Ezekiel 30-40

New American Standard Bible

Grief over Egypt

30 The word of the Lord came again to me, saying, ² “Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘This is what the Lord ^[a]God says:

^5 [d]Cush, Put, Lud, all ^[e](E)Arabia, ^[f]Libya and the ^[g]people of the land ^[h]that is in league will fall with them by the sword.”

⁹ On that day ^(J)messengers will go out from Me in ships to frighten ^(K)carefree ^[i]Cush; and ^(L)trembling will come on them as on the day of Egypt; for behold, it is coming!”

¹⁰ ‘This is what the Lord God says:

¹³ ‘This is what the Lord God says:

Victory for Babylon

²⁰ In the ^(AA)eleventh year, in the first month, on the seventh of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ²¹ “Son of man, I have ^(AB)broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and, behold, it has not been ^(AC)bound up ^[x]for healing ^[y]or wrapped with a bandage, so that it may be strong to wield the sword. ²² Therefore this is what the Lord God says: ‘Behold, I am ^(AD)against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and I will break his arms, both the strong and the ^(AE)broken; and I will make the sword ^(AF)fall from his hand. ²³ And I will ^(AG)scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among the lands. ²⁴ For I will ^(AH)strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put ^(AI)My sword in his hand; and I will break the arms of Pharaoh, so that he will groan before him with the groans of a wounded man. ²⁵ So I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh will fail. Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I put My sword into the hand of the king of Babylon and he ^(AJ)reaches out with it against the land of Egypt. ²⁶ When I scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among the lands, then they will know that I am the Lord.’”

Pharaoh Warned of Assyria’s Fate

31 In the ^(AK)eleventh year, in the third month, on the first of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his ^(AL)hordes,

¹⁰ ‘Therefore this is what the Lord ^[aj]God says: “Because ^[ak]it is tall in stature and has put its top among the ^[al]clouds, and its ^(AX)heart is haughty in its loftiness, ¹¹ I will hand it over to a ^[am](AY)ruler of the nations; he will thoroughly deal with it. In accordance with its wickedness I have ^(AZ)driven it out. ^12 (BA)Foreign ^(BB)tyrants of the nations have cut it down and left it; on the ^(BC)mountains and in all the valleys its branches have fallen, and its branches have been broken in all the ravines of the land. And all the peoples of the earth have ^(BD)gone down from its shade and left it. ¹³ All the ^(BE)birds of the sky will nest on its fallen trunk, and all the animals of the field will ^[an]rest on its fallen branches, ¹⁴ so that all the trees by the waters will not be exalted in their stature, nor put their tops among the ^[ao]clouds, nor will any of their ^[ap]well-watered mighty ones stand straight in their height. For they have all been turned over to death, to the ^(BF)earth beneath, among ^[aq]mankind, ^[ar]with those who go down to the pit.”

¹⁵ ‘This is what the Lord God says: “On the day when it went down to Sheol I ^(BG)caused mourning; I closed the ^[as]deep over it and held back its rivers. And its many waters were stopped up, and I made Lebanon mourn for it, and all the trees of the field wilted away on account of it. ¹⁶ I made the nations ^(BH)quake from the sound of its fall when I made it ^(BI)go down to Sheol with those who go down to the pit; and all the ^[at]well-watered trees of Eden, the choicest and best of ^(BJ)Lebanon, were ^(BK)comforted in the earth beneath. ¹⁷ They also ^(BL)went down with it to Sheol to those who were ^(BM)slain by the sword; and those who were its ^[au]strength lived ^(BN)in its shade among the nations.

¹⁸ “To which among the trees of Eden are you so alike in glory and greatness? Yet you will be brought down with the trees of Eden to the earth beneath; you will lie in the midst of the ^(BO)uncircumcised with those who were killed by the sword. ^(BP)This is Pharaoh and all his hordes!”’ declares the Lord God.”

Grief over Pharaoh and Egypt

32 In the ^(BQ)twelfth year, in the twelfth month, on the first of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, take up a ^(BR)song of mourning over Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say to him,

³ This is what the Lord ^[ax]God says:

⁹ “I will also ^(CE)trouble the hearts of many peoples when I ^(CF)bring your destruction among the nations, into lands which you have not known. ¹⁰ And I will make many peoples ^(CG)appalled at you, and their kings will be horribly afraid of you when I brandish My sword before them; and ^(CH)they will tremble again and again, every person for his own life, on the day of your fall.”

¹¹ For ^(CI)the Lord God says ^(CJ)this: “The sword of the king of Babylon will ^[bb]attack you. ¹² By the swords of the warriors I will make your multitude fall; all of them are ^(CK)tyrants of the nations,

¹⁶ This is a ^(CP)song of mourning, and they shall sing it. The daughters of the nations shall sing it. Over Egypt and over all her hordes they shall sing it,” declares the Lord God.

¹⁷ In the ^(CQ)twelfth year, on the ^(CR)fifteenth of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹⁸ “Son of man, ^(CS)lament for the hordes of Egypt and ^(CT)bring it down, her and the daughters of the mighty nations, to the ^(CU)netherworld, with those who go down to the pit;

²⁰ They shall fall in the midst of those who are killed by the sword. ^[bc]She is turned over to the sword; they have ^(CW)dragged her and all her hordes away. ²¹ The ^(CX)strong among the mighty ones shall speak of him and his helpers from the midst of Sheol: ‘They have gone down, they lie still, the uncircumcised, killed by the sword.’

²² “^(CY)Assyria is there and all her company; ^[bd]her graves are all around ^[be]her. All of them killed, fallen by the sword, ²³ whose ^(CZ)graves are set in the remotest parts of the pit, and her company is all around her grave. All of them killed, fallen by the sword, who ^[bf]spread terror in the land of the living.

