In the abundance of your trade you were filled with violence, ¹  and you sinned; so I defiled you and banished you ²  from the mountain of God – the guardian cherub expelled you ³  from the midst of the stones of fire.

Your heart was proud because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom on account of your splendor. I threw you down to the ground; I placed you before kings, that they might see you.

“‘This is what the Lord says: Egypt’s supporters will fall; her confident pride will crumble. ¹  From Migdol to Syene ²  they will die by the sword within her, declares the sovereign Lord.

The bravest of the warriors will speak to him from the midst of Sheol along with his allies, saying: ‘The uncircumcised have come down; they lie still, killed by the sword.’

“‘I will make a covenant of peace with them and will rid the land of wild beasts, so that they can live securely ¹  in the wilderness and even sleep in the woods. ² 

“‘You have shown unrelenting hostility and poured the people of Israel onto the blades of a sword ¹  at the time of their calamity, at the time of their final punishment.

Its alcoves, three on each side, and its jambs and porches had the same measurement as the first gate; 87½ feet ¹  long and 43¾ feet ²  wide.

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.”

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. ¹  The interior of the outer sanctuary and the porch of the court, ² 

The altar was of wood, 5¼ feet ¹  high, with its length 3½ feet; ²  its corners, its length, ³  and its walls were of wood. He said to me, “This is the table that is before the Lord.”

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.

“‘Alongside the portion set apart as the holy allotment, you will allot for the city an area one and two-thirds miles ¹  wide and eight and a quarter miles ²  long; it will be for the whole house of Israel.

“‘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, ¹  declares the sovereign Lord.

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. ¹ 

“As for you, take wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and spelt, ¹  put them in a single container, and make food ²  from them for yourself. For the same number of days that you lie on your side – 390 days ³  – you will eat it.

Next, I noticed ¹  six men ²  coming from the direction of the upper gate ³  which faces north, each with his war club in his hand. Among them was a man dressed in linen with a writing kit ⁴  at his side. They came and stood beside the bronze altar.

While they are watching, raise your baggage onto your shoulder and carry it out in the dark. ¹  You must cover your face so that you cannot see the ground ²  because I have made you an object lesson ³  to the house of Israel.”

My hand will be against the prophets who see delusion and announce lying omens. They will not be included in the council ¹  of my people, nor be written in the registry ²  of the house of Israel, nor enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the sovereign Lord.

“‘Therefore, this is what the sovereign Lord says: Take note ¹  that I am against your wristbands with which you entrap people’s lives ²  like birds. I will tear them from your arms and will release the people’s lives, which you hunt like birds.

For when anyone from the house of Israel, or the foreigner who lives in Israel, separates himself from me and erects his idols in his heart and sets the obstacle leading to his iniquity before his face, and then consults a prophet to seek something from me, I the Lord am determined to answer him personally.