Bible in 90 Days

Chapter 36

Regeneration of the Land. ¹ As for you, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel and say: Mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord! ² Thus says the Lord God: Because the enemy said about you, “Ha! the ancient heights have become our possession,” ³ therefore prophesy and say: Thus says the Lord God: because you have been ridiculed and hounded on all sides for becoming a possession for the remaining nations and have become a byword and a popular jeer,^{(A) 4} therefore, mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God: Thus says the Lord God to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys, to the desolate ruins and abandoned cities, plundered and mocked by the nations remaining around you:^{(B) 5} therefore thus says the Lord God: Truly, with burning jealousy I speak against the remaining nations and against Edom; they all took possession of my land for plunder with wholehearted joy and utter contempt. ⁶ Therefore, prophesy concerning the land of Israel and say to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys: Thus says the Lord God: See! in my jealous fury I speak, because you endured the reproach of the nations. ⁷ Therefore, thus says the Lord God: I raise my hand and swear: the nations around you shall bear their own reproach.

⁸ But you, mountains of Israel, you will sprout branches and bear fruit for my people Israel, for they are coming soon.^{(C) 9} Look! I am for you! I will turn my face toward you; you will be plowed and planted.^{(D) 10} Upon you I will multiply the whole house of Israel; cities shall be resettled and ruins rebuilt.^{(E) 11} Upon you I will multiply people and animals so they can multiply and be fruitful. I will resettle you as in the past, and make you more prosperous than at your beginning; then you shall know that I am the Lord.^(F)

¹² Upon you I will have them walk, my people Israel. They shall possess you, and you shall be their heritage. Never again shall you rob them of their children.

¹³ Thus says the Lord God: Because they say of you, “You devour your own people,^[a] you rob your nation of its children,”^{(G) 14} therefore, you shall never again devour your people or rob your nation of its children—oracle of the Lord God. ¹⁵ I will no longer make you listen to the reproach of nations. You will never again endure insults from the peoples. Never again shall you rob your nation of its children—oracle of the Lord God.

Regeneration of the People. ¹⁶ The word of the Lord came to me: ¹⁷ Son of man, when the house of Israel lived in its land, they defiled it with their behavior and their deeds. In my sight their behavior was like the impurity of a woman in menstruation.^{(H) 18} So I poured out my fury upon them for the blood they poured out on the ground and for the idols with which they defiled it. ¹⁹ I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed through other lands; according to their behavior and their deeds I carried out judgment against them.^{(I) 20 [b]}But when they came to the nations, where they went, they desecrated my holy name, for people said of them: “These are the people of the Lord, yet they had to leave their land.” ²¹ So I relented because of my holy name which the house of Israel desecrated among the nations to which they came. ²² Therefore say to the house of Israel: Thus says the Lord God: Not for your sake do I act, house of Israel, but for the sake of my holy name, which you desecrated among the nations to which you came.^{(J) 23} But I will show the holiness of my great name, desecrated among the nations, in whose midst you desecrated it. Then the nations shall know that I am the Lord—oracle of the Lord God—when through you I show my holiness before their very eyes.^{(K) 24} I will take you away from among the nations, gather you from all the lands, and bring you back to your own soil. ^25 [c](L)I will sprinkle clean water over you to make you clean; from all your impurities and from all your idols I will cleanse you. ^26 (M)I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.^{(N) 27} I will put my spirit within you so that you walk in my statutes, observe my ordinances, and keep them.^{(O) 28} You will live in the land I gave to your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God.^{(P) 29} I will deliver you from all your impurities. I will summon the grain and make it plentiful; I will not send famine against you. ³⁰ I will increase the fruit on your trees and the crops in your fields so that you no longer endure reproach from the nations because of famine.^{(Q) 31} Then you will remember your evil behavior and your deeds that were not good; you will loathe yourselves for your sins and your abominations. ³² Not for your sake do I act—oracle of the Lord God. Let this be known to you! Be ashamed and humbled because of your behavior, house of Israel.

³³ Thus says the Lord God: When I cleanse you of all your guilt, I will resettle the cities and the ruins will be rebuilt.^{(R) 34} The desolate land will be tilled—once a wasteland in the eyes of every passerby. ³⁵ They will say, “This once-desolate land has become like the garden of Eden. The cities once ruined, laid waste and destroyed, are now resettled and fortified.”^{(S) 36} Then the surrounding nations that remain shall know that I, the Lord, have rebuilt what was destroyed and replanted what was desolate. I, the Lord, have spoken: I will do it. ³⁷ Thus says the Lord God: This also I will be persuaded to do for the house of Israel: to multiply them like sheep. ³⁸ Like sheep for sacrifice, like the sheep of Jerusalem on its feast days, the ruined cities shall be filled with flocks of people; then they shall know that I am the Lord.^(T)

