Bible in 90 Days

Good Comes to Israel

36 “Son of man, speak in My name to the mountains of Israel. Say, ‘O mountains of Israel, hear the Word of the Lord. ² The Lord God says, “Those who hate you have laughed and spoken against you, saying, ‘The old hills now belong to us.’ ³ So tell the mountains of Israel, ‘The Lord God says, “They have made you a waste land, and destroyed you from every side. You were taken by the rest of the nations for their own. And the people have been saying bad things about you.”’” ⁴ So, mountains of Israel, hear the Word of the Lord God. This is what the Lord God says to the mountains, the hills, the valleys, the destroyed places and empty cities, which have been robbed and made fun of by the rest of the nations around them. ⁵ The Lord God says, “I speak in the fire of My jealousy against the rest of the nations and against all Edom. They have taken My land for themselves with hearts full of joy and hate, that they might rob its good things.”

⁶ ‘So speak about the land of Israel, and tell the mountains, the hills, and valleys, “The Lord God says, ‘I speak in My jealousy and anger because you have been put to shame by the nations.’ ⁷ So the Lord God says, ‘I promise that the nations around you will also suffer shame. ⁸ But you, O mountains of Israel, will put out your branches and give your fruit for My people Israel. For they will come home soon. ⁹ See, I care for you and will show you favor. You will be plowed and planted. ¹⁰ I will cause the people to become many, all the people of Israel. People will live in the cities, and the places that have been destroyed will be built again. ¹¹ I will give you many people and animals, and they will have many young ones. You will be full of people as you were before. And I will do more good to you than ever before. Then you will know that I am the Lord. ¹² I will have people, My people Israel, walk on you and own you. You will belong to them, and you will never again take their children from them.’

¹³ “The Lord God says, ‘People say to you, “You destroy men and have taken children from your nation. ¹⁴ But you will no longer destroy men and take away your nation’s children,” says the Lord God. ¹⁵ “I will not let you hear words of shame from the nations any more. You will not be put to shame by the nations any longer. And you will no longer make your nation fall,” says the Lord God.’”

New Life for Israel

¹⁶ The Word of the Lord came to me saying, ¹⁷ “Son of man, when the people of Israel were living in their own land, they made it sinful by their ways and their works. The way they acted before Me was unclean, like a woman is unclean during her time each month. ¹⁸ So I poured out My anger upon them because of the blood they had poured on the land, and because they had made it sinful with their false gods. ¹⁹ I sent them among the different nations and spread them out among the lands. I judged them for their ways and their works. ²⁰ But in every place they went among the nations, they brought shame upon My holy name, because it was said of them, ‘These are the people of the Lord, yet they had to leave His land.’ ²¹ But I cared about My holy name, which the people of Israel had put to shame among the nations where they had gone.

²² “So tell the people of Israel, ‘The Lord God says, “It is not because of you, O people of Israel, that I am about to act. It is because of My holy name, which you have put to shame among the nations where you have gone. ²³ I will show how holy My great name is, which you have put to shame among the nations. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord,” says the Lord God, “when I use you to show them that I am holy. ²⁴ For I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the lands, and bring you into your own land. ²⁵ Then I will put clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will make you clean from all your unclean ways and from all your false gods. ²⁶ I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you. I will take away your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. ²⁷ And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to follow My Laws and be careful to do what I tell you. ²⁸ And you will live in the land that I gave to your fathers. You will be My people, and I will be your God. ²⁹ I will save you from all your unclean ways. I will give you much grain, and you will not have to go without food. ³⁰ I will have the trees give much fruit and the fields give much food. So you will never again suffer the shame of going hungry among the nations. ³¹ Then you will remember your sinful ways and your sinful works, and you will hate yourselves because of your sins and wrong-doing. ³² I want you to know that I am not doing this because of you,” says the Lord God. “Be ashamed and troubled because of your ways, O people of Israel!”

³³ ‘The Lord God says, “On the day that I make you clean from all your sins, I will fill the cities with people, and the destroyed places will be built again. ³⁴ And the waste land will be planted, instead of being a waste in the eyes of all who pass by. ³⁵ They will say, ‘This waste land has become like the garden of Eden. And the destroyed cities now have strong walls and many people.’ ³⁶ Then the nations that are left around you will know that I, the Lord, have built again the places that were destroyed, and planted what had been waste land. I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will do what I say.”

³⁷ ‘The Lord God says, “I will also let the people of Israel ask Me to do this for them: I will give them many people, like the sheep of a flock. ³⁸ The empty cities will be filled with flocks of people, like the flock kept for burnt gifts, like the flock at Jerusalem during her special suppers. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”’”

The Valley of Dry Bones

37 The hand of the Lord was upon me. He brought me out by His Spirit and set me down in the center of the valley. It was full of bones. ² He led me around the valley. I saw there were very many bones, and they were very dry. ³ He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I answered, “O Lord God, only You know that.” ⁴ He said to me, “Speak in My name over these bones. Say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the Word of the Lord.’ ⁵ This is what the Lord God says to these bones: ‘I will make breath come into you, and you will come to life. ⁶ I will join you together, make flesh grow back on you, cover you with skin, and put breath in you to make you come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”

⁷ So I spoke as I was told. And as I spoke, there was a noise, the sound of bones hitting against each other. The bones came together, bone to bone. ⁸ I looked and saw that parts had grown to hold them together. Flesh had grown, and they were covered with skin. But there was no breath in them. ⁹ Then He said to me, “Speak to the breath in My name, son of man. Tell the breath, ‘The Lord God says, “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these dead bodies to make them come to life.”’” ¹⁰ So I spoke as I had been told. The breath came into them, and they came to life and stood on their feet. They were a large army.