²⁴ “^(DA)Elam is there and all her hordes around her grave; all of them killed, fallen by the sword, who went down uncircumcised to the ^(DB)lower parts of the earth, who inflicted their terror on the ^(DC)land of the living, and ^(DD)bore their disgrace with those who go down to the pit. ²⁵ They have made a ^(DE)bed for her among the slain with all her hordes. Her graves are around it, they are all uncircumcised, killed by the sword (although their terror was ^[bg]inflicted on the land of the living), and they bore their disgrace with those who go down to the pit; ^[bh]they were put in the midst of the slain.

²⁶ “^(DF)Meshech, ^(DG)Tubal, and all their hordes are there; their graves ^[bi]surround them. All of them were killed by the sword ^(DH)uncircumcised, though they inflicted their terror on the land of the living. ^27 (DI)Nor do they lie beside the fallen ^[bj](DJ)heroes of the uncircumcised, who went down to Sheol with their weapons of war and whose swords were placed under their heads; but the punishment for their ^(DK)wrongdoing rested on their bones, though the terror of these ^[bk]heroes was once in the land of the living. ²⁸ But in the midst of the uncircumcised you will be broken and lie with those killed by the sword.

²⁹ “There also is ^(DL)Edom, its kings and all its ^[bl]princes, who ^[bm]despite all their might are laid with those killed by the sword; they will lie with the uncircumcised and with those who go down to the pit.

³⁰ “There also are the ^[bn]chiefs of the ^(DM)north, all of them, and all the ^(DN)Sidonians, who in spite of the terror resulting from their might, in shame went down with the slain. So they lay down uncircumcised with those killed by the sword and bore their disgrace with those who go down to the pit.

³¹ “These Pharaoh will see, and he will ^(DO)find consolation regarding all his hordes killed by the sword, Pharaoh and all his army,” declares the Lord God. ³² “Though I inflicted the terror of him on the land of the living, yet he will be laid to rest among the uncircumcised along with those killed by the sword, Pharaoh and all his hordes,” declares the Lord God.

The Watchman’s Duty

33 Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, speak to the ^(DP)sons of your people and say to them, ‘If I bring a sword upon a land, and the people of the land take one man from among them and make him their watchman, ³ and he sees the sword coming upon the land and ^(DQ)blows the ^[bo]horn and warns the people, ⁴ then ^[bp]someone who hears the sound of the horn but ^(DR)does not take warning, and a sword comes and takes him away, his ^(DS)blood will be on his own head. ⁵ He heard the sound of the horn but did not take warning; his blood will be on himself. But had he taken warning, he would have ^(DT)saved his life. ⁶ But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the horn and the people are not warned, and a sword comes and takes a person from them, he is ^(DU)taken away for his wrongdoing; but I will ^[bq]require his ^(DV)blood from the watchman’s hand.’

⁷ “Now as for you, son of man, I have ^[br](DW)appointed you as a watchman for the house of Israel; so you will hear a ^[bs]message from My mouth and give them a ^(DX)warning from Me. ⁸ When I say to the wicked, ‘You wicked person, you will ^(DY)certainly die,’ and you do not speak to warn the wicked about his way, that wicked person shall die for his wrongdoing, but I will ^[bt]require his blood from your hand. ⁹ But if you on your part warn a wicked person to turn from his way and he ^(DZ)does not turn from his way, he will die for his wrongdoing, but you have ^(EA)saved your life.

¹⁰ “Now as for you, son of man, say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what you have ^[bu]said: “Surely our offenses and our sins are upon us, and we are ^(EB)rotting away in them; ^(EC)how then can we ^[bv]survive?”’ ¹¹ Say to them, ‘^(ED)As I live!’ declares the Lord ^[bw]God, ‘I take ^(EE)no pleasure at all in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked ^(EF)turn from his way and live. ^(EG)Turn back, turn back from your evil ways! Why then should you die, house of Israel?’ ¹² And you, son of man, say to ^[bx]your fellow citizens, ‘The ^(EH)righteousness of a righteous one will not save him on the day of his offense, and as for the wickedness of a wicked one, he will ^(EI)not stumble because of it on the day when he turns from his wickedness; whereas a righteous one will not be able to live ^[by]by his righteousness on the day when he commits sin.’ ¹³ When I say to the righteous that he will certainly live, and he so trusts in his righteousness that he ^(EJ)commits injustice, none of his righteous deeds will be remembered; but for that same injustice of his which he has committed he will die. ¹⁴ But when I say to the wicked, ‘You will certainly die,’ and he ^(EK)turns from his sin and practices ^(EL)justice and righteousness, ¹⁵ if a wicked person returns a pledge, ^(EM)pays back what he has taken by robbery, walks by the ^(EN)statutes ^[bz]which ensure life without committing injustice, he shall certainly live; he shall not die. ^16 (EO)None of his sins that he has committed will be remembered against him. He has practiced justice and righteousness; he shall certainly live.

¹⁷ “Yet ^[ca]your fellow citizens say, ‘The way of the Lord is not right,’ when it is their own way that is not right. ¹⁸ When the righteous turns from his righteousness and ^(EP)commits injustice, then he shall die in ^[cb]it. ¹⁹ But when the wicked turns from his wickedness and practices justice and righteousness, he will live by them. ²⁰ Yet you say, ‘^(EQ)The way of the Lord is not right.’ I will judge each of you according to his ways, house of Israel.”

Word of Jerusalem’s Capture

²¹ Now ^(ER)in the ^(ES)twelfth year of our exile, on the fifth of the tenth month, the survivor from Jerusalem came to me, saying, “^(ET)The city has been ^[cc]taken.” ²² Now the ^(EU)hand of the Lord had been upon me in the evening, before the survivors came. And He ^(EV)opened my mouth ^[cd]at the time they came to me in the morning; so my mouth was ^(EW)opened and I was no longer ^[ce]speechless.

