33:21 In the twelfth year of our exile, in the tenth month, on the fifth of the month, 1 a refugee came to me from Jerusalem 2 saying, “The city has been defeated!” 3 33:22 Now the hand of the Lord had been on me 4 the evening before the refugee reached me, but the Lord 5 opened my mouth by the time the refugee arrived 6 in the morning; he opened my mouth and I was no longer unable to speak. 7 33:23 The word of the Lord came to me: 33:24 “Son of man, the ones living in these ruins in the land of Israel are saying, ‘Abraham was only one man, yet he possessed the land, but we are many; surely the land has been given to us for a possession.’ 8 33:25 Therefore say to them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: You eat the meat with the blood still in it, 9 pray to 10 your idols, and shed blood. Do you really think you will possess 11 the land? 33:26 You rely 12 on your swords and commit abominable deeds; each of you defiles his neighbor’s wife. Will you possess the land?’
33:27 “This is what you must say to them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: As surely as I live, those living in the ruins will die 13 by the sword, those in the open field I will give to the wild beasts for food, and those who are in the strongholds and caves will die of disease. 33:28 I will turn the land into a desolate ruin; her confident pride will come to an end. The mountains of Israel will be so desolate no one will pass through them. 33:29 Then they will know that I am the Lord when I turn the land into a desolate ruin because of all the abominable deeds they have committed.’ 14
33:30 “But as for you, son of man, your people 15 (who are talking about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses) say to one another, 16 ‘Come hear the word that comes 17 from the Lord.’ 33:31 They come to you in crowds, 18 and they sit in front of you as 19 my people. They hear your words, but do not obey 20 them. For they talk lustfully, 21 and their heart is set on 22 their own advantage. 23 33:32 Realize 24 that to them you are like a sensual song, a beautiful voice and skilled musician. 25 They hear your words, but they do not obey them. 26 33:33 When all this comes true – and it certainly will 27 – then they will know that a prophet was among them.”
34:1 The word of the Lord came to me: 34:2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds 28 of Israel; prophesy, and say to them – to the shepherds: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not shepherds feed the flock? 34:3 You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the choice animals, but you do not feed the sheep! 34:4 You have not strengthened the weak, healed the sick, bandaged the injured, brought back the strays, or sought the lost, but with force and harshness 29 you have ruled over them. 34:5 They were scattered because they had no shepherd, and they became food for every wild beast. 30 34:6 My sheep wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. My sheep were scattered over the entire face of the earth with no one looking or searching for them.
34:7 “‘Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: 34:8 As surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, my sheep have become prey and have become food for all the wild beasts. There was no shepherd, and my shepherds did not search for my flock, but fed themselves and did not feed my sheep, 34:9 Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: 34:10 This is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I am against the shepherds, and I will demand my sheep from their hand. I will no longer let them be shepherds; 31 the shepherds will not feed themselves anymore. I will rescue my sheep from their mouth, so that they will no longer be food for them.
34:11 “‘For this is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I myself will search for my sheep and seek them out. 34:12 As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his scattered sheep, so I will seek out my flock. I will rescue them from all the places where they have been scattered on a cloudy, dark day. 32 34:13 I will bring them out from among the peoples and gather them from foreign countries; I will bring them to their own land. I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the streams and all the inhabited places of the land. 34:14 In a good pasture I will feed them; the mountain heights of Israel will be their pasture. There they will lie down in a lush 33 pasture, and they will feed on rich grass on the mountains of Israel. 34:15 I myself will feed my sheep and I myself will make them lie down, declares the sovereign Lord. 34:16 I will seek the lost and bring back the strays; I will bandage the injured and strengthen the sick, but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them – with judgment!
34:17 “‘As for you, my sheep, this is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I am about to judge between one sheep and another, between rams and goats. 34:18 Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture, that you must trample the rest of your pastures with your feet? When you drink clean water, must you muddy the rest of the water by trampling it with your feet? 34:19 As for my sheep, they must eat what you trampled with your feet, and drink what you have muddied with your feet!
34:20 “‘Therefore, this is what the sovereign Lord says to them: Look, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. 34:21 Because you push with your side and your shoulder, and thrust your horns at all the weak sheep until you scatter them abroad, 34 34:22 I will save my sheep; they will no longer be prey. I will judge between one sheep and another.
34:23 I will set one shepherd over them, and he will feed them – namely, my servant David. 35 He will feed them and will be their shepherd. 34:24 I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David will be prince 36 among them; I, the Lord, have spoken!
34:25 “‘I will make a covenant of peace with them and will rid the land of wild beasts, so that they can live securely 37 in the wilderness and even sleep in the woods. 38 34:26 I will turn them and the regions around my hill into a blessing. I will make showers come down in their season; they will be showers that bring blessing. 39 34:27 The trees of the field will yield their fruit and the earth will yield its crops. They will live securely on their land; they will know that I am the Lord, when I break the bars of their yoke and rescue them from the hand of those who enslaved them. 34:28 They will no longer be prey for the nations and the wild beasts will not devour them. They will live securely and no one will make them afraid. 34:29 I will prepare for them a healthy 40 planting. They will no longer be victims 41 of famine in the land and will no longer bear the insults of the nations. 34:30 Then they will know that I, the Lord their God, am with them, 42 and that they are my people, the house of Israel, declares the sovereign Lord. 43 34:31 And you, my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, are my people, 44 and I am your God, declares the sovereign Lord.’”
35:1 The word of the Lord came to me: 35:2 “Son of man, turn toward 45 Mount Seir, 46 and prophesy against it. 35:3 Say to it, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:
“‘Look, I am against you, Mount Seir;
I will stretch out my hand against you
and turn you into a desolate ruin.
35:4 I will lay waste your cities;
and you will become desolate.
Then you will know that I am the Lord!
35:5 “‘You have shown unrelenting hostility and poured the people of Israel onto the blades of a sword 47 at the time of their calamity, at the time of their final punishment. 35:6 Therefore, as surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, I will subject you to bloodshed, and bloodshed will pursue you. Since you did not hate bloodshed, bloodshed will pursue you. 35:7 I will turn Mount Seir into a desolate ruin; 48 I will cut off 49 from it the one who passes through or returns. 35:8 I will fill its mountains with its dead; on your hills and in your valleys and in all your ravines, those killed by the sword will fall. 35:9 I will turn you into a perpetual desolation, and your cities will not be inhabited. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
35:10 “‘You said, “These two nations, these two lands 50 will be mine, and we will possess them,” 51 – although the Lord was there – 35:11 therefore, as surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, I will deal with you according to your anger, and according to your envy, by which you acted spitefully against them. I will reveal myself to them when I judge you. 35:12 Then you will know that I, the Lord, have heard all the insults you spoke against the mountains of Israel, saying, “They are desolate, they have been given to us for food.” 35:13 You exalted yourselves against me with your speech 52 and hurled many insults against me 53 – I have heard them all! 35:14 This is what the sovereign Lord says: While the whole earth rejoices, I will turn you into a desolation. 35:15 As you rejoiced over the inheritance of the house of Israel because it was desolate, so will I deal with you – you will be desolate, Mount Seir, and all of Edom – all of it! Then they will know that I am the Lord.’”
36:1 “As for you, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel, and say: ‘O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord! 36:2 This is what the sovereign Lord says: The enemy has spoken against you, saying “Aha!” and, “The ancient heights 54 have become our property!”’ 36:3 So prophesy and say: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Surely because they have made you desolate and crushed you from all directions, so that you have become the property of the rest of the nations, and have become the subject of gossip 55 and slander among the people, 36:4 therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the sovereign Lord: This is what the sovereign Lord says to the mountains and hills, the ravines and valleys, and to the desolate ruins and the abandoned cities that have become prey and an object of derision to the rest of the nations round about – 36:5 therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: Surely I have spoken in the fire of my zeal against the rest of the nations, and against all Edom, who with great joy and utter contempt have made my land their property and prey, because of its pasture.’
36:6 “Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel, and say to the mountains and hills, the ravines and valleys, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I have spoken in my zeal and in my anger, because you have endured the insults of the nations. 36:7 So this is what the sovereign Lord says: I vow 56 that the nations around you will endure insults as well.
36:8 “‘But you, mountains of Israel, will grow your branches, and bear your fruit for my people Israel; for they will arrive soon. 57 36:9 For indeed, I am on your side; 58 I will turn to you, and you will be plowed and planted. 36:10 I will multiply your people 59 – the whole house of Israel, all of it. The cities will be populated and the ruins rebuilt. 36:11 I will increase the number of people and animals on you; they will increase and be fruitful. 60 I will cause you to be inhabited as in ancient times, and will do more good for you than at the beginning of your history. 61 Then you will know that I am the Lord. 36:12 I will lead people, my people Israel, across you; they will possess you and you will become their inheritance. No longer will you bereave them of their children.
36:13 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Because they are saying to you, “You are a devourer of men, and bereave your nation of children,” 36:14 therefore you will no longer devour people and no longer bereave your nation of children, declares the sovereign Lord. 36:15 I will no longer subject you to 62 the nations’ insults; no longer will you bear the shame of the peoples, and no longer will you bereave 63 your nation, declares the sovereign Lord.’”
36:16 The word of the Lord came to me: 36:17 “Son of man, when the house of Israel was living on their own land, they defiled it by their behavior 64 and their deeds. In my sight their behavior was like the uncleanness of a woman having her monthly period. 36:18 So I poured my anger on them 65 because of the blood they shed on the land and because of the idols with which they defiled it. 66 36:19 I scattered them among the nations; they were dispersed throughout foreign countries. In accordance with their behavior and their deeds I judged them. 36:20 But when they arrived in the nations where they went, they profaned my holy name. It was said of them, ‘These are the people of the Lord, yet they have departed from his land.’ 36:21 I was concerned for my holy reputation 67 which the house of Israel profaned among the nations where they went.
36:22 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: It is not for your sake that I am about to act, O house of Israel, but for the sake of my holy reputation 68 which you profaned among the nations where you went. 36:23 I will magnify 69 my great name that has been profaned among the nations, that you have profaned among them. The nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the sovereign Lord, when I magnify myself among you in their sight.
36:24 “‘I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries; then I will bring you to your land. 36:25 I will sprinkle you with pure water 70 and you will be clean from all your impurities. I will purify you from all your idols. 36:26 I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit within you. I will remove the heart of stone 71 from your body and give you a heart of flesh. 72 36:27 I will put my Spirit within you; 73 I will take the initiative and you will obey my statutes 74 and carefully observe my regulations. 75 36:28 Then you will live in the land I gave to your fathers; you will be my people, and I will be your God. 76 36:29 I will save you from all your uncleanness. I will call for the grain and multiply it; I will not bring a famine on you. 36:30 I will multiply the fruit of the trees and the produce of the fields, so that you will never again suffer the disgrace of famine among the nations. 36:31 Then you will remember your evil behavior 77 and your deeds which were not good; you will loathe yourselves on account of your sins and your abominable deeds. 36:32 Understand that 78 it is not for your sake I am about to act, declares the sovereign Lord. Be ashamed and embarrassed by your behavior, O house of Israel.
36:33 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: In the day I cleanse you from all your sins, I will populate the cities and the ruins will be rebuilt. 36:34 The desolate land will be plowed, instead of being desolate in the sight of everyone who passes by. 36:35 They will say, “This desolate land has become like the garden of Eden; the ruined, desolate, and destroyed cities are now fortified and inhabited.” 36:36 Then the nations which remain around you will know that I, the Lord, have rebuilt the ruins and replanted what was desolate. I, the Lord, have spoken – and I will do it!’
