Bible in 90 Days

A Message for Israel's Mountains

36 The Lord said:

Ezekiel, son of man, tell the mountains of Israel ² that I, the Lord God, am saying:

Your enemies sneered and said that you mountains belonged to them. ³ They ruined and crushed you from every side, and foreign nations captured and made fun of you. ⁴ So all you mountains and hills, streams and valleys, listen to what I will do. Your towns may now lie in ruins, and nations may laugh and insult you. ⁵ But in my fierce anger, I will turn against those nations, and especially the Edomites, because they laughed at you the loudest and took over your pasturelands. ⁶ You have suffered long enough, and, I, the Lord God, am very angry! Nations have insulted you, ⁷ so I will now insult and disgrace them. That is my solemn promise.

⁸ Trees will grow on you mountains of Israel and produce fruit for my people, because they will soon come home. ⁹ I will take care of you by plowing your soil and planting crops on your fertile slopes. ¹⁰ The people of Israel will return and rebuild your ruined towns and live in them. ¹¹ Children will be born, and animals will give birth to their young. You will no longer be deserted as you are now, but you will be covered with people and treated better than ever. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

¹² I will bring my people Israel home, and they will live on you mountains, because you belong to them, and your fertile slopes will never again let them starve. ¹³ It's true that you have been accused of not producing enough food and of letting your people starve. ^14-15 But I, the Lord, promise that you won't hear other nations laugh and sneer at you ever again. From now on, you will always produce plenty of food for your people. I, the Lord God, have spoken.

The Lord Will Be Honored

¹⁶ The Lord said:

¹⁷ Ezekiel, son of man, when the people of Israel were living in their own country, they made the land unclean by the way they behaved, just as a woman's monthly period makes her unclean. ¹⁸ They committed murders and worshiped idols, which made the land even worse. So in my anger, I punished my people ¹⁹ and scattered them throughout the nations, just as they deserved. ²⁰ Wherever they went, my name was disgraced, because foreigners insulted my people by saying I had forced them out of their own land.

²¹ I care what those foreigners think of me, ²² so tell the Israelites that I am saying:

You have disgraced my holy name among the nations where you now live. So you don't deserve what I'm going to do for you. I will lead you home to bring honor to my name ²³ and to show foreign nations that I am holy. Then they will know that I am the Lord God. I have spoken.

²⁴ I will gather you from the foreign nations and bring you home. ²⁵ I will sprinkle you with clean water, and you will be clean and acceptable to me. I will wash away everything that makes you unclean, and I will remove your disgusting idols. ^26 (A) I will take away your stubborn heart and give you a new heart and a desire to be faithful. You will have only pure thoughts, ²⁷ because I will put my Spirit in you and make you eager to obey my laws and teachings. ²⁸ You will once again live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God.

²⁹ I will protect you from anything that makes you unclean. Your fields will overflow with grain, and no one will starve. ³⁰ Your trees will be filled with fruit, and crops will grow in your fields, so that you will never again feel ashamed for not having enough food. ³¹ You will remember your evil ways and hate yourselves for what you've done. ³² People of Israel, I'm not doing these things for your sake. You sinned against me, and you must suffer shame and disgrace for what you have done. I, the Lord God, have spoken.

³³ After I have made you clean, I will let you rebuild your ruined towns and let you live in them. ³⁴ Your land will be plowed again, and nobody will be able to see that it was once barren. ³⁵ Instead, they will say that it looks as beautiful as the garden of Eden. They won't see towns lying in ruins, but they will see your strong cities filled with people. ³⁶ Then the nearby nations that survive will know that I am the one who rebuilt the ruined places and replanted the barren fields. I, the Lord, make this promise.

³⁷ I will once again answer your prayers, and I will let your nation grow until you are like a large flock of sheep. ³⁸ The towns that now lie in ruins will be filled with people, just as Jerusalem was once filled with sheep to be offered as sacrifices during a festival. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

Dry Bones Live Again

37 Some time later, I felt the Lord's power take control of me, and his Spirit carried me to a valley full of bones. ² The Lord showed me all around, and everywhere I looked I saw bones that were dried out. ³ He said, “Ezekiel, son of man, can these bones come back to life?”

I replied, “Lord God, only you can answer that.”

⁴ He then told me to say:

Dry bones, listen to what the Lord is saying to you, ⁵ “I, the Lord God, will put breath in you, and once again you will live. ⁶ I will wrap you with muscles and skin and breathe life into you. Then you will know that I am the Lord.”

⁷ I did what the Lord said, but before I finished speaking, I heard a rattling noise. The bones were coming together! ⁸ I saw muscles and skin cover the bones, but they had no life in them.

⁹ The Lord said:

Ezekiel, now say to the wind,^[a] “The Lord God commands you to blow from every direction and to breathe life into these dead bodies, so they can live again.”

^10 (B) As soon as I said this, the wind blew among the bodies, and they came back to life! They all stood up, and there were enough to make a large army.

¹¹ The Lord said:

Ezekiel, the people of Israel are like dead bones. They complain that they are dried up and that they have no hope for the future. ¹² So tell them, “I, the Lord God, promise to open your graves and set you free. I will bring you back to Israel, ¹³ and when that happens, you will realize that I am the Lord. ¹⁴ My Spirit will give you breath, and you will live again. I will bring you home, and you will know that I have kept my promise. I, the Lord, have spoken.”