²³ Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ²⁴ “Son of man, they who ^(EX)live in these ruins in the land of Israel are saying, ‘^(EY)Abraham was only one, yet he possessed the land; so to ^(EZ)us who are many the land has been given as a possession.’ ²⁵ Therefore say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “You eat meat with the ^(FA)blood in it, raise your eyes to your idols as you shed blood. ^(FB)Should you then possess the land? ²⁶ You ^[cf](FC)rely on your sword, you commit abominations, and each of you defiles his neighbor’s wife. Should you then possess the land?”’ ²⁷ You shall say this to them: ‘This is what the Lord God says: “As I live, those who are in the places of ruins certainly will ^(FD)fall by the sword, and whoever is in the ^[cg]open field I will give to the animals to be devoured, and those who are in the strongholds and in the ^(FE)caves will die of plague. ²⁸ And I will ^(FF)make the land a desolation and a waste, and the ^(FG)pride of her power will be brought to an end; and the mountains of Israel will be deserted so that no one will pass through. ²⁹ Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I make the land a desolation and a waste because of all their abominations which they have committed.”’

³⁰ “But as for you, son of man, ^[ch]your fellow citizens who talk with one another about you by the walls and in the doorways of the houses, speak one with another, each with his brother, saying, ‘^(FH)Come now and hear what the ^[ci]message is that comes from the Lord.’ ³¹ And they come to you as people come, and sit before you as My people and hear your words, but they do not do them; for they do the lustful desires expressed by their ^(FI)mouth, and their heart follows their unlawful ^(FJ)gain. ³² And behold, you are to them like a love song by one who has a ^(FK)beautiful voice and plays well on an instrument; for they hear your words but they do not practice them. ³³ So when it ^(FL)comes—^[cj]as it certainly will—then they will know that a prophet has been among them.”

Prophecy against the Shepherds of Israel

34 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, prophesy against the ^(FM)shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to ^[ck]those shepherds, ‘This is what the Lord ^[cl]God says: “Woe, shepherds of Israel who have been ^[cm](FN)feeding themselves! Should the shepherds not ^[cn](FO)feed the flock? ³ You ^(FP)eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool, you ^(FQ)slaughter the fat sheep ^[co]without feeding the flock. ⁴ Those who are sickly you have not strengthened, the diseased you have not healed, ^(FR)the broken you have not bound up, the scattered you have not brought back, nor have you ^(FS)searched for the lost; but with force and with violence you have ^[cp]dominated them. ⁵ They ^(FT)scattered for lack of a shepherd, and they became ^(FU)food for every animal of the field and scattered. ⁶ My flock ^(FV)strayed through all the mountains and on every high hill; ^(FW)My flock was scattered over all the surface of the earth, and there was ^(FX)no one to search or seek for them.”’”

⁷ Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: ⁸ “As I live,” declares the Lord God, “certainly, because My flock has become ^(FY)plunder, and My flock has become food for all the animals of the field for lack of a shepherd, and My shepherds did not search for My flock, but rather the shepherds fed themselves and did not feed My flock, ⁹ therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: ¹⁰ ‘This is what the Lord God says: “Behold, I am ^(FZ)against the shepherds, and I will demand My ^[cq]sheep ^[cr]from them and make them ^(GA)stop tending sheep. So the shepherds will not ^[cs]feed themselves anymore, but I will ^(GB)save My sheep from their mouth, so that they will not be food for them.”’”

The Restoration of Israel

¹¹ For the Lord God says this: “Behold, I Myself will ^(GC)search for My sheep and look after them. ^12 (GD)As a shepherd cares for his flock on a day when he is among his scattered ^[ct]sheep, so I will ^(GE)care for My ^[cu]sheep and will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a ^(GF)cloudy and gloomy day. ¹³ I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries and bring them to their own land; and I will ^(GG)feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ^(GH)streams, and in all the inhabited places of the land. ¹⁴ I will feed them in a ^(GI)good pasture, and their grazing place will be on the mountain heights of Israel. There they will lie down in a good grazing place and feed in ^[cv](GJ)rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. ¹⁵ I Myself will ^(GK)feed My flock and I Myself will ^[cw]lead them to rest,” declares the Lord God. ¹⁶ “I will seek the lost, bring back the scattered, bind up the broken, and strengthen the sick; but the ^(GL)fat and the strong I will eliminate. I will ^(GM)feed them with judgment.

¹⁷ “As for you, My flock, this is what the Lord God says: ‘Behold, I am going to ^(GN)judge between one ^[cx]sheep and another, between the rams and the male goats. ¹⁸ Is it too ^(GO)little a thing for you to feed in the good pasture, that you must trample with your feet the rest of your pastures? Or too little for you to drink the clear waters, that you must muddy the rest with your feet? ¹⁹ But as for My flock, they must eat what you trample with your feet, and drink what you muddy with your feet!’”

²⁰ Therefore, this is what the Lord God says to them: “Behold, I, I Myself will also judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. ²¹ Since you push away with your side and shoulder, and ^(GP)gore all the ^[cy]weak with your horns until you have scattered them ^[cz]abroad, ²² therefore, I will ^(GQ)save My flock, and they will no longer be plunder; and I will judge between one sheep and another.

²³ “Then I will ^(GR)appoint over them one ^(GS)shepherd, My servant ^(GT)David, and he will feed them; he will feed them himself and be their shepherd. ²⁴ And I, the Lord, will be their God, and My servant ^(GU)David will be prince among them; I the Lord have spoken.

²⁵ “And I will make a ^(GV)covenant of peace with them and ^(GW)eliminate harmful animals from the land, so that they may ^(GX)live securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. ²⁶ I will make them and the places around My hill a ^(GY)blessing. And I will make ^(GZ)showers fall in their season; they will be showers of ^(HA)blessing. ²⁷ Also the tree of the field will yield its fruit and the earth will yield its produce, and they will be ^(HB)secure on their land. Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I have ^(HC)broken the bars of their yoke and have saved them from the hand of those who enslaved them. ²⁸ They will no longer be plunder to the nations, and the animals of the earth will not devour them; but they will ^(HD)live securely, and no one will make them afraid. ²⁹ I will establish for them a ^(HE)renowned planting place, and they will ^(HF)not again be ^[da]victims of famine in the land, and they will not ^(HG)endure the insults of the nations anymore. ³⁰ Then they will know that ^(HH)I, the Lord their God, am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are My people,” declares the Lord God. ³¹ “As for you, My ^(HI)sheep, ^[db]the ^(HJ)sheep of My pasture, you are mankind, and I am your God,” declares the Lord God.