¹¹ Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are all the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is gone. We are all destroyed.’ ¹² So speak in My name and tell them, ‘The Lord God says, “I will open your graves, My people, and make you come out of them. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. ¹³ Then, My people, you will know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves and brought you up. ¹⁴ I will put My Spirit within you, and you will come to life. I will place you in your own land. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken and have done it,” says the Lord.’”

Judah and Israel under One King

¹⁵ The Word of the Lord came to me saying, ¹⁶ “Son of man, take one stick of wood and write on it, ‘For Judah and for the people of Israel with him.’ Then take another stick of wood and write on it, ‘For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the people of Israel with him.’ ¹⁷ Then join them together into one stick so that they will become one in your hand. ¹⁸ And when your people say to you, ‘Will you not let us know what you mean by these?’ ¹⁹ tell them, ‘The Lord God says, “I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the people of Israel who are with him. And I will put it with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick. They will be one in My hand.”’ ²⁰ Hold in front of them the sticks you write on, ²¹ and tell them, ‘The Lord God says, “I will take the people of Israel from the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land. ²² I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. And one king will rule over all of them. They will no longer be two nations, and they will no longer be divided under two kings. ²³ They will no longer make themselves unclean with their false gods, or with their hated objects of worship, or with any of their sins. I will keep them from turning again to these sins, and will make them clean. They will be My people, and I will be their God.

²⁴ “My servant David will be their king, and they will have one shepherd. They will follow and keep My Laws, and obey them. ²⁵ And they will live in the land that I gave to My servant Jacob, where your fathers lived. They and their children and their children’s children will live in it forever. And My servant David will be their leader forever. ²⁶ I will make a peace agreement with them, one that lasts forever. I will bring good to them and make them many in number. And I will set My holy place among them forever. ²⁷ I will live with them, and will be their God, and they will be My people. ²⁸ Then the nations will know that I am the Lord Who makes Israel holy, when My holy place is among them forever.”’”

Words against Gog

38 The Word of the Lord came to me saying, ² “Son of man, look toward Gog of the land of Magog, the leader of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and speak against him. ³ Tell him, ‘The Lord God says, “I am against you, O Gog, leader of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal. ⁴ I will turn you around, put hooks into your mouth, and bring you out with your whole army. Your horses and horsemen will be dressed for battle. The army will be very large, with all the men holding battle-coverings and waving swords. ⁵ Persia, Ethiopia, and Put will be with you, all with battlecoverings and head-coverings. ⁶ There will be Gomer with all its army, and Beth-togarmah from the farthest parts of the north with all its army. Many nations will be with you.

⁷ “Get ready and keep ready, you and all the armies gathered around you, and watch over them. ⁸ After many days you will be called. In future years you will come into the land where people have been gathered from many nations and have lived without fear of war. You will come to the mountains of Israel, which had been a waste land for a long time. But its people were brought out from the nations, and all of them are living without fear. ⁹ You and all your army will come up against them like a storm. You will be like a cloud covering the land. Many nations will be with you.”

¹⁰ ‘The Lord God says, “On that day, thoughts will come into your mind, and you will make a sinful plan. ¹¹ You will say, ‘I will go up against the open country, where people are quiet and live in peace. They live in villages without walls and have no iron pieces or gates.’ ¹² You will go to rob the land and fight in the waste places where people now live. You will go up against the people who were gathered from the nations and are rich with cattle and good things and who live at the center of the land. ¹³ Sheba and Dedan and the traders of Tarshish and all its villages will say to you, ‘Have you come to take prizes of war? Have you gathered your army to carry away silver and gold, cattle, good things, and many prizes of war?’”’

¹⁴ “So, son of man, speak in My name and tell Gog, ‘The Lord God says, “On that day when My people Israel are living in peace and without fear, will you not know it? ¹⁵ You will come from your place in the far north, and many nations will be with you. All of them will be riding on horses, a large and powerful army. ¹⁶ You will come up against My people Israel like a cloud covering the land. In the last days, O Gog, I will bring you against My land, so that the nations may know Me when I show Myself holy through you in front of their eyes.” ¹⁷ ‘The Lord God says, “Are you the one I spoke of in the past, through My servants of Israel who spoke in My name? At that time they said for many years that I would bring you against them.

¹⁸ “On the day when Gog comes against the land of Israel, I will become very angry,” says the Lord God. ¹⁹ “In My jealousy and in My burning anger I have said that on that day the earth will shake in the land of Israel. ²⁰ The fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the wild animals of the field, all the animals that move upon the earth, and all the men on the earth will shake before Me. Mountains will be thrown down, the mountain sides will fall, and every wall will fall to the ground. ²¹ I will call for a sword against Gog on all My mountains,” says the Lord God. “His men will turn their swords against one another. ²² I will punish him with disease and with blood. I will send down a hard rain, hailstones, fire and sulphur upon him and his army and the many nations with him. ²³ I will show the many nations that I am great and holy. And they will know that I am the Lord.”