36:37 “This is what the sovereign Lord says: I will allow the house of Israel to ask me to do this for them: 79 I will multiply their people like sheep. 80 36:38 Like the sheep for offerings, like the sheep of Jerusalem 81 during her appointed feasts, so will the ruined cities be filled with flocks of people. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”
37:1 The hand 82 of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and placed 83 me in the midst of the valley, and it was full of bones. 37:2 He made me walk all around among them. 84 I realized 85 there were a great many bones in the valley and they were very dry. 37:3 He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I said to him, “Sovereign Lord, you know.” 37:4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and tell them: ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. 37:5 This is what the sovereign Lord says to these bones: Look, I am about to infuse breath 86 into you and you will live. 37:6 I will put tendons 87 on you and muscles over you and will cover you with skin; I will put breath 88 in you and you will live. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”
37:7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. There was a sound when I prophesied – I heard 89 a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to bone. 37:8 As I watched, I saw 90 tendons on them, then muscles appeared, 91 and skin covered over them from above, but there was no breath 92 in them.
37:9 He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, 93 – prophesy, son of man – and say to the breath: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these corpses so that they may live.’” 37:10 So I prophesied as I was commanded, and the breath came into them; they lived and stood on their feet, an extremely great army.
37:11 Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are all the house of Israel. Look, they are saying, ‘Our bones are dry, our hope has perished; we are cut off.’ 37:12 Therefore prophesy, and tell them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I am about to open your graves and will raise you from your graves, my people. I will bring you to the land of Israel. 37:13 Then you will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and raise you from your graves, my people. 37:14 I will place my breath 94 in you and you will live; I will give you rest in your own land. Then you will know that I am the Lord – I have spoken and I will act, declares the Lord.’”
37:15 The word of the Lord came to me: 37:16 “As for you, son of man, take one branch, and write on it, ‘For Judah, and for the Israelites associated with him.’ Then take another branch and write on it, ‘For Joseph, the branch of Ephraim and all the house of Israel associated with him.’ 37:17 Join 95 them as one stick; 96 they will be as one in your hand. 37:18 When your people 97 say to you, ‘Will you not tell us what these things mean?’ 37:19 tell them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I am about to take the branch of Joseph which is in the hand of Ephraim and the tribes of Israel associated with him, and I will place them on the stick of Judah, 98 and make them into one stick – they will be one in my hand.’ 99 37:20 The sticks you write on will be in your hand in front of them. 37:21 Then tell them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I am about to take the Israelites from among the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from round about and bring them to their land. 37:22 I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel, and one king will rule over them all. They will never again be two nations and never again be divided into two kingdoms. 100 37:23 They will not defile themselves with their idols, their detestable things, and all their rebellious deeds. I will save them from all their unfaithfulness 101 by which they sinned. I will purify them; they will become my people and I will become their God.
37:24 “‘My servant David will be king over them; there will be one shepherd for all of them. They will follow 102 my regulations and carefully observe my statutes. 103 37:25 They will live in the land I gave to my servant Jacob, in which your fathers lived; they will live in it – they and their children and their grandchildren forever. David my servant will be prince over them forever. 37:26 I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be a perpetual covenant with them. 104 I will establish them, 105 increase their numbers, and place my sanctuary among them forever. 37:27 My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people. 37:28 Then, when my sanctuary is among them forever, the nations will know that I, the Lord, sanctify Israel.’” 106
38:1 The word of the Lord came to me: 38:2 “Son of man, turn toward 107 Gog, 108 of the land of Magog, 109 the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. 110 Prophesy against him 38:3 and say: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, 111 I am against you, Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. 38:4 I will turn you around, put hooks into your jaws, and bring you out with all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them fully armed, a great company with shields of different types, 112 all of them armed with swords. 38:5 Persia, 113 Ethiopia, and Put 114 are with them, all of them with shields and helmets. 38:6 They are joined by 115 Gomer with all its troops, and by Beth Togarmah from the remote parts of the north with all its troops – many peoples are with you. 116
38:7 “‘Be ready and stay ready, you and all your companies assembled around you, and be a guard for them. 117 38:8 After many days you will be summoned; in the latter years you will come to a land restored from the ravages of war, 118 with many peoples gathered on the mountains of Israel that had long been in ruins. Its people 119 were brought out from the peoples, and all of them will be living securely. 38:9 You will advance; 120 you will come like a storm. You will be like a cloud covering the earth, you, all your troops, and the many other peoples with you.
38:10 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: On that day thoughts will come into your mind, 121 and you will devise an evil plan. 38:11 You will say, “I will invade 122 a land of unwalled towns; I will advance against 123 those living quietly in security – all of them living without walls and barred gates – 38:12 to loot and plunder, to attack 124 the inhabited ruins and the people gathered from the nations, who are acquiring cattle and goods, who live at the center 125 of the earth.” 38:13 Sheba and Dedan and the traders of Tarshish with all its young warriors 126 will say to you, “Have you come to loot? Have you assembled your armies to plunder, to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to haul away a great amount of spoils?”’
38:14 “Therefore, prophesy, son of man, and say to Gog: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: On that day when my people Israel are living securely, you will take notice 127 38:15 and come from your place, from the remote parts of the north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great company and a vast army. 38:16 You will advance 128 against my people Israel like a cloud covering the earth. In the latter days I will bring you against my land so that the nations may acknowledge me, when before their eyes I magnify myself 129 through you, O Gog.
38:17 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Are you the one of whom I spoke in former days by my servants 130 the prophets of Israel, who prophesied in those days 131 that I would bring you against them? 38:18 On that day, when Gog invades 132 the land of Israel, declares the sovereign Lord, my rage will mount up in my anger. 38:19 In my zeal, in the fire of my fury, 133 I declare that on that day there will be a great earthquake 134 in the land of Israel. 38:20 The fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the wild beasts, all the things that creep on the ground, and all people who live on the face of the earth will shake 135 at my presence. The mountains will topple, the cliffs 136 will fall, and every wall will fall to the ground. 38:21 I will call for a sword to attack 137 Gog 138 on all my mountains, declares the sovereign Lord; every man’s sword will be against his brother. 38:22 I will judge him with plague and bloodshed. I will rain down on him, his troops and the many peoples who are with him a torrential downpour, hailstones, fire, and brimstone. 38:23 I will exalt and magnify myself; I will reveal myself before many nations. Then they will know that I am the Lord.’
39:1 “As for you, son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal! 39:2 I will turn you around and drag you along; 139 I will lead you up from the remotest parts of the north and bring you against the mountains of Israel. 39:3 I will knock your bow out of your left hand and make your arrows fall from your right hand. 39:4 You will fall dead on the mountains of Israel, you and all your troops and the people who are with you. I give you as food to every kind of bird and every wild beast. 39:5 You will fall dead in the open field; for I have spoken, declares the sovereign Lord. 39:6 I will send fire on Magog and those who live securely in the coastlands; then they will know that I am the Lord.
39:7 “‘I will make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; I will not let my holy name be profaned anymore. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. 140 39:8 Realize that it is coming and it will be done, declares the sovereign Lord. It is the day I have spoken about.
39:9 “‘Then those who live in the cities of Israel will go out and use the weapons for kindling 141 – the shields, 142 bows and arrows, war clubs and spears – they will burn them for seven years. 39:10 They will not need to take 143 wood from the field or cut down trees from the forests, because they will make fires with the weapons. They will take the loot from those who looted them and seize the plunder of those who plundered them, 144 declares the sovereign Lord.
39:11 “‘On that day I will assign Gog a grave in Israel. It will be the valley of those who travel east of the sea; it will block the way of the travelers. There they will bury Gog and all his horde; they will call it the valley of Hamon-Gog. 145 39:12 For seven months Israel 146 will bury them, in order to cleanse the land. 39:13 All the people of the land will bury them, and it will be a memorial 147 for them on the day I magnify myself, declares the sovereign Lord. 39:14 They will designate men to scout continually 148 through the land, burying those who remain on the surface of the ground, 149 in order to cleanse it. They will search for seven full months. 39:15 When the scouts survey 150 the land and see a human bone, they will place a sign by it, until those assigned to burial duty have buried it 151 in the valley of Hamon-Gog. 39:16 (A city by the name of Hamonah 152 will also be there.) They will cleanse the land.’
39:17 “As for you, son of man, this is what the sovereign Lord says: Tell every kind of bird and every wild beast: ‘Assemble and come! Gather from all around to my slaughter 153 which I am going to make for you, a great slaughter on the mountains of Israel! You will eat flesh and drink blood. 39:18 You will eat the flesh of warriors 154 and drink the blood of the princes of the earth – the rams, lambs, goats, and bulls, all of them fattened animals of Bashan. 39:19 You will eat fat until you are full, and drink blood until you are drunk, 155 at my slaughter 156 which I have made for you. 39:20 You will fill up at my table with horses and charioteers, 157 with warriors and all the soldiers,’ declares the sovereign Lord.
39:21 “I will display my majesty 158 among the nations. All the nations will witness the judgment I have executed, and the power I have exhibited 159 among them. 39:22 Then the house of Israel will know that I am the Lord their God, from that day forward. 39:23 The nations will know that the house of Israel went into exile due to their iniquity, 160 for they were unfaithful to me. So I hid my face from them and handed them over to their enemies; all of them died by the sword. 39:24 According to their uncleanness and rebellion I have dealt with them, and I hid my face from them.
39:25 “Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: Now I will restore 161 the fortunes of Jacob, and I will have mercy on the entire house of Israel. I will be zealous for my holy name. 39:26 They will bear their shame for all their unfaithful acts against me, when they live securely on their land with no one to make them afraid. 39:27 When I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them from the countries of their enemies, I will magnify myself among them in the sight of many nations. 39:28 Then they will know that I am the Lord their God, because I sent them into exile among the nations, and then gathered them into their own land. I will not leave any of them in exile 162 any longer. 39:29 I will no longer hide my face from them, when I pour out my Spirit on the house of Israel, 163 declares the sovereign Lord.”
40:1 In the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after the city 164 was struck down, on this very day, 165 the hand 166 of the Lord was on me, and he brought me there. 167 40:2 By means of divine visions 168 he brought me to the land of Israel and placed me on a very high mountain, 169 and on it was a structure like a city, to the south. 40:3 When he brought me there, I saw 170 a man whose appearance was like bronze, with a linen cord and a measuring stick in his hand. He was standing in the gateway. 40:4 The man said to me, “Son of man, watch closely, listen carefully, and pay attention 171 to everything I show you, for you have been brought here so that I can show it to you. 172 Tell the house of Israel everything you see.”
40:5 I saw 173 a wall all around the outside of the temple. 174 In the man’s hand was a measuring stick 10½ feet 175 long. He measured the thickness of the wall 176 as 10½ feet, 177 and its height as 10½ feet. 40:6 Then he went to the gate facing east. He climbed its steps and measured the threshold of the gate as 10½ feet deep. 178 40:7 The alcoves were 10½ feet long and 10½ feet wide; between the alcoves were 8¾ feet. 179 The threshold of the gate by the porch of the gate facing inward was 10½ feet. 40:8 Then he measured the porch of the gate facing inward as 10½ feet. 40:9 He measured the porch of the gate as 14 feet, 180 and its jambs as 3½ feet; 181 the porch of the gate faced inward. 40:10 There were three alcoves on each side of the east gate; the three had the same measurement, and the jambs on either side had the same measurement. 182 40:11 He measured the width of the entrance of the gateway as 17½ feet, 183 and the length of the gateway as 22¾ feet. 184 40:12 There was a barrier in front of the alcoves, 1¾ feet 185 on either side; the alcoves were 10½ feet 186 on either side. 40:13 He measured the gateway from the roof of one alcove to the roof of the other, a width of 43¾ feet 187 from one entrance to the opposite one. 40:14 He measured 188 the porch 189 at 105 feet 190 high; 191 the gateway went all around to the jamb of the courtyard. 40:15 From the front of the entrance gate to the porch of the inner gate was 87½ feet. 192 40:16 There were closed windows toward the alcoves and toward their jambs within the gate all around, and likewise for the porches. There were windows all around the inside, and on each jamb were decorative palm trees. 193
40:17 Then he brought me to the outer court. I saw 194 chambers there, and a pavement made for the court all around; thirty chambers faced the pavement. 40:18 The pavement was beside the gates, corresponding to the length of the gates; this was the lower pavement. 40:19 Then he measured the width from before the lower gate to the front of the exterior of the inner court as 175 feet 195 on the east and on the north.