Prophecy against Mount Seir

35 Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, set your face against ^(HK)Mount Seir, and prophesy against it ³ and say to it, ‘This is what the Lord ^[dc]God says:

⁵ Since you have had everlasting ^(HO)hostility and have turned over the sons of Israel to the power of the sword at the time of their disaster, at the time of the ^[dd](HP)punishment of the end, ⁶ therefore as I live,” declares the Lord God, “I will certainly ^[de]doom you to ^(HQ)bloodshed, and bloodshed will pursue you; since you have not hated bloodshed, therefore bloodshed will pursue you. ⁷ I will make Mount Seir a waste and a desolation and I will eliminate from it one who passes through and returns. ⁸ I will ^(HR)fill its mountains with its slain; those killed by the sword will fall on your hills, in your valleys, and in all your ravines. ⁹ I will make you a permanent ^(HS)desolation, and your cities will not be inhabited. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

¹⁰ “Since you have ^(HT)said, ‘These two nations and these two lands will be mine, and we will possess ^[df]them,’ although the ^(HU)Lord was there, ¹¹ therefore as I live,” declares the Lord God, “I will deal with you ^(HV)according to your anger and according to your envy which you displayed because of your hatred for them; so I will ^(HW)make Myself known among them when I judge you. ¹² Then you will know ^[dg]that I, the Lord, have heard all your insults which you have spoken against the mountains of Israel saying, ‘They are desolate; they have been ^(HX)given to us as food.’ ¹³ And you have ^[dh](HY)spoken arrogantly against Me and have multiplied your words against Me; ^(HZ)I Myself have heard it.” ¹⁴ This is what the Lord God says: “As all the ^(IA)earth rejoices, I will make you a desolation. ¹⁵ As you ^(IB)rejoiced over the inheritance of the house of Israel because it was desolate, ^(IC)so I will do to you. You will be a ^(ID)desolation, Mount Seir, and all Edom, all of it. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”’

The Mountains of Israel to Be Blessed

36 “Now you, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel and say, ‘You mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord. ² This is what the Lord ^[di]God says: “Since the enemy has spoken against you, ‘Aha!’ and, ‘The everlasting ^[dj](IE)heights have become our possession,’ ³ therefore prophesy and say, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “^[dk]For good reason they have made you ^(IF)desolate and harassed you from every side, so that you would become a possession of the rest of the nations; and you have been taken up in the ^[dl](IG)talk and the rumor of the people.”’” ⁴ Therefore, you ^(IH)mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God. This is what the Lord God says to the mountains and to the hills, to the ravines and to the valleys, to the desolate ruins and to the abandoned cities which have become ^(II)plunder and an object of ridicule to the rest of the nations which are all around— ⁵ therefore the Lord God says this: “Certainly in the fire of My ^(IJ)jealousy I have spoken against the ^(IK)rest of the nations, and against all Edom, who ^[dm]appropriated My land for themselves as a possession with wholehearted ^(IL)joy and with contempt of soul, in order to make its pastureland plunder.” ⁶ Therefore prophesy in regard to the land of Israel and say to the mountains and to the hills, to the ravines and to the valleys, “This is what the Lord God says: ‘Behold, I have spoken in My jealousy and in My wrath because you have ^(IM)endured the insults of the nations.’ ⁷ Therefore the Lord God says this: ‘I have ^[dn]sworn that the nations that are around you will certainly endure their insults themselves. ⁸ But as for you, mountains of Israel, you will ^[do](IN)grow your branches and bear fruit for My people Israel; for they are about to come. ⁹ For, behold, I am for you, and I will ^(IO)turn to you, and you will be ^(IP)cultivated and sown. ¹⁰ And I will multiply people on you, ^(IQ)all the house of Israel, all of it; and the ^(IR)cities will be inhabited and the ruins will be rebuilt. ¹¹ I will multiply on you people and animals, and they will increase and be fruitful; and I will populate you as you were ^(IS)previously, and treat you ^(IT)better than at the beginning. Then you will know that I am the Lord. ¹² Yes, I will have ^(IU)people—My people Israel—walk on you and possess you, so that you will become their ^(IV)inheritance and never again ^(IW)bereave them of children.’

¹³ “The Lord God says this: ‘Since they say to you, “You are a ^(IX)devourer of people and have bereaved your nation of children,” ¹⁴ for that reason you will no longer devour people and no longer bereave your nation of children,’ declares the Lord God. ¹⁵ I will not let you hear ^(IY)insults from the nations anymore, nor will you suffer ^(IZ)disgrace from the peoples any longer, nor will you make your nation ^(JA)stumble any longer,” declares the Lord God.’”

¹⁶ Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹⁷ “Son of man, when the house of Israel was living on their own land, they ^(JB)defiled it by their ways and their deeds; their way before Me was like ^(JC)the uncleanness of a woman in her impurity. ¹⁸ Therefore I ^(JD)poured out My wrath on them for the blood which they had shed on the land, because they had defiled it with their idols. ¹⁹ I also ^(JE)scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed throughout the lands. ^(JF)According to their ways and their deeds I judged them. ²⁰ When they came to the nations where they went, they ^(JG)profaned My holy name, because it was said of them, ‘These are the ^(JH)people of the Lord, yet they have left His land.’ ²¹ But I had ^[dp]concern for My ^(JI)holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations where they went.