Chapter 37

Vision of the Dry Bones.^{[d] 1} The hand of the Lord came upon me, and he led me out in the spirit of the Lord and set me in the center of the broad valley. It was filled with bones. ² He made me walk among them in every direction. So many lay on the surface of the valley! How dry they were! ³ He asked me: Son of man, can these bones come back to life? “Lord God,” I answered, “you alone know that.”^{(U) 4} Then he said to me: Prophesy over these bones, and say to them: Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! ⁵ Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Listen! I will make breath enter you so you may come to life. ⁶ I will put sinews on you, make flesh grow over you, cover you with skin, and put breath into you so you may come to life. Then you shall know that I am the Lord. ⁷ I prophesied as I had been commanded. A sound started up, as I was prophesying, rattling like thunder. The bones came together, bone joining to bone. ⁸ As I watched, sinews appeared on them, flesh grew over them, skin covered them on top, but there was no breath in them. ⁹ Then he said to me: Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man! Say to the breath: Thus says the Lord God: From the four winds come, O breath, and breathe into these slain that they may come to life.^{[e](V) 10} I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath entered them; they came to life and stood on their feet, a vast army.^{(W) 11} He said to me: Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel! They are saying, “Our bones are dried up, our hope is lost, and we are cut off.” ¹² Therefore, prophesy and say to them: Thus says the Lord God: Look! I am going to open your graves; I will make you come up out of your graves, my people, and bring you back to the land of Israel.^{(X) 13} You shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and make you come up out of them, my people! ¹⁴ I will put my spirit in you that you may come to life, and I will settle you in your land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord. I have spoken; I will do it—oracle of the Lord.^(Y)

The Two Sticks. ^15 [f]Thus the word of the Lord came to me: ¹⁶ As for you, son of man, take one stick and write on it, “Judah and those Israelites associated with it.” Then take another stick and write on it: “Joseph, Ephraim’s stick, and the whole house of Israel associated with it.” ¹⁷ Join the two sticks together so they become one stick in your hand. ¹⁸ When your people ask you, “Will you not tell us what you mean by all this?” ¹⁹ answer them: Thus says the Lord God: I will take the stick of Joseph, now in Ephraim’s hand, and the tribes of Israel associated with it, and join to it the stick of Judah, making them one stick; they shall become one in my hand.^{(Z) 20} The sticks on which you write, you must hold in your hand in their sight. ²¹ Say to them: Thus says the Lord God: I will soon take the Israelites from among the nations to which they have gone and gather them from all around to bring them back to their land. ²² I will make them one nation in the land, upon the mountains of Israel, and there shall be one king for them all. They shall never again be two nations, never again be divided into two kingdoms.^(AA)

²³ No longer shall they defile themselves with their idols, their abominations, and all their transgressions. I will deliver them from all their apostasy through which they sinned. I will cleanse them so that they will be my people, and I will be their God.^{(AB) 24 (AC)}David my servant shall be king over them; they shall all have one shepherd. They shall walk in my ordinances, observe my statutes, and keep them. ²⁵ They shall live on the land I gave to Jacob my servant, the land where their ancestors lived; they shall live on it always, they, their children, and their children’s children, with David my servant as their prince forever. ^26 (AD)I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them. I will multiply them and put my sanctuary among them forever. ²⁷ My dwelling shall be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people.^{(AE) 28} Then the nations shall know that I, the Lord, make Israel holy, by putting my sanctuary among them forever.

Chapter 38

First Prophecy Against Gog. ¹ The word of the Lord came to me:^{[g] 2} Son of man, turn your face against Gog^[h] of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him.^{(AF) 3} Say: Thus says the Lord God: See! I am coming against you, Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. ⁴ I will turn you around and put hooks in your jaws to lead you out with all your army, horses and riders, all well armed, a great company, all of them with bucklers and shields, carrying swords: ^5 (AG)Persia, Cush, and Put with them, all with shields and helmets; ⁶ Gomer and all its troops, Beth-togarmah from the recesses of Zaphon and all its troops—many nations will accompany you. ⁷ Prepare and get ready, you and the company mobilized for you, but in my service. ⁸ After many days you will be called to battle; in the last years you will invade a land that has survived the sword—a people gathered from many nations back to the long-deserted mountains of Israel, brought forth from the nations to dwell securely.^{(AH) 9} You shall come up like a sudden storm, covering the land like a cloud, you and all your troops and the many nations with you.^(AI)

¹⁰ Thus says the Lord God: On that day thoughts shall cross your mind, and you shall devise an evil plan. ¹¹ You will say, “I will invade a land of open villages and attack a peaceful people who live in security—all of them living without city walls, bars, or gates”—^{(AJ) 12} in order to plunder and pillage, turning your hand against resettled ruins, against a people gathered from the nations, a people whose concern is cattle and goods, dwelling at the center^[i] of the earth. ¹³ Sheba and Dedan, the merchants of Tarshish and all its “young lions” shall ask you: “Have you come here to plunder? Have you summoned your army for pillage, to carry off silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to seize much plunder?”^(AK)

Second Prophecy Against Gog. ¹⁴ Therefore, prophesy, son of man, and say to Gog: Thus says the Lord God: On that day, when my people Israel dwell securely, will you not take action, ¹⁵ leaving your base in the recesses of Zaphon,^[j] you and many nations with you, all mounted on horses, a great company, a mighty army?^{(AL) 16} You shall rise up over my people Israel like a cloud covering the land. In those last days, I will let you invade my land so that the nations acknowledge me, when in their sight I show my holiness through you, Gog.

¹⁷ Thus says the Lord God: About you I spoke in earlier times through my servants, the prophets of Israel, who prophesied at that time that I would let you invade them. ¹⁸ But on that day, the day Gog invades the land of Israel—oracle of the Lord God—my fury will flare up in my anger, ¹⁹ and in my jealousy, with fiery wrath, I swear on that day there will be a great earthquake in the land of Israel.^{(AM) 20} Before me will tremble the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, the beasts of the field and everything that crawls on the ground, and everyone on the face of the earth. Mountains will be overturned, terraces will collapse, and every wall will fall to the ground.^{(AN) 21} Against him I will summon every terror—oracle of the Lord God; every man’s sword will be raised against his brother.^{(AO) 22} I will execute judgment on him: disease and bloodshed; flooding rain and hailstones, fire and brimstone, I will rain down on him, on his troops and on the many nations with him.^{(AP) 23} And so I will show my greatness and holiness and make myself known in the sight of many nations. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.^(AQ)

