Ezekiel 37-40

New International Version

The Valley of Dry Bones

37 The hand of the Lord was on me,^(A) and he brought me out by the Spirit^(B) of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley;^(C) it was full of bones.^{(D) 2} He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. ³ He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”

I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.^(E)”

⁴ Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord!^{(F) 5} This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath^[a] enter you, and you will come to life.^{(G) 6} I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.^(H)’”

⁷ So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. ⁸ I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.

⁹ Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath;^(I) prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds^(J) and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’” ¹⁰ So I prophesied as he commanded^(K) me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.^(L)

¹¹ Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’^{(M) 12} Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel.^{(N) 13} Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord,^(O) when I open your graves and bring you up from them.^{(P) 14} I will put my Spirit^(Q) in you and you will live, and I will settle^(R) you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.^(S)’”

One Nation Under One King

¹⁵ The word of the Lord came to me: ¹⁶ “Son of man, take a stick of wood and write on it, ‘Belonging to Judah and the Israelites^(T) associated with him.^(U)’ Then take another stick of wood, and write on it, ‘Belonging to Joseph (that is, to Ephraim) and all the Israelites associated with him.’ ¹⁷ Join them together into one stick so that they will become one in your hand.^(V)

¹⁸ “When your people ask you, ‘Won’t you tell us what you mean by this?’^{(W) 19} say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am going to take the stick of Joseph—which is in Ephraim’s hand—and of the Israelite tribes associated with him, and join it to Judah’s stick. I will make them into a single stick of wood, and they will become one in my hand.’^{(X) 20} Hold before their eyes the sticks you have written on ²¹ and say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them back into their own land.^{(Y) 22} I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel.^(Z) There will be one king over all of them and they will never again be two nations or be divided into two kingdoms.^{(AA) 23} They will no longer defile^(AB) themselves with their idols and vile images or with any of their offenses, for I will save them from all their sinful backsliding,^[b](AC) and I will cleanse them. They will be my people, and I will be their God.^(AD)

²⁴ “‘My servant David^(AE) will be king^(AF) over them, and they will all have one shepherd.^(AG) They will follow my laws and be careful to keep my decrees.^{(AH) 25} They will live in the land I gave to my servant Jacob, the land where your ancestors lived.^(AI) They and their children and their children’s children will live there forever,^(AJ) and David my servant will be their prince forever.^{(AK) 26} I will make a covenant of peace^(AL) with them; it will be an everlasting covenant.^(AM) I will establish them and increase their numbers,^(AN) and I will put my sanctuary among them^(AO) forever.^{(AP) 27} My dwelling place^(AQ) will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people.^{(AR) 28} Then the nations will know that I the Lord make Israel holy,^(AS) when my sanctuary is among them forever.^(AT)’”

The Lord’s Great Victory Over the Nations

38 The word of the Lord came to me: ² “Son of man, set your face against Gog,^(AU) of the land of Magog,^(AV) the chief prince of^[c] Meshek and Tubal;^(AW) prophesy against him ³ and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against you, Gog, chief prince of^[d] Meshek and Tubal.^{(AX) 4} I will turn you around, put hooks^(AY) in your jaws and bring you out with your whole army—your horses, your horsemen fully armed, and a great horde with large and small shields, all of them brandishing their swords.^{(AZ) 5} Persia, Cush^[e](BA) and Put^(BB) will be with them, all with shields and helmets, ⁶ also Gomer^(BC) with all its troops, and Beth Togarmah^(BD) from the far north^(BE) with all its troops—the many nations with you.

⁷ “‘Get ready; be prepared,^(BF) you and all the hordes gathered about you, and take command of them. ⁸ After many days^(BG) you will be called to arms. In future years you will invade a land that has recovered from war, whose people were gathered from many nations^(BH) to the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate. They had been brought out from the nations, and now all of them live in safety.^{(BI) 9} You and all your troops and the many nations with you will go up, advancing like a storm;^(BJ) you will be like a cloud^(BK) covering the land.^(BL)

¹⁰ “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: On that day thoughts will come into your mind^(BM) and you will devise an evil scheme.^{(BN) 11} You will say, “I will invade a land of unwalled villages; I will attack a peaceful and unsuspecting people^(BO)—all of them living without walls and without gates and bars.^{(BP) 12} I will plunder and loot and turn my hand against the resettled ruins and the people gathered from the nations, rich in livestock and goods, living at the center of the land.^[f]” ¹³ Sheba^(BQ) and Dedan^(BR) and the merchants of Tarshish^(BS) and all her villages^[g] will say to you, “Have you come to plunder? Have you gathered your hordes to loot, to carry off silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods and to seize much plunder?^(BT)”’