Israel to Be Renewed for His Name’s Sake

²² “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “It is ^(JJ)not for your sake, house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for My holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you went. ²³ And I will ^(JK)vindicate the holiness of My great name which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned among them. Then the ^(JL)nations will know that I am the Lord,” declares the Lord God, “when I show Myself holy among you in their sight. ²⁴ For I will ^(JM)take you from the nations, and gather you from all the lands; and I will bring you into your own land. ²⁵ Then I will ^(JN)sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your ^(JO)filthiness and from all your ^(JP)idols. ²⁶ Moreover, I will give you a ^(JQ)new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the ^(JR)heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. ²⁷ And I will ^(JS)put My Spirit within you and bring it about that you walk in My statutes, and are careful and ^[dq]follow My ordinances. ²⁸ And you will live in the land that I gave to your forefathers; so you will be ^(JT)My people, and I will be your God. ²⁹ Moreover, I will save you from all your uncleanness; and I will call for the grain and multiply it, and I ^(JU)will not ^[dr]bring a famine on you. ³⁰ Instead, I will ^(JV)multiply the fruit of the tree and the produce of the field, so that you will not receive again the disgrace of famine among the nations. ³¹ Then you will ^(JW)remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves in your own sight for your wrongdoings and your abominations. ³² I am not doing this ^(JX)for your sake,” declares the Lord God; “let that be known to you. Be ashamed and humiliated for your ways, house of Israel!”

³³ ‘This is what the Lord God says: “On the day that I cleanse you from all your wrongdoings, I will populate the ^(JY)cities, and the ^(JZ)places of ruins will be rebuilt. ³⁴ The desolated land will be cultivated instead of being a desolation in the sight of everyone who passes by. ³⁵ And they will say, ‘This desolated land has become like the ^(KA)Garden of Eden; and the waste, desolated and ruined cities are fortified and inhabited.’ ³⁶ Then the nations around you that are left will know that I, the Lord, have rebuilt the ruined places and planted that which was desolated; I, the Lord, have spoken, and I ^(KB)will do it.”

³⁷ ‘This is what the Lord God says: “This too I will let the house of Israel ask Me to do for them: I will increase their people like a flock. ³⁸ Like the ^(KC)flock ^[ds]for sacrifices, like the flock at Jerusalem during her appointed feasts, so will the waste cities be filled with ^(KD)flocks of people. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”’”

Vision of the Valley of Dry Bones

37 The ^(KE)hand of the Lord was upon me, and He ^(KF)brought me out ^[dt]by the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the ^(KG)valley; and it was full of bones. ² He had me pass among them all around, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley; and behold, they were very dry. ³ Then He said to me, “Son of man, ^(KH)can these bones live?” And I answered, “Lord ^[du]God, ^(KI)You Yourself know.” ⁴ Again He said to me, “^(KJ)Prophesy over these bones and say to them, ‘You dry bones, ^(KK)hear the word of the Lord.’ ⁵ This is what the Lord God says to these bones: ‘Behold, I am going to make ^[dv](KL)breath enter you so that you may come to life. ⁶ And I will ^[dw]attach tendons to you, make flesh grow back on you, cover you with skin, and put breath in you so that you may come to life; and you will ^(KM)know that I am the Lord.’”

⁷ So I prophesied ^(KN)as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a loud noise, and behold, a ^[dx]rattling; and the bones came together, bone to its bone. ⁸ And I looked, and behold, tendons were on them, and flesh grew and skin covered them; but there was no breath in them. ⁹ Then He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, ‘The Lord God says this: “Come from the four winds, breath, and ^(KO)breathe on these slain, so that they ^(KP)come to life.”’” ¹⁰ So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the ^(KQ)breath entered them, and they came to life and stood on their feet, an ^(KR)exceedingly great army.

The Vision Explained

¹¹ Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the ^(KS)entire house of Israel; behold, they say, ‘Our ^(KT)bones are dried up and our hope has perished. We are ^[dy]completely ^(KU)cut off.’ ¹² Therefore prophesy and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “Behold, I am going to open your graves and ^(KV)cause you to come up out of your graves, My people; and I will bring you into the land of Israel. ¹³ Then you will know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves and caused you to come up out of your graves, My people. ¹⁴ And I will ^(KW)put My ^[dz]Spirit within you and you will come to life, and I will place you on your own land. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken and done it,” declares the Lord.’”

Reunion of Judah and Israel

¹⁵ The word of the Lord came again to me, saying, ¹⁶ “Now you, son of man, take for yourself ^(KX)one stick and write on it, ‘For ^(KY)Judah and for the sons of Israel, his companions’; then take another stick and write on it, ‘For ^(KZ)Joseph, the stick of Ephraim and all the house of Israel, his companions.’ ¹⁷ Then ^(LA)put them together for yourself one to another into one stick, so that they may become one in your hand. ¹⁸ And when the sons of your people speak to you, saying, ‘Will you not declare to us ^(LB)what ^[ea]you mean by these?’ ¹⁹ say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “Behold, I am going to take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel, his companions; and I will put them with it, with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they will be one in My hand.”’ ²⁰ The sticks on which you write will be in your hand before their eyes. ²¹ And say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “Behold, I am going to ^(LC)take the sons of Israel from among the nations where they have gone, and I will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land; ²² and I will make them ^(LD)one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and ^(LE)one king will be king for all of them; and they will no longer be two nations, and no longer be divided into two kingdoms. ²³ They will ^(LF)no longer defile themselves with their idols, or with their detestable things, or with any of their offenses; but ^(LG)I will rescue them from all their ^[eb]dwelling places in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them. And they will be My people, and I will be their God.

