. And they will forget how they rejected me. They will live in safety on their own land. No one will make them afraid. ²⁷ I will bring the people back from other lands. I will gather them from the lands of their enemies. That is how I will show that I am holy through my people. And many nations will see that I am holy. ²⁸ Then my people will know that I am the Lord their God. This is because I sent them into captivity among the nations. But then I brought them back to their own land. And I didn’t leave any behind. ²⁹ I will not turn away from them anymore. I will put my Spirit into the people of Israel, says the Lord God.”

The New Temple

40 It was the twenty-fifth year of our captivity. It was at the beginning of the year, on the tenth day of the month. It was in the fourteenth year after Jerusalem was defeated. On that same day I felt the power of the Lord. He brought me to Jerusalem. ² In the visions of God he brought me into the land of Israel. He put me on a very high mountain. On the south of the mountain there were some buildings that looked like a city. ³ The Lord took me closer to the buildings. I saw a man who looked as if he were made of bronze. He was standing in the gateway. He had a cord made of linen and a stick in his hand, both for measuring. ⁴ The man said to me, “Human being, look with your eyes and hear with your ears. And pay attention to all that I will show you. That’s why you have been brought here. Tell the people of Israel all that you see.”

The East Gate

⁵ I saw a wall that surrounded the Temple. The measuring stick in the man’s hand was 10½ feet long. So the man measured the wall. It was 10½ feet thick and 10½ feet high.

⁶ Then the man went to the east gate. He went up its steps and measured the opening of the gate. It was more than 10½ feet wide. ⁷ There were rooms for the guards. They were 10½ feet long and 10½ feet wide. The walls that came out between the guards’ rooms were about 9 feet thick. And there was a gate next to the porch that faced the Temple. The opening of this gate was 10½ feet wide.

⁸ Then the man measured the porch of the gate. ⁹ It was about 14 feet deep. And its doors were 3½ feet thick. The porch of the gate faced the Temple.

¹⁰ There were three little rooms on each side of the last gate. These three rooms measured the same on each side. The walls between each room were the same thickness. ¹¹ The man measured the width of the entrance to the gateway. It was 17½ feet wide. The length of the gate was about 23 feet. ¹² And there was a low wall about 21 inches high in front of each room. The rooms were 10½ feet on each side. ¹³ The man measured the gateway from the roof of one room to the roof of the opposite room. It was about 44 feet from one door to the opposite door. ¹⁴ The man also measured the porch. It was about 35 feet wide. The courtyard was around the porch. ¹⁵ From the front of the outer side of the gate to the front of the porch of the inner side of the gate was 87½ feet. ¹⁶ The rooms and porch had small windows on all sides. The windows were narrower on the side facing the gateway. Carvings of palm trees were on each inner wall of the rooms.

The Outer Courtyard

¹⁷ Then the man brought me into the outer courtyard. I saw rooms and a pavement of stones. Thirty rooms were along the edge of the paved walkway. ¹⁸ The pavement ran alongside the gates. It was as long as the gates were wide. This was the lower pavement. ¹⁹ Then the man measured from the outer wall to the inner wall. The outer court between these two walls was 175 feet on the east and on the north.

The North Gate

²⁰ The man measured the length and width of the gate leading to the outer courtyard. It faced north. ²¹ It had three rooms on each side. Its inner walls and its porch measured the same as the first gate. It was 87½ feet long. And it was 44 feet wide. ²² Its windows, porch and carvings of palm trees measured the same as the east gate. Seven steps went up to the gate. And the gate’s porch was opposite them. ²³ The inner courtyard had a gate across from the northern gate like the one on the east. The man measured it and found it was 175 feet from inner gate to outer gate.

The South Gate

²⁴ Then the man led me south. I saw a gate facing south. He measured its inner walls and its porch. They measured the same as the other gates. ²⁵ The gate and its porch had windows all around like the other gates. It was 87½ feet long and 44 feet wide. ²⁶ Seven steps went up to this gate. Its porch was in front of them. It had carvings of palm trees on its inner walls. ²⁷ A gate was on the south side of the inner courtyard. The man measured from gate to gate on the south side. It was 175 feet.