Gog’s Armies Are Destroyed

39 “Son of man, speak against Gog, and tell him, ‘The Lord God says, “I am against you, O Gog, leader of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal. ² I will turn you around and drive you on. I will bring you from the farthest parts of the north and lead you against the mountains of Israel. ³ I will knock your bow out of your left hand, and knock your arrows out of your right hand. ⁴ You will fall dead on the mountains of Israel, you and all your army and the nations who are with you. I will feed you to every kind of meat-eating bird and wild animal of the field. ⁵ You will fall dead in the open field, for I have spoken,” says the Lord God. ⁶ “I will send fire upon Magog and upon those who think they are safe in the islands. Then they will know that I am the Lord.

⁷ “I will make My holy name known among My people Israel. I will not let My holy name be made unclean any more. And the nations will know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel. ⁸ It is coming, and it will be done,” says the Lord God. “This is the day I have spoken of.

⁹ “Then those who live in the cities of Israel will go out and make fires to burn up the objects of war. They will burn battle-coverings, bows and arrows, heavy sticks, and spears. For seven years they will use them to make fires. ¹⁰ They will not take wood from the field or from among the trees to burn. For they will make fires with the objects of war. And they will rob those who robbed them,” says the Lord God.

Gog Is Buried

¹¹ “On that day I will give Gog a place in Israel for burying his dead. It will be the valley of those who travel east of the sea. And it will close that road to travelers, for Gog and all his people will be buried there. They will call it the Valley of Hamon-Gog. ¹² It will take the people of Israel seven months to bury the dead and make the land clean again. ¹³ All the people of the land will bury them, and they will be honored for this on the day that I show My greatness,” says the Lord God. ¹⁴ “At the end of seven months, they will choose men to pass through the land to look for bodies that may be left on the ground. And the bodies will be buried to make the land clean. ¹⁵ Those who pass through and see a man’s bone will set up something to mark the place, until it is buried in the Valley of Hamon-Gog. ¹⁶ (There will be a city called Hamonah there also.) And so they will make the land clean.”’”

¹⁷ “Son of man, the Lord God says, ‘Speak to every kind of bird and to every wild animal of the field. Say to them, “Gather together and come. Come together from every side to the special supper I have made for you. Much food has been killed for you on the mountains of Israel. You will eat flesh and drink blood. ¹⁸ You will eat the flesh of powerful men, and drink the blood of the leaders of the earth. It will be as if they were rams, lambs, goats, and bulls, all of them fat animals of Bashan. ¹⁹ You will eat fat until you are filled, and drink blood until you are drunk, at the special supper I have killed and made ready for you. ²⁰ You will be filled at My table with horses and horsemen, with powerful men and all the men of war,” says the Lord God.

The Land Is Given Back to Israel

²¹ “I will show My greatness among the nations. All the nations will see how I have punished Israel and My hand which I have laid on them. ²² Then the people of Israel will know that I am the Lord their God from that day on. ²³ The nations will know that the people of Israel were taken from their land because of their sin, because they were not faithful to Me. So I hid My face from them and gave them over to those who hated them, and they died in battle. ²⁴ I punished them because they were unclean and sinful, and I hid My face from them.”’”

²⁵ So the Lord God says, “Now I will return the people of Jacob to their land and show loving-kindness to all the people of Israel. And I will be jealous for My holy name. ²⁶ They will forget their shame and how unfaithful they were to Me, when they live in peace on their own land with no one to make them afraid. ²⁷ I will bring them back from the nations and gather them from the lands of those who hate them. In this way I will show the many nations that I am holy. ²⁸ Then they will know that I am the Lord their God, because I sent them away into the other nations and then gathered them again to their own land. And I will not leave any of them there any longer. ²⁹ I will not hide My face from them again, for I will pour out My Spirit on the people of Israel,” says the Lord God.

A New House of God

40 It was the twenty-fifth year since the people of Israel were taken away to a strange land, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth of the month, and fourteen years since Jerusalem was taken in battle. On that day the hand of the Lord was upon me and He brought me there. ² In a special way God brought me into the land of Israel and set me on a very high mountain. There were some buildings on its south side that looked like a city. ³ He took me there, and I saw a man who looked like he was made of brass. In his hand was a linen rope and a stick to find how long something is. He was standing at the gate. ⁴ And the man said to me, “Son of man, look with your eyes, hear with your ears, and think about all I am going to show you. For you have been brought here so that I may show it to you. Tell the people of Israel everything you see.”

The East Gate

⁵ I saw a wall all around the outside of the house of the Lord. The stick in the man’s hand was six cubits long (with the width of a hand being added to the length of each arm). And with it he showed that the wall was one stick wide and one stick high. ⁶ Then he went up the steps of the east gate, and showed me with his stick that the gateway was one stick wide, and the other gate was also one stick wide. ⁷ The rooms for the watchmen were each one stick long and one stick wide, and they were five cubits apart. And the gateway next to the porch toward the Lord’s house was one stick wide. ⁸ Then he showed me with his stick that the porch of the inside gate was one-tenth stick wide. ⁹ The porch of the gate was eight cubits and its side pillars two cubits wide. The porch of the gate was on the inside. ¹⁰ There were three rooms for the watchmen on each side of the east gate. They all had the same length and width. And the pillars on each side were the same in width. ¹¹ Then he showed me that the opening of the gateway was ten cubits wide and thirteen cubits long. ¹² There was a wall one-tenth cubit wide in front of the watchmen’s rooms on each side. And the watchmen’s rooms were six cubits wide and six cubits long. ¹³ Then he showed me that it was twenty-five cubits from the roof of one room to the roof of the room across from it. ¹⁴ He showed me that it was twenty cubits around the walls inside the gateway, up to the porch facing the open space. ¹⁵ It was fifteen cubits from the front of the outer gate to the front of the porch of the inner gate. ¹⁶ There were narrow windows looking toward the watchmen’s rooms and toward their side pillars, all around inside the gate and also in the porches. And pictures of palm trees were cut on each side pillar.