Chapter 39

Third Prophecy Against Gog. ¹ You, son of man, prophesy against Gog, saying: Thus says the Lord God: Here I am, Gog, coming at you, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. ² I will turn you around, even though I urged you on and brought you up from the recesses of Zaphon and let you attack the mountains of Israel.^{(AR) 3} Then I will strike the bow from your left hand and make the arrows drop from your right. ⁴ Upon the mountains of Israel you shall fall, you and all your troops and the peoples with you. I will give you as food to birds of prey of every kind and to wild beasts to be eaten. ⁵ In the open field you shall fall, for I have spoken—oracle of the Lord God.^(AS)

⁶ I will send fire against Magog and against those who live securely on the seacoast, and they will know that I am the Lord.^{(AT) 7} I will reveal my holy name among my people Israel, and I will never again allow my holy name to be defiled. Then the nations shall know that I am the Lord, the Holy One of Israel.^{(AU) 8} Yes, it is coming! It shall happen—oracle of the Lord God. This is the day I decreed.

⁹ Everyone living in the cities of Israel shall go out and set fire to the weapons, buckler and shield, bows and arrows, clubs and spears; for seven years they shall make fires with them.^{(AV) 10} They will not need to bring in wood from the fields or cut down trees in the forests, for they will make fires with the weapons, plundering those who plundered them, pillaging those who pillaged them—oracle of the Lord God.

¹¹ On that day I will give Gog a place for his tomb in Israel, the Valley of Abarim,^[k] east of the sea. It will block the way of travelers. There Gog shall be buried with all his horde; it shall be called “Valley of Hamon-Gog.”^{(AW) 12} For seven months the house of Israel shall bury them in order to cleanse the land. ¹³ All the people of the land shall take part in the burials, making a name for themselves on the day I am glorified—oracle of the Lord God. ¹⁴ Men shall be permanently assigned to pass through the land, burying those who lie unburied in order to cleanse the land. For seven months they shall keep searching. ¹⁵ When these pass through the land and see a human bone, they must set up a marker beside it, until the gravediggers bury it in the Valley of Hamon-Gog. ¹⁶ Also the name of the city is Hamonah. Thus the land will be cleansed.

¹⁷ As for you, son of man, thus says the Lord God: Say to birds of every kind and to every wild beast: “Assemble! Come from all sides for the sacrifice I am making for you, a great slaughter on the mountains of Israel. You shall eat flesh and drink blood! ¹⁸ You shall eat the flesh of warriors and drink the blood of the princes of the earth: rams, lambs, and goats, bulls and fatlings from Bashan, all of them.^{(AX) 19} From the sacrifice I slaughtered for you, you shall eat fat until you are sated and drink blood until you are drunk. ²⁰ At my table you shall be sated with horse and rider, with warrior and soldier of every kind—oracle of the Lord God.

Israel’s Return. ²¹ Then I will display my glory among the nations, and all the nations will see the judgment I executed, the hand I laid upon them. ²² From that day forward the house of Israel shall know that I am the Lord, their God. ²³ The nations shall know that the house of Israel went into exile because of its sins. Because they betrayed me, I hid my face from them, handing them over to their foes, so they all fell by the sword.^{(AY) 24} According to their defilement and their crimes I dealt with them, hiding my face from them.^(AZ)

²⁵ Therefore, thus says the Lord God: Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob and take pity on the whole house of Israel; I am zealous for my holy name.^{(BA) 26} They will forget their shame and all the infidelities they committed against me when they live securely on their own land with no one to frighten them. ²⁷ When I bring them back from the nations and gather them from the lands of their enemies, I will show my holiness through them in the sight of many nations.^{(BB) 28} Thus they shall know that I, the Lord, am their God, since I who exiled them among the nations will gather them back to their land, not leaving any of them behind. ²⁹ I will no longer hide my face from them once I pour out my spirit upon the house of Israel—oracle of the Lord God.^(BC)

V. The New Israel^[l]

The New Temple

Chapter 40

The Man with a Measure. ¹ In the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth day of the month, fourteen years after the city had been captured, on that very day the hand of the Lord came upon me and brought me back there.^{(BD) 2} In a divine vision he brought me to the land of Israel, where he set me down on a very high mountain. In front of me, there was something like a city built on it.^{(BE) 3} He brought me there, and there standing in the gateway was a man whose appearance was like bronze! He held in his hand a linen cord and a measuring rod.^{(BF) 4} The man said to me, “Son of man, look carefully and listen intently. Pay strict attention to everything I show you, for you have been brought here so that I might show it to you. Then you must tell the house of Israel everything you see.” ⁵ There an outer wall completely surrounded the temple. The measuring rod in the man’s hand was six cubits long, each cubit being a cubit plus a handbreadth;^[m] he measured the width of the structure, one rod, and its height, one rod.