Judah and Israel Together Again

¹⁵ The Lord said:

¹⁶ Ezekiel, son of man, get a stick and write on it, “The kingdom of Judah.” Then get another stick and write on it, “The kingdom of Israel.”^{[b] 17} Hold these two sticks end to end, so they look like one stick. ¹⁸ And when your people ask you what this means, ¹⁹ tell them that I, the Lord, will join together the stick of Israel and the stick of Judah. I will hold them in my hand, and they will become one.

²⁰ Hold these two sticks where they can be seen by everyone ²¹ and then say:

I, the Lord God, will gather the people of Israel and bring them home from the foreign nations where they now live. ²² I will make them into one nation and let them once again live in the land of Israel. Only one king will rule them, and they will never again be divided into two nations. ²³ They will no longer worship idols and do things that make them unacceptable to me. I will wash away their sin and make them clean, and I will protect them from everything that makes them unclean. They will be my people, and I will be their God.

^24-25 (C) Their king will always come from the family of my servant King David and will care for them like a shepherd. The people of Israel will faithfully obey my laws. They and their descendants will live in the land I gave my servant Jacob, just as their ancestors did. ²⁶ I solemnly promise to bless the people of Israel with unending peace. I will protect them and let them become a powerful nation. My temple will stand in Israel for all time, ^27 (D) and I will live among my people and be their God. ²⁸ Every nation on earth will know that my temple is in Israel and that I have chosen the Israelites to be my people.

Gog Invades Israel

38 The Lord said:

^2 (E) Ezekiel, son of man, condemn Gog, that wicked ruler of the kingdoms of Meshech and Tubal in the land of Magog. Tell him:

³ I, the Lord God, am your enemy, ⁴ and I will make you powerless! I will put a hook in your jaw and drag away both you and your large army. You command cavalry troops that wear heavy armor and carry shields and swords. ⁵ Your army includes soldiers from Persia, Ethiopia,^[c] and Libya, ⁶ as well as from Gomer and Beth-Togarmah in the north. Your army is enormous!

⁷ So keep your troops prepared to fight, ⁸ because in a few years, I will command you to invade Israel, a country that was ruined by war. It was deserted for a long time, but its people have returned from the foreign nations where they once lived. The Israelites now live in peace in the mountains of their own land. ⁹ But you and your army will attack them like a fierce thunderstorm and surround them like a cloud.

¹⁰ When that day comes, I know that you will have an evil plan ¹¹ to take advantage of Israel, that weak and peaceful country where people live safely inside towns that have no walls or gates or locks. ¹² You will rob the people in towns that were once a pile of rubble. These people lived as prisoners in foreign nations, but they have returned to Israel, the most important place in the world, and they own livestock and property. ¹³ The people of Sheba and Dedan, along with merchants from villages in^[d] southern Spain,^[e] will be your allies. They will want some of the silver and gold, as well as the livestock and property that your army takes from Israel.

¹⁴ I, the Lord God, know that when you see^[f] my people Israel living in peace, ¹⁵ you will lead your powerful cavalry from your kingdom in the north. ¹⁶ You will attack my people like a storm-cloud that covers their land. I will let you invade my country Israel, so that every nation on earth will know that I, the Lord, am holy.

Judgment on Gog

¹⁷ The Lord said to Gog:

Long ago, I ordered my prophets to warn the people of Israel that someday I would send an enemy to attack them. You, Gog, are that enemy, and that day is coming. ¹⁸ When you invade Israel, I will become furious, ¹⁹ and in my anger I will send a terrible earthquake to shake Israel. ²⁰ Every living thing on earth will tremble in fear of me—every fish and bird, every wild animal and reptile, and every human. Mountains will crumble, cliffs will fall, and cities will collapse. ²¹ I, the Lord, will make the mountains of Israel turn against you.^[g] Your troops will be so terrified that they will attack each other. ²² I will strike you with diseases and punish you with death. You and your army will be pounded with rainstorms, hailstones, and burning sulfur. ²³ I will do these things to show the world that I, the Lord, am holy.

Gog Is Defeated

The Lord said:

39 Ezekiel, son of man, condemn Gog and tell him:

You are the ruler of Meshech and Tubal, but I, the Lord, am your enemy! ² I will turn you around and drag you from the north until you reach the mountains of Israel. ³ I will knock the bow out of your left hand and the arrows out of your right hand, ^4 (F) and you and your army will die on those mountains. Then birds and wild animals will eat the flesh ⁵ of your dead bodies left lying in open fields. I, the Lord, have spoken.

⁶ I will set fire to the land of Magog and to those nations along the seacoast that think they are so secure, and they will know that I am the Lord.

⁷ My people Israel will know me, and they will no longer disgrace my holy name. Everyone on earth will know that I am the holy Lord God of Israel. ⁸ The day is coming when these things will happen, just as I have promised.

⁹ When that day comes, the people in the towns of Israel will collect the weapons of their dead enemies. They will use these shields, bows and arrows, spears, and clubs as firewood, and there will be enough to last for seven years. ¹⁰ They will burn these weapons instead of gathering sticks or chopping down trees. That's how the Israelites will take revenge on those who robbed and abused them. I, the Lord, have spoken.