¹⁴ “Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say to Gog: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: In that day, when my people Israel are living in safety,^(BU) will you not take notice of it? ¹⁵ You will come from your place in the far north,^(BV) you and many nations with you, all of them riding on horses, a great horde, a mighty army.^{(BW) 16} You will advance against my people Israel like a cloud^(BX) that covers the land.^(BY) In days to come, Gog, I will bring you against my land, so that the nations may know me when I am proved holy^(BZ) through you before their eyes.^(CA)

¹⁷ “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: You are the one I spoke of in former days by my servants the prophets of Israel. At that time they prophesied for years that I would bring you against them. ¹⁸ This is what will happen in that day: When Gog attacks the land of Israel, my hot anger will be aroused, declares the Sovereign Lord. ¹⁹ In my zeal and fiery wrath I declare that at that time there shall be a great earthquake^(CB) in the land of Israel.^{(CC) 20} The fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the beasts of the field, every creature that moves along the ground, and all the people on the face of the earth will tremble^(CD) at my presence. The mountains will be overturned,^(CE) the cliffs will crumble^(CF) and every wall will fall to the ground.^{(CG) 21} I will summon a sword^(CH) against Gog on all my mountains, declares the Sovereign Lord. Every man’s sword will be against his brother.^{(CI) 22} I will execute judgment^(CJ) on him with plague and bloodshed;^(CK) I will pour down torrents of rain, hailstones^(CL) and burning sulfur^(CM) on him and on his troops and on the many nations with him.^{(CN) 23} And so I will show my greatness and my holiness, and I will make myself known in the sight of many nations. Then they will know that I am the Lord.^(CO)’

39 “Son of man, prophesy against Gog^(CP) and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against you, Gog, chief prince of^[h] Meshek^(CQ) and Tubal.^{(CR) 2} I will turn you around and drag you along. I will bring you from the far north^(CS) and send you against the mountains of Israel.^{(CT) 3} Then I will strike your bow^(CU) from your left hand and make your arrows^(CV) drop from your right hand. ⁴ On the mountains of Israel you will fall, you and all your troops and the nations with you. I will give you as food to all kinds of carrion birds^(CW) and to the wild animals.^{(CX) 5} You will fall in the open field, for I have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord.^{(CY) 6} I will send fire^(CZ) on Magog^(DA) and on those who live in safety in the coastlands,^(DB) and they will know^(DC) that I am the Lord.

⁷ “‘I will make known my holy name among my people Israel. I will no longer let my holy name be profaned,^(DD) and the nations will know^(DE) that I the Lord am the Holy One in Israel.^{(DF) 8} It is coming! It will surely take place, declares the Sovereign Lord. This is the day^(DG) I have spoken of.

⁹ “‘Then those who live in the towns of Israel will go out and use the weapons for fuel and burn them up—the small and large shields, the bows and arrows,^(DH) the war clubs and spears. For seven years they will use them for fuel.^{(DI) 10} They will not need to gather wood from the fields or cut it from the forests, because they will use the weapons for fuel. And they will plunder^(DJ) those who plundered them and loot those who looted them, declares the Sovereign Lord.^(DK)

¹¹ “‘On that day I will give Gog a burial place in Israel, in the valley of those who travel east of the Sea. It will block the way of travelers, because Gog and all his hordes will be buried^(DL) there. So it will be called the Valley of Hamon Gog.^[i](DM)

¹² “‘For seven months the Israelites will be burying them in order to cleanse the land.^{(DN) 13} All the people of the land will bury them, and the day I display my glory^(DO) will be a memorable day for them, declares the Sovereign Lord. ¹⁴ People will be continually employed in cleansing the land. They will spread out across the land and, along with others, they will bury any bodies that are lying on the ground.

“‘After the seven months they will carry out a more detailed search. ¹⁵ As they go through the land, anyone who sees a human bone will leave a marker beside it until the gravediggers bury it in the Valley of Hamon Gog, ¹⁶ near a town called Hamonah.^[j] And so they will cleanse the land.’