The Davidic Kingdom

²⁴ “And My servant ^(LH)David will be king over them, and they will all have ^(LI)one shepherd; and they will walk in My ordinances, and keep My statutes and ^[ec]follow them. ²⁵ And they will live on the land that I gave to My servant Jacob, in which your fathers lived; and they will live on it, they, and their sons and their sons’ sons, forever; and My servant ^(LJ)David will be their leader forever. ²⁶ And I will make a ^(LK)covenant of peace with them; it will be an ^(LL)everlasting covenant with them. And I will ^[ed]place them and ^(LM)multiply them, and set My ^(LN)sanctuary in their midst forever. ²⁷ My ^(LO)dwelling place also will be among them; and ^(LP)I will be their God, and they will be My people. ²⁸ And the nations will know that I am the Lord ^(LQ)who sanctifies Israel, when My sanctuary is in their midst forever.”’”

Prophecy about Gog and Future Invasion of Israel

38 Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, set your face toward ^(LR)Gog of the land of ^(LS)Magog, the ^(LT)chief prince of ^(LU)Meshech and ^(LV)Tubal, and prophesy against him, ³ and say, ‘This is what the Lord ^[ee]God says: “Behold, I am against you, Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. ⁴ So I will turn you around and put hooks into your jaws, and I will ^(LW)bring you out, and all your army, ^(LX)horses and horsemen, all of them magnificently dressed, a great contingent with shield and ^[ef]buckler, all of them wielding swords; ^5 (LY)Persia, ^[eg](LZ)Cush, and ^(MA)Put with them, all of them with buckler and helmet; ^6 (MB)Gomer with all its troops; ^(MC)Beth-togarmah from the remote parts of the north with all its troops—many peoples with you.

⁷ “^(MD)Be ready, and be prepared, you and all your contingents that are assembled around you, and be a guard for them. ^8 (ME)After many days you will be summoned; in the latter years you will come into the land that is restored from the sword, whose inhabitants have been ^(MF)gathered from many ^[eh]nations to the ^(MG)mountains of Israel which had been a continual place of ruins; but ^[ei]its people were brought out from the ^[ej]nations, and they are ^(MH)living securely, all of them. ⁹ And you will go up, you will come ^(MI)like a storm; you will be like a ^(MJ)cloud covering the land, you and all your troops, and many peoples with you.”

¹⁰ ‘This is what the Lord God says: “It will come about on that day, that ^[ek]thoughts will come into your mind and you will ^(MK)devise an evil plan, ¹¹ and you will say, ‘I will go up against the land of ^[el](ML)unwalled villages. I will go against those who are ^(MM)at rest, who live securely, all of them living without walls and having no bars or gates, ¹² to ^(MN)capture spoils and to seize plunder, to turn your hand against the ruins that are now inhabited, and against the people who are gathered from the nations, who have acquired livestock and goods, who live at the ^[em]center of the world.’ ^13 (MO)Sheba and ^(MP)Dedan and the merchants of ^(MQ)Tarshish with all its ^[en]villages will say to you, ‘Have you come to capture spoils? Have you assembled your contingent to seize plunder, to carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods, to capture great ^(MR)spoils?’”’

¹⁴ “Therefore prophesy, son of man, and say to Gog, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “On that day when My people Israel are ^(MS)living securely, will you not know it? ^15 (MT)You will come from your place out of the remote parts of the north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding horses, a large assembly and a mighty army; ¹⁶ and you will come up against My people Israel like a cloud to cover the land. It shall come about in the last days that I will bring you against My land, so that the nations may ^(MU)know Me when I ^(MV)show Myself holy through you before their eyes, Gog.”

¹⁷ ‘This is what the Lord God says: “Are you the one of whom I spoke in former days through My servants the prophets of Israel, who ^(MW)prophesied in those days for many years that I would bring you against them? ¹⁸ It will come about on that day, when Gog comes against the land of Israel,” declares the Lord God, “that My fury will mount up in My ^(MX)anger. ¹⁹ In My ^(MY)zeal and in My blazing wrath I declare that on that day there will certainly be a great ^[eo](MZ)earthquake in the land of Israel. ^20 (NA)The fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the animals of the field, all the crawling things that crawl on the earth, and all mankind who are on the face of the earth will shake at My presence; and the ^(NB)mountains will be thrown down, the steep pathways will ^[ep]collapse, and every wall will fall to the ground. ²¹ And I will call for a ^(NC)sword against ^[eq]him on all My mountains,” declares the Lord God. “^(ND)Every man’s sword will be against his brother. ²² With plague and with blood I will enter into ^(NE)judgment with him; and I will rain on him and on his troops, and on the many peoples who are with him, ^[er]a torrential rain, ^(NF)hailstones, fire, and brimstone. ²³ So I will prove Myself great, show Myself holy, and ^(NG)make Myself known in the sight of many nations; and they will know that I am the Lord.”’

Prophecy against Gog—Invaders Destroyed

39 “And ^(NH)you, son of man, prophesy against Gog and say, ‘This is what the Lord ^[es]God says: “Behold, I am against you, Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal; ² and I will turn you around, lead you on a rope, take you up from the remotest parts of the north, and bring you against the mountains of Israel. ³ Then I will ^(NI)strike your bow from your left hand and make your arrows fall from your right hand. ⁴ You will ^(NJ)fall on the mountains of Israel, you and all your troops, and the peoples who are with you; I will give you as ^(NK)food to every ^[et]kind of predatory bird and animal of the field. ⁵ You will fall on the ^[eu]open field; for it is I who have spoken,” declares the Lord God. ⁶ “And I will send ^(NL)fire upon Magog and those who inhabit the ^(NM)coastlands in safety; and they will know that I am the Lord.

⁷ “And I will make My ^(NN)holy name known in the midst of My people Israel; and I will not allow My holy name to be ^(NO)profaned anymore. But the ^(NP)nations will know that I am the Lord, the ^(NQ)Holy One in Israel. ⁸ Behold, it is coming and it shall be done,” declares the Lord God. “That is the day of which I have spoken.