The Inner Courtyard

²⁸ Then the man brought me through the south gate to the inner courtyard. The inner south gate measured the same as the gates in the outer wall. ²⁹ The inner south gate’s rooms, inner walls and porch measured the same as the gates in the outer wall. There were windows all around the gate and its porch. The gate was 87½ feet long and 44 feet wide. ³⁰ Each porch of each inner gate was about 44 feet long and about 9 feet wide. ³¹ The inner south gate’s porch faced the outer courtyard. Carvings of palm trees were on its inside walls. Its stairway had eight steps.

³² The man brought me into the inner courtyard on the east side. He measured the inner east gate. It measured the same as the other gates. ³³ The inner east gate’s rooms, inside walls and porch measured the same as the other gates. Windows were all around the gate and its porch. The inner east gate was 87½ feet long and 44 feet wide. ³⁴ Its porch faced the outer courtyard. Carvings of palm trees were on its inner walls on each side. Its stairway had eight steps.

³⁵ Then the man brought me to the inner north gate. He measured it. It measured the same as the other gates. ³⁶ Its rooms, inner walls and porch measured the same as the other gates. Windows were all around the gate. It was 87½ feet long and 44 feet wide. ³⁷ Its porch faced the outer courtyard. Carvings of palm trees were on its inner walls on each side. And its stairway had eight steps.

Rooms for Preparing Sacrifices

³⁸ There was a room with a door that opened onto the porch of the inner north gate. In this room the priests washed animals for the burnt offerings. ³⁹ There were two tables on each side of the room. Animals for burnt offerings, sin offerings and penalty offerings were killed on these tables. ⁴⁰ On each side of the porch, outside the door to the room, were two tables. ⁴¹ So four tables were on one side of the gate. And four tables were on the other side of the gate. In all there were eight tables on which the priests killed animals for sacrifices. ⁴² There were four tables of cut stone for the burnt offering. These tables were about 3 feet long and 3 feet wide. And they were about 2 feet high. On these tables the priests put their tools. They used the tools to kill animals for burnt offerings and the other sacrifices. ⁴³ Double hooks 3 inches long were put up on all the walls. The flesh for the offering was put on the tables.

The Priests’ Rooms

⁴⁴ There were two rooms in the inner courtyard. One was beside the north gate. It faced south. The other room was beside the south gate. It faced north. ⁴⁵ The man said to me, “The room which faces the south is for the priests. They serve in the Temple. ⁴⁶ And the room that faces north is for the priests who serve at the altar. These priests are descendants of Zadok. They are the only descendants of Levi who can come near the Lord to serve him.”

⁴⁷ The man measured the Temple courtyard. It was a perfect square. It was 175 feet long and 175 feet wide. The altar was in front of the Temple.

The Temple Porch

⁴⁸ The man brought me to the porch of the Temple. And he measured each wall of the porch. It was about 9 feet on each side. The gate was 24½ feet wide. The walls of the gate were about 5 feet on each side. ⁴⁹ The porch was 35 feet long and 21 feet wide. Ten steps went up to the porch. Pillars were by the walls, one on each side of the entrance.

The Holy Place of the Temple

41 The man brought me to the Holy Place. He measured its walls. They were 10½ feet wide on each side. ² The entrance was 17½ feet wide. The walls alongside the entrance were about 9 feet wide on each side. The man measured the Holy Place. It was 70 feet long and 35 feet wide.

³ Then the man went inside. And he measured the walls of the doorway. Each was 3½ feet wide. The doorway was 10½ feet wide. The walls next to it were more than 12 feet thick. ⁴ Then the man measured the room at the end of the Holy Place. It was 35 feet long and 35 feet wide. The man said to me, “This is the Most Holy Place.”