The Burial of Gog

The Lord said:

¹¹ After Gog has been destroyed, I will bury him and his army in Israel, in Travelers'^[h] Valley, east of the Dead Sea. That graveyard will be so large that it will block the way of anyone who tries to walk through the valley,^[i] which will then be known as “The Valley of Gog's Army.”^{[j] 12} The Israelites will spend seven months burying dead bodies and cleaning up their land. ¹³ Everyone will help with the burial, and they will be honored for this on the day the brightness of my glory is seen. ¹⁴ After those seven months, the people will appoint a group of men to look for any dead bodies left unburied. This must be done for seven months to make sure that the land is no longer unclean. ¹⁵ Whenever they find a human bone, they will set up a marker next to it. Then the gravediggers will bury it in “The Valley of Gog's Army” ¹⁶ near the town of “Gog's Army.” After that, the land will be pure again.

^17 (G) Ezekiel, son of man, I am going to hold a feast on Israel's mountains and offer sacrifices there. So invite all the birds and wild animals to come from every direction and eat the meat of sacrifices and drink the blood. The birds and animals ¹⁸ will feast on the bodies of warriors and foreign rulers that I will sacrifice like sheep, goats, and bulls. ¹⁹ I want the birds and animals to eat until they are full and drink until they are drunk. ²⁰ They will come to my table and stuff themselves with the flesh of horses and warriors of every kind. I, the Lord God, have spoken.

Israel Will Be Restored

The Lord said:

²¹ When I punish the nations of the earth, they will see the brightness of my glory. ²² The people of Israel will know from then on that I am the Lord their God. ²³ Foreign nations will realize that the Israelites were forced to leave their own land because they sinned against me. I turned my back on my people and let enemies attack and kill them. ²⁴ Their lives were wicked and corrupt, and they deserved to be punished.

²⁵ Now I will show mercy to the people of Israel and bring them back from the nations where they are living. They are Jacob's descendants, so I will bless them and show that I am holy. ²⁶ They will live safely in their own land, but will be ashamed when they remember their evil ways and how they disgraced me.^{[k] 27} Foreign nations will watch as I take the Israelites from enemy lands and bring them back home, and those nations will see that I am holy.

²⁸ My people will realize that I, the Lord their God, sent them away as prisoners and now will bring them back to their own land. ²⁹ Never again will I turn my back on the people of Israel, and my Spirit will live in them. I, the Lord, have spoken.

Ezekiel Sees the Future Temple in Jerusalem

40 ^1-2 (H) Twenty-five years after King Jehoiachin and the rest of us had been led away as prisoners to Babylonia, and 14 years after the Babylonians had captured Jerusalem, the Lord's power took control of me on the tenth day of the first month.^[l] The Lord showed me some visions in which I was carried to the top of a high mountain in Jerusalem. I looked to the south and saw what looked like a city full of buildings. ^3 (I) In my vision the Lord took me closer, and I saw a man who was sparkling like polished bronze. He was standing near one of the gates and was holding a tape measure in one hand and a measuring stick in the other. ⁴ The man said, “Ezekiel, son of man, pay close attention to everything I'm going to show you—that's why you've been brought here. Listen carefully, because you must tell the people of Israel what you see.”

The East Gate

^5 (J) The first thing I saw was an outer wall that completely surrounded the temple area. The man took his measuring stick, which was three meters long, and measured the wall; it was three meters high and three meters thick. ^6-7 Then he went to the east gate, where he walked up steps that led to a long passageway. On each side of this passageway were three guardrooms, which were three meters square, and they were separated by walls two and a half meters thick. The man measured the distance between the opening of the gate and the first guardroom, and it was three meters, the thickness of the outer wall.

At the far end of this passageway, I saw an entrance room that faced the courtyard of the temple itself. There was also a distance of three meters between the last guardroom and the entrance room ^8-9 at the end of the passageway. The man measured this room: It was four meters from the doorway to the opposite wall, and the distance from the doorway to the wall on either side was one meter. ¹⁰ The three guardrooms on each side of the passageway were the same size, and the walls that separated them were the same thickness.

¹¹ Next, the man measured the width of the passageway, and it was six and a half meters, but the two doors of the gate were only five meters wide.^{[m] 12} In front of the guardrooms, which were three meters square, was a railing about 50 centimeters high and 50 centimeters thick. ¹³ The man measured the distance from the back wall^[n] of one of these rooms to the same spot in the room directly across the passageway, and it was twelve and a half meters. ¹⁴ He measured the entrance room at the far end of the passageway, and it was ten meters wide.^{[o] 15} Finally, he measured the total length of the passageway, from the outer wall to the entrance room, and it was 25 meters. ¹⁶ The three walls in the guardrooms had small windows in them, just like the ones in the entrance room.^[p] The walls along the passageway were decorated with carvings of palm trees.

The Outer Courtyard

¹⁷ The man then led me through the passageway and into the outer courtyard of the temple, where I saw 30 rooms built around the outside of the courtyard.^[q] These side rooms were built against the outer wall, and in front of them was a sidewalk that circled the courtyard. ¹⁸ This was known as the lower sidewalk, and it was 25 meters wide.