⁹ “Then those who inhabit the cities of Israel will ^(NR)go out and make ^(NS)fires with the weapons and burn them, both ^[ev]bucklers and shields, bows and arrows, war clubs and spears, and for seven years they will make fires of them. ¹⁰ They will not take wood from the field or gather firewood from the forests, because they will make fires with the weapons; and they will take the spoils of those who plundered them and seize the ^(NT)plunder of those who plundered them,” declares the Lord God.

¹¹ “On that day I will give Gog a burial place there in Israel, the valley of those who pass by east of the sea, and it will block the way of those who would pass by. So they will bury Gog there with all his horde, and they will call it the Valley of ^[ew]Hamon-gog. ¹² For seven months the house of Israel will be burying them in order to ^(NU)cleanse the land. ¹³ And all the people of the land will bury them; and it will be ^[ex]to their ^(NV)renown on the day that I ^(NW)appear in My glory,” declares the Lord God. ¹⁴ “They will also select men who will constantly pass through the land, ^(NX)burying those who were passing through, those left on the surface of the ground, in order to cleanse it. At the end of seven months they will conduct a search. ¹⁵ As those who pass through the land pass through and anyone sees a human bone, then he will ^[ey]set up a marker by it until the burial detail has buried it in the Valley of ^[ez]Hamon-gog. ¹⁶ And even the name of the city will be Hamonah. So they will cleanse the land.”’

¹⁷ “Now as for you, son of man, this is what the Lord God says: ‘Say to every ^[fa]kind of ^(NY)bird and to every ^(NZ)animal of the field: “Assemble and come, gather from every direction to My sacrifice, which I am going to ^(OA)sacrifice for you as a great sacrifice on the mountains of Israel; and you will eat flesh and drink blood. ¹⁸ You will ^(OB)eat the flesh of warriors and drink the blood of the leaders of the earth, as though they were ^(OC)rams, lambs, goats, and ^(OD)bulls, all of them fattened livestock of ^(OE)Bashan. ¹⁹ So you will eat fat until you are full, and drink blood until you are drunk, from My sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you. ²⁰ You will eat your fill at My table with ^(OF)horses and charioteers, with warriors and all the men of war,” declares the Lord God.

²¹ “And I will place My ^(OG)glory among the nations; and all the nations will see My judgment which I have executed, and My hand which I have laid on them. ²² And the house of Israel will ^(OH)know that I am the Lord their God, from that day onward. ²³ The nations will know that the house of Israel went into exile for their ^(OI)wrongdoing, because they were disloyal to Me, and I ^(OJ)hid My face from them; so I handed them over to their adversaries, and all of them fell by the sword. ^24 (OK)In accordance with their uncleanness and their offenses I dealt with them, and I hid My face from them.”’”

Israel Restored

²⁵ Therefore this is what the Lord God says: “Now I will ^(OL)restore the fortunes of Jacob and have mercy on all the ^(OM)house of Israel; and I will be ^(ON)jealous for My holy name. ²⁶ They will ^[fb](OO)forget their disgrace and all their ^[fc]treachery which they perpetrated against Me, when they ^(OP)live securely on their own land with ^(OQ)no one to make them afraid. ²⁷ When I ^(OR)bring them back from the peoples and gather them from the lands of their enemies, then I shall ^(OS)show Myself holy ^[fd]through them in the sight of the many nations. ²⁸ Then they will know that I am the Lord their God because I made them go into exile among the nations, and then I gathered them again to their own land; and I will leave none of them there any longer. ²⁹ I will not hide My face from them any longer, for I will have ^(OT)poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel,” declares the Lord God.

Vision of the Man with a Measuring Rod

40 In the ^(OU)twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth of the month, in the fourteenth year after the ^(OV)city was ^[fe]taken, on this very day the ^(OW)hand of the Lord was upon me and He brought me there. ² In the ^(OX)visions of God He brought me into the land of Israel and set me on a very ^(OY)high mountain, and on it ^(OZ)to the south there was something like a ^(PA)structure of a city. ³ So He brought me there; and behold, there was a man whose appearance was like the appearance of ^(PB)bronze, with a ^(PC)thread of flax and a ^(PD)measuring ^[ff]rod in his hand; and he was standing in the gateway. ⁴ And the man said to me, “^(PE)Son of man, ^(PF)see with your eyes, hear with your ears, and ^[fg]pay attention to all that I am going to show you; for you have been brought here in order to show it to you. ^(PG)Declare to the house of Israel all that you see.”

Measurements Relating to the Temple

⁵ And behold, there was a ^(PH)wall on the outside of the ^[fh]temple all around, and in the man’s hand was a measuring rod of six ^[fi]cubits, ^[fj]each of which was a ^[fk]cubit and a hand width. So he measured the thickness of the ^[fl]wall, one rod; and the height, one rod. ⁶ Then he went to the gate which faced ^(PI)east, went up its steps, and measured the threshold of the gate, one rod ^[fm]in width; and the other threshold was one rod ^[fn]in width. ⁷ The ^(PJ)guardroom was one rod long and one rod wide; and there were five cubits between the guardrooms. And the threshold of the gate by the porch of the gate ^[fo]facing inward was one rod. ⁸ Then he measured the porch of the gate ^[fp]facing inward, one rod. ⁹ And he measured the porch of the gate, eight cubits; and its side pillars, two cubits. And the porch of the gate was ^[fq]faced inward. ¹⁰ The guardrooms of the gate toward the east numbered three on each side; the three of them had the same measurement. The side pillars also had the same measurement on each side. ¹¹ And he measured the width of the ^[fr]gateway, ten cubits, and the length of the gate, thirteen cubits. ¹² There was a ^[fs]barrier wall one cubit wide in front of the guardrooms on each side; and the guardrooms were six cubits square on each side. ¹³ And he measured the gate from the roof of the one guardroom to the roof of the other, a width of twenty-five cubits, from one door to the door opposite. ¹⁴ He made the side pillars sixty cubits high; the gate extended all around to the side pillar of the ^(PK)courtyard. ¹⁵ And from the front of the entrance gate to the front of the inner porch of the gate was fifty cubits. ¹⁶ And there were ^[ft](PL)shuttered windows looking toward the guardrooms, and toward their side pillars within the gate all around, and likewise for the porches. And there were windows all around inside; and on each side pillar were ^(PM)palm tree decorations.