⁵ Then the man measured the wall of the Temple. It was 10½ feet wide. The side rooms were 7 feet wide all around the Temple. ⁶ The side rooms were on three different stories, each above the other. There were 30 rooms on each story. The side rooms had ledges on the wall all around. The rooms rested on the ledges but were not attached to the walls. ⁷ The side rooms around the Temple were wider on each higher story. So rooms were wider on the top story. A stairway went up from the lowest story to the highest through the middle story.

⁸ I also saw that the Temple had a raised base all around. It was the foundation for the side rooms and was 10½ feet thick. ⁹ The outer wall of the side rooms was about 9 feet thick. There was an open area between the side rooms of the Temple ¹⁰ and the priests’ rooms. It was 35 feet wide and went all around the Temple. ¹¹ The doors of the side rooms led to a paved base around the outside of the Temple. One door faced north. And the other door faced south. The paved base was about 9 feet wide all around.

¹² There was a building facing the Temple courtyard at the west side. It was 122½ feet wide. The wall of the building was about 9 feet thick all around. It was 157½ feet long.

¹³ Then the man measured the Temple. The Temple was 175 feet long. This included the courtyard with the building and its walls. It was all 175 feet long. ¹⁴ Also the eastern front of the Temple and its courtyard was 175 feet wide.

¹⁵ The man measured the length of the building facing the courtyard on the west side, including its side rooms. Its walls from one side to the other were 175 feet.

The Holy Place, the Most Holy Place and the porch of the courtyard ¹⁶ had wood panels on the walls. By the doorway, the Temple had wood panels on the walls. The wood covered all the walls from the floor up to the windows. The windows were covered with crossed strips of wood.

¹⁷ In the space above the entrance to the Most Holy Place there were carvings. And on the outside and all the walls around the Most Holy Place and the Holy Place were carvings. ¹⁸ The carvings were of creatures with wings and palm trees. A palm tree was between each carved creature. Every creature had two faces. ¹⁹ One was a man’s face looking toward the palm tree on one side. The other was a lion’s face looking toward the palm tree on the other side. They were carved all around the Temple wall. ²⁰ This was from the floor to above the door. Palm trees and creatures with wings were carved on all the walls of the Holy Place. ²¹ The walls of the Holy Place were square. In front of the Most Holy Place was something that looked like ²² an altar of wood. It was more than 5 feet high and 3 feet wide. Its corners, base and sides were wood. The man said to me, “This is the table that is in the presence of the Lord.” ²³ Both the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place had double doors. ²⁴ Each of the doors had two pieces that would swing open. ²⁵ Palm trees and creatures with wings were also carved on the doors of the Holy Place. They were like those carved on the walls. And there was a wood roof on the front Temple porch. ²⁶ There were windows and palm trees on both side walls of the porch. The side rooms of the Temple were also covered by a roof.

The Priests’ Rooms

42 Then the man led me north out into the outer courtyard. He led me to the rooms across from the Temple courtyard. The outer wall was north of these rooms. ² The building on the north side was 175 feet long and 87½ feet wide. ³ There was 35 feet of the Temple courtyard between this building and the Temple. On the other side, this building faced the stone pavement of the outer courtyard. The building had rooms and balconies on three stories. ⁴ There was a hallway on the north side of the rooms. It was 17½ feet wide and 175 feet long. Doors led into the rooms from this hallway. ⁵ The top rooms were narrower. This was because the balconies took more space from them. The rooms on the first and second stories of the building were wider. ⁶ The rooms were on three stories. They did not have pillars like the pillars of the courtyards. So the top rooms were farther back than those on the first and second stories. ⁷ There was a wall outside parallel to the rooms and to the outer courtyard. It ran in front of the rooms for 87½ feet. ⁸ The row of rooms along the outer courtyard was 87½ feet long. The rooms that faced the Temple were about 175 feet long. ⁹ The lower rooms had an entrance on the east end of the building. This was so a person could enter them from the courtyard.