The East Gate.^{[n] 6} Going to the gate facing east, he climbed its steps and measured the threshold of the outer gateway as one rod wide.^{(BG) 7} Each cell was one rod long and one rod wide, and there were five cubits between the cells; the threshold of the inner gateway adjoining the vestibule of the gate facing the temple was one rod wide. ⁸ He also measured the vestibule of the inner gate, ⁹ eight cubits, and its posts, two cubits each. The vestibule faced the inside. ¹⁰ On each side of the east gatehouse were three cells, all the same size; their posts were all the same size. ¹¹ He measured the width of the gate’s entryway, ten cubits, and the length of the gate itself, thirteen cubits. ¹² The borders in front of the cells on both sides were one cubit, while the cells themselves measured six cubits by six cubits from one opening to the next. ¹³ Next he measured the gatehouse from the back wall of one cell to the back wall of the cell on the opposite side through the openings facing each other, a width of twenty-five cubits. ¹⁴ All around the courtyard of the gatehouse were posts six cubits high. ¹⁵ From the front of the gatehouse at its outer entry to the gateway of the porch facing inward, the length was fifty cubits. ¹⁶ There were recessed windows in the cells on all sides and in the posts on the inner side of the gate. Posts and windows were all around the inside, with palm trees decorating the posts.^(BH)

The Outer Court. ¹⁷ Then he brought me to the outer court,^[o] where there were chambers and pavement laid all around the courtyard: thirty chambers facing the pavement.^{(BI) 18} The pavement lay alongside the gatehouses, the same length as the gates; this was the lower pavement. ¹⁹ He measured the length of the pavement from the front of the lower gate to the outside of the inner gate, one hundred cubits. He then moved from the east to the north side.

The North Gate. ²⁰ He measured the length and width of the north gate of the outer courtyard. ²¹ Its cells, three on each side, its posts, and its vestibule had the same measurements as those of the first gate, fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide. ²² Its windows, its vestibule, and its palm decorations had the same proportions as those of the gate facing east. Seven steps led up to it, and its vestibule faced the inside. ²³ The inner court had a gate opposite the north gate, just as at the east gate; he measured one hundred cubits from one gate to the other.

The South Gate. ²⁴ Then he led me to the south. There, too, facing south, was a gate! He measured its posts and vestibule; they were the same size as the others. ²⁵ The gate and its vestibule had windows on both sides, like the other windows, fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide. ²⁶ Seven steps led up to it, its vestibule faced inside; and palms decorated each of the posts opposite one another. ²⁷ The inner court also had a gate facing south. He measured it from gate to gate, facing south, one hundred cubits.

Gates of the Inner Court.^{[p] 28} Then he brought me to the inner courtyard by the south gate, where he measured the south gateway; its measurements were the same as the others. ²⁹ Its cells, posts, and vestibule were the same size as the others, fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide. ^30 [q]The vestibules all around were twenty-five cubits long and five cubits wide. ³¹ Its vestibule faced the outer court; palms decorated its posts, and its stairway had eight steps. ³² Then he brought me to the inner courtyard on the east and measured the gate there; its dimensions were the same as the others. ³³ Its cells, posts, and vestibule were the same size as the others. The gate and its vestibule had windows on both sides, fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide. ³⁴ Its vestibule faced the outer court, palms decorated the posts opposite each other, and it had a stairway of eight steps. ³⁵ Then he brought me to the north gate,^(BJ) where he measured the dimensions ³⁶ of its cells, posts, and vestibule; they were the same. The gate and its vestibule had windows on both sides, fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide. ³⁷ Its vestibule faced the outer court; palm trees decorated its posts opposite each other, and it had a stairway of eight steps.

Side Rooms. ³⁸ There was a chamber opening off the vestibule of the gate where burnt offerings were washed.^{(BK) 39} In the vestibule of the gate there were two tables on either side for slaughtering the burnt offerings, purification offerings, and reparation offerings.^{(BL) 40} Two more tables stood along the wall of the vestibule by the entrance of the north gate, and two tables on the other side of the vestibule of the gate. ⁴¹ There were thus four tables on one side of the gate and four tables on the other side, eight tables in all, for slaughtering. ⁴² The four tables for burnt offerings were made of cut stone, one and a half cubits long, one and a half cubits wide, and one cubit high; the instruments used for slaughtering burnt offerings and other sacrifices were kept ⁴³ on shelves the width of one hand, fixed all around the room; but on the tables themselves was the meat for the sacrifices. ⁴⁴ Outside the inner gatehouse there were two rooms on the inner courtyard, one beside the north gate, facing south, and the other beside the south gate, facing north. ⁴⁵ He said to me, “This chamber facing south is reserved for the priests who have charge of the temple area, ⁴⁶ while this chamber facing north is reserved for the priests who have charge of the altar; they are the sons of Zadok,^[r] the only Levites who may come near to minister to the Lord.” ⁴⁷ He measured the courtyard, a square one hundred cubits long and a hundred cubits wide, with the altar standing in front of the temple.^(BM)

The Temple Building.^{[s] 48 (BN)}Then he brought me into the vestibule of the temple and measured the posts, five cubits on each side. The gateway was fourteen cubits wide, its side walls three cubits. ⁴⁹ The vestibule was twenty cubits long and twelve cubits wide; ten steps led up to it, and there were columns by the posts, one on each side.

Chapter 41

¹ Then he brought me to the nave and measured the posts; each was six cubits wide.^{(BO) 2} The width of the entrance was ten cubits, and the walls on either side measured five cubits. He measured the nave, forty cubits long and twenty cubits wide.