The Outside Open Space

¹⁷ Then he brought me into the outer open space, and I saw rooms and a stone floor all around it. Thirty rooms were around the stone floor. ¹⁸ The lower stone floor was beside the gates, and was as wide as the gates. ¹⁹ Then he showed me how far it was from the inside of the lower gate to the outside of the inner open space. Both east and north sides were 100 cubits each.

The North Gate

²⁰ He then showed me the length and width of the north gate of the outer open space. ²¹ It had three rooms on each side for the watchmen. Its side pillars and porches were as long and as wide as the first gate. It was as long as fifty cubits, and as wide as twenty-five cubits. ²² Its windows, its porches, and palm tree pictures were the same length and width as those of the east gate. Seven steps led up to it, and its porch was in front of them. ²³ Across from the north gate was another gate leading to the inner open space, just as there was for the east gate. He showed me that it was 100 cubits from gate to gate.

The South Gate

²⁴ Then he led me to the south, and I saw a gate toward the south. He showed me the length and width of its side pillars and its porches, and they were the same as the others. ²⁵ The gate and its porches had windows like the others all around and was as long as fifty cubits and as wide as twenty-five cubits. ²⁶ Seven steps led up to it, and its porches were in front of them. And it had pictures of palm trees on its side pillars, one on each side. ²⁷ The open space had a gate toward the south. He showed me that it was 100 cubits from gate to gate toward the south.

The Inside Open Space

²⁸ Then he brought me to the inner open space by the south gate, and showed me that this gate had the same width as the others. ²⁹ Its watchmen’s rooms, side pillars and porches were also the same as the others and had windows all around. It was as long as fifty cubits and as wide as twenty-five cubits. ³⁰ (There were porches all around, as long as twenty-five cubits and five cubits wide) ³¹ and its porches were toward the outer open space. Pictures of palm trees were on its side pillars, and leading up to it were eight steps.

³² Then he brought me to the inner open space toward the east. He showed me that it was as wide as the others. ³³ Its watchmen’s rooms, side pillars and porches were also the same as the others and, there were windows all around which were as long as fifty cubits and as wide as twenty-five cubits. ³⁴ Its gateway was toward the outer open space. Pictures of palm trees were on its side pillars, on each side. And going up to it were eight steps.

³⁵ Then he brought me to the north gate, and showed me that it was the same width as the others. ³⁶ Its watchmen’s rooms, side pillars and porches were also the same as the others. There were windows all around and it was as long as fifty cubits and as wide as twenty-five cubits. ³⁷ Its side pillars were toward the outer open space. Pictures of palm trees were on its side pillars, on each side. And going up to it were eight steps.

Where the Burnt Gifts Were Made Ready

³⁸ There was a room with its door by the side pillars, where the burnt gifts were washed. ³⁹ And there were two tables on each side of the porch. On these tables the animals were killed for the burnt gifts, the sin gifts, and the guilt gifts. ⁴⁰ On the outer side of the gateway, by the north gate, were two tables. And there were two tables on the other side of the gate. ⁴¹ So there were four tables on each side of the gateway, eight tables in all, where they killed the animals for the altar. ⁴² There were four tables for the burnt gifts. They were made of cut stone, and were one-and-a-half cubits long, one-and-a-half cubits wide, and one cubit high. The objects used for killing the animals for the burnt gifts were kept on these stone tables. ⁴³ Hooks as long as a man’s hand hung on the wall all around. The tables were for the meat of the burnt gifts.

⁴⁴ Then he brought me from the outside into the inner open space and there were two rooms for the singers. One was at the side of the north gate which faced the south, and the other was at the side of the south gate which faced the north. ⁴⁵ And he said to me, “This room which faces the south is for the religious leaders who take care of the Lord’s house. ⁴⁶ The room which faces the north is for the religious leaders who take care of the altar. These are the sons of Zadok, who are the only Levites who may come near the Lord to do His work.”

The Inside Open Space and the House of God

⁴⁷ He showed me that the inner open space was as long as 100 cubits and as wide as 100 cubits, the same on all four sides. And the altar was in front of the Lord’s house.

⁴⁸ Then he brought me to the porch of the Lord’s house. He showed me that each side pillar of the porch was five cubits wide. And each side of the gate was three cubits wide. ⁴⁹ The porch was as long as twenty cubits, and six steps wide. Ten steps led up to it, and there was one pillar on each side.

41 Then he brought me into the center room, and showed me the width of the side pillars. They were six cubits wide on each side. ² The doorway was ten cubits wide, and the side walls on each side of it were five cubits wide. The center room was as long as forty cubits and as wide as twenty cubits. ³ Then he went into a smaller room. Each side pillar of the doorway was two cubits wide, and the doorway was six cubits high and seven cubits wide. ⁴ The room was as long as twenty cubits and as wide as twenty cubits, at the far end of the center room. He said to me, “This is the most holy place.”