40:20 He measured the length and width of the gate of the outer court which faces north. 40:21 Its alcoves, three on each side, and its jambs and porches had the same measurement as the first gate; 87½ feet 196 long and 43¾ feet 197 wide. 40:22 Its windows, its porches, and its decorative palm trees had the same measurement as the gate which faced east. Seven steps led up to it, and its porch was in front of them. 40:23 Opposite the gate on the north and the east was a gate of the inner court; he measured the distance from gate to gate at 175 feet. 198
40:24 Then he led me toward the south. I saw 199 a gate on the south. He measured its jambs and its porches; they had the same dimensions as the others. 40:25 There were windows all around it and its porches, like the windows of the others; 200 87½ feet 201 long and 43¾ feet 202 wide. 40:26 There were seven steps going up to it; its porches were in front of them. It had decorative palm trees on its jambs, one on either side. 40:27 The inner court had a gate toward the south; he measured it from gate to gate toward the south as 175 feet. 203
40:28 Then he brought me to the inner court by the south gate. He measured the south gate; it had the same dimensions as the others. 40:29 Its alcoves, its jambs, and its porches had the same dimensions as the others, and there were windows all around it and its porches; its length was 87½ feet 204 and its width 43¾ feet. 205 40:30 There were porches all around, 43¾ feet 206 long and 8¾ feet 207 wide. 40:31 Its porches faced the outer court, and decorative palm trees were on its jambs, and its stairway had eight steps.
40:32 Then he brought me to the inner court on the east side. He measured the gate; it had the same dimensions as the others. 40:33 Its alcoves, its jambs, and its porches had the same dimensions as the others, and there were windows all around it and its porches; its length was 87½ feet 208 and its width 43¾ feet. 209 40:34 Its porches faced the outer court, it had decorative palm trees on its jambs, and its stairway had eight steps.
40:35 Then he brought me to the north gate, and he measured it; it had the same dimensions as the others – 40:36 its alcoves, its jambs, and its porches. It had windows all around it; its length was 87½ feet 210 and its width 43¾ feet. 211 40:37 Its jambs 212 faced the outer court, and it had decorative palm trees on its jambs, on either side, and its stairway had eight steps.
40:38 There was a chamber with its door by the porch of the gate; 213 there they washed the burnt offering. 40:39 In the porch of the gate were two tables on either side on which to slaughter the burnt offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering. 40:40 On the outside of the porch as one goes up at the entrance of the north gate were two tables, and on the other side of the porch of the gate were two tables. 40:41 Four tables were on each side of the gate, eight tables on which the sacrifices were to be slaughtered. 40:42 The four tables for the burnt offering were of carved stone, 32 inches 214 long, 32 inches 215 wide, and 21 inches 216 high. They would put the instruments which they used to slaughter the burnt offering and the sacrifice on them. 40:43 There were hooks 217 three inches 218 long, fastened in the house all around, and on the tables was the flesh of the offering.
40:44 On the outside of the inner gate were chambers for the singers of the inner court, one 219 at the side of the north gate facing south, and the other at the side of the south 220 gate facing north. 40:45 He said to me, “This chamber which faces south is for the priests who keep charge of the temple, 221 40:46 and the chamber which faces north is for the priests who keep charge of the altar. These are the descendants of Zadok, from the descendants of Levi, who may approach the Lord to minister to him.” 40:47 He measured the court as a square 175 feet long and 175 feet wide; 222 the altar was in front of the temple.
40:48 Then he brought me to the porch of the temple and measured the jambs of the porch as 8¾ feet 223 on either side, and the width of the gate was 24½ feet 224 and the sides 225 were 5¼ feet 226 on each side. 40:49 The length of the porch was 35 feet 227 and the width 19¼ feet; 228 steps 229 led up to it, and there were pillars beside the jambs on either side.
41:1 Then he brought me to the outer sanctuary, and measured the jambs; the jambs were 10½ feet 230 wide on each side. 41:2 The width of the entrance was 17½ feet, 231 and the sides 232 of the entrance were 8¾ feet 233 on each side. He measured the length of the outer sanctuary as 70 feet, 234 and its width as 35 feet. 235
41:3 Then he went into the inner sanctuary and measured the jambs of the entrance as 3½ feet, 236 the entrance as 10½ feet, 237 and the width of the entrance as 12¼ feet 238 41:4 Then he measured its length as 35 feet, 239 and its width as 35 feet, 240 before the outer sanctuary. He said to me, “This is the most holy place.”
41:5 Then he measured the wall of the temple 241 as 10½ feet, 242 and the width of the side chambers as 7 feet, 243 all around the temple. 41:6 The side chambers were in three stories, one above the other, thirty in each story. There were offsets in the wall all around to serve as supports for the side chambers, so that the supports were not in the wall of the temple. 41:7 The side chambers surrounding the temple were wider at each successive story; 244 for the structure 245 surrounding the temple went up story by story all around the temple. For this reason the width of the temple increased as it went up, and one went up from the lowest story to the highest by the way of the middle story.
41:8 I saw that the temple had a raised platform all around; the foundations of the side chambers were a full measuring stick 246 of 10½ feet 247 high. 41:9 The width of the outer wall of the side chambers was 8¾ feet, 248 and the open area between the side chambers of the temple 41:10 and the chambers of the court was 35 feet 249 in width all around the temple on every side. 41:11 There were entrances from the side chambers toward the open area, one entrance toward the north, and another entrance toward the south; the width of the open area was 8¾ feet 250 all around.
41:12 The building that was facing the temple courtyard at the west side was 122½ feet 251 wide; the wall of the building was 8¾ feet 252 all around, and its length 157½ feet. 253
41:13 Then he measured the temple as 175 feet 254 long, the courtyard of the temple and the building and its walls as 175 feet 255 long, 41:14 and also the width of the front of the temple and the courtyard on the east as 175 feet. 256
41:15 Then he measured the length of the building facing the courtyard at the rear of the temple, with its galleries on either side as 175 feet. 257
The interior of the outer sanctuary and the porch of the court, 258 41:16 as well as the thresholds, narrow windows and galleries all around on three sides facing the threshold were paneled with wood all around, from the ground up to the windows (now the windows were covered), 41:17 to the space above the entrance, to the inner room, and on the outside, and on all the walls in the inner room and outside, by measurement. 259 41:18 It was made with cherubim and decorative palm trees, with a palm tree between each cherub. Each cherub had two faces: 41:19 a human face toward the palm tree on one side and a lion’s face toward the palm tree on the other side. They were carved on the whole temple all around; 41:20 from the ground to the area above the entrance, cherubim and decorative palm trees were carved on the wall of the outer sanctuary. 41:21 The doorposts of the outer sanctuary were square. In front of the sanctuary one doorpost looked just like the other. 41:22 The altar was of wood, 5¼ feet 260 high, with its length 3½ feet; 261 its corners, its length, 262 and its walls were of wood. He said to me, “This is the table that is before the Lord.” 41:23 The outer sanctuary and the inner sanctuary each had a double door. 41:24 Each of the doors had two leaves, two swinging 263 leaves; two leaves for one door and two leaves for the other. 41:25 On the doors of the outer sanctuary were carved cherubim and palm trees, like those carved on the walls, and there was a canopy 264 of wood on the front of the outside porch. 41:26 There were narrow windows and decorative palm trees on either side of the side walls of the porch; this is what the side chambers of the temple and the canopies were like.
42:1 Then he led me out to the outer court, toward the north, and brought me to the chamber which was opposite the courtyard and opposite the building on the north. 42:2 Its length was 175 feet 265 on the north side, 266 and its width 87½ feet. 267 42:3 Opposite the 35 feet 268 that belonged to the inner court, and opposite the pavement which belonged to the outer court, gallery faced gallery in the three stories. 42:4 In front of the chambers was a walkway on the inner side, 17½ feet 269 wide at a distance of 1¾ feet, 270 and their entrances were on the north. 42:5 Now the upper chambers were narrower, because the galleries took more space from them than from the lower and middle chambers of the building. 42:6 For they were in three stories and had no pillars like the pillars of the courts; therefore the upper chambers 271 were set back from the ground more than the lower and upper ones. 42:7 As for the outer wall by the side of the chambers, toward the outer court facing the chambers, it was 87½ feet 272 long. 42:8 For the chambers on the outer court were 87½ feet 273 long, while those facing the temple were 175 feet 274 long. 42:9 Below these chambers was a passage on the east side as one enters from the outer court.
42:10 At the beginning 275 of the wall of the court toward the south, 276 facing the courtyard and the building, were chambers 42:11 with a passage in front of them. They looked like the chambers on the north. Of the same length and width, and all their exits according to their arrangements and entrances 42:12 were the chambers 277 which were toward the south. There was an opening at the head of the passage, the passage in front of the corresponding wall toward the east when one enters.
42:13 Then he said to me, “The north chambers and the south chambers which face the courtyard are holy chambers where the priests 278 who approach the Lord will eat the most holy offerings. There they will place the most holy offerings – the grain offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering, because the place is holy. 42:14 When the priests enter, then they will not go out from the sanctuary to the outer court without taking off their garments in which they minister, for these are holy; they will put on other garments, then they will go near the places where the people are.”
42:15 Now when he had finished measuring the interior of the temple, he led me out by the gate which faces east and measured all around. 42:16 He measured the east side with the measuring stick 279 as 875 feet 280 by the measuring stick. 42:17 He measured the north side as 875 feet by the measuring stick. 42:18 He measured the south side as 875 feet by the measuring stick. 42:19 He turned to the west side and measured 875 feet by the measuring stick. 42:20 He measured it on all four sides. It had a wall around it, 875 feet long and 875 feet wide, to separate the holy and common places.
43:1 Then he brought me to the gate that faced toward the east. 43:2 I saw 281 the glory of the God of Israel 282 coming from the east; 283 the sound was like that of rushing water; 284 and the earth radiated 285 his glory. 43:3 It was like the vision I saw when he 286 came to destroy the city, and the vision I saw by the Kebar River. I threw myself face down. 43:4 The glory of the Lord came into the temple by way of the gate that faces east. 43:5 Then a wind 287 lifted me up and brought me to the inner court; I watched 288 the glory of the Lord filling the temple. 289
43:6 I heard someone speaking to me from the temple, while the man was standing beside me. 43:7 He said to me: “Son of man, this is the place of my throne 290 and the place for the soles of my feet, 291 where I will live among the people of Israel forever. The house of Israel will no longer profane my holy name, neither they nor their kings, by their spiritual prostitution or by the pillars of their kings set up when they die. 292 43:8 When they placed their threshold by my threshold and their doorpost by my doorpost, with only the wall between me and them, they profaned my holy name by the abominable deeds they committed. So I consumed them in my anger. 43:9 Now they must put away their spiritual prostitution and the pillars of their kings far from me, and then I will live among them forever.