¹⁷ Then he brought me into the ^(PN)outer courtyard, and behold, there were ^(PO)chambers and a stone pavement made for the courtyard all around; thirty chambers ^[fu]faced the pavement. ¹⁸ And the pavement (that is, the lower pavement) was by the ^[fv]side of the gates, corresponding to the length of the gates. ¹⁹ Then he measured the width from the front of the ^(PP)lower gate to the front of the exterior of the inner courtyard, a ^(PQ)hundred cubits on the east and on the north.

²⁰ And as for the ^(PR)gate of the outer courtyard which faced north, he measured its length and its width. ^21 [fw]It had three ^(PS)guardrooms on each side; and its ^(PT)side pillars and its porches ^[fx]had the same measurement as the first gate. Its length was ^(PU)fifty cubits, and the width ^(PV)twenty-five cubits. ²² Its ^(PW)windows, its porches, and its palm tree decorations had the same measurements as the ^(PX)gate which faced east; and ^[fy]it was reached by seven ^(PY)steps, and its ^[fz]porch was in front of them. ²³ The inner courtyard had a gate opposite the gate on the north as well as the gate on the east; and he measured a ^(PZ)hundred cubits from gate to gate.

²⁴ Then he led me toward the south, and behold, there was a ^(QA)gate toward the south; and he measured its ^(QB)side pillars and its porches according to ^[ga]those same measurements. ^25 [gb]The gate and its porches had ^(QC)windows all around like ^[gc]those other windows; the length was ^(QD)fifty cubits and the width, twenty-five cubits. ²⁶ There were seven ^(QE)steps going up to it, and its porches were in front of them; and it had ^(QF)palm tree decorations on its side pillars, one on each side. ²⁷ The inner courtyard had a gate toward the ^(QG)south; and he measured from gate to gate toward the south, a ^(QH)hundred cubits.

²⁸ Then he brought me to the inner courtyard by the south gate; and he measured the south gate ^(QI)according to those same measurements. ²⁹ Its ^(QJ)guardrooms also, its side pillars, and its ^(QK)porches were according to those same measurements. And ^[gd]the gate and its porches had ^(QL)windows all around; it was ^(QM)fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide. ³⁰ There were ^(QN)porches all around, twenty-five cubits long and five cubits wide. ³¹ And its porches were toward the outer courtyard; and ^(QO)palm tree decorations were on its side pillars, and its stairway had eight ^(QP)steps.

³² Then he brought me into the ^(QQ)inner courtyard toward the east. And he measured the gate ^(QR)according to those same measurements. ³³ Its ^(QS)guardrooms also, its side pillars, and its porches were according to those same measurements. And ^[ge]the gate and its porches had ^(QT)windows all around; it was ^(QU)fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide. ³⁴ Its ^(QV)porches were toward the outer courtyard; and ^(QW)palm tree decorations were on its side pillars, on each side, and its stairway had eight ^(QX)steps.

³⁵ Then he brought me to the ^(QY)north gate; and he measured it according to those same measurements, ³⁶ with its ^(QZ)guardrooms, its side pillars, and its ^(RA)porches. And ^[gf]the gate had ^(RB)windows all around; the length was ^(RC)fifty cubits and the width twenty-five cubits. ³⁷ And its side pillars were toward the outer courtyard; and ^(RD)palm tree decorations were on its side pillars, on each side, and its stairway had eight ^(RE)steps.

³⁸ A ^(RF)chamber with its doorway was by the side pillars at the gates; there they ^(RG)rinse the burnt offering. ³⁹ And in the porch of the gate were two ^(RH)tables on each side, on which to slaughter the ^(RI)burnt offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering. ⁴⁰ On the outer ^[gg]side, ^[gh]as one went up to the ^[gi]gateway toward the north, were two tables; and on the other ^[gj]side of the porch of the gate were two tables. ⁴¹ Four ^(RJ)tables were on each side ^[gk]next to the gate; eight tables on which they slaughter sacrifices. ⁴² For the burnt offering there were four ^(RK)tables of ^(RL)cut stone, a cubit and a half long, a cubit and a half wide, and one cubit high, on which they set the utensils with which they slaughter the ^(RM)burnt offering and the sacrifice. ⁴³ And the double ^[gl]hooks, ^[gm]one hand width in length, were installed ^[gn]in the house all around; and on the tables was the flesh of the offering.

⁴⁴ From the outside to the ^(RN)inner gate were ^[go](RO)chambers for the ^(RP)singers in the inner courtyard, one of which was at the ^[gp]side of the north gate, with ^[gq]its front toward the south, and one at the ^[gr]side of the ^[gs]south gate facing north. ⁴⁵ Then he said to me, “This is the ^(RQ)chamber which faces south, intended for the priests who ^[gt]are ^(RR)responsible for the ^[gu]temple; ⁴⁶ but the ^(RS)chamber which faces north is for the priests who ^[gv]are ^(RT)responsible for the altar. They are the ^(RU)sons of Zadok, who from the sons of Levi ^(RV)come near to the Lord to serve Him.” ⁴⁷ He measured the courtyard, a perfect square, a ^(RW)hundred cubits long and a hundred cubits wide; and the altar was in front of the ^[gw]temple.

⁴⁸ Then he brought me to the ^(RX)porch of the ^[gx]temple and measured each side pillar of the porch, five cubits on each side; and the width of the gate was three cubits on each side. ⁴⁹ The length of the porch was twenty cubits, and the width eleven cubits; and at the ^(RY)stairway by which it was ascended were ^(RZ)columns belonging to the side pillars, one on each side.