⁵ Then he showed me that the wall of the Lord’s house was six cubits in width. And the side rooms all around the house on every side were four cubits wide. ⁶ The side rooms were on three floors, one above the other, and thirty on each floor. The outside wall on each floor was not as wide as the one below it, so the side rooms could sit upon the wall without being nailed to it. ⁷ The side rooms at the top were larger than the ones at the bottom, all around the Lord’s house. The house became wider as it went higher. There were steps leading up from the first floor all the way to the third floor. ⁸ I saw that the house had a raised base all around it, which made the base for the side rooms six cubits high. ⁹ The width of the outside wall of the side rooms was five cubits. But the open space between the side rooms ¹⁰ and the center rooms was as wide as twenty cubits all around the house on every side. ¹¹ There were doorways to the side rooms from this open space, one on the north and another on the south. The width of this open space was five cubits wide all around.

¹² The building in front of the open space of the Lord’s house, on the west side, was as wide as seventy cubits. The width of the building wall was five cubits, and it was as long as ninety cubits.

¹³ Then he showed me that the Lord’s house was as long as 100 cubits. The open space and the other building and its walls were also as long as 100 cubits. ¹⁴ And the front of the Lord’s house and its grounds on the east side were as wide as 100 cubits.

¹⁵ He showed me the length of the building to the west, with its walkways on each side. It was as long as 100 cubits.

The center room, the most holy place, and the outer porch, ¹⁶ all had roofs of wood. And all three had windows with wooden cross-pieces all around. The inside walls of the house were covered with wood from the floor up to the windows, and from the windows to the roof. ¹⁷ There was wood covering the wall above the door, and all the way to the most holy place, and all the walls both inside and out. ¹⁸ Pictures of cherubim and palm trees were cut into the wood. A palm tree was between every two cherubim, and each cherub had two faces. ¹⁹ The face of a man looked toward the palm tree on one side, and the face of a young lion looked toward the palm tree on the other side. These pictures were cut into the wood all around the Lord’s house. ²⁰ There were cherubim and palm trees from the floor to above the door, and on the wall of the center room.

²¹ The pillars beside the door of the center room were the same width on all four sides, and they looked alike. ²² There was an altar of wood three cubits high and two cubits long. Its corners, base, and sides were made of wood. And he said to me, “This is the table that is before the Lord.” ²³ The center room and the most holy place each had two doors. ²⁴ And each of these doors had two parts that opened and closed. ²⁵ Pictures of cherubim and palm trees were made on the doors of the center room, like the pictures on the walls. And there was a roof of wood over the front of the porch outside. ²⁶ There were windows with wooden cross-pieces and palm trees cut on each side wall of the house porch. It was the same on the side rooms of the house and their roofs.

Rooms for the Religious Leaders

42 Then he brought me to the outside open space toward the north. He brought me to the rooms which were on the other side of the open space and the building to the north. ² The building whose door faced north was as long as 100 cubits and as wide as fifty cubits. ³ Over from the place in the inner open space which was as wide as twenty cubits, and over from the stone floor in the outer open space, was a walkway on the three floors, one above the other. ⁴ In front of the rooms was an inside walkway as wide as ten cubits and as long as 100 cubits. Their doors were on the north. ⁵ The upper rooms were smaller because the walkways took more away from them than from the rooms on the first and second floors of the building. ⁶ For the rooms on all three floors had no pillars like the other buildings on the grounds. So the upper rooms were smaller than the ones on the first and second floors. ⁷ There was an outside wall built beside the rooms toward the outer open space. It was in front of the rooms for fifty cubits. ⁸ The rooms next to the outer open space were as long as fifty cubits, and those over from the Lord’s house were as long as 100 cubits. ⁹ Below these rooms was a door on the east side, as one goes into them from the outer open space.

¹⁰ There were rooms in the width of the wall of the open space toward the east, over from the other open space and the other building. ¹¹ These rooms had a walkway in front of them, and they were like the rooms on the north. They had the same length and width. The ways out of them were the same, and the doors were made the same way. ¹² And like the doors of the rooms on the south side, there was a door at the beginning of the walkway in front of the wall toward the east, as one goes into them.

¹³ Then he said to me, “The north rooms and the south rooms, over from the other open space, are the holy rooms where the religious leaders who go near the Lord eat the most holy things. There they will lay the most holy things, the grain gift, the sin gift, and the guilt gift. For the place is holy. ¹⁴ When the religious leaders go in, they are not to go out into the outer open space from the holy place without leaving behind the clothes they wear while they do the Lord’s work, for these are holy. They must put on other clothes before they go near the places that are for the people.”

¹⁵ When he had finished showing me the lengths and widths of the inner house, he brought me out through the east gate. And he showed me the lengths of all the open space around the house. ¹⁶ He showed me with his stick that the east side was as long as 500 sticks. ¹⁷ The north side was as long as 500 sticks. ¹⁸ The south side was as long as 500 sticks. ¹⁹ And the west side was as long as 500 sticks. ²⁰ He showed me the length of the four sides. It had a wall all around it, as long as 500 sticks and as wide as 500 sticks. This wall divided what was holy from what was not.

The Lord Returns to the House of God

43 Then he brought me to the east gate, ² and I saw the shining-greatness of the God of Israel coming from the east. His voice was like the sound of many waters, and the earth was shining because of His greatness. ³ It was like the special dream that I saw when He came to destroy the city. It was like the special dream that I saw by the Chebar River. I fell with my face to the ground. ⁴ As the shining-greatness of the Lord came into the house through the east gate, ⁵ the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner open space. And the shining-greatness of the Lord filled the house.