¹⁰ There were rooms on the south side, parallel to the wall of the outer courtyard. They faced the Temple courtyard. ¹¹ These rooms had a hallway in front of them. They were like the rooms on the north. They had the same length and width. And the doors were the same. ¹² The doors of the south rooms were like the doors of the north rooms. There was a door at the east end of a hall. This hall went to all the rooms.

¹³ The man said to me, “The north and south rooms across from the Temple courtyard are holy rooms. There the priests who go near the Lord will eat the most holy offerings. There they will put the most holy offerings: the grain offerings, sin offerings and the penalty offerings. ¹⁴ The priests who enter the Holy Place must leave their serving clothes there. Then they may go into the outer courtyard. This is because these clothes are holy. The priests must put on other clothes. Then they may go to the part of the Temple which is for the people.”

The Outside of the Temple

¹⁵ The man finished measuring inside the Temple. Then he brought me out through the east gate. He measured the area all around. ¹⁶ The man measured the east side with the measuring stick. It was 875 feet by the measuring stick. ¹⁷ He measured the north side. It was 875 feet by the measuring stick. ¹⁸ He measured the south side. It was 875 feet by the measuring stick. ¹⁹ He went around to the west side. And it measured 875 feet by the measuring stick. ²⁰ So he measured the Temple on all four sides. The Temple had a wall all around it. It was 875 feet long and 875 feet wide. It separated the holy from that which is not holy.

The Lord Among His People

43 The man led me to the outer east gate. ² And I saw the greatness of the God of Israel coming from the east. God’s voice was like the roar of rushing water. His greatness made the earth shine. ³ I saw a vision. It was like the vision I had seen when the Lord came to destroy the city. It was also like the vision I had seen by the Kebar River. I bowed facedown on the ground. ⁴ The greatness of the Lord came into the Temple through the east gate.

⁵ Then the Spirit picked me up. And he brought me into the inner courtyard. There the Lord’s greatness filled the Temple. ⁶ The man stood at my side. I heard someone speaking to me from inside the Temple. ⁷ The voice from the Temple said to me, “Human being, this is my throne. And this is the place my feet rest. I will live here among the Israelites forever. The people of Israel will not make my holy name unclean again. Neither the people nor their kings will make it unclean by their sexual sins. Nor will they make it unclean with the dead bodies of their kings. ⁸ They made my name unclean by putting their doorway next to my doorway. And they put their doorpost next to my doorpost. Only a wall separated me from them. When they did their acts that I hate, they made my holy name unclean. So I destroyed them in my anger. ⁹ Now let them stop their sexual sins. And let them take the dead bodies of their kings far away from me. Then I will live among them forever.

¹⁰ “Human being, tell the people of Israel about the Temple. Then they will be ashamed of their sins. Let them think about the plan of the Temple. ¹¹ Then they will be ashamed of all they have done. Let them know the design of the Temple. Let them know how it is built. Show them its exits and entrances. Show them all its designs, all its rules and all its teachings. And write the rules as they watch. Do this so they can obey all the Temple’s teachings and rules. ¹² This is the teaching of the Temple: All the area around the top of the mountain is most holy. This is the teaching of the Temple.

The Altar

¹³ “And these are the measurements of the altar, using the measuring stick. It is 21 inches long. The altar’s base is 21 inches high and 21 inches long. Its rim is about 9 inches around its edge. And the altar is this tall: ¹⁴ From the ground up to the lower ledge, it measures 3½ feet. It is 21 inches wide. It measures 7 feet from the smaller ledge to the larger ledge and is 21 inches wide. ¹⁵ The place where the sacrifice is burned on the altar is 7 feet high. The four corners are shaped like horns and reach up above it. ¹⁶ It is square. It is 21 feet long and 21 feet wide. ¹⁷ The upper ledge is also square, 24½ feet long and 24½ feet wide. The border around it is 10½ inches wide. Its base is 21 inches around. Its steps are on the east.”