43:10 “As for you, son of man, describe the temple to the house of Israel, so that they will be ashamed of their sins and measure the pattern. 43:11 When they are ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the design of the temple, its pattern, its exits and entrances, and its whole design – all its statutes, its entire design, and all its laws; write it all down in their sight, so that they may observe its entire design and all its statutes and do them.
43:12 “This is the law of the temple: The entire area on top of the mountain all around will be most holy. Indeed, this is the law of the temple.
43:13 “And these are the measurements of the altar: 293 Its base 294 is 1¾ feet 295 high, 296 and 1¾ feet 297 wide, and its border nine inches 298 on its edge. This is to be the height 299 of the altar. 43:14 From the base of the ground to the lower edge is 3½ feet, 300 and the width 1¾ feet; 301 and from the smaller ledge to the larger edge, 7 feet, 302 and the width 1¾ feet; 43:15 and the altar hearth, 7 feet, and from the altar hearth four horns projecting upward. 43:16 Now the altar hearth 303 is a perfect square, 21 feet 304 long and 21 feet wide. 43:17 The ledge is 24½ feet 305 long and 24½ feet wide on four sides; the border around it is 10½ inches, 306 and its surrounding base 1¾ feet. 307 Its steps face east.”
43:18 Then he said to me: “Son of man, this is what the sovereign Lord says: These are the statutes of the altar: On the day it is built to offer up burnt offerings on it and to sprinkle blood on it, 308 43:19 you will give a young bull for a sin offering to the Levitical priests who are descended from Zadok, who approach me to minister to me, declares the sovereign Lord. 43:20 You will take some of its blood, and place it on the four horns of the altar, on the four corners of the ledge, and on the border all around; you will cleanse it and make atonement for it. 309 43:21 You will also take the bull for the sin offering, and it will be burned in the appointed place in the temple, outside the sanctuary.
43:22 “On the second day, you will offer a male goat without blemish for a sin offering. They will purify the altar just as they purified it with the bull. 43:23 When you have finished purifying it, you will offer an unblemished young bull and an unblemished ram from the flock. 43:24 You will present them before the Lord, and the priests will scatter salt on them 310 and offer them up as a burnt offering to the Lord.
43:25 “For seven days you will provide every day a goat for a sin offering; a young bull and a ram from the flock, both without blemish, will be provided. 43:26 For seven days they will make atonement for the altar and cleanse it, so they will consecrate it. 311 43:27 When the prescribed period is over, 312 on the eighth day and thereafter the priests will offer up on the altar your burnt offerings and your peace offerings; 313 I will accept you, declares the sovereign Lord.”
44:1 Then he brought me back by way of the outer gate of the sanctuary which faces east, but it was shut. 44:2 The Lord said to me: “This gate will be shut; it will not be opened, and no one will enter by it. For the Lord, the God of Israel, has entered by it; therefore it will remain shut. 44:3 Only the prince may sit in it to eat a sacrificial meal 314 before the Lord; he will enter by way of the porch of the gate and will go out by the same way.”
44:4 Then he brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the temple. As I watched, I noticed 315 the glory of the Lord filling the Lord’s temple, and I threw myself face down. 44:5 The Lord said to me: “Son of man, pay attention, 316 watch closely and listen carefully to 317 everything I tell you concerning all the statutes of the Lord’s house and all its laws. Pay attention to the entrances 318 to the temple with all the exits of the sanctuary. 44:6 Say to the rebellious, 319 to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Enough of all your abominable practices, O house of Israel! 44:7 When you bring foreigners, those uncircumcised in heart and in flesh, into my sanctuary, you desecrate 320 it – even my house – when you offer my food, the fat and the blood. You 321 have broken my covenant by all your abominable practices. 44:8 You have not kept charge of my holy things, but you have assigned foreigners 322 to keep charge of my sanctuary for you. 44:9 This is what the sovereign Lord says: No foreigner, who is uncircumcised in heart and flesh among all the foreigners who are among the people of Israel, will enter into my sanctuary. 323
44:10 “‘But the Levites who went far from me, straying off from me after their idols when Israel went astray, will be responsible for 324 their sin. 44:11 Yet they will be ministers in my sanctuary, having oversight at the gates of the temple, and serving the temple. They will slaughter the burnt offerings and the sacrifices for the people, and they will stand before them to minister to them. 44:12 Because they used to minister to them before their idols, and became a sinful obstacle 325 to the house of Israel, consequently I have made a vow 326 concerning them, declares the sovereign Lord, that they will be responsible 327 for their sin. 44:13 They will not come near me to serve me as priest, nor will they come near any of my holy things, the things which are most sacred. They will bear the shame of the abominable deeds they have committed. 44:14 Yet I will appoint them to keep charge of the temple, all of its service and all that will be done in it.
44:15 “‘But the Levitical priests, the descendants of Zadok 328 who kept the charge of my sanctuary when the people of Israel went astray from me, will approach me to minister to me; they will stand before me to offer me the fat and the blood, declares the sovereign Lord. 44:16 They will enter my sanctuary, and approach my table to minister to me; they will keep my charge.
44:17 “‘When they enter the gates of the inner court, they must wear linen garments; they must not have any wool on them when they minister in the inner gates of the court and in the temple. 44:18 Linen turbans will be on their heads and linen undergarments will be around their waists; they must not bind themselves with anything that causes sweat. 44:19 When they go out to the outer court to the people, they must remove the garments they were ministering in, and place them in the holy chambers; they must put on other garments so that they will not transmit holiness to the people with their garments. 329
44:20 “‘They must not shave their heads 330 nor let their hair grow long; 331 they must only trim their heads. 44:21 No priest may drink wine when he enters the inner court. 44:22 They must not marry a widow or a divorcee, but they may marry a virgin from the house of Israel 332 or a widow who is a priest’s widow. 44:23 Moreover, they will teach my people the difference between the holy and the common, and show them how to distinguish between the ceremonially unclean and the clean. 333
44:24 “‘In a controversy they will act as judges; 334 they will judge according to my ordinances. They will keep my laws and my statutes regarding all my appointed festivals and will observe 335 my Sabbaths.
44:25 “‘They must not come near a dead person or they will be defiled; 336 however, for father, mother, son, daughter, brother or sister, they may defile themselves. 44:26 After a priest 337 has become ceremonially clean, they 338 must count off a period of seven days for him. 44:27 On the day he enters the sanctuary, into the inner court to serve in the sanctuary, he must offer his sin offering, declares the sovereign Lord.
44:28 “‘This will be their inheritance: I am their inheritance, and you must give them no property in Israel; I am their property. 339 44:29 They may eat the grain offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering, and every devoted thing in Israel will be theirs. 44:30 The first of all the first fruits and all contributions of any kind 340 will be for the priests; you will also give to the priest the first portion of your dough, so that a blessing may rest on your house. 44:31 The priests will not eat any bird or animal that has died a natural death or was torn to pieces by a wild animal. 341
45:1 “‘When you allot the land as an inheritance, you will offer an allotment 342 to the Lord, a holy portion from the land; the length will be eight and a quarter miles 343 and the width three and one-third miles. 344 This entire area will be holy. 345 45:2 Of this area a square 875 feet 346 by 875 feet will be designated for the sanctuary, with 87½ feet 347 set aside for its open space round about. 45:3 From this measured area you will measure a length of eight and a quarter miles 348 and a width of three and one-third miles; 349 in it will be the sanctuary, the most holy place. 45:4 It will be a holy portion of the land; it will be for the priests, the ministers of the sanctuary who approach the Lord to minister to him. It will be a place for their houses and a holy place for the sanctuary. 350 45:5 An area eight and a quarter miles 351 in length and three and one-third miles 352 in width will be for the Levites, who minister at the temple, as the place for the cities 353 in which they will live.
45:6 “‘Alongside the portion set apart as the holy allotment, you will allot for the city an area one and two-thirds miles 354 wide and eight and a quarter miles 355 long; it will be for the whole house of Israel.
45:7 “‘For the prince there will be land on both sides of the holy allotment and the allotted city, alongside the holy allotment and the allotted city, on the west side and on the east side; it will be comparable in length to one of the portions, from the west border to the east border 45:8 of the land. This will be his property in Israel. My princes will no longer oppress my people, but the land will be allotted to the house of Israel according to their tribes.
45:9 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Enough, you princes of Israel! Put away violence and destruction, and do what is just and right. Put an end to your evictions of my people, 356 declares the sovereign Lord. 45:10 You must use just balances, 357 a just dry measure (an ephah), 358 and a just liquid measure (a bath). 359 45:11 The dry and liquid measures will be the same, the bath will contain a tenth of a homer, 360 and the ephah a tenth of a homer; the homer will be the standard measure. 45:12 The shekel will be twenty gerahs. Sixty shekels 361 will be a mina for you.
45:13 “‘This is the offering you must offer: a sixth of an ephah from a homer of wheat; a sixth of an ephah from a homer of barley, 45:14 and as the prescribed portion of olive oil, one tenth of a bath from each kor (which is ten baths or a homer, for ten baths make a homer); 45:15 and one sheep from each flock of two hundred, from the watered places of Israel, for a grain offering, burnt offering, and peace offering, to make atonement for them, declares the sovereign Lord. 45:16 All the people of the land will contribute 362 to this offering for the prince of Israel. 45:17 It will be the duty of the prince to provide the burnt offerings, the grain offering, and the drink offering at festivals, on the new moons and Sabbaths, at all the appointed feasts of the house of Israel; he will provide the sin offering, the grain offering, the burnt offering, and the peace offerings to make atonement for the house of Israel.
45:18 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: In the first month, on the first day of the month, you must take an unblemished young bull and purify the sanctuary. 45:19 The priest will take some of the blood of the sin offering and place it on the doorpost of the temple, on the four corners of the ledge of the altar, and on the doorpost of the gate of the inner court. 45:20 This is what you must do on the seventh day of the month for anyone who sins inadvertently or through ignorance; so you will make atonement for the temple.
45:21 “‘In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, you will celebrate the Passover, and for seven days bread made without yeast will be eaten. 45:22 On that day the prince will provide for himself and for all the people of the land a bull for a sin offering. 45:23 And during the seven days of the feast he will provide as a burnt offering to the Lord seven bulls and seven rams, all without blemish, on each of the seven days, and a male goat daily for a sin offering. 45:24 He will provide as a grain offering an ephah for each bull, an ephah for each ram, and a gallon 363 of olive oil for each ephah of grain. 364 45:25 In the seventh month, on the fifteenth day of the month, at the feast, 365 he will make the same provisions for the sin offering, burnt offering, and grain offering, and for the olive oil, for the seven days.
46:1 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: The gate of the inner court that faces east 366 will be closed six working days, but on the Sabbath day it will be opened and on the day of the new moon it will be opened. 46:2 The prince will enter by way of the porch of the gate from the outside, and will stand by the doorpost of the gate. The priests will provide his burnt offering and his peace offerings, and he will bow down at the threshold of the gate and then go out. But the gate will not be closed until evening. 46:3 The people of the land will bow down at the entrance of that gate before the Lord on the Sabbaths and on the new moons. 46:4 The burnt offering which the prince will offer to the Lord on the Sabbath day will be six unblemished lambs and one unblemished ram. 46:5 The grain offering will be an ephah with the ram, and the grain offering with the lambs will be as much as he is able to give, 367 and a gallon 368 of olive oil with an ephah. 46:6 On the day of the new moon he will offer 369 an unblemished young bull, and six lambs and a ram, all without blemish. 46:7 He will provide a grain offering: an ephah with the bull and an ephah with the ram, and with the lambs as much as he wishes, 370 and a gallon 371 of olive oil with each ephah of grain. 372 46:8 When the prince enters, he will come by way of the porch of the gate and will go out the same way.