⁶ While the man was standing beside me, I heard Someone speaking to me from inside the house. ⁷ And He said to me, “Son of man, this is the place for My throne and for the bottom of My feet, where I will live among the people of Israel forever. No longer will the people of Israel or their kings make My holy name unclean, by worshiping other gods or by the dead bodies of their kings. ⁸ They put their doorways by My doorways, and their door pillars beside My door pillars, with only a wall between Me and them. In doing so, they have made My holy name unclean by the hated sins they have done. So I have destroyed them in My anger. ⁹ Now let them put their worship of other gods and the dead bodies of their kings far from Me. And I will live among them forever.

¹⁰ “Son of man, tell the people of Israel about the house of the Lord, that they may be ashamed of their sins. Let them look over the plan. ¹¹ And if they are ashamed of all that they have done, let them know how the house is built, the house with its doors and gateways, and its whole plan. Let them know all its laws. Write it down in front of them, so that they will see its whole plan and obey all its laws. ¹² This is the law of the house: All the ground around it on top of the mountain will be most holy. This is the law of the house.

The Altar

¹³ “This is the length, width, and height of the altar by cubits (with the length of the hand being added to the length of each arm). The base will be one cubit long and one cubit wide, with a side piece going around it as wide as a man’s spread hand. This will be the height of the altar: ¹⁴ The base will be two cubits long from the base on the ground to its top, and one cubit wide. And it will be four cubits from the smaller part up to its larger top part, and one cubit wide. ¹⁵ The altar fireplace will be four cubits high, and four horns will go up from the top four corners of the altar one cubit high. ¹⁶ This top part of the altar will be twelve cubits long and twelve cubits wide, the same on each of the four sides. ¹⁷ The side of it will be fourteen cubits long and fourteen cubits wide, the same on each of the four sides. And a side piece half a cubit will be around that. Its base will be a cubit wide all around, and its steps will be on the east side.”

¹⁸ And He said to me, “Son of man, the Lord God says, ‘These are the laws for giving burnt gifts and for putting blood on the altar on the day it is built: ¹⁹ You must give a young bull for a sin gift to the Levite religious leaders of the sons of Zadok. They are the ones who come near Me to do My work,’ says the Lord God. ²⁰ ‘You must take some of the bull’s blood and put it on the four horns of the altar, and on the four corners of the top of the altar, and on the side piece that goes around it. In this way you will make it clean and free from sin. ²¹ You must also take the bull for the sin gift, and burn it in the chosen place of the house, outside the holy place. ²² On the second day you must give a male goat that is perfect for a sin gift. And the altar will be made clean, as it was made clean with the bull. ²³ When you have finished making it clean, you must give a young bull that is perfect, and a ram from the flock that is perfect. ²⁴ You must bring them before the Lord. The religious leaders will throw salt on them, and burn them on the altar as a gift to the Lord. ²⁵ You must make ready a goat for a sin gift each day for seven days. Also make ready a young bull and a ram from the flock. They must be perfect. ²⁶ For seven days they must make the altar free from sin and make it pure, so it will be set apart to Me. ²⁷ At the end of these days, from the eighth day on, the religious leaders will give your burnt gifts and peace gifts on the altar. And I will receive you,’ says the Lord God.”

The Use of the East Gate

44 Then he brought me back to the outer gate of the holy place, toward the east, and it was shut. ² The Lord said to me, “This gate must stay shut. It must not be opened. No one may come in through it, for the Lord God of Israel has come in through it. So it must stay shut. ³ Only the ruler may sit at the gate to eat bread before the Lord. He must come in through the porch of the gate, and go out the same way.”

Those Who Could Go In to the House of God

⁴ Then he brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the house. There I saw the shining-greatness of the Lord filling the Lord’s house, and I fell with my face to the ground. ⁵ The Lord said to me, “Son of man, be careful to see with your eyes and to hear with your ears everything that I say to you about all the rules and laws of the Lord’s house. Be careful to learn which persons are allowed to go in and out of the Lord’s house, and which persons are not allowed. ⁶ Tell the sinful people of Israel, ‘The Lord God says, “Enough of your hated sins, O people of Israel! ⁷ You have brought in strangers, who had not gone through the religious act of becoming a Jew, and who were sinful in their heart. You brought them into My holy place to make it unclean, when you brought My food of the fat and the blood. You have broken My agreement by all your hated sins. ⁸ And you have not taken care of My holy things yourselves. You have let strangers take care of My holy place.” ⁹ ‘So the Lord God says, “No stranger among the people of Israel who has not gone through the religious act of becoming a Jew, and is sinful in his heart, may come into My holy place.

Levites Cannot Be Religious Leaders

¹⁰ “The Levites who went far from Me when Israel left Me to follow their false gods, will be punished for their sin. ¹¹ They may do the work in My holy place. They may watch over the gates of the house and do the work in the house. They may kill the burnt gifts and the gifts brought by the people. And they may stand in front of the people to serve them. ¹² But because they served them in front of their false gods and caused the people of Israel to sin, I have promised,” says the Lord God, “that they will be punished for their sin. ¹³ They must not come near Me to serve Me as a religious leader. They must not come near any of My holy things and the things that are most holy. But they must suffer their shame because of the hated sins they have done. ¹⁴ Yet I will have them take care of the house and do all the work that is needed to be done in it.