¹⁸ Then the man said to me, “Human being, this is what the Lord God says: These are the rules for the altar. When it is built, use these rules to offer burnt offerings and sprinkle blood on it. ¹⁹ You must give a young bull as a sin offering to the priests. These priests are the Levites from the family of Zadok. They come near me to serve me, says the Lord God. ²⁰ Take some of the bull’s blood and put it on the altar’s four corners. Put it also on the four corners of the ledge. And put it on the border all around. This is how you will make the altar pure and ready for God’s service. ²¹ Then take the bull for the sin offering and burn it in the proper place in the Temple area. It will be outside the Holy Place.

²² “On the second day offer a male goat. It must have nothing wrong with it. It will be for a sin offering. The priests will make the altar pure and ready for God’s service. They will do it the same way they did with the young bull. ²³ When you finish making the altar pure and ready, offer a young bull and a male sheep from the flock. They must also have nothing wrong with them. ²⁴ You must offer them before the Lord. The priests will throw salt on them. Then they will offer them as a burnt offering to the Lord.

²⁵ “You must prepare a goat every day for seven days as a sin offering. Also, you must prepare a young bull and male sheep from the flock. They must have nothing wrong with them. ²⁶ For seven days the priests will make the altar pure and ready for God’s service. Then the priests will give the altar to God. ²⁷ After these seven days, on the eighth day, the priests must present your offerings. They must offer your burnt offerings and your fellowship offerings on the altar. Then I will accept you, says the Lord God.”

The Outer East Gate

44 Then the man brought me back to the outer east gate of the Temple area. The gate was shut. ² The Lord said to me, “This gate will stay shut. It will not be opened. No one may enter through it. This is because the Lord God of Israel has entered through it. So it must stay shut. ³ Only the ruler himself may sit in the gateway to eat bread before the Lord. He must enter through the porch of the gateway and go out the same way.”

⁴ Then the man brought me through the outer north gate. He brought me to the front of the Temple. I looked and saw the greatness of the Lord. It was filling the Temple of the Lord. I bowed facedown on the ground.

⁵ The Lord said to me, “Human being, pay attention. See this with your eyes. And hear this with your ears. See and hear everything I tell you about all the rules and teachings of the Temple of the Lord. Pay attention to the entrance to the Temple and to all the exits from the Temple area. ⁶ Then speak to those who refuse to obey. Say to the people of Israel, ‘This is what the Lord God says: Stop doing all your acts that I hate, Israel! ⁷ You brought foreigners into my Holy Place. They were not circumcised in the flesh. They had not given themselves to serving me. You dishonored my Temple when you offered me food, fat and blood. You broke my agreement by all your ways that I hate. ⁸ And you have not taken care of my holy things. You put foreigners in charge of my Temple. ⁹ This is what the Lord God says: Foreigners who are not circumcised in flesh and who do not give themselves to serving me may not enter my Temple. Even a foreigner living among the people of Israel may not enter.

¹⁰ “‘Some Levites stopped obeying me when Israel left me and followed their idols. These Levites must be punished for their sin. ¹¹ These Levites are to be servants in my Holy Place. They may guard the gates of the Temple. They may serve in the Temple. They may kill the animals for the burnt offering and the sacrifices for the people. They may stand before the people to serve them. ¹² But these Levites helped the people worship their idols and caused the people of Israel to fall. So I have made this promise: They will be punished for their sin, says the Lord God. ¹³ They will not come near me to serve as priests. They will not come near any of my holy things or the most holy offerings. But they will be ashamed of the things they did that I hate. ¹⁴ But I will make them take care of the Temple. They will take care of everything that must be done in it.

¹⁵ “‘But this is not true for priests who are Levites and descendants of Zadok. They took care of my Holy Place when Israel left me. They may come near to serve me. They may stand in my presence. They will offer me the fat and blood of the animals they sacrifice, says the Lord God. ¹⁶ They are the only ones who may enter my Holy Place. They may come near my table to serve me. They may take care of the things I gave them.