46:9 “‘When the people of the land come before the Lord at the appointed feasts, whoever enters by way of the north gate to worship will go out by way of the south gate; whoever enters by way of the south gate will go out by way of the north gate. No one will return by way of the gate they entered but will go out straight ahead. 46:10 When they come in, the prince will come in with them, and when they go out, he will go out.
46:11 “‘At the festivals and at the appointed feasts the grain offering will be an ephah with the bull and an ephah with the ram, and with the lambs as much as one is able, 373 and a gallon 374 of olive oil with each ephah of grain. 375 46:12 When the prince provides a freewill offering, a burnt offering, or peace offerings as a voluntary offering to the Lord, the gate facing east will be opened for him, and he will provide his burnt offering and his peace offerings just as he did on the Sabbath. Then he will go out, and the gate will be closed after he goes out. 376
46:13 “‘You 377 will provide a lamb a year old without blemish for a burnt offering daily to the Lord; morning by morning he will provide it. 46:14 And you 378 will provide a grain offering with it morning by morning, a sixth of an ephah, and a third of a gallon 379 of olive oil to moisten the choice flour, as a grain offering to the Lord; this is a perpetual statute. 46:15 Thus they will provide the lamb, the grain offering, and the olive oil morning by morning, as a perpetual burnt offering.
46:16 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: If the prince should give a gift to one of his sons as 380 his inheritance, it will belong to his sons, it is their property by inheritance. 46:17 But if he gives a gift from his inheritance to one of his servants, it will be his until the year of liberty; 381 then it will revert to the prince. His inheritance will only remain with his sons. 46:18 The prince will not take away any of the people’s inheritance by oppressively removing them from their property. He will give his sons an inheritance from his own possessions so that my people will not be scattered, each from his own property.’”
46:19 Then he brought me through the entrance, which was at the side of the gate, into the holy chambers for the priests which faced north. There I saw 382 a place at the extreme western end. 46:20 He said to me, “This is the place where the priests will boil the guilt offering and the sin offering, and where they will bake the grain offering, so that they do not bring them out to the outer court to transmit holiness to the people.”
46:21 Then he brought me out to the outer court and led me past the four corners of the court, and I noticed 383 that in every corner of the court there was a court. 46:22 In the four corners of the court were small 384 courts, 70 feet 385 in length and 52½ feet 386 in width; the four were all the same size. 46:23 There was a row of masonry around each of the four courts, and places for boiling offerings were made under the rows all around. 46:24 Then he said to me, “These are the houses for boiling, where the ministers of the temple boil the sacrifices of the people.”
47:1 Then he brought me back to the entrance of the temple. I noticed 387 that water was flowing from under the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was flowing down from under the right side of the temple, from south of the altar. 47:2 He led me out by way of the north gate and brought me around the outside of the outer gate that faces toward the east; I noticed 388 that the water was trickling out from the south side.
47:3 When the man went out toward the east with a measuring line in his hand, he measured 1,750 feet, 389 and then he led me through water, which was ankle deep. 47:4 Again he measured 1,750 feet and led me through the water, which was now knee deep. Once more he measured 1,750 feet and led me through the water, which was waist deep. 47:5 Again he measured 1,750 feet and it was a river I could not cross, for the water had risen; it was deep enough to swim in, a river that could not be crossed. 47:6 He said to me, “Son of man, have you seen this?”
Then he led me back to the bank of the river. 47:7 When I had returned, I noticed 390 a vast number of trees on the banks of the river, on both sides. 47:8 He said to me, “These waters go out toward the eastern region and flow down into the Arabah; when they enter the Dead Sea, 391 where the sea is stagnant, 392 the waters become fresh. 393 47:9 Every living creature which swarms where the river 394 flows will live; there will be many fish, for these waters flow there. It will become fresh 395 and everything will live where the river flows. 47:10 Fishermen will stand beside it; from Engedi to En-eglaim they will spread nets. They will catch many kinds of fish, like the fish of the Great Sea. 396 47:11 But its swamps and its marshes will not become fresh; they will remain salty. 47:12 On both sides of the river’s banks, every kind of tree will grow for food. Their leaves will not wither nor will their fruit fail, but they will bear fruit every month, because their water source flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food and their leaves for healing.” 397
47:13 This is what the sovereign Lord says: “Here 398 are the borders 399 you will observe as you allot the land to the twelve tribes of Israel. (Joseph will have two portions.) 400 47:14 You must divide it equally just as I vowed to give it to your forefathers; 401 this land will be assigned as your inheritance. 402
47:15 “This will be the border of the land: 403 On the north side, from the Great Sea by way of Hethlon to the entrance of Zedad; 47:16 Hamath, Berothah, Sibraim, which is between the border of Damascus and the border of Hamath, as far as Hazer-hattikon, which is on the border of Hauran. 47:17 The border will run from the sea to Hazar-enan, at the border of Damascus, and on the north is the border of Hamath. This is the north side. 47:18 On the east side, between Hauran and Damascus, and between Gilead and the land of Israel, will be the Jordan. You will measure from the border to the eastern sea. This is the east side. 47:19 On the south side it will run from Tamar to the waters of Meribath Kadesh, the river, 404 to the Great Sea. This is the south side. 47:20 On the west side the Great Sea will be the boundary to a point opposite Lebo-hamath. This is the west side.
47:21 “This is how you will divide this land for yourselves among the tribes of Israel. 47:22 You must allot it as an inheritance among yourselves and for the foreigners who reside among you, who have fathered sons among you. You must treat them as native-born among the people of Israel; they will be allotted an inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel. 405 47:23 In whatever tribe the foreigner resides, there you will give him his inheritance,” declares the sovereign Lord.
48:1 “These are the names of the tribes: From the northern end beside the road of Hethlon to Lebo-hamath, as far as Hazar-enan (which is on the border of Damascus, toward the north beside Hamath), extending from the east side to the west, Dan will have one portion. 48:2 Next to the border of Dan, from the east side to the west, Asher 406 will have one portion. 48:3 Next to the border of Asher from the east side to the west, Naphtali will have one portion. 48:4 Next to the border of Naphtali from the east side to the west, Manasseh will have one portion. 48:5 Next to the border of Manasseh from the east side to the west, Ephraim will have one portion. 48:6 Next to the border of Ephraim from the east side to the west, Reuben will have one portion. 48:7 Next to the border of Reuben from the east side to the west, Judah 407 will have one portion.
48:8 “Next to the border of Judah from the east side to the west will be the allotment you must set apart. It is to be eight and a quarter miles 408 wide, and the same length as one of the tribal portions, from the east side to the west; the sanctuary will be in the middle of it. 48:9 The allotment you set apart to the Lord will be eight and a quarter miles 409 in length and three and one-third miles 410 in width. 48:10 These will be the allotments for the holy portion: for the priests, toward the north eight and a quarter miles 411 in length, toward the west three and one-third miles 412 in width, toward the east three and one-third miles 413 in width, and toward the south eight and a quarter miles 414 in length; the sanctuary of the Lord will be in the middle. 48:11 This will be for the priests who are set apart from the descendants of Zadok who kept my charge and did not go astray when the people of Israel strayed off, like the Levites did. 415 48:12 It will be their portion from the allotment of the land, a most holy place, next to the border of the Levites.
48:13 “Alongside the border of the priests, the Levites will have an allotment eight and a quarter miles 416 in length and three and one-third miles 417 in width. The whole length will be eight and a quarter miles 418 and the width three and one-third miles. 419 48:14 They must not sell or exchange any of it; they must not transfer this choice portion of land, for it is set apart 420 to the Lord.
48:15 “The remainder, one and two-thirds miles 421 in width and eight and a quarter miles 422 in length, will be for common use by the city, for houses and for open space. The city will be in the middle of it; 48:16 these will be its measurements: The north side will be one and one-half miles, 423 the south side one and one-half miles, the east side one and one-half miles, and the west side one and one-half miles. 48:17 The city will have open spaces: On the north there will be 437½ feet, 424 on the south 437½ feet, on the east 437½ feet, and on the west 437½ feet. 48:18 The remainder of the length alongside the holy allotment will be three and one-third miles 425 to the east and three and one-third miles toward the west, and it will be beside the holy allotment. Its produce will be for food for the workers of the city. 48:19 The workers of the city from all the tribes of Israel will cultivate it. 48:20 The whole allotment will be eight and a quarter miles 426 square, you must set apart the holy allotment with the possession of the city.
48:21 “The rest, on both sides of the holy allotment and the property of the city, will belong to the prince. Extending from the eight and a quarter miles 427 of the holy allotment to the east border, and westward from the eight and a quarter miles 428 to the west border, alongside the portions, it will belong to the prince. The holy allotment and the sanctuary of the temple will be in the middle of it. 48:22 The property of the Levites and of the city will be in the middle of that which belongs to the prince. The portion between the border of Judah and the border of Benjamin will be for the prince.
48:23 “As for the rest of the tribes: From the east side to the west side, Benjamin will have one portion. 48:24 Next to the border of Benjamin, from the east side to the west side, Simeon will have one portion. 48:25 Next to the border of Simeon, from the east side to the west side, Issachar will have one portion. 48:26 Next to the border of Issachar, from the east side to the west side, Zebulun will have one portion. 48:27 Next to the border of Zebulun, from the east side to the west side, Gad will have one portion. 48:28 Next to the border of Gad, at the south side, the border will run from Tamar to the waters of Meribath Kadesh, to the Stream of Egypt 429 and on to the Great Sea. 48:29 This is the land which you will allot to the tribes of Israel, and these are their portions, declares the sovereign Lord.
48:30 “These are the exits of the city: On the north side, one and one-half miles 430 by measure, 48:31 the gates of the city 431 will be named for the tribes of Israel; there will be three gates to the north: one gate for Reuben, one gate for Judah, and one gate for Levi. 48:32 On the east side, one and one-half miles in length, there will be three gates: one gate for Joseph, one gate for Benjamin, and one gate for Dan. 48:33 On the south side, one and one-half miles by measure, there will be three gates: one gate for Simeon, one gate for Issachar, and one gate for Zebulun. 48:34 On the west side, one and one-half miles in length, there will be three gates: one gate for Gad, one gate for Asher, and one gate for Naphtali. 48:35 The circumference of the city will be six miles. 432 The name of the city from that day forward will be: ‘The Lord Is There.’” 433
1 tn January 19, 585
2 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
3 tn Heb “smitten.”
4 tn The other occurrences of the phrase “the hand of the
5 tn Heb “he”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.
6 tn Heb “by the time of the arrival to me.” For clarity the translation specifies the refugee as the one who arrived.
7 sn Ezekiel’s God-imposed muteness was lifted (see 3:26).
8 sn Outside of its seven occurrences in Ezekiel the term translated “possession” appears only in Exod 6:8 and Deut 33:4.
9 sn This practice was a violation of Levitical law (see Lev 19:26).
10 tn Heb “lift up your eyes.”
11 tn Heb “Will you possess?”
12 tn Heb “stand.”
13 tn Heb “fall.”
14 sn The judgments of vv. 27-29 echo the judgments of Lev 26:22, 25.
15 tn Heb “sons of your people.”
16 tn Heb “one to one, a man to his brother.”
17 tn Heb “comes out.”
18 tn Heb “as people come.” Apparently this is an idiom indicating that they come in crowds. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:264.
19 tn The word “as” is supplied in the translation.
20 tn Heb “do.”
21 tn Heb “They do lust with their mouths.”
22 tn Heb “goes after.”