¹⁹ I saw the gates that led to the inner courtyard of the temple and noticed that they were higher than those leading to the outer courtyard. The man measured the distance between the outer and inner gates, and it was 50 meters.^[r]

The North Gate

²⁰ Next, the man measured the north gate that led to the outer courtyard. ²¹ This gate also had three guardrooms on each side of a passageway. The measurements of these rooms, the walls between them, and the entrance room at the far end of the passageway were exactly the same as those of the east gate. The north gate was also 25 meters long and 12.5 meters wide, ²² and the windows, the entrance room, and the carvings of palm trees were just like those in the east gate. The entrance room also faced the courtyard of the temple and had seven steps leading up to it. ²³ Directly across the outer courtyard was a gate that led to the inner courtyard, just as there was for the east gate. The man measured the distance between the outer and inner gate, and it was 50 meters.

The South Gate

²⁴ The man then took me to the south gate. He measured the walls and the entrance room of this gate, and the measurements were exactly the same as those of the other two gates. ²⁵ There were windows in the guardrooms of this gate and in the entrance room, just like the others, and this gate was also 25 meters long and 12.5 meters wide. ²⁶ Seven steps led up to the gate; the entrance room was at the far end of the passageway and faced the courtyard of the temple. Carvings of palm trees decorated the walls along the passageway. ²⁷ And directly across the outer courtyard was a gate on the south side of the inner courtyard. The man measured the distance between the outer and inner gate, and it was also 50 meters.

The Gates Leading to the Inner Courtyard

²⁸ We then went into the inner courtyard, through the gate on the south side of the temple. The man measured the gate, and it was the same size as the gates in the outer wall. ^29-30 In fact, everything along the passageway was also the same size, including the guardrooms, the walls separating them, the entrance room at the far end, and the windows. This gate, like the others, was 25 meters long and 12.5 meters wide. ³¹ The entrance room of this gate faced the outer courtyard, and carvings of palm trees decorated the walls of the passageway. Eight steps led up to this gate.

³² Next, we went through the east gate to the inner courtyard. The man measured this gate, and it was the same size as the others. ³³ The guardrooms, the walls separating them, and its entrance room had the same measurements as the other gates. The guardrooms and the entrance room had windows, and the gate was 25 meters long and 12.5 meters wide. ³⁴ The entrance room faced the outer courtyard, and the walls in the passageway were decorated with carvings of palm trees. Eight steps also led up to this gate.

³⁵ Then the man took me to the north gate. He measured it, and it was the same size as the others, ³⁶ including the guardrooms, the walls separating them, and the entrance room. There were also windows in this gate. It was 25 meters long and 12.5 meters wide, ³⁷ and like the other inner gates, its entrance room faced the outer courtyard, and its walls were decorated with carvings of palm trees. Eight steps also led up to this gate.

The Rooms for Sacrificing Animals

^38-39 Inside the entrance room of the north gate, I saw four tables, two on each side of the room, where the animals to be sacrificed were killed. Just outside^[s] this room was a small building used for washing the animals before they were offered as sacrifices to please the Lord^[t] or sacrifices for sin^[u] or sacrifices to make things right.^{[v] 40} Four more tables were in the outer courtyard, two on each side of the steps leading into the entrance room. ⁴¹ So there was a total of eight tables, four inside and four outside, where the animals were killed, ^42-43 and where the meat was placed until it was sacrificed on the altar.^[w]

Next to the tables in the entrance room were four stone tables 50 centimeters high and 75 centimeters square; the equipment used for killing the animals was kept on top of these tables. All around the walls of this room was a 75-millimeter shelf.^[x]

The Rooms Belonging to the Priests

⁴⁴ The man then took me to the inner courtyard, where I saw two buildings, one beside the inner gate on the north and the other beside the inner gate on the south.^{[y] 45} He said, “The building beside the north gate belongs to the priests who serve in the temple, ⁴⁶ and the building beside the south gate belongs to those who serve at the altar. All of them are descendants of Zadok and are the only Levites allowed to serve as the Lord's priests.”

The Inner Courtyard and the Temple

⁴⁷ Now the man measured the inner courtyard; it was 50 meters square. I also saw an altar in front of the temple.

⁴⁸ We walked to the porch of the temple, and the man measured the doorway of the porch: It was seven meters long,^[z] two and a half meters wide, and the distance from the doorway to the wall on either side was one and a half meters. ⁴⁹ The porch itself was ten meters by six^[aa] meters, with steps^[ab] leading up to it. There was a column on each side of these steps.

41 Next we went into the main room of the temple. The man measured the doorway of this room: It was 3 meters wide,^{[ac] 2} five meters long, and the distance from the doorway to the wall on either side was two and a half meters. The main room itself was 20 meters by 10 meters.

^3-4 Then the man walked to the far end of the temple's main room and said, “Beyond this doorway is the most holy place.” He first measured the doorway: It was one meter wide, 3 meters long, and the distance from the doorway to the wall on either side was 3.5 meters. Then he measured the most holy place, and it was 10 meters square.

The Storage Rooms of the Temple

⁵ The man measured the wall of the temple, and it was three meters thick. Storage rooms two meters wide were built against the outside of the wall. ⁶ There were three levels of rooms, with 30 rooms on each level, and they rested on ledges that were attached to the temple walls, so that nothing was built into the walls. ⁷ The walls of the temple were thicker at the bottom than at the top, which meant that the storage rooms on the top level were wider than those on the bottom level.^[ad] Steps led from the bottom level, through the middle level, and into the top level.