¹⁷ “Son of man, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Call out to every kind of bird^(DP) and all the wild animals: ‘Assemble and come together from all around to the sacrifice I am preparing for you, the great sacrifice on the mountains of Israel. There you will eat flesh and drink blood.^{(DQ) 18} You will eat the flesh of mighty men and drink the blood of the princes of the earth as if they were rams and lambs, goats and bulls—all of them fattened animals from Bashan.^{(DR) 19} At the sacrifice^(DS) I am preparing for you, you will eat fat till you are glutted and drink blood till you are drunk. ²⁰ At my table you will eat your fill of horses and riders, mighty men and soldiers of every kind,’ declares the Sovereign Lord.^(DT)

²¹ “I will display my glory among the nations, and all the nations will see the punishment I inflict and the hand I lay on them.^{(DU) 22} From that day forward the people of Israel will know that I am the Lord their God. ²³ And the nations will know that the people of Israel went into exile for their sin, because they were unfaithful to me. So I hid my face from them and handed them over to their enemies, and they all fell by the sword.^{(DV) 24} I dealt with them according to their uncleanness and their offenses, and I hid my face from them.^(DW)

²⁵ “Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will now restore the fortunes of Jacob^[k](DX) and will have compassion^(DY) on all the people of Israel, and I will be zealous for my holy name.^{(DZ) 26} They will forget their shame and all the unfaithfulness they showed toward me when they lived in safety^(EA) in their land with no one to make them afraid.^{(EB) 27} When I have brought them back from the nations and have gathered them from the countries of their enemies, I will be proved holy through them in the sight of many nations.^{(EC) 28} Then they will know that I am the Lord their God, for though I sent them into exile among the nations, I will gather them^(ED) to their own land, not leaving any behind.^{(EE) 29} I will no longer hide my face^(EF) from them, for I will pour out my Spirit^(EG) on the people of Israel, declares the Sovereign Lord.^(EH)”

The Temple Area Restored

40 In the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth of the month, in the fourteenth year after the fall of the city^(EI)—on that very day the hand of the Lord was on me^(EJ) and he took me there. ² In visions^(EK) of God he took me to the land of Israel and set me on a very high mountain,^(EL) on whose south side were some buildings that looked like a city. ³ He took me there, and I saw a man whose appearance was like bronze;^(EM) he was standing in the gateway with a linen cord and a measuring rod^(EN) in his hand. ⁴ The man said to me, “Son of man, look carefully and listen closely and pay attention to everything I am going to show you,^(EO) for that is why you have been brought here. Tell^(EP) the people of Israel everything you see.^(EQ)”

The East Gate to the Outer Court

⁵ I saw a wall completely surrounding the temple area. The length of the measuring rod in the man’s hand was six long cubits,^[l] each of which was a cubit and a handbreadth. He measured^(ER) the wall; it was one measuring rod thick and one rod high.

⁶ Then he went to the east gate.^(ES) He climbed its steps and measured the threshold of the gate; it was one rod deep. ⁷ The alcoves^(ET) for the guards were one rod long and one rod wide, and the projecting walls between the alcoves were five cubits^[m] thick. And the threshold of the gate next to the portico facing the temple was one rod deep.

⁸ Then he measured the portico of the gateway; ⁹ it^[n] was eight cubits^[o] deep and its jambs were two cubits^[p] thick. The portico of the gateway faced the temple.

¹⁰ Inside the east gate were three alcoves on each side; the three had the same measurements, and the faces of the projecting walls on each side had the same measurements. ¹¹ Then he measured the width of the entrance of the gateway; it was ten cubits and its length was thirteen cubits.^{[q] 12} In front of each alcove was a wall one cubit high, and the alcoves were six cubits square. ¹³ Then he measured the gateway from the top of the rear wall of one alcove to the top of the opposite one; the distance was twenty-five cubits^[r] from one parapet opening to the opposite one. ¹⁴ He measured along the faces of the projecting walls all around the inside of the gateway—sixty cubits.^[s] The measurement was up to the portico^[t] facing the courtyard.^{[u](EU) 15} The distance from the entrance of the gateway to the far end of its portico was fifty cubits.^{[v] 16} The alcoves and the projecting walls inside the gateway were surmounted by narrow parapet openings all around, as was the portico; the openings all around faced inward. The faces of the projecting walls were decorated with palm trees.^(EV)

The Outer Court

¹⁷ Then he brought me into the outer court.^(EW) There I saw some rooms and a pavement that had been constructed all around the court; there were thirty rooms^(EX) along the pavement.^{(EY) 18} It abutted the sides of the gateways and was as wide as they were long; this was the lower pavement. ¹⁹ Then he measured the distance from the inside of the lower gateway to the outside of the inner court;^(EZ) it was a hundred cubits^[w](FA) on the east side as well as on the north.