23 tn The present translation understands the term often used for “unjust gain” in a wider sense, following M. Greenberg, who also notes that the LXX uses a term which can describe either sexual or ritual pollution. See M. Greenberg, Ezekiel (AB), 2:687.
24 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
25 tn Heb “one who makes playing music well.”
26 sn Similar responses are found in Isa 29:13; Matt 21:28-32; James 1:22-25.
27 tn Heb “behold it is coming.”
28 tn The term shepherd is applied to kings in the ancient Near East. In the OT the
29 tn The term translated “harshness” is used to describe the oppression the Israelites suffered as slaves in Egypt (Exod 1:13).
30 tn As a case of dittography, the MT repeats “and they were scattered” at the end of the verse.
31 tn Heb “I will cause them to cease from feeding sheep.”
32 sn The imagery may reflect the overthrow of the Israelites by the Babylonians in 587/6
33 tn Heb “good.”
34 tn Heb “outside.”
35 sn The messianic king is here called “David” (see Jer 30:9 and Hos 3:5, as well as Isa 11:1 and Mic 5:2) because he will fulfill the Davidic royal ideal depicted in the prophets and royal psalms (see Ps 2, 89).
36 sn The messianic king (“David”) is called both “king” and “prince” in 37:24-25. The use of the term “prince” for this king facilitates the contrast between this ideal ruler and the Davidic “princes” denounced in earlier prophecies (see 7:27; 12:10, 12; 19:1; 21:25; 22:6, 25).
37 tn The phrase “live securely” occurs in Ezek 28:26; 38:8, 11, 14; 39:26 as an expression of freedom from fear. It is a promised blessing resulting from obedience (see Lev 26:5-6).
38 sn The woods were typically considered to be places of danger (Ps 104:20-21; Jer 5:6).
39 tn Heb “showers of blessing.” Abundant rain, which in turn produces fruit and crops (v. 27), is a covenantal blessing for obedience (Lev 26:4).
40 tc The MT reads לְשֵׁם (lÿshem, “for a name”), meaning perhaps a renowned planting (place). The translation takes this to be a metathesis of שָׁלֹם (shalom) as was read by the LXX.
41 tn Heb “those gathered” for famine.
42 sn A promise given to Abraham (Gen 15:7) and his descendants (Gen 15:8; Exod 6:7).
43 sn The blessings described in vv. 25-30 are those promised for obedience in Lev 26:4-13.
44 tn Heb, “the sheep of my pasture, you are human.” See 36:37-38 for a similar expression. The possessive pronoun “my” is supplied in the translation to balance “I am your God” in the next clause.
45 tn Heb “set your face against.”
46 sn Mount Seir is to be identified with Edom (Ezek 35:15), home of Esau’s descendants (Gen 25:21-30).
47 tn Or “gave over…to the power of the sword.” This phrase also occurs in Jer 18:21 and Ps 63:10.
48 tc The translation reads with some manuscripts לְשִׁמְמָה וּמְשַׁמָּה (lÿshimmah umÿshammah, “desolate ruin”) as in verse 3 and often in Ezekiel. The majority reading reverses the first mem (מ) with the shin (שׁ) resulting in the repetition of the word desolate: לְשִׁמְמָה וּשְׁמָמָה (lÿshimmah ushÿmamah).
49 tn Or “kill.”
50 sn The reference is to Israel and Judah.
51 tn Heb “it.”
52 tn Heb “your mouth.”
53 tn Heb “and you multiplied against me your words.” The Hebrew verb occurs only here and in Prov 27:6, where it refers to the “excessive” kisses of an enemy. The basic idea of the verb appears to be “to be abundant.” Here it occurs in the causative (Hiphil) stem.
54 tn Or “high places.”
55 tn Heb “lip of the tongue.”
56 tn Heb “I lifted up my hand.”
57 tn Heb “they draw near to arrive.”
58 tn Heb “I (am) toward you.”
59 tn Heb “I will multiply on you human(s).”
60 sn These verbs occur together in Gen 1:22, 28; 9:1.
61 tn Heb “your beginning.”
62 tn Heb “cause you to hear.”
63 tc The MT reads תַכְשִׁלִי (takhshiliy), a metathesis for תַשְׁכִלִי (tashkhiliy) from the root שָׁכַל (shakhal) which is used in each of the previous verses.
64 tn Heb “way.”
65 sn See Ezek 7:8; 9:8; 14:19; 20:8, 13, 21; 22:22; 30:15.
66 sn For the concept of defiling the land in legal literature, see Lev 18:28; Deut 21:23.
67 tn Heb “name.”
68 sn In Ezek 20:22 God refrained from punishment for the sake of his holy name. Here God’s reputation is the basis for Israel’s restoration.
69 tn Or “sanctify,” Heb “make holy.”
70 sn The Lord here uses a metaphor from the realm of ritual purification. For the use of water in ritual cleansing, see Exod 30:19-20; Lev 14:51; Num 19:18; Heb 10:22.
71 sn That is, a heart which symbolizes a will that is stubborn and unresponsive (see 1 Sam 25:37). In Rabbinic literature a “stone” was associated with an evil inclination (b. Sukkah 52a).
72 sn That is, a heart which symbolizes a will that is responsive and obedient to God.
73 tn Or “in the midst of you.” The word “you” is plural.
74 tn Heb “and I will do that which in my statutes you will walk.” The awkward syntax (verb “to do, act” + accusative sign + relative clause + prepositional phrase + second person verb) is unique, though Eccl 3:14 contains a similar construction. In the last line of that verse we read that “God acts so that (relative pronoun) they fear before him.” However, unlike Ezek 36:27, the statement has no accusative sign before the relative pronoun.
75 tn Heb “and my laws you will guard and you will do them.” Jer 31:31-34 is parallel to this passage.
76 sn This promise reflects the ancient covenantal ideal (see Exod 6:7).
77 tn Heb “ways.”
78 tn Heb “Let it be known.”
79 tn The Niphal verb may have a tolerative function here, “Again (for) this I will allow myself to be sought by the house of Israel to act for them.” Or it may be reflexive: “I will reveal myself to the house of Israel by doing this also.”
80 sn Heb “I will multiply them like sheep, human(s).”
81 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
82 tn Or “power.”
83 tn Heb “caused me to rest.”
84 tn Heb “and he made me pass over them, around, around.”
85 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and is here translated as “I realized” because it results from Ezekiel’s recognition of the situation around him. In Hebrew, the exclamation is repeated in the following sentence.
86 tn Heb “I am about to bring a spirit.”
87 tn The exact physiological meaning of the term is uncertain. In addition to v. 8, the term occurs only in Gen 32:33; Job 10:11; 40:17; and Jer 48:4.
88 tn Or “a spirit.”
89 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
90 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
91 tn Heb “came up.”
92 tn Or “spirit.”
93 tn Or “spirit,” and several times in this verse.
94 tn Or “spirit.” This is likely an allusion to Gen 2 and God’s breath which creates life.
95 tn Heb “bring near.”
96 tn Heb “one to one for you for one stick.”
97 tn Heb “the sons of your people.”
98 tn Heb “I will place them on it, that is, on the stick of Judah.”
99 sn The reunification of Israel and Judah is envisioned as well in Ezek 33:23, 29; Jer 3:18; 23:5-6; Hos 1:11; Amos 9:11.
100 sn Jeremiah also attested to the reuniting of the northern and southern kingdoms (Jer 3:12, 14; 31:2-6).
101 tc Heb “their dwellings.” The text as it stands does not make sense. Based on the LXX, a slight emendation of two vowels, including a mater, yields the reading “from their turning,” a reference here to their turning from God and deviating from his commandments. See BDB 1000 s.v. מְשׁוּבָה, and D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:407.
102 tn Heb “walk [in].”
103 tn Heb “and my statutes they will guard and they will do them.”
104 sn See Isa 24:5; 55:3; 61:8; Jer 32:40; 50:5; Ezek 16:60, for other references to perpetual covenants.
105 tn Heb “give them.”
106 sn The sanctuary of Israel becomes the main focus of Ezek 40-48.
107 tn Heb “set your face against.”
108 sn This may refer to a Lydian king in western Asia Minor in the seventh century
109 sn One of the sons of Japheth according to Gen 10:2; 1 Chr 1:5.
110 tn Heb “the prince, the chief of Meshech and Tubal.” Some translate “the prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal,” but it is more likely that the Hebrew noun in question is a common noun in apposition to “prince,” rather than a proper name. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:434-35. As Block demonstrates, attempts by some popular writers to identify these proper names with later geographical sites in Russia are anachronistic. See as well E. Yamauchi, Foes From the Northern Frontier, 19-27.
111 tn Or “I challenge you.” The phrase “I am against you” may be a formula for challenging someone to combat or a duel. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:201-2, and P. Humbert, “Die Herausforderungsformel ‘h!nn#n' ?l?K>,’” ZAW 45 (1933): 101-8.
112 sn The Hebrew text mentions two different types of shields here.
113 tn D. I. Block prefers to see the Hebrew word as referring here to a western ally of Egypt or as an alternative spelling for Pathros, that is, Upper Egypt. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:439-40.
114 sn That is, Lydia.
115 tn The words “they are joined by” are added in the translation for purposes of English style.
116 sn The seven-nation coalition represents the north (Meshech, Tubal, Gomer, Beth-Togarmah), the south/west (Ethiopia, Put) and the east (Persia). The use of the sevenfold list suggests completeness. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:441.
117 tn The second person singular verbal and pronominal forms in the Hebrew text indicate that Gog is addressed here.
118 tn Heb “from the sword.”
119 tn Heb “it.”
120 tn Heb “go up.”
121 tn Heb “words will go up upon your heart.”
122 tn Heb “go up against.”
123 tn Heb “come (to).”
124 tn Heb “to turn your hand against.”
125 tn The Hebrew term occurs elsewhere only in Judg 9:37. Perhaps it means “high point, top.”
126 tn Heb “young lions.”
127 tn The Hebrew text is framed as a rhetorical question: “will you not take notice?”
128 tn Heb “come up.”
129 tn Or “reveal my holiness.”
130 tn Heb “by the hand of my servants.”
131 tn The Hebrew text adds “years” here, but this is probably a scribal gloss on the preceding phrase. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:201.
132 tn Heb “goes up against.”
133 sn The phrase “in the fire of my fury” occurs in Ezek 21:31; 22:21, 31.
134 tn Or “shaking.”
135 tn Or “tremble.”
136 tn The term occurs only here and in Song of Songs 2:14.
137 tn Heb “against.”
138 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Gog, cf. v. 18) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
139 tn The Hebrew root occurs only here in the OT. An apparent cognate in the Ethiopic language means “walk along.” For a discussion of the research on this verb, see D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:460.
140 sn The basic sense of the word “holy” is “set apart from that which is commonplace, special, unique.” The
141 tn Heb “burn and kindle the weapons.”
142 tn Two different types of shields are specified in the Hebrew text.
143 tn Heb “they will not carry.”
144 tn Heb “loot their looters and plunder their plunderers.”
145 tn The name means “horde of Gog.”
146 tn Heb “the house of Israel.”
147 tn Heb “name.”
148 tn Heb “men of perpetuity.”
149 tn Heb “and bury the travelers and those who remain on the surface of the ground.” The reference to “travelers” seems odd and is omitted in the LXX. It is probably an accidental duplication (see v. 11).
150 tn Heb “as the scouts scout.”
151 tn That is, the aforementioned bone.
152 tn This name appears to be a feminine form of the word “horde,” used in the name Hamon-Gog.
153 tn Or “sacrifice” (so also in the rest of this verse).
154 sn See Rev 19:17-18.