³ Then he went inside and measured the posts at the other entrance, two cubits wide. The entrance was six cubits wide, with walls seven cubits long on each side. ⁴ Next he measured the length and width of the room beyond the nave, twenty cubits long and twenty cubits wide. He said to me, “This is the holy of holies.”^[t](BP)

⁵ Then he measured the wall of the temple, six cubits wide, and the width of the side chambers stretching all around the temple, four cubits each. ^6 [u]There were thirty side chambers, chamber upon chamber in three stories; terraces on the outside wall of the temple enclosing the side chambers provided support, but there were no supports for the temple wall itself. ⁷ A broad passageway led up the side chambers, for the house was enclosed all the way up and all the way around. Thus the temple was widened by the ascent that went from the lowest story through the middle one to the highest story.^{(BQ) 8} I saw a raised platform all around the temple, the foundation for the side chambers; the width of this terrace was a full rod, six cubits. ⁹ The width of the outside wall enclosing the side chambers was five cubits. There was an open space between the side chambers of the temple ¹⁰ and the other chambers that measured twenty cubits around the temple on all sides. ¹¹ The side chambers had entrances to the open space, one entrance on the north and the other on the south. The width of the wall surrounding the open space was five cubits. ¹² The building^[v] opposite the restricted area on the west side was seventy cubits long and ninety cubits wide, with walls five cubits thick all around it. ¹³ Thus he measured the temple, one hundred cubits long. The restricted area, its building and walls, measured a hundred cubits in length. ¹⁴ The temple facade, along with the restricted area to the east, was also one hundred cubits wide. ¹⁵ He then measured the building opposite the restricted area which was behind it, together with its terraces on both sides, one hundred cubits.

Interior of the Temple. The inner nave and the outer vestibule ¹⁶ were paneled; the windows had recesses and precious wood trim around all three sides except the sill. Paneling covered the walls from the floor up to the windows and even the window sections.^{(BR) 17} Even above the doorway and in the inner part of the temple and outside as well, around all the walls inside and out, ¹⁸ were figures of cherubim and palm trees: a palm tree between each pair of cherubim. Each cherub had two faces:^{(BS) 19} the face of a human being looked toward one palm tree and the face of a lion looked toward the other palm tree. Thus the figures covered all the walls around the temple. ²⁰ From the floor to the lintel of the door, cherubim and palm trees decorated the walls. ²¹ The nave had a square door frame, and inside facing the holy place was something that looked like ²² a wooden altar,^[w] three cubits high, two cubits long, and two cubits wide. It had corners and a wooden base and sides. He said to me, “This is the table that stands before the Lord.”^{(BT) 23} The nave had a double door,^(BU) and the holy place ²⁴ also had a double door; each door had two sections that could move; two sections on one door, and two on the other.^{(BV) 25} Cherubim and palm trees decorated the doors of the nave like the decoration on the walls. Outside a wooden lattice faced the vestibule. ²⁶ There were recessed windows and palm trees on the side walls of the vestibule. The side chambers of the temple also had latticework.

Chapter 42

Other Structures. ¹ Then he led me north to the outer court, bringing me to some chambers on the north side opposite the restricted area and the north building.^{(BW) 2} They were a hundred cubits long on the north side and fifty cubits wide. ³ Built in rows at three different levels, they stood between the twenty cubits of the inner court and the pavement of the outer court. ⁴ In front of the chambers was a walkway ten cubits wide on the inside of a wall one cubit wide. The doorways faced north. ^5 [x]The upper chambers were shorter because they lost space to the lower and middle tiers of the building. ⁶ Because they were in three tiers, they did not have foundations like the court, but were set back from the lower and middle levels from the ground up. ⁷ The outside walls ran parallel to the chambers along the outer court, a length of fifty cubits. ⁸ The chambers facing the outer court were fifty cubits long; thus the wall along the nave was a hundred cubits. ⁹ At the base of these chambers, there was an entryway from the east so that one could enter from the outer court ¹⁰ where the wall of the court began.

To the south along the side of the restricted area and the building there were also chambers ¹¹ with a walkway in front of them. They looked like the chambers on the north side in length and width, in their exits, their design, and their doorways. ¹² At the base of the chambers on the south side there was an entry at the end of a walkway in front of the protective wall by which one could enter from the east. ¹³ He said to me, “The north and south chambers facing the restricted area are the chambers of the holy place where the priests who approach the Lord shall eat the most holy meals. Here they shall place the most holy offerings: the grain offerings, the purification offerings, and the reparation offerings; for the place is holy.^{[y](BX) 14} When the priests have entered, they must not go out again from the holy place into the outer court without leaving the garments in which they ministered because they are holy. They shall put on other garments before approaching the area for the people.”^(BY)

Measuring the Outer Court. ¹⁵ When he finished measuring the interior of the temple area, he brought me out by way of the gate facing east and measured all around it. ¹⁶ He measured the east side, five hundred cubits by his measuring rod. Then he turned ¹⁷ and measured the north side: five hundred cubits by his measuring rod. He turned ¹⁸ and measured the south side, five hundred cubits by his measuring rod. ¹⁹ He turned and measured the west side, also five hundred cubits by his measuring rod. ²⁰ Thus he measured it on the four sides. It was surrounded by a wall five hundred cubits long and five hundred cubits wide, to separate the sacred from the profane.

Restoration of the Temple

Chapter 43

The Glory of the Lord Returns. ¹ Then he led me to the gate facing east,^{(BZ) 2} and there was the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east! His voice was like the roar of many waters, and the earth shone with his glory. ³ The vision I saw was like the vision I had seen when he came to destroy the city and like the vision I had seen by the river Chebar—I fell on my face. ⁴ The glory of the Lord entered the temple by way of the gate facing east.^{(CA) 5} Then the spirit lifted me up and brought me to the inner court. And there the glory of the Lord filled the temple!^{(CB) 6} I heard someone speaking to me from the temple, but the man was standing beside me. ⁷ The voice said to me: Son of man, do you see the place for my throne, and the place for the soles of my feet? Here I will dwell among the Israelites forever. The house of Israel, neither they nor their kings, will never again defile my holy name, with their prostitutions and the corpses of their kings at their death.^{(CC) 8} When they placed their threshold against my threshold^[z] and their doorpost next to mine, with only a wall between me and them, they defiled my holy name by the abominations they committed, and I devoured them in my wrath.^{(CD) 9} From now on, let them put their prostitution and the corpses of their kings far from me, and I will dwell in their midst forever.^(CE)

The Law of the Temple. ¹⁰ As for you, son of man, describe the temple to the house of Israel so they are ashamed for their sins. Let them measure its layout. ¹¹ If they are ashamed for all they have done, tell them about the layout and design of the temple, its exits and entrances, with all its regulations and instructions; write it down for them to see, that they may carefully observe all its laws and statutes. ¹² This is the law for the temple: the entire area on top of the mountain all around will be a most holy place. This is the law for the temple.