⁸ The temple rested on a stone base three meters high, which also served as the foundation for the storage rooms. ⁹ The outside walls of the storage rooms were two and a half meters thick; there was nothing between these walls ¹⁰ and the nearest buildings ten meters away. ¹¹ One door led into the storage rooms on the north side of the temple, and another door led to those on the south side. The stone base extended two and a half meters beyond the outside wall of the storage rooms.

The West Building and the Measurements of the Temple

¹² I noticed another building: It faced the west end of the temple and was 35 meters wide, 45 meters long, and had walls over 2.5 meters thick.

¹³ The man measured the length of the temple, and it was 50 meters. He then measured from the back wall of the temple, across the open space behind the temple, to the back wall of the west building; it was 50 meters. ¹⁴ The distance across the front of the temple, including the open space on either side, was also 50 meters.

¹⁵ Finally, the man measured the length of the west building, including the side rooms on each end, and it was also 50 meters.

The Inside of the Temple

The inside walls of the temple's porch and main room^{[ae] 16} were paneled with wood all the way from the floor to the windows, while the doorways, the small windows, and the three side rooms were trimmed in wood.^{[af] 17} The paneling stopped just above the doorway. These walls were decorated^{[ag] 18-20} with carvings of winged creatures and had a carving of a palm tree between the creatures. Each winged creature had two faces: A human face looking at the palm tree on one side, and a lion's face looking at the palm tree on the other side. These designs were carved into the paneling all the way around the two rooms.

²¹ The doorframe to the temple's main room was in the shape of a rectangle.

The Wooden Altar

In front of the doorway to the most holy place was something that looked like ²² a wooden altar. It was one and a half meters high and one meter square,^[ah] and its corners, its base,^[ai] and its sides were made of wood. The man said, “This is a reminder that the Lord is constantly watching over his temple.”

The Doors in the Temple

²³ Both the doorway to the main room of the temple and the doorway to the most holy place had two doors, ²⁴ and each door had two sections that could fold open. ²⁵ The doors to the main room were decorated with carvings of winged creatures and palm trees just like those on the walls, and there was a wooden covering over the porch just outside these doors. ²⁶ The walls on each side of this porch had small windows and were also decorated with carvings of palm trees.

The Sacred Rooms for the Priests

42 ^1-2 After the man and I left the temple and walked back to the outer courtyard, he showed me a set of rooms on the north side of the west building.^[aj] This set of rooms was 50 meters long and 25 meters wide. ³ On one side of them was the 10 meters of open space that ran alongside the temple,^[ak] and on the other side was the sidewalk that circled the outer courtyard.^[al] The rooms were arranged in three levels ⁴ with doors that opened toward the north, and in front of them was a walkway five meters wide and 50 meters long.^{[am] 5} The rooms on the top level were narrower than those on the middle level, and the rooms on the middle level were narrower than those on the bottom level. ⁶ The rooms on the bottom level supported those on the two upper levels, and so these rooms did not have columns like other buildings in the courtyard. ^7-8 To the north was a privacy wall 25 meters long,^{[an] 9-10} and at the east end of this wall was the door leading from the courtyard to these rooms.

There was also a set of rooms on the south^[ao] side of the west building. ¹¹ These rooms were exactly like those on the north side, and they also had a walkway in front of them. ¹² The door to these rooms was at the east end of the wall that stood in front of them.

¹³ The man then said to me:

These rooms on the north and south sides of the temple are the sacred rooms where the Lord's priests will eat the most holy offerings. These offerings include the grain sacrifices, the sacrifices for sin, and the sacrifices to make things right. ¹⁴ When the priests are ready to leave the temple, they must go through these rooms before they return to the outer courtyard. They must leave their sacred clothes in these rooms and put on regular clothes before going anywhere near other people.

The Size of the Temple Area

¹⁵ After the man had finished measuring the buildings inside the temple area, he took me back through the east gate and measured the wall around this area. ¹⁶ He used his measuring stick to measure the east side of this wall; it was 250 meters long. ^17-19 Then he measured the north side, the south side, and the west side of the wall, and they were each 250 meters long, ²⁰ and so the temple area was a perfect square. The wall around this area separated what was sacred from what was ordinary.

The Lord's Glory Returns to the Temple

43 The man took me back to the east gate of the temple, ^2 (K) where I saw the brightness of the glory of Israel's God coming from the east. The sound I heard was as loud as ocean waves, and everything around was shining with the dazzling brightness of his glory. ³ This vision was like the one I had seen when God came to destroy Jerusalem and like the one I had seen near the Chebar River.

I immediately bowed with my face to the ground, ⁴ and the Lord's glory came through the east gate and into the temple.^{[ap] 5} The Lord's Spirit lifted me to my feet and carried me to the inner courtyard, where I saw that the Lord's glory had filled the temple.

⁶ The man was standing beside me, and I heard the Lord^[aq] say from inside the temple:

⁷ Ezekiel, son of man, this temple is my throne on earth. I will live here among the people of Israel forever. They and their kings will never again disgrace me by worshiping idols at local shrines or by setting up memorials to their dead kings.^{[ar] 8} Israel's kings built their palaces so close to my holy temple that only a wall separated them from me. Then these kings disgraced me with their evil ways, and in my fierce anger I destroyed them. ⁹ But if the people and their kings stop worshiping other gods and tear down those memorials, I will live among them forever.