Zadok’s Sons to Serve in the House of God

¹⁵ “But the Levite religious leaders of the sons of Zadok took care of My holy place when the people of Israel left Me. So they will come near Me to serve Me. They will stand before Me to give Me the fat and the blood,” says the Lord God. ¹⁶ “They will come into My holy place and come near My table, to serve Me and to do My work. ¹⁷ When they come through the gates of the inner open space, they will be dressed in linen clothing. They must not wear any wool while they are serving inside the gates of the inner open space or in the house. ¹⁸ They will wear linen head-coverings and linen underclothes. They must not dress in anything that makes their bodies wet with heat. ¹⁹ When they go out to the people in the outer open space, they must take off the clothes they wear while they serve Me, and lay them in the holy rooms. Then they will put on other clothes, so that they do not make the people holy because of their clothing. ²⁰ And they must not cut all the hair from their heads, yet they must not let their hair grow long. They must only cut their hair shorter. ²¹ None of the religious leaders may drink wine when they come into the inner open space. ²² They must not marry a woman whose husband has died, or who has been divorced. But they may marry women of Israel who have never had a man, or a woman whose husband was a religious leader before he died. ²³ They will teach My people the difference between what is holy and what is not. And they will teach them to know what is unclean and what is clean. ²⁴ In an argument, the religious leaders will serve as judges, and will judge by My Laws. They will also keep My Laws in all My special suppers. And they will keep My Day of Rest holy. ²⁵ They must not make themselves unclean by going near a dead person. But they may make themselves unclean if the dead person is their father or mother, son or daughter, brother, or sister who was not married. ²⁶ After a religious leader has become clean again, he must wait seven days. ²⁷ And on the day he goes into the holy place, into the inner open space to serve in the holy place, he must bring his sin gift,” says the Lord God.

²⁸ “I am to be the only part that the religious leaders have. You must not give them any land in Israel for their own. I am their part. ²⁹ They will eat the grain gift, the sin gift, and the guilt gift. Everything in Israel that is set apart to Me will be theirs. ³⁰ The first of all the first fruits of every kind, and every kind of gift you bring, will be for the religious leaders. And you must give them the first of your grain, so that good will come to your house. ³¹ The religious leaders must not eat any bird or animal that has died of itself or has been torn to pieces.

The Land Is Divided

45 “When the land is divided and each family receives its part, you must give a part to the Lord. This will be a holy piece of land, as long as 12,500 long steps and as wide as 5,000 long steps. This whole piece of land will be holy. ² Of this, there will be a piece of land for the holy place, as long as 250 long steps and as wide as 250 long steps. It will have four sides of the same length. And there will be an open space around it as wide as fifty cubits. ³ In the holy piece of land, number a length of 12,500 long steps and a width of 5,000 long steps. And in it will be the most holy place. ⁴ It will be the holy part of the land. It will be for the religious leaders, those who do the work in the holy place, who come near to serve the Lord. It will also be a place for their houses, and a holy place for the Lord’s House. ⁵ Another piece of land as long as 12,500 long steps and as wide as 5,000 long steps will be for the Levites who serve in the house. It will be land to build their houses on. ⁶ Next to the holy piece of land, another piece as wide as 2,500 long steps and as long as 12,500 long steps will be set aside for a city belonging to all the people of Israel. ⁷ The ruler will have land on both sides of the holy piece of land and the place for the city. His land will be next to these two pieces of land, on the west side and on the east side. It will be as long as one of the shares of land, from the west side of the whole land to the east side. ⁸ This land in Israel will belong to him. So My rulers will no longer make it hard for My people. They will give the rest of the land to the people of Israel by their family groups.”

⁹ ‘The Lord God says, “Enough, you rulers of Israel! Stop ruling in bad ways with your power and do what is right and good. Stop driving My people off their land,” says the Lord God. ¹⁰ “Be honest in your weights. ¹¹ One barrel of grain must be the same amount as one barrel of water. And one-tenth part of a barrel of grain must be the same amount as one-tenth part of a barrel of water. ¹² The silver piece of money must be worth the same as twenty small silver pieces. And sixty silver pieces of money must be worth the same as the heavy silver weight.

¹³ “This is the gift that you must bring: One-sixtieth part of a barrel of wheat, one-sixtieth part of a barrel of barley, ¹⁴ and one-hundredth part of a barrel of oil. ¹⁵ Also bring one lamb from each flock of 200 sheep from the well-watered fields of Israel. Bring them for a grain gift, a burnt gift, and a peace gift, to pay for the people’s sins,” says the Lord God. ¹⁶ “All the people of the land must take these gifts to the ruler in Israel. ¹⁷ It will be the ruler’s duty to bring the burnt gifts, the grain gifts, and the drink gifts, to the special suppers on the new moons and on the Days of Rest, and to all the special suppers of the people of Israel. He must bring the sin gift, the grain gift, the burnt gift, and the peace gifts, to pay for the sins of the people of Israel.”

The Special Suppers

¹⁸ ‘The Lord God says, “On the first day of the first month, you must take a young bull that is perfect and make the holy place clean. ¹⁹ The religious leader will take some of the blood from the sin gift and put it on the door pillars of the house, on the four corners of the altar, and on the pillars of the gate of the inner open space. ²⁰ You must do the same on the seventh day of the month for every one who sins by mistake or because he does not know any better. In this way you will keep the Lord’s house holy.

²¹ “On the fourteenth day of the first month, you will have the Passover, a special supper that lasts for seven days. Every one will eat bread made without yeast. ²² On that day the ruler is to bring a bull as a sin gift for himself and all the people of the land. ²³ During the seven days of the special supper he will bring as a burnt gift to the Lord seven bulls and seven rams that are perfect, on each of the seven days. And he will bring a male goat each day for a sin gift. ²⁴ For a grain gift he will bring a tenth part of a barrel of grain for each bull, a tenth part of a barrel for each ram. And he will bring a large jar of oil for each tenth part of a barrel of grain. ²⁵ On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, and for the seven days of the special supper, he is to bring the same amount for the sin gift, the burnt gift, the grain gift, and the oil.”