The Altar. ¹³ These were the dimensions of the altar^[aa] in cubits, a cubit being one cubit plus a handbreadth. The channel was one cubit deep by one cubit wide, and its rim had a lip one span wide all around it.^(CF) The height of the altar itself was as follows: ¹⁴ from the channel at floor level up to the lower ledge was two cubits, with the ledge one cubit wide; from the lower ledge to the upper ledge, four cubits, with the ledge one cubit wide. ¹⁵ The altar hearth was four cubits high, and extending up from the top of the hearth were four horns. ¹⁶ The hearth was twelve cubits long and twelve cubits wide, a square with four equal sides. ¹⁷ The upper ledge was fourteen cubits long and fourteen cubits wide on all four sides. The rim around it was half a cubit, with a channel one cubit all around. The steps faced east.^(CG)

¹⁸ Then he said to me: Son of man, thus says the Lord God: These are the statutes for the altar when it is set up for sacrificing burnt offerings and splashing blood on it.^{(CH) 19} A young bull must be brought as a purification offering to the priests, the Levites descended from Zadok, who come near to serve me—oracle of the Lord God.^{(CI) 20} You shall take some of its blood and smear it on the four horns of the altar, and on the four corners of the ledge, and all around its rim. Thus you shall purify and purge it.^{(CJ) 21} Then take the bull as purification offering and burn it in the appointed place outside the sanctuary.^{(CK) 22} On the second day present an unblemished male goat as a purification offering, to purify the altar as you did with the bull. ²³ When you have completed the purification,^(CL) you must bring an unblemished young bull and an unblemished ram from the flock ²⁴ and present them before the Lord. The priests shall throw salt on them and sacrifice them as burnt offerings to the Lord. ²⁵ Daily for seven days you shall give a male goat as a purification offering; and a young bull and a ram from the flock, all unblemished,^(CM) shall be offered ²⁶ for seven days. Thus they shall purge the altar, in order to cleanse and dedicate it. ²⁷ And when these days are over, from the eighth day on, the priests shall sacrifice your burnt offerings and communion offerings on the altar. Then I will be pleased with you—oracle of the Lord God.

Chapter 44

The Closed Gate. ¹ Then he brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary facing east, but it was closed. ² The Lord said to me: This gate must remain closed; it must not be opened, and no one should come through it. Because the Lord, the God of Israel, came through it, it must remain closed. ³ Only the prince may sit in it to eat a meal in the presence of the Lord; he must enter through the vestibule of the gate and leave the same way.^[ab](CN)

The New Law

Admission to the Temple. ⁴ Then he brought me by way of the north gate to the facade of the temple. I looked—and the glory of the Lord filled the Lord’s house! I fell on my face.^{(CO) 5} The Lord said to me: Son of man, pay close attention, look carefully, and listen intently to everything I tell you about all the statutes and laws of the Lord’s house. Pay close attention to the entrance into the temple and all the exits of the sanctuary. ⁶ Say to that rebellious house, the house of Israel: Thus says the Lord God: Enough of all your abominations, house of Israel! ⁷ You have admitted foreigners, uncircumcised in heart and flesh, into my sanctuary to profane it when you offered me food, the fat and blood.^[ac] Thus you have broken my covenant by all your abominations.^{(CP) 8} Instead of caring for the service of my sanctuary, you appointed these foreigners to care for the service of my sanctuary. ⁹ Thus says the Lord God: No foreigners, uncircumcised in heart and flesh, shall ever enter my sanctuary: not even any of the foreigners who live among the Israelites.^(CQ)

Levites. ¹⁰ As for the Levites who went far away from me when Israel strayed from me after their idols, they will bear the consequences of their sin. ¹¹ They will serve in my sanctuary only as gatekeepers and temple servants; they will slaughter burnt offerings and sacrifices for the people. They will stand before the people to serve them.^{(CR) 12} Because they used to serve them before their idols, thus becoming a stumbling block to the house of Israel, therefore I have sworn an oath against them, says the Lord God, and they will bear the consequences of their sin. ¹³ They shall no longer come near to serve as my priests, nor shall they touch any of my sacred things or my most sacred offerings, for they must bear their shame, the abominations they committed. ¹⁴ Instead I will make them responsible for the service of the temple and all its work, for everything that must be done in it.^(CS)

Priests. ¹⁵ As for the levitical priests, sons of Zadok, who took charge of my sanctuary when the Israelites strayed from me, they may approach me to serve me and stand before me to offer the fat and the blood—oracle of the Lord God.^{(CT) 16} They may enter my sanctuary; they may approach my table to serve me and carry out my service.^{(CU) 17} Whenever they enter the gates of the inner court, they shall wear linen garments; they shall not put on anything woolen when they serve at the gates of the inner court or within the temple. ^18 (CV)They shall have linen turbans on their heads and linen undergarments on their loins; they shall not gird themselves with anything that causes sweat. ^19 (CW)And when they go out to the people in the outer court, they shall take off the garments in which they served and leave them in the rooms of the sanctuary, and put on other garments so they do not transmit holiness to the people^[ad] by their garments.