¹⁰ The people of Israel must suffer shame for sinning against me, so tell them about my holy temple. Let them think about it, ¹¹ then if they are truly sorry, describe for them the design and shape of the temple, the gates, the measurements, and how the buildings are arranged. Explain the regulations about worshiping there, then write down these things, so they can study and obey them.

¹² The temple area on my holy mountain must be kept sacred! This is the most important law about the temple.

The Altar

^13 (L) According to the official standards, the altar in the temple had the following measurements: Around the bottom of the altar was a gutter 50 centimeters wide and 50 centimeters deep, with a 25-centimeter ledge on the outer rim. ^14-17 The altar rested on a base and had three sections, each one of them square. The bottom section was 8 meters on each side and one meter high. The middle section was 7 meters on each side and 2 meters high, and it had a 25-centimeter rim around its outer edge. The top section, which was 6 meters on each side and 2 meters high, was the place where sacrifices were burned, and the four corners of the top section looked like the horns of a bull. The steps leading up to the altar were on the east side.

The Dedication of the Altar

^18 (M) The Lord God said:

Ezekiel, son of man, after the altar is built, it must be dedicated by offering sacrifices on it and by splattering it with blood. Here is what you must do: ¹⁹ The priests of the Levi tribe from the family of Zadok the priest are the only ones who may serve in my temple—this is my law. So give them a young bull to slaughter as a sacrifice for sin. ²⁰ Take some of the animal's blood and smear it on the four corners of the altar, some on the corners of the middle section, and some more on the rim around its edge. That will purify the altar and make it fit for offering sacrifices to me. ²¹ Then take the body of the bull outside the temple area and burn it at the special place.

²² The next day, a goat^[as] that has nothing wrong with it must be offered as a sacrifice for sin. Purify the altar with its blood, just as you did with the blood of the bull. ²³ Then choose a young bull and a young ram that have nothing wrong with them, ²⁴ and bring them to my temple. The priests will sprinkle salt on them^[at] and offer them as sacrifices to please me.^[au]

²⁵ Each day for the next seven days, you must offer a goat and a bull and a ram as sacrifices for sin. These animals must have nothing wrong with them. ²⁶ The priests will purify the altar during those days, so that it will be acceptable to me and ready to use. ²⁷ From then on, the priests will use this altar to offer sacrifices to please me and sacrifices to ask my blessing.^[av] Then I will be pleased with the people of Israel. I, the Lord God, have spoken.

The East Gate Must Remain Closed

44 The man took me back to the outer courtyard, near the east gate of the temple area. I saw that the doors to this gate were closed. ² The Lord said:

I, the Lord God of Israel, came through this gate, so it must remain closed forever! No one must ever use it. ³ The ruler of Israel may come here to eat a sacrificial meal that has been offered to me, but he must use only the entrance room of this gate.

People Who Are Not Allowed in the Temple

⁴ Then the man took me through the north gate to the front of the temple. I saw that the brightness of the Lord's glory had filled the temple, and I immediately bowed with my face to the ground.

⁵ The Lord said:

Ezekiel, son of man, I am going to give you the laws for my temple. So pay attention and listen carefully to what kind of people are allowed to come in the temple, and what kind are not. ⁶ Tell those rebellious people of Israel:

I, the Lord God, command you to stop your evil ways! ⁷ My temple has been disgraced, because you have let godless, stubborn foreigners come here when sacrifices are being offered to me. You have sinned and have broken our solemn agreement. ⁸ Instead of following the proper ways to worship me, you have put foreigners in charge of worship at my temple.

⁹ And so I, the Lord God, say that no godless foreigner who disobeys me will be allowed in my temple. This includes any foreigner living in Israel.

The Levites Are Punished

The Lord said:

¹⁰ Some of the Levites turned their backs on me and joined the other people of Israel in worshiping idols. So these Levites must be punished! ¹¹ They will still be allowed to serve me as temple workers by guarding the gates and by killing the animals to be sacrificed and by helping the worshipers. ¹² But because these Levites served the people of Israel when they worshiped idols, I, the Lord God, promise that the Levites will be punished. They did not stop the Israelites from sinning, ¹³ and now I will no longer let the Levites serve as my priests or come near anything sacred to me. They must suffer shame and disgrace for their disgusting sins. ¹⁴ They will be responsible for all the hard work that must be done in the temple.

Rules for Priests

The Lord said:

¹⁵ The priests of the Levi tribe who are descendants of Zadok the priest were faithful to me, even when the rest of the Israelites turned away. And so, these priests will continue to serve as my priests and to offer the fat and the blood of sacrifices. ¹⁶ They will come into my temple, where they will offer sacrifices at my altar and lead others in worship.

^17 (N) When they come to the inner courtyard, they must wear their linen priestly clothes. My priests must never wear anything made of wool when they are on duty in this courtyard or in the temple. ¹⁸ Even their turbans and underwear must be made of linen to keep my priests from sweating when they work. ^19 (O) And before they leave to join the other people in the outer courtyard, they must take off their priestly clothes, then place them in the sacred rooms and put on their regular clothes.^[aw] That way, no one will touch their sacred clothes and be harmed.^[ax]

^20 (P) Priests must never shave their heads when they are mourning. But they must keep their hair properly trimmed and not let it grow too long. ^21 (Q) They must not drink wine before going to the inner courtyard.

^22 (R) A priest must not marry a divorced woman; he can marry only a virgin from Israel or the widow of another priest.