The North Gate

²⁰ Then he measured the length and width of the north gate, leading into the outer court. ²¹ Its alcoves^(FB)—three on each side—its projecting walls and its portico^(FC) had the same measurements as those of the first gateway. It was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide. ²² Its openings, its portico^(FD) and its palm tree decorations had the same measurements as those of the gate facing east. Seven steps led up to it, with its portico opposite them.^{(FE) 23} There was a gate to the inner court facing the north gate, just as there was on the east. He measured from one gate to the opposite one; it was a hundred cubits.^(FF)

The South Gate

²⁴ Then he led me to the south side and I saw the south gate. He measured its jambs and its portico, and they had the same measurements^(FG) as the others. ²⁵ The gateway and its portico had narrow openings all around, like the openings of the others. It was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide.^{(FH) 26} Seven steps led up to it, with its portico opposite them; it had palm tree decorations on the faces of the projecting walls on each side.^{(FI) 27} The inner court^(FJ) also had a gate facing south, and he measured from this gate to the outer gate on the south side; it was a hundred cubits.^(FK)

The Gates to the Inner Court

²⁸ Then he brought me into the inner court through the south gate, and he measured the south gate; it had the same measurements^(FL) as the others. ²⁹ Its alcoves,^(FM) its projecting walls and its portico had the same measurements as the others. The gateway and its portico had openings all around. It was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide.^{(FN) 30} (The porticoes^(FO) of the gateways around the inner court were twenty-five cubits wide and five cubits deep.) ³¹ Its portico^(FP) faced the outer court; palm trees decorated its jambs, and eight steps led up to it.^(FQ)

³² Then he brought me to the inner court on the east side, and he measured the gateway; it had the same measurements^(FR) as the others. ³³ Its alcoves,^(FS) its projecting walls and its portico had the same measurements as the others. The gateway and its portico had openings all around. It was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide. ³⁴ Its portico^(FT) faced the outer court; palm trees decorated the jambs on either side, and eight steps led up to it.

³⁵ Then he brought me to the north gate^(FU) and measured it. It had the same measurements^(FV) as the others, ³⁶ as did its alcoves,^(FW) its projecting walls and its portico, and it had openings all around. It was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide. ³⁷ Its portico^[x](FX) faced the outer court; palm trees decorated the jambs on either side, and eight steps led up to it.^(FY)

The Rooms for Preparing Sacrifices

³⁸ A room with a doorway was by the portico in each of the inner gateways, where the burnt offerings^(FZ) were washed. ³⁹ In the portico of the gateway were two tables on each side, on which the burnt offerings,^(GA) sin offerings^[y](GB) and guilt offerings^(GC) were slaughtered.^{(GD) 40} By the outside wall of the portico of the gateway, near the steps at the entrance of the north gateway were two tables, and on the other side of the steps were two tables. ⁴¹ So there were four tables on one side of the gateway and four on the other—eight tables in all—on which the sacrifices were slaughtered. ⁴² There were also four tables of dressed stone^(GE) for the burnt offerings, each a cubit and a half long, a cubit and a half wide and a cubit high.^[z] On them were placed the utensils for slaughtering the burnt offerings and the other sacrifices.^{(GF) 43} And double-pronged hooks, each a handbreadth^[aa] long, were attached to the wall all around. The tables were for the flesh of the offerings.

The Rooms for the Priests

⁴⁴ Outside the inner gate, within the inner court, were two rooms, one^[ab] at the side of the north gate and facing south, and another at the side of the south^[ac] gate and facing north. ⁴⁵ He said to me, “The room facing south is for the priests who guard the temple,^{(GG) 46} and the room facing north^(GH) is for the priests who guard the altar.^(GI) These are the sons of Zadok,^(GJ) who are the only Levites who may draw near to the Lord to minister before him.^(GK)”

⁴⁷ Then he measured the court: It was square—a hundred cubits long and a hundred cubits wide. And the altar was in front of the temple.^(GL)

The New Temple

⁴⁸ He brought me to the portico of the temple^(GM) and measured the jambs of the portico; they were five cubits wide on either side. The width of the entrance was fourteen cubits^[ad] and its projecting walls were^[ae] three cubits^[af] wide on either side. ⁴⁹ The portico^(GN) was twenty cubits^[ag] wide, and twelve^[ah] cubits^[ai] from front to back. It was reached by a flight of stairs,^[aj] and there were pillars^(GO) on each side of the jambs.