^20 (CX)They shall not shave their heads nor let their hair hang loose, but they shall keep their hair carefully trimmed. ²¹ No priest shall drink wine before he enters the inner court. ^22 (CY)They shall not take as wives either widows or divorced women, but only unmarried women from the line of Israel; however, they may take as wives widows who are widows of priests. ^23 (CZ)They shall teach my people to distinguish between sacred and profane and make known to them the difference between clean and unclean. ^24 (DA)In legal cases they shall stand as judges, judging according to my ordinances. They shall observe all my laws and statutes regarding all my appointed feasts, and they shall keep my sabbaths holy.

^25 (DB)They shall not make themselves unclean by going near a dead body; only for their father, mother, son, daughter, brother, or unmarried sister may they make themselves unclean. ²⁶ After he is again clean, he must wait an additional seven days; ²⁷ on the day he enters the inner court to serve in the sanctuary, he shall present a purification offering for himself—oracle of the Lord God. ^28 (DC)I will be their heritage: I am their heritage! You shall not give them any property in Israel, for I am their property! ^29 (DD)They shall eat grain offerings, purification offerings, and reparation offerings; anything under the ban^[ae] in Israel belongs to them; ^30 (DE)all the choicest first fruits of every kind and all the best of your offerings of every kind shall belong to the priests; the best of your dough you shall also give to the priests to bring a blessing upon your house. ^31 (DF)The priests shall not eat anything, whether bird or animal, that died naturally or was killed by wild beasts.

Chapter 45

The Holy Portion. ¹ When you apportion the land heritage by heritage, you shall set apart a holy portion for the Lord, holier than the rest of the land—twenty-five thousand cubits long and twenty thousand cubits wide; the entire area shall be holy. ² Of this land a square plot, five hundred by five hundred cubits, shall be assigned to the sanctuary, with fifty cubits of free space around it. ³ From this tract also measure off a length of twenty-five thousand cubits and a width of ten thousand cubits; on it the sanctuary, the holy of holies, shall stand. ⁴ This shall be the sacred part of the land belonging to the priests, the ministers of the sanctuary, who draw near to minister to the Lord; it shall be a place for their homes and an area set apart for the sanctuary. ⁵ There shall also be a strip twenty-five thousand cubits long and ten thousand wide for the Levites, the ministers of the temple, so they have cities to live in. ⁶ You shall assign a strip five thousand cubits wide and twenty-five thousand long as the property of the city parallel to the sacred tract; this shall belong to the whole house of Israel. ⁷ A section shall belong to the prince, bordering both sides of the sacred tract and city combined, extending westward on the west side and eastward on the east side, corresponding in length to one of the tribal portions from the west boundary to the east boundary ⁸ of the land. This shall be his property in Israel so that my princes will no longer oppress my people, but will leave the land to the house of Israel according to its tribes. ⁹ Thus says the Lord God: Enough, you princes of Israel! Put away violence and oppression, and do what is just and right! Stop evicting my people!—oracle of the Lord God.

Weights and Measures.^{[af] 10 (DG)}You shall have honest scales, an honest ephah, and an honest bath. ¹¹ The ephah and the bath shall be the same size: the bath equal to one tenth of a homer, and the ephah equal to one tenth of a homer; their capacity is based on the homer. ¹² The shekel shall be twenty gerahs. Twenty shekels plus twenty-five shekels plus fifteen shekels make up a mina^[ag] for you.

Offerings. ¹³ This is the offering you must make: one sixth of an ephah from each homer of wheat and one sixth of an ephah from each homer of barley. ¹⁴ This is the regulation for oil: for every bath of oil, one tenth of a bath, computed by the kor,^[ah] made up of ten baths, that is, a homer, for ten baths make a homer. ¹⁵ Also, one sheep from the flock for every two hundred from the pasture land of Israel, for the grain offering, the burnt offering, and communion offerings, to make atonement on their behalf—oracle of the Lord God.^{(DH) 16} All the people of the land shall be responsible for these offerings to the prince in Israel. ¹⁷ It shall be the duty of the prince to provide burnt offerings, grain offerings, and libations on feast days, new moons, and sabbaths, on all the festivals of the house of Israel. He shall provide the purification offering, grain offering, burnt offering, and communion offerings, to make atonement on behalf of the house of Israel.^(DI)

The Passover. ¹⁸ Thus says the Lord God: On the first day of the first month you shall take an unblemished young bull to purify the sanctuary.^{(DJ) 19} The priest shall take some of the blood from the purification offering and smear it on the doorposts of the house, on the four corners of the ledge of the altar, and on the doorposts of the gates of the inner courtyard.^{(DK) 20} You shall repeat this on the seventh day of the month for those who have sinned inadvertently or out of ignorance; thus you shall purge the temple.^{(DL) 21} On the fourteenth day of the first month you shall observe the feast of Passover; for seven days unleavened bread must be eaten. ²² On that day the prince shall sacrifice, on his own behalf and on behalf of all the people of the land, a bull as a purification offering. ²³ On each of the seven days of the feast he shall sacrifice, as a burnt offering to the Lord, seven bulls and seven rams without blemish, and as a purification offering he shall sacrifice one male goat each day.^{(DM) 24} As a grain offering he shall offer one ephah for each bull and one ephah for each ram and one hin^[ai] of oil for each ephah.^(DN)