^23 (S) Priests must teach my people the difference between what is sacred and what is ordinary, and between what is clean and what is unclean. ²⁴ They will make decisions in difficult legal cases, according to my own laws. They must also observe the religious festivals my Law requires and must always respect the Sabbath.

^25 (T) Touching a dead body will make a person unclean. So a priest must not go near a dead body, unless it is one of his parents or children, or his brother or unmarried sister. ²⁶ If a priest touches a dead body, he is unclean and must go through a ceremony to make himself clean. Then seven days later, ²⁷ he must go to the inner courtyard of the temple and offer a sacrifice for sin. After that, he may once again serve as my priest. I, the Lord God, have spoken.

^28 (U) I myself will provide for my priests, and so they won't receive any land of their own. ^29 (V) Instead, they will receive part of the grain sacrifices, as well as part of the sacrifices for sin and sacrifices to make things right. They will also be given everything in Israel that has been completely dedicated to me.^{[ay] 30} The first part of every harvest will belong to the priests. They will also receive part of all special gifts and offerings the Israelites bring to me. And whenever any of my people bake bread, they will give their first loaf as an offering to the priests, and I will bless the homes of the people when they do this.

^31 (W) Priests must not eat any bird or animal that dies a natural death or that has been killed by a wild animal.

The Lord's Sacred Land

The Lord said:

45 When the land of Israel is divided among the twelve tribes, you must set aside an area that will belong to me. This sacred area will be 12.5 kilometers long and 10 kilometers^[az] wide. ² The temple will be on a piece of land 255 meters square, and the temple will be completely surrounded by an open space 25 meters wide.

^3-4 I will give half of my sacred land, a section 12.5 kilometers long and 5 kilometers wide, to the priests who serve in the temple. Their houses will be in this half, as well as my temple, which is the most sacred place of all.

⁵ I will give the other half of my land to the Levites who work in my temple, and the towns^[ba] where they will live will be there.

⁶ Next to my sacred land will be an area 12.5 kilometers long and 3 kilometers wide. This will belong to the people of Israel and will include the city of Jerusalem.

Land for Israel's Ruler

The Lord said:

^7-8 The regions west and east of my sacred land and the city of Jerusalem will belong to the ruler of Israel. He will be given the region between the western edge of my land and the Mediterranean Sea, and between the eastern edge of my land and the Jordan River. This will mean that the length of his property will be the same as the sections of land given to the tribes.

This property will belong to every ruler of Israel, so they will always be fair to my people and will let them live peacefully in the land given to their tribes.

Israel's Rulers Must Be Honest

⁹ The Lord God said:

You leaders of Israel have cheated and abused my people long enough! I want you to stop sinning and start doing what is right and fair. You must never again force my people off their own land. I, the Lord, have spoken.

^10 (X) So from now on, you must use honest weights and measures. ¹¹ The ephah will be the standard dry measure, and the bath will be the standard liquid measure. Their size will be based on the homer, which will equal ten ephahs or ten baths.^[bb]

¹² The standard unit of weight will be the shekel.^[bc] One shekel will equal 20 gerahs, and 60 shekels will equal one mina.

¹³ Leaders of Israel, the people must bring you one sixtieth of their grain harvests as offerings to me. ¹⁴ They will also bring one percent of their olive oil. These things will be measured according to the bath, and ten baths is the same as one homer or one cor. ¹⁵ Finally, they must bring one sheep out of every 200 from their flocks.

These offerings will be used as grain sacrifices, as well as sacrifices to please me^[bd] and those to ask my blessing.^[be] I, the Lord, will be pleased with these sacrifices and will forgive the sins of my people.

¹⁶ The people of Israel will bring you these offerings. ¹⁷ But during New Moon Festivals, Sabbath celebrations, and other religious feasts, you leaders will be responsible for providing animals for the sacrifices, as well as the grain and wine. All these will be used for the sacrifices for sin, the grain sacrifices, the sacrifices to please me, and those to ask my blessing. I will be pleased and will forgive the sins of my people.

The Festivals

(Exodus 12.1-20; Leviticus 23.33-43)

¹⁸ The Lord God said:

On the first day of the first month,^[bf] a young bull that has nothing wrong with it must be offered as a sacrifice to purify the temple. ¹⁹ The priest will take some blood from this sacrifice and smear it on the doorposts of the temple, as well as on the four corners of the altar and on the doorposts of the gates that lead into the inner courtyard.

²⁰ The same ceremony must also be done on the seventh day of the month, so that anyone who sins accidentally or without knowing it will be forgiven, and so that my temple will remain holy.

^21 (Y) Beginning on the fourteenth day of the first month, and continuing for seven days, everyone will celebrate Passover and eat bread made without yeast. ²² On the first day, the ruler will bring a bull to offer as a sacrifice for his sins and for the sins of the people. ²³ Each day of the festival he is to bring seven bulls and seven rams as sacrifices to please me,^[bg] and he must bring a goat^[bh] as a sacrifice for sin. These animals must have nothing wrong with them. ²⁴ He will also provide nine kilograms of grain and three liters of olive oil to be offered with each bull and each ram.

^25 (Z) The Festival of Shelters will begin on the fifteenth day of the seventh month^[bi] and will continue for seven days. On each day of this festival, the ruler will provide the same number of animals that he did each day during Passover, as well as the same amount of grain and olive oil for the sacrifices.