155 sn Eating the fat and drinking blood were God’s exclusive rights in Israelite sacrifices (Lev 3:17).
156 tn Or “sacrifice” (so also in the rest of this verse).
157 tn Heb “chariots.”
158 tn Or “my glory.”
159 tn Heb “my hand which I have placed.”
160 tn Or “in their punishment.” The phrase “in/for [a person’s] iniquity/punishment” occurs fourteen times in Ezekiel: here; 3:18, 19; 4:17; 7:13, 16; 18: 17, 18, 19, 20; 24:23; 33:6, 8, 9. The Hebrew word for “iniquity” may also mean the “punishment” for iniquity or “guilt” of iniquity.
161 tn Heb “cause to return.”
162 tn Heb “there,” referring to the foreign nations to which they were exiled. The translation makes the referent clear.
163 sn See Ezek 11:19; 37:14.
164 sn That is, Jerusalem.
165 tn April 19, 573
166 tn Or “power.”
167 sn That is, to the land of Israel (see v. 2).
168 tn The expression introduces the three major visions of Ezekiel (1:1; 8:3; 40:2).
169 tn The reference to a very high mountain is harmonious with Isa 2:2.
170 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
171 tn Heb “look with your eyes, hear with your ears, and set your mind on.”
172 tn Heb “in order to show (it) to you.”
173 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
174 tn Heb “house.”
175 tn Heb “a measuring stick of six cubits, [each] a cubit and a handbreadth.” The measuring units here and in the remainder of this section are the Hebrew “long” cubit, consisting of a cubit (about 18 inches or 45 cm) and a handbreadth (about 3 inches or 7.5 cm), for a total of 21 inches (52.5 cm). Therefore the measuring stick in the man’s hand was 10.5 feet (3.15 meters) long. Because modern readers are not familiar with the cubit as a unit of measurement, and due to the additional complication of the “long” cubit as opposed to the regular cubit, all measurements have been converted to American standard feet and inches, with the Hebrew measurements and the metric equivalents given in the notes.
176 tn Heb “building.”
177 tn Heb “one rod [or “reed”]” (also a second time in this verse, twice in v. 6, three times in v. 7, and once in v. 8).
178 tn The Hebrew text adds “the one threshold 10½ feet deep.” This is probably an accidental duplication of what precedes. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:517.
179 tn Heb “five cubits” (i.e., 2.625 meters) according to the “long” cubit. See the note on the first occurrence of the phrase “10½ feet” in v. 5.
180 tn Heb “eight cubits” (i.e., 4.2 meters).
181 tn Heb “two cubits” (i.e., 1.05 meters).
182 sn The three alcoves are parallel to the city gates found at Megiddo, Hazor, and Gezer.
183 tn Heb “ten cubits” (i.e., 5.25 meters).
184 tn Heb “thirteen cubits” (i.e., 6.825 meters).
185 tn Heb “one cubit” (i.e., 52.5 cm).
186 tn Heb “six cubits” (i.e., 3.15 meters).
187 tn Heb “twenty-five cubits” (i.e., 13.125 meters).
188 tn Heb “made.”
189 tc The MT reads “jambs” which does not make sense in context. Supposing a confusion of yod for vav, the text may be emended to read “porch.” See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:518.
190 tn Heb “sixty cubits” (i.e., 31.5 meters).
191 tn The word “high” is not in the Hebrew text but is supplied for sense.
192 tn Heb “fifty cubits” (i.e., 26.25 meters).
193 sn Decorative palm trees were also a part of Solomon’s temple (1 Kgs 6:29, 32, 35).
194 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
195 tn Heb “one hundred cubits” (i.e., 52.5 meters).
196 tn Heb “fifty cubits” (i.e., 26.25 meters).
197 tn Heb “twenty-five cubits” (i.e., 13.125 meters).
198 tn Heb “one hundred cubits” (i.e., 52.5 meters).
199 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
200 tn Heb “as these windows.”
201 tn Heb “fifty cubits” (i.e., 26.25 meters).
202 tn Heb “twenty-five cubits” (i.e., 13.125 meters).
203 tn Heb “one hundred cubits” (i.e., 52.5 meters).
204 tn Heb “fifty cubits” (i.e., 26.25 meters).
205 tn Heb “twenty-five cubits” (i.e., 13.125 meters).
206 tn Heb “twenty-five cubits” (i.e., 13.125 meters).
207 tn Heb “five cubits” (i.e., 2.625 meters).
208 tn Heb “fifty cubits” (i.e., 26.25 meters).
209 tn Heb “twenty-five cubits” (i.e., 13.125 meters).
210 tn Heb “fifty cubits” (i.e., 26.25 meters).
211 tn Heb “twenty-five cubits” (i.e., 13.125 meters).
212 tc The LXX reads “porches.”
213 tc The MT reads “jambs of the gates” which does not make sense in a context discussing one chamber. The emendation to “porch” is similar to v. 14. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:530.
214 tn Heb “one and a half cubits” (i.e., 78.75 cm).
215 tn Heb “one and a half cubits” (i.e., 78.75 cm).
216 tn Heb “one cubit” (i.e., 52.5 cm).
217 tc This reading is supported by the Aramaic Targum. The LXX, Vulgate, and Syriac read “shelves” or some type of projection.
218 tn Heb “one handbreadth” (7.5 cm).
219 tn “One” is not in the Hebrew text but is supplied for clarity in the translation.
220 tc This reading is supported by the LXX; the MT reads “east.”
221 tn Heb “the house.”
222 tn Heb “one hundred cubits long and one hundred cubits wide, a square” (i.e., 52.5 meters by 52.5 meters).
223 tn Heb “five cubits” (i.e., 2.625 meters).
224 tn The LXX reads “fourteen cubits” (i.e., 7.35 meters). See following note.
225 tc The translation follows the LXX. The MT reads “the width of the gate was three cubits,” the omission due to haplography.
226 tn Heb “three cubits” (i.e., 1.575 meters).
227 tn Heb “twenty cubits” (i.e., 10.5 meters).
228 tn Heb “eleven cubits” (i.e., 5.775 meters).
229 tc The LXX reads “ten steps.”
230 tn Heb “six cubits” (i.e., 3.15 meters).
231 tn Heb “ten cubits” (i.e., 5.25 meters).
232 tc The translation follows the LXX. The MT reads “the width of the gate was three cubits,” the omission due to haplography.
233 tn Heb “five cubits” (i.e., 2.625 meters).
234 tn Heb “forty cubits” (i.e., 21 meters).
235 tn Heb “twenty cubits” (i.e., 10.5 meters).
236 tn Heb “two cubits” (i.e., 1.05 meters).
237 tn Heb “six cubits” (i.e., 3.15 meters).
238 tn Heb “seven cubits” (i.e., 3.675 meters).
239 tn Heb “twenty cubits” (i.e., 10.5 meters).
240 tn Heb “twenty cubits” (i.e., 10.5 meters).
241 tn Heb “house” throughout Ezek 41.
242 tn Heb “six cubits” (i.e., 3.15 meters).
243 tn Heb “four cubits” (2.1 meters).
244 tc The Hebrew is difficult here. The Targum envisions a winding ramp or set of stairs, which entails reading the first word as a noun rather than a verb and reading the second word also not as a verb, supposing that an initial mem has been read as vav and nun. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:549.
245 tn The Hebrew term occurs only here in the OT.
246 tn Heb “reed.”
247 tn Heb “six cubits” (i.e., 3.15 meters).
248 tn Heb “five cubits” (i.e., 2.625 meters).
249 tn Heb “twenty cubits” (i.e., 10.5 meters).
250 tn Heb “five cubits” (i.e., 2.625 meters).
251 tn Heb “seventy cubits” (36.75 meters).
252 tn Heb “five cubits” (i.e., 2.625 meters).
253 tn Heb “ninety cubits” (i.e., 47.25 meters).
254 tn Heb “one hundred cubits” (i.e., 52.5 meters).
255 tn Heb “one hundred cubits” (i.e., 52.5 meters).
256 tn Heb “one hundred cubits” (i.e., 52.5 meters).
257 tn Heb “one hundred cubits” (i.e., 52.5 meters).
258 tc Some Hebrew
259 tc The LXX does not have the word “by measurements.” The word may be a technical term referring to carpentry technique, the exact meaning of which is unclear.
260 tn Heb “three cubits” (i.e., 1.575 meters).
261 tn Heb “two cubits” (i.e., 1.05 meters).
262 tc So the Masoretic text. The LXX reads “base.”
263 tn Heb “turning” leaves.
264 tn Or “railings.” See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:218.
265 tn Heb “one hundred cubits” (i.e., 52.5 meters).
266 tn Heb “the door of the north.”
267 tn Heb “fifty cubits” (i.e., 26.25 meters).
268 tn Heb “twenty cubits” (i.e., 10.5 meters).
269 tn Heb “ten cubits” (i.e., 5.25 meters).
270 tc Heb “one cubit” (i.e., 52.5 cm). The LXX and the Syriac read “one hundred cubits” (= 175 feet).
271 tn The phrase “upper chambers” is not in the Hebrew text but is supplied from the context.
272 tn Heb “fifty cubits” (i.e., 26.25 meters).
273 tn Heb “fifty cubits” (i.e., 26.25 meters).
274 tn Heb “one hundred cubits” (i.e., 52.5 meters).
275 tc The reading is supported by the LXX.
276 tc This reading is supported by the LXX; the MT reads “east.”
277 tc The MT apparently evidences dittography, repeating most of the last word of the previous verse: “and like the openings of.”
278 sn The priests are from the Zadokite family (Ezek 40:6; 44:15).
279 tn Heb “reed” (also in the following verses).
280 tn Heb “five hundred cubits” (i.e., 262.5 meters).
281 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
282 sn This same title appears in 8:4; 9:3; 10:19; and 11:22.
283 sn Earlier Ezekiel had observed God leaving the temple to the east (11:23).
284 sn See Ezek 1:24; Rev 1:15; 14:2; 19:6.
285 tn Heb “shone from.”
286 tc Heb “I.” The reading is due to the confusion of yod (י, indicating a first person pronoun) and vav (ו, indicating a third person pronoun). A few medieval Hebrew
287 tn See note on “wind” in 2:2.
288 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
289 sn In 1 Kgs 8:10-11 we find a similar event with regard to Solomon’s temple. See also Exod 40:34-35. and Isa 6:4.
290 sn God’s throne is mentioned in Isa 6:1; Jer 3:17.
291 sn See 1 Chr 28:2; Ps 99:5; 132:7; Isa 60:13; Lam 2:1.
292 tn Heb “by their corpses in their death.” But the term normally translated “corpses” is better understood here as a reference to funeral pillars or funerary offerings. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:583-85, and L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:257.
293 tn Heb “the measurements of the altar by cubits, the cubit being a cubit and a handbreadth.” The measuring units here and in the remainder of this section are the Hebrew “long” cubit, consisting of a cubit (about 18 inches or 45 cm) and a handbreadth (about 3 inches or 7.5 cm), for a total of 21 inches (52.5 cm). Because modern readers are not familiar with the cubit as a unit of measurement, and due to the additional complication of the “long” cubit as opposed to the regular cubit, all measurements have been converted to American standard feet and inches, with the Hebrew measurements and the metric equivalents given in the notes. On the altar see Ezek 40:47.
294 tn The Hebrew term normally means “bosom.” Here it refers to a hollow in the ground.
295 tn Heb “one cubit” (i.e., 52.5 cm).
296 tn The word “high” is not in the Hebrew text but is supplied in the translation for clarity.
297 tn Heb “one cubit” (i.e., 52.5 cm).
298 tn Heb “one span.” A span was three handbreadths, or about nine inches (i.e., 22.5 cm).