The Feast of Booths. ²⁵ In the seventh month, on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, on the feast day and for the next seven days, he shall make the same offerings: the same purification offerings, burnt offerings, grain offerings, and offerings of oil.^(DO)

Chapter 46

Sabbaths. ¹ Thus says the Lord God: The gate of the inner court facing east shall remain closed throughout the six working days, but on the sabbath and on the day of the new moon it shall be open. ^2 [aj]Then the prince shall enter from outside by way of the vestibule of the gate and remain standing at the doorpost of the gateway while the priests sacrifice his burnt offerings and communion offerings; then he shall bow down in worship at the opening of the gate and leave. But the gate shall not be closed until evening. ³ The people of the land also shall bow down in worship before the Lord at the opening of this gate on the sabbaths and new moons. ⁴ The burnt offerings which the prince sacrifices to the Lord on the sabbath shall consist of six unblemished lambs and an unblemished ram, ⁵ together with a grain offering of one ephah for the ram and whatever he pleases for the lambs, and a hin of oil for each ephah. ^6 (DP)On the day of the new moon, he shall provide an unblemished young bull, six lambs, and a ram without blemish, ⁷ with a grain offering of one ephah for the bull and an ephah for the ram, and for the lambs whatever he can, and for each ephah a hin of oil.^(DQ)

Ritual Laws. ⁸ When the prince enters, he shall always enter and depart by the vestibule of the gate. ⁹ When the people of the land come before the Lord to bow down on the festivals, if they enter by the north gate they shall leave by the south gate, and if they enter by the south gate they shall leave by the north gate. They shall not go back by the gate through which they entered; everyone shall leave by the opposite gate. ¹⁰ When they come in, the prince shall be with them; he shall also leave with them. ¹¹ On feasts and festivals, the grain offering shall be an ephah for a bull, an ephah for a ram, but for the lambs whatever they please, and a hin of oil with each ephah. ¹² When the prince makes a freewill offering to the Lord, whether a burnt offering or communion offering, the gate facing east shall be opened for him, and he shall bring his burnt offering or peace offering as he does on the sabbath. Then he shall leave, and the gate shall be closed after his departure. ^13 (DR)Every day you shall bring as a burnt offering to the Lord an unblemished year-old lamb; you shall offer it every morning, ¹⁴ and with it every morning a grain offering of one sixth of an ephah, with a third of a hin of oil to moisten the fine flour. This grain offering for the Lord is a perpetual statute. ^15 (DS)The lamb, the grain offering, and the oil you must bring every morning as a perpetual burnt offering.

The Prince and the Land. ¹⁶ Thus says the Lord God: If the prince makes a gift of part of his heritage to any of his sons, it belongs to his sons; that property is their heritage. ¹⁷ But if he makes a gift of part of his heritage to one of his servants, it belongs to him until the year of release;^[ak] then it reverts to the prince. Only the heritage given to his sons belongs to him.^{(DT) 18} The prince shall not seize any part of the heritage of the people by forcing them off their property. From his own property he shall provide heritage for his sons, so that none of my people will be driven off their property.

The Temple Kitchens. ¹⁹ Then he brought me through the entrance at the side of the gateway to the chambers reserved for the priests, which faced north. There I saw a place at the far west end, ²⁰ about which he said to me, “This is the place where the priests cook the reparation offerings and the purification offerings and bake the grain offerings, so they do not have to bring them into the outer court and so transmit holiness to the people.”^{[al](DU) 21} Then he led me into the outer court and had me cross to the four corners of the court, and there, in each corner, was another court! ²² In all four corners of the courtyard there were courts set off, each forty cubits long by thirty cubits wide, all four of them the same size. ²³ A stone wall surrounded them on four sides, and ovens were built along the bottom of the walls all the way around. ²⁴ He said to me, “These are the kitchens where the temple ministers cook the sacrifices of the people.”

Chapter 47

The Wonderful Stream.^{[am] 1} Then he brought me back to the entrance of the temple, and there! I saw water flowing out from under the threshold of the temple toward the east, for the front of the temple faced east. The water flowed out toward the right side of the temple to the south of the altar.^{(DV) 2} He brought me by way of the north gate and around the outside to the outer gate facing east; there I saw water trickling from the southern side. ³ When he continued eastward with a measuring cord in his hand, he measured off a thousand cubits and had me wade through the water; it was ankle-deep. ⁴ He measured off another thousand cubits and once more had me wade through the water; it was up to the knees. He measured another thousand cubits and had me wade through the water; it was up to my waist. ⁵ Once more he measured off a thousand cubits. Now it was a river I could not wade across. The water had risen so high, I would have to swim—a river that was impassable. ⁶ Then he asked me, “Do you see this, son of man?” He brought me to the bank of the river and had me sit down. ⁷ As I was returning, I saw along the bank of the river a great many trees on each side.^{(DW) 8} He said to me, “This water flows out into the eastern district, runs down into the Arabah and empties into the polluted waters of the sea^[an] to freshen them.^{(DX) 9} Wherever it flows, the river teems with every kind of living creature; fish will abound. Where these waters flow they refresh; everything lives where the river goes. ¹⁰ Fishermen will stand along its shore from En-gedi to En-eglaim;^[ao] it will become a place for drying nets, and it will abound with as many kinds of fish as the Great Sea.^{(DY) 11} Its marshes and swamps shall not be made fresh, but will be left for salt. ¹² Along each bank of the river every kind of fruit tree will grow; their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail. Every month they will bear fresh fruit because the waters of the river flow out from the sanctuary. Their fruit is used for food, and their leaves for healing.”^(DZ)

The New Israel

Boundaries of the Land.^[ap]