¹⁷ “‘When they enter the gates of the inner courtyard, they must wear linen robes. They must not wear wool to serve at the gates of the inner courtyard or in the Temple. ¹⁸ They will wear linen turbans on their heads and linen underclothes. They will not wear anything that makes them perspire. ¹⁹ At times they will go out into the outer courtyard to the people. But before they go, they must take off their serving clothes. They must put these clothes away in the holy rooms. And they must put on other clothes. Then they will not let their holy clothes hurt the people.

²⁰ “‘They must not shave their heads or let their hair grow long. They must keep the hair of their heads trimmed. ²¹ None of the priests may drink wine when they enter the inner courtyard. ²² The priests must not marry a widow or a divorced woman. They may marry only virgins from the people of Israel. Or they may marry a widow of a priest. ²³ They must teach my people the difference between what is holy and what is not holy. They must help my people know what is unclean and what is clean.

²⁴ “‘In court they will act as judges. When they judge, they will follow my teachings. They must obey my laws and my rules at all my special feasts. They must keep my Sabbaths holy.

²⁵ “‘They must not go near a dead person, making themselves unclean. But they are allowed to make themselves unclean if the dead person is a relative. It might be his father, mother, son, daughter, brother or a sister who has not married. ²⁶ After the priest has been made clean again, he must wait seven days. ²⁷ Then he may go into the inner courtyard to serve in the Temple. But he must offer a sin offering for himself, says the Lord God.

²⁸ “‘These are the rules about the priests and their property: They will have me instead of property. You will not give them any land to own in Israel. I am what they will own. ²⁹ They will eat the grain offerings, sin offerings and penalty offerings. Everything Israel offers will be theirs. ³⁰ And the best fruits of all the first harvests will be for the priests. And they will have all the special gifts offered to me. You will also give to the priests the first part of your grain that you grind. This will cause a blessing to come on your house. ³¹ The priests must not eat any bird or animal that died a natural death. And they must not eat one that has been torn by wild animals.

The Land Is Divided

45 “‘Divide the land for the Israelite tribes by throwing lots. At that time you will give a part of the land to belong to the Lord. It will be about 7 miles long and about 6 miles wide. All of this land will be holy. ² An area of 875 feet square will be for the Temple. There will be an open space around the Temple that is 87½ feet wide. ³ In the holy area you will measure a part about 7 miles long and 3 miles wide. The Most Holy Place will be in this holy area. ⁴ This holy part of the land will be for the priests who serve in the Temple. This is where they come near to serve the Lord. It will be a place for the priests’ houses. And it will be the place for the Temple. ⁵ Another area will be about 7 miles long and more than 3 miles wide. It will be for the Levites, who serve in the Temple. It will belong to them so they will have cities in which to live.

⁶ “‘And you will give the city an area that is about 1½ miles wide and about 7 miles long. It will be along the side of the holy area. It will belong to all the people of Israel.

⁷ “‘The ruler will have land on both sides of the holy area and the city. On the west of the holy area, his land will reach to the Mediterranean Sea. On the east of the holy area, his land will reach to the eastern border. It will be as long as the land given to each tribe. ⁸ This land will be the ruler’s property in Israel. So my rulers will not be cruel to my people anymore. But they will give land to each tribe in the nation of Israel.

⁹ “‘This is what the Lord God says: You have gone far enough, you rulers of Israel! Stop being cruel and hurting people. Do what is right and fair. Stop forcing my people out of their homes, says the Lord God. ¹⁰ You must have honest scales, an honest dry measurement and an honest liquid measurement. ¹¹ The dry measure and the liquid measure will be the same: The liquid measure will always be a tenth of a homer.^[b] The ephah will always be a tenth of a homer. The measurement they follow will be the homer. ¹² The shekel^[c] will be worth 20 gerahs. A mina will be worth 60 shekels.

