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.

“‘You took your sons and your daughters whom you bore to me and you sacrificed them ¹  as food for the idols to eat. As if your prostitution not enough,

“Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: Because you have forgotten me and completely disregarded me, ¹  you must bear now the punishment ²  for your obscene conduct and prostitution.”

“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!

The man said to me, “Son of man, watch closely, listen carefully, and pay attention ¹  to everything I show you, for you have been brought here so that I can show it to you. ²  Tell the house of Israel everything you see.”

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.

Then he brought me back to the entrance of the temple. I noticed ¹  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.

engages in usury and charges interest. Will he live? He will not! Because he has done all these abominable deeds he will certainly die. ¹  He will bear the responsibility for his own death. ² 

He said to me, “Do you see, son of man, what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the dark, each in the chamber of his idolatrous images? ¹  For they think, ‘The Lord does not see us! The Lord has abandoned the land!’”

He said to me, “Do you see, son of man? Is it a trivial thing that the house of Judah commits these abominations they are practicing here? For they have filled the land with violence and provoked me to anger still further. Look, they are putting the branch to their nose! ¹ 

He said to me, “The sin of the house of Israel and Judah is extremely great; the land is full of murder, and the city is full of corruption, ¹  for they say, ‘The Lord has abandoned the land, and the Lord does not see!’ ² 

Yet some survivors will be left in it, sons and daughters who will be brought out. They will come out to you, and when you see their behavior and their deeds, you will be consoled about the catastrophe I have brought on Jerusalem – for everything I brought on it.

But you, son of man, do not fear them, and do not fear their words – even though briers ¹  and thorns ²  surround you and you live among scorpions – do not fear their words and do not be terrified of the looks they give you, ³  for they are a rebellious house!

So I did just as I was commanded. I carried out my belongings packed for exile during the day, and at evening I dug myself a hole through the wall with my hands. I went out in the darkness, carrying my baggage ¹  on my shoulder while they watched.

“‘Then I passed by you and watched you, noticing ¹  that you had reached the age for love. ²  I spread my cloak ³  over you and covered your nakedness. I swore a solemn oath to you and entered into a marriage covenant with you, declares the sovereign Lord, and you became mine.

“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.’ ¹ 

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. ¹ 

“And you, son of man, say to your people, ¹  ‘The righteousness of the righteous will not deliver him if he rebels. ²  As for the wicked, his wickedness will not make him stumble if he turns from it. ³  The righteous will not be able to live by his righteousness ⁴  if he sins.’ ⁵ 

“Son of man, sing a lament for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say to him: “‘You were like a lion ¹  among the nations, but you are a monster in the seas; you thrash about in your streams, stir up the water with your feet, and muddy your ²  streams.

“‘Because you did not remember the days of your youth and have enraged me with all these deeds, I hereby repay you for what you have done, ¹  declares the sovereign Lord. Have you not engaged in prostitution on top of all your other abominable practices?