Various Laws for the Ruler and the People

46 The Lord said:

The east gate of the inner courtyard must remain closed during the six working days of each week. But on the Sabbath and on the first day of the month, this gate will be opened. ² Israel's ruler will go from the outer courtyard into the entrance room of this gate and stand in the doorway while the priest offers sacrifices to ask my blessing^[bj] and sacrifices to please me.^[bk] The ruler will bow with his face to the ground to show that he has worshiped me. Then he will leave, and the gate will remain open until evening.

³ Each Sabbath and on the first day of each month, the people of Israel must also come to the east gate and worship me. ⁴ On the Sabbath, the ruler will bring six lambs and one ram to be offered as sacrifices to please me. There must be nothing wrong with any of these animals. ⁵ With the ram, he is to offer nine kilograms of grain, and with each of the lambs, he can offer as much as he wants. He must also offer three liters of olive oil with every nine kilograms of grain.

⁶ The ruler is to bring six lambs, a bull, and a ram to be offered as sacrifices at the New Moon Festival. There must be nothing wrong with any of these animals. ⁷ With the bull and the ram, he is to offer nine kilograms of grain, and with each of the lambs, he can offer as much as he wants. He must also offer three liters of olive oil with every nine kilograms of grain. ⁸ The ruler must come through the entrance room of the east gate and leave the same way.

⁹ When my people come to worship me during any festival, they must always leave by the opposite gate from which they came: Those who come in the north gate must leave by the south gate, and those who come in the south gate must leave by the north gate. ¹⁰ Their ruler will come in at the same time they do and leave at the same time they leave.

¹¹ At all other festivals and celebrations, nine kilograms of grain will be offered with a bull, and nine kilograms will be offered with a ram. The worshipers can offer as much grain as they want with each lamb. Three liters of olive oil must be offered with every nine kilograms of grain.

¹² If the ruler voluntarily offers a sacrifice to please me or to ask my blessing, the east gate of the inner courtyard will be opened for him. He will offer his sacrifices just as he does on each Sabbath; then he will leave, and the gate will be closed.

¹³ Each morning a year-old lamb that has nothing wrong with it must be offered as a sacrifice to please me. ¹⁴ Along with it, two kilograms of fine flour mixed with a liter of olive oil must be offered as a grain sacrifice. This law will never change— ¹⁵ the lamb, the flour, and the olive oil will be offered to me every morning for all time.

Laws about the Ruler's Land

¹⁶ The Lord God said:

If the ruler of Israel gives some of his land to one of his children, it will belong to the ruler's child as part of the family property. ^17 (AA) But if the ruler gives some of his land to one of his servants, the land will belong to the servant until the Year of Celebration, when it will be returned to the ruler.^[bl] Only the ruler's children can keep what is given to them.

¹⁸ The ruler must never abuse my people by taking land from them. Any land he gives his children must already belong to him.

The Sacred Kitchens

¹⁹ The man who was showing me the temple^[bm] then took me back to the inner courtyard. We walked to the south side of the courtyard and stopped at the door to the sacred rooms that belonged to the priests. He showed me more rooms at the western edge of the courtyard ²⁰ and said, “These are the kitchens where the priests must boil the meat to be offered as sacrifices to make things right^[bn] and as sacrifices for sin.^[bo] They will also bake the grain for sacrifices in these kitchens. That way, these sacred offerings won't have to be carried through the outer courtyard, where someone could accidentally touch them and be harmed.”^[bp]

²¹ We went back to the outer courtyard and walked past the four corners. ²² At each corner I saw a smaller courtyard, 20 meters long and 15 meters wide. ²³ Around the inside of these smaller courtyards was a low wall of stones, and against the wall were places to build fires.^{[bq] 24} The man said, “These are the kitchens where the temple workers will boil the meat that worshipers offer as sacrifices.”

The Stream Flowing from the Temple

47 ^(AB) The man took me back to the temple, where I saw a stream flowing from under the entrance. It began in the south part of the temple, where it ran past the altar and continued east through the courtyard.

² We walked out of the temple area through the north gate and went around to the east gate. I saw the small stream of water flowing east from the south side of the gate.

³ The man walked east, then took out his measuring stick and measured 500 meters downstream. He told me to wade through the stream there, and the water came up to my ankles. ⁴ Then he measured another 500 meters downstream, and told me to wade through it there. The water came up to my knees. Another 500 meters downstream the water came up to my waist. ⁵ Another 500 meters downstream, the stream had become a river that could be crossed only by swimming. ⁶ The man said, “Ezekiel, son of man, pay attention to what you've seen.”

We walked to the riverbank, ⁷ where I saw dozens of trees on each side. ⁸ The man said:

This water flows eastward to the Jordan River valley and empties into the Dead Sea, where it turns the salt water into fresh water. ⁹ Wherever this water flows, there will be all kinds of animals and fish, because it will bring life and fresh water to the Dead Sea. ¹⁰ From En-Gedi to Eneglaim, people will fish in the sea and dry their nets along the coast. There will be as many kinds of fish in the Dead Sea as there are in the Mediterranean Sea. ¹¹ But the marshes along the shore will remain salty, so that people can use the salt from them.

^12 (AC) Fruit trees will grow all along this river and produce fresh fruit every month. The leaves will never dry out, because they will always have water from the stream that flows from the temple, and they will be used for healing people.