Offerings and Holy Days

¹³ “‘This is the gift you will offer: a sixth of an ephah from a homer of wheat; a sixth of an ephah from a homer of barley. ¹⁴ The amount of oil you are to offer is a tenth of a bath from each cor. (Ten baths make a homer and also make a cor.) ¹⁵ You should give 1 sheep from each flock of 200 from the watering places of Israel. They are to be offered with the grain offerings, burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. These offerings are to remove sins so you will belong to God, says the Lord God. ¹⁶ All people in the land will give this special offering for the ruler of Israel. ¹⁷ It will be the ruler’s responsibility to supply the burnt offerings, grain offerings and drink offerings. These offerings will be given at the feasts and at the New Moons. They will also be given on the Sabbaths and at all the other feasts of Israel. The ruler will supply the sin offerings, grain offerings and fellowship offerings. These offerings are to pay for the sins of Israel.

¹⁸ “‘This is what the Lord God says: On the first day of the first month take a young bull that has nothing wrong with it. Use it to make the Temple pure and ready for God’s service. ¹⁹ The priest will take some of the blood from the sin offering. And he will put it on the doorposts of the Temple. He will put it on the four corners of the ledge of the altar. And he will put it on the posts of the gate of the inner courtyard. ²⁰ You will do the same thing on the seventh day of the month. You will do it for anyone who has sinned by accident or without knowing it. This is how you make the Temple pure and ready for God’s service.

Passover Feast Offerings

²¹ “‘On the fourteenth day of the first month you will celebrate the Feast of Passover. It will be a feast of seven days when you eat bread made without yeast. ²² On that day the ruler must offer a bull for himself and for all the people of the land. The bull will be a sin offering. ²³ During the seven days of the feast the ruler must offer seven bulls. And he must offer seven male sheep. The bulls and sheep must have nothing wrong with them. They will be burnt offerings to the Lord. The ruler will offer them every day of the seven days of the feast. He must also offer a male goat every day as a sin offering. ²⁴ The ruler must give as a grain offering a half bushel for each bull and a half bushel for each sheep. He must give a gallon of olive oil for each half bushel.

²⁵ “‘Beginning on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, you will celebrate the Feast of Shelters. During the feast, the ruler will do the same things for seven days. He will supply the sin offering, burnt offering, grain offering and the olive oil.

Rules for Worship

46 “‘This is what the Lord God says: The east gate of the inner courtyard will be shut on the six working days. But it will be opened on the Sabbath day. And it will be open on the day of the New Moon. ² The ruler will enter through the porch of the gateway. He will enter from outside and stand by the gatepost. Then the priests will offer the ruler’s burnt offering and fellowship offerings. The ruler will worship at the entrance of the gate. Then he will go out. But the gate will not be shut until evening. ³ The people of the land will worship at the entrance of that gateway. They will worship there in the presence of the Lord on the Sabbaths and New Moons. ⁴ This is the burnt offering the ruler will offer to the Lord on the Sabbath day. It will be six male lambs that have nothing wrong with them. And it will be a male sheep that has nothing wrong with it. ⁵ He must give a half bushel grain offering with the male sheep. But he can give as much grain offering with the lambs as he pleases. He must also give a gallon of olive oil for each half bushel of grain. ⁶ On the day of the New Moon he must offer a young bull. It must have nothing wrong with it. He must also offer six lambs and a male sheep. They also must have nothing wrong with them. ⁷ The ruler must give a half bushel grain offering with the bull. And he must give the same with the male sheep. With the lambs, he can give as much grain as he pleases. But he must give a gallon of olive oil for each half bushel of grain. ⁸ And when the ruler enters, he must go in through the porch of the gateway. He must go out the same way.

⁹ “‘The people of the land must come before the Lord at the special feasts. Anyone who enters through the north gate to worship must go out through the south gate. Anyone who enters through the south gate must go out through the north gate. No one will return the same way he entered. Each person will go out straight ahead. ¹⁰ When the people go in, the ruler will go in with them. When they go out, the ruler will go out.