299 tc Heb “bulge, protuberance, mound.” The translation follows the LXX.
300 tn Heb “two cubits” (i.e., 1.05 meters).
301 tn Heb “one cubit” (i.e., 52.5 cm; the phrase occurs again later in this verse).
302 tn Heb “four cubits” (i.e., 2.1 meters; the phrase also occurs in the next verse).
303 tn The precise Hebrew word used here to refer to an “altar hearth” occurs only here in the OT.
304 tn Heb “twelve cubits” (i.e., 6.3 meters; the phrase occurs twice in this verse).
305 tn Heb “fourteen”; the word “cubits” is not in the Hebrew text but is understood from the context; the phrase occurs again later in this verse. Fourteen cubits is about 7.35 meters.
306 tn Heb “half a cubit” (i.e., 26.25 cm).
307 tn Heb “one cubit” (i.e., 52.5 cm).
308 sn For the “sprinkling of blood,” see Lev 1:5, 11; 8:19; 9:12.
309 sn Note the similar language in Lev 16:18.
310 sn It is likely that salt was used with sacrificial meals (Num 18:19; 2 Chr 13:5).
311 tn Heb “fill its hands.”
312 tn Heb “and they will complete the days.”
313 sn The people also could partake of the food of the peace offering (Lev 3).
314 tn Heb “to eat bread.”
315 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
316 tn Heb “set your heart” (so also in the latter part of the verse).
317 tn Heb “Set your mind, look with your eyes, and with your ears hear.”
318 tc The Syriac, Vulgate, and Targum read the plural. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:618.
319 tc The LXX reads “house of rebellion.”
320 tn Heb “to desecrate.”
321 tc The Greek, Syriac, and Latin versions read “you.” The Masoretic text reads “they.”
322 tc Instead of an energic nun (ן), the text may have read a third masculine plural suffix ם (mem), “them,” which was confused with ן (nun) in the old script. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:621.
323 sn Tobiah, an Ammonite (Neh 13:8), was dismissed from the temple.
324 tn Heb “will bear.”
325 tn Heb “a stumbling block of iniquity.” This is a unique phrase of the prophet Ezekiel (cf. also Ezek 7:19; 14:3, 4, 7; 18:30).
326 tn Heb “I lifted up my hand.”
327 tn Heb “will bear.”
328 sn Zadok was a descendant of Aaron through Eleazar (1 Chr 6:50-53), who served as a priest during David’s reign (2 Sam 8:17).
329 sn For a similar concept of the transmitting of holiness, see Exod 19:12-14; Lev 10:1-2; 2 Sam 6:7. Similar laws concerning the priest are found in Lev 10 and 21.
330 sn The shaving of the head was associated with mourning (Ezek 7:18).
331 sn Letting the hair grow was associated with the taking of a vow (Num 6:5; Acts 21:23-26).
332 tn Heb “from the offspring of the house of Israel.”
333 sn This task was a fundamental role of the priest (Lev 10:10).
334 sn For a historical illustration of the priest carrying out this function, see 2 Chr 19:9-11.
335 tn Heb “sanctify, set apart.”
336 sn This law was part of the legal code for priests (Lev 21:1-3).
337 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the priest) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
338 tc One medieval Hebrew
339 sn See Num 18:20; Deut 10:9; 18:2; Josh 13:33; 18:7.
340 tn Heb has in addition “from your contributions,” a repetition unnecessary in English.
341 tn The words “by a wild animal” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation as a clarification of the circumstances.
342 tn Heb “a contribution.”
343 tn Heb “twenty-five thousand cubits” (i.e., 13.125 kilometers). The measuring units here are the Hebrew “long” cubit, consisting of a cubit (about 18 inches or 45 cm) and a handbreadth (about 3 inches or 7.5 cm), for a total of 21 inches (52.5 cm). Because modern readers are not familiar with the cubit as a unit of measurement, and due to the additional complication of the “long” cubit as opposed to the regular cubit, all measurements have been converted to American standard miles (one mile = 5,280 feet), with the Hebrew measurements and the metric equivalents given in the notes.
344 tc The LXX reads “twenty thousand cubits.”
345 tn Heb “holy it is in all its territory round about.”
346 tn Heb “five hundred cubits” (i.e., 262.5 meters); the phrase occurs twice in this verse.
347 tn Heb “fifty cubits” (i.e., 26.25 meters).
348 tn Heb “twenty-five thousand cubits” (i.e., 13.125 kilometers).
349 tn Heb “ten thousand cubits” (i.e., 5.25 kilometers).
350 tc The LXX apparently understood “open land” instead of “sanctuary.”
351 tn Heb “twenty-five thousand cubits” (i.e., 13.125 kilometers).
352 tn Heb “ten thousand cubits” (i.e., 5.25 kilometers).
353 tc The translation follows the LXX here. The MT reads “twenty.” See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:246.
354 tn Heb “five thousand cubits” (i.e., 2.625 kilometers).
355 tn Heb “twenty-five thousand cubits” (i.e., 13.125 kilometers).
356 sn Evictions of the less fortunate by the powerful are described in 1 Kgs 21:1-16; Jer 22:1-5, 13-17; Ezek 22:25.
357 sn Previous legislation regarding this practice may be found in Lev 19:35-36; Deut 25:13-16; Mic 6:10-12.
358 tn Heb “ephah,” which was 1/2 bushel.
359 tn Heb “bath,” a liquid measure, was 5 1/2 gallons.
360 sn The homer was about 5 bushels as a dry measure and 55 gallons as a liquid measure.
361 tn Heb “twenty shekels, twenty-five shekels, fifteen shekels.”
362 tn Heb “will be.”
363 tn Heb “a hin of oil.” A hin was about 1/16 of a bath. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:266, and O. R. Sellers, “Weights,” IDB 4:835 g.
364 tn Heb “ephah.” The words “of grain” are supplied in the translation as a clarification.
365 sn That is, the Feast of Temporary Shelters, traditionally known as the Feast of Tabernacles (Exod 23:16; 34:22; Deut 16:16).
366 sn The east gate of the outer court was permanently closed (Ezek 44:2).
367 tn Or “as much as he wishes.” Heb “a gift of his hand.”
368 tn Heb “a hin of oil.” A hin was about 1/16 of a bath. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:266, and O. R. Sellers, “Weights,” IDB 4:835 g.
369 tn The phrase “he will offer” is not in the Hebrew text but is warranted from the context.
370 tn Heb “with the lambs as his hand can reach.”
371 tn Heb “a hin of oil.” A hin was about 1/16 of a bath. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:266, and O. R. Sellers, “Weights,” IDB 4:835 g.
372 tn Heb “ephah.” The words “of grain” are supplied in the translation as a clarification.
373 tn Or “as much as he wishes.” Heb “a gift of his hand.”
374 tn Heb “a hin of oil.” A hin was about 1/16 of a bath. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:266, and O. R. Sellers, “Weights,” IDB 4:835 g.
375 tn Heb “ephah.” The words “of grain” are supplied in the translation as a clarification.
376 tn Heb “he shall shut the gate after he goes out.”
377 tc A few Hebrew
378 tc Two medieval Hebrew
379 tn Heb “a hin of oil.” A hin was about 1/16 of a bath. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:266, and O. R. Sellers, “Weights,” IDB 4:835 g.
380 tn The Hebrew text has no preposition; the LXX reads “from” (see v. 17).
381 sn That is, the year of Jubilee (Lev 25:8-15).
382 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
383 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
384 tc The meaning of the Hebrew term is unclear. The LXX and Syriac render “small.”
385 tn Heb “forty cubits” (i.e., 21 meters).
386 tn Heb “thirty cubits” (i.e., 15.75 meters).
387 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
388 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
389 tn Heb “one thousand cubits” (i.e., 525 meters); this phrase occurs three times in the next two verses.
390 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
391 tn Heb “the sea,” referring to the Dead Sea. This has been specified in the translation for clarity.
392 tn Heb “to the sea, those which are brought out.” The reading makes no sense. The text is best emended to read “filthy” (i.e., stagnant). See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:273.
393 tn Heb “the waters become healed.”
394 tn Heb “two rivers,” perhaps under the influence of Zech 14:8. The translation follows the LXX and other ancient versions in reading the singular, which is demanded by the context (see vv. 5-7, 9b, 12).
395 tn Heb “will be healed.”
396 sn The Great Sea refers to the Mediterranean Sea (also in vv. 15, 19, 20).
397 sn See Rev 22:1-2.
398 tc This translation follows the reading זֶה (zeh) instead of גֵּה (geh), a nonexistent word, as supported by the LXX.
399 tn Or “territory”; see D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:715.
400 tc The grammar is awkward, though the presence of these words is supported by the versions. L. C. Allen (Ezekiel [WBC], 2:274) suggests that it is an explanatory gloss.
401 sn Gen 15:9-21.
402 tn Heb “will fall to you as an inheritance.”
403 sn The measurements resemble those in Num 34:1-2.
404 tn Or “valley.” The syntax is difficult. Some translate “to the river,” others “from the river”; in either case the preposition is supplied for the sake of English.
405 sn A similar attitude toward non-Israelites is found in Isa 56:3-8.
406 sn The tribes descended from Jacob’s maidservants are placed farthest from the sanctuary. See Gen 30.
407 sn The tribe from which the Davidic prince would come is given the most prestigious allotment (see Gen 49:8-12).
408 tn Heb “twenty-five thousand cubits” (i.e., 13.125 kilometers).
409 tn Heb “twenty-five thousand cubits” (i.e., 13.125 kilometers).
410 tn Heb “ten thousand cubits” (i.e., 5.25 kilometers).
411 tn Heb “twenty-five thousand cubits” (i.e., 13.125 kilometers).
412 tn Heb “ten thousand cubits” (i.e., 5.25 kilometers).
413 tn Heb “ten thousand cubits” (i.e., 5.25 kilometers).
414 tn Heb “twenty-five thousand cubits” (i.e., 13.125 kilometers).
415 tn Heb “strayed off.”
416 tn Heb “twenty-five thousand cubits” (i.e., 13.125 kilometers).
417 tn Heb “ten thousand cubits” (i.e., 5.25 kilometers).
418 tn Heb “twenty-five thousand cubits” (i.e., 13.125 kilometers).
419 tn Heb “ten thousand cubits” (i.e., 5.25 kilometers).
420 tn Or “holy.”
421 tn Heb “five thousand cubits” (i.e., 2.625 kilometers).
422 tn Heb “twenty-five thousand cubits” (i.e., 13.125 kilometers).
423 tn Heb “four thousand five hundred cubits” (i.e., 2.36 kilometers); the phrase occurs three more times in this verse.
424 tn Heb “two hundred fifty cubits” (i.e., 131.25 meters); the phrase occurs three more times in this verse.
425 tn Heb “ten thousand cubits” (i.e., 5.25 kilometers); the phrase occurs again later in this verse.
426 tn Heb “twenty-five thousand cubits” (i.e., 13.125 kilometers).
427 tn Heb “twenty-five thousand cubits” (i.e., 13.125 kilometers).
428 tn Heb “twenty-five thousand cubits” (i.e., 13.125 kilometers).
429 tn Traditionally “the Brook of Egypt,” although a number of recent translations have “the Wadi of Egypt” (cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV). The word “Egypt” is not in the Hebrew text, but is implied.
430 tn Heb “four thousand five hundred cubits” (i.e., 2.36 kilometers); the phrase occurs again in vv. 32-34.
431 sn See Rev 21:12-14.
432 tn Heb “eighteen thousand cubits” (i.e., 9.45 kilometers).
433 sn See Rev 21:12-21.