The Way of Worship

46 ‘The Lord God says, “The east gate of the inner open space must stay shut during the six working days. But it may be opened on the Day of Rest and on the day of the new moon. ² The ruler will come in through the porch of the gate from outside and stand by the pillar of the gate. The religious leaders will make ready his burnt gift and his peace gifts, and he will worship at the gate and then go out. But the gate will not be shut until evening. ³ The people of the land will also worship at the gate before the Lord on the Days of Rest and on the new moons. ⁴ The burnt gift the ruler gives to the Lord on the Day of Rest will be six lambs that are perfect and a ram that is perfect. ⁵ The grain gift will be one-tenth part of a barrel of grain with the ram, and as much grain as he is able to give with the lambs. And he will give a large jar of oil with each tenth part of a barrel of grain. ⁶ On the day of the new moon he will give a young bull that is perfect, and six lambs and a ram that are perfect. ⁷ He will give a grain gift, one-tenth part of a barrel of grain with the bull, one-tenth part of a barrel of grain with the ram, and as much grain as he is able to give with the lambs. And he will give a large jar of oil with each tenth part of a barrel of grain. ⁸ When the ruler comes in, he must come in through this gateway, and go out the same way. ⁹ But when the people of the land come before the Lord at the special suppers, he who comes in through the north gate to worship must go out through the south gate. And he who comes in through the south gate must go out through the north gate. No one should leave through the same gate that he came in. Each person must go out the gate on the other side from where he came in. ¹⁰ The ruler should come in when the people come in, and leave when they leave. ¹¹ At the special times and special suppers, the grain gift will be one-tenth part of a barrel of grain with a bull, and one-tenth part of a barrel with a ram. A person should give as much grain as he is able to give with the lambs. And he will give a large jar of oil with each tenth part of a barrel of grain. ¹² When the ruler brings a free-will gift to the Lord, a burnt gift or a peace gift, the east gate must be opened for him. He will bring his burnt gift and his peace gifts as he does on the Day of Rest. Then he will leave, and the gate will be shut after he goes out.

¹³ “You must bring a one-year-old lamb that is perfect for a burnt gift to the Lord each day. Morning by morning you must bring it. ¹⁴ And you must bring a grain gift with it each morning. Bring one-sixtieth part of a barrel of grain, and one-third part of a large jar of oil to mix with the flour. This is the law for the grain gift to the Lord forever. ¹⁵ In this way the lamb, the grain gift and the oil will be brought each morning for a burnt gift forever.”

¹⁶ ‘The Lord God says, “If the ruler gives some of his land to any of his sons, it will belong to his sons. They will own the land for their families. ¹⁷ But if he gives some of his land to one of his servants, it will be his until the year he is set free. Then it will be returned to the ruler. His land may be kept only by his sons. It will belong to them. ¹⁸ The ruler must not take any land from the people, driving them away from what belongs to them. He must give only his own land to his sons, so that My people will not be divided from what belongs to them.”’”

¹⁹ Then he brought me through the door beside the gate into the holy rooms for the religious leaders, toward the north. And I saw a place at the far west end. ²⁰ He said to me, “This is the place where the religious leaders will boil the guilt gift and the sin gift, and make the grain gift ready. This is so they will not bring them into the outer open space and make the people holy.” ²¹ Then he brought me into the outer open space and led me to its four corners. And in every corner I saw a small open space. ²² In the four corners there were open spaces with walls around them, as long as twenty long steps and as wide as fifteen long steps. All four spaces in the corners were the same in length and width. ²³ There was a fireplace of stone all around in each of them. ²⁴ Then he said to me, “These are the places where those who serve in the house will boil the gifts brought by the people.”

The River Coming from the House of God

47 Then he brought me back to the door of the house. And I saw water flowing from under the doorway toward the east, for the house looked toward the east. The water was flowing from under the right side of the house, from south of the altar. ² He brought me out through the north gate and led me around on the outside to the east gate. And I saw water coming from the south side.

³ Going toward the east, the man numbered 500 long steps, and he led me through the water, which covered my feet. ⁴ He numbered another 500 long steps and led me through the water, which came up to my knees. He numbered another 500 long steps and led me through the water. This time it came above my legs. ⁵ Again he numbered 500 long steps, and it was a river that I could not walk through. The water had risen. It was deep enough to swim in, and no one could cross it. ⁶ He said to me, “Son of man, do you see this?”

Then he brought me back to the side of the river. ⁷ As I returned, I saw that there were very many trees on both sides of the river. ⁸ He said to me, “These waters go out toward the east country and down into the Arabah, then flow into the Dead sea. When they flow into the sea, the waters there become clean again. ⁹ Every living thing that gathers where the river goes will live. There will be very many fish, because these waters go there and make the salt water clean. So everything will live where the river goes. ¹⁰ Fishermen will stand beside it. They will have places to spread their nets from Engedi to Eneglaim. The fish will be of many kinds, like the fish of the Great Sea. ¹¹ But its wet places and pools will not be good for animal life. They will be left for salt. ¹² All kinds of fruit trees will grow on both sides of the river. Their leaves will not dry up, and they will never stop giving fruit. They will give fruit every month because their water flows from the holy place. Their fruit will be for food and their leaves for healing.”