¹¹ “‘At the feasts and regular times of worship a half bushel of grain must be offered. It will be offered with a young bull. And a half bushel of grain must be offered with a male sheep. But with an offering of lambs, the ruler may give as much grain as he pleases. He should give a gallon of olive oil for each half bushel of grain. ¹² The ruler may give an offering as a special gift to the Lord. It may be a burnt offering or fellowship offering. When he gives it to the Lord, the inner east gate will be opened for him. He must offer his burnt offering and his fellowship offerings as he does on the Sabbath day. Then he will go out. After he has gone out, the gate will be shut.

¹³ “‘Every morning you will give a year-old lamb that has nothing wrong with it. It will be for a burnt offering to the Lord every day. ¹⁴ Also, you must offer a grain offering with the lamb every morning. With it you will give three and a third quarts of grain and one and a third quarts of olive oil. This is to make the fine flour moist. It will be a grain offering to the Lord. This is a rule that must be kept from now on. ¹⁵ So they must always give the lamb, the grain offering and the olive oil every morning as a burnt offering.

Rules for the Ruler

¹⁶ “‘This is what the Lord God says: The ruler might give a gift from his land to one of his sons. Then that land will belong to that son’s children. It is their property from their family. ¹⁷ But the ruler might give a gift from his land to one of his slaves. That land will belong to the slave only until the year of freedom. Then the land will go back to the ruler. Only the ruler’s sons may keep a gift of land from the ruler. ¹⁸ The ruler must not take any of the people’s land. He must not force them out of their land. He must give his sons land from his own land. Then my people will not be scattered out of their own land.’”

The Special Kitchens

¹⁹ The man led me through the entrance at the side of the gateway. He led me to the priests’ holy rooms that face north. There I saw a place at the west end. ²⁰ The man said to me, “This is where the priests will boil the meat of the penalty offering and sin offering. There the priests will bake the grain offering. Then they will not need to bring these offerings into the outer courtyard. That would hurt the people.”

²¹ Then the man brought me out to the outer courtyard. He led me to its four corners. In each corner of the courtyard was a smaller courtyard. ²² Small courtyards were in the four corners of the courtyard. Each small courtyard was 70 feet long and 52½ feet wide. All four corners measured the same. ²³ A stone wall was around each of the four small courtyards. Places for cooking were built in each of the stone walls. ²⁴ The man said to me, “These are the kitchens. The Temple priests will boil the sacrifices for the people here.”

The River from the Temple

47 The man led me back to the door of the Temple. I saw water coming out from under the doorway that faces east. (The Temple faced east.) The water flowed down from the south end of the Temple. It was south of the altar. ² The man brought me out through the outer north gate. And he led me around outside to the outer east gate. The water was coming out on the south side of the gate.

³ The man went toward the east with a line in his hand. He measured about a third of a mile. Then he led me through water that came up to my ankles. ⁴ The man measured about a third of a mile again. Then he led me through water that came up to my knees. Then he measured about a third of a mile again. And he led me through water up to my waist. ⁵ The man measured about a third of a mile again. But it was now a river that I could not cross. The water had risen too high. It was deep enough for swimming. It was a river that no one could cross. ⁶ The man asked me, “Human being, do you see this?”

Then the man led me back along the bank of the river. ⁷ As I went back, I saw many trees on both sides of the water. ⁸ The man said to me, “This water will flow toward the eastern areas. It will go down into the Jordan Valley. When the water enters the Dead Sea, it will become fresh. ⁹ And everywhere the river goes, there will be many animals and fish. Wherever this water goes the Dead Sea will become fresh. So where the river goes there will be many living things. ¹⁰ Fishermen will stand by the sea. From En Gedi all the way to En Eglaim will become a place to spread fishing nets. There will be many kinds of fish in the Dead Sea. There will be as many kinds of fish as there are in the Mediterranean Sea. ¹¹ But the swamps and marshes will not become fresh. They will be left for salt. ¹² All kinds of fruit trees will grow on both banks of the river. Their leaves will not dry and die. The trees will have fruit every month because the water for them comes from the Temple. The fruit from the trees will be for food. And their leaves will be for medicine.”