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Genesis 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 Exodus 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 Leviticus 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Numbers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 Deuteronomy 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 Joshua 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Judges 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Ruth 1 2 3 4 1 Samuel 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 2 Samuel 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 1 Kings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 2 Kings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 1 Chronicles 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 2 Chronicles 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 Ezra 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Nehemiah 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Esther 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Job 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 Psalms 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 Proverbs 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Ecclesiastes 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Song of Solomon 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Isaiah 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 Jeremiah 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 Lamentations 1 2 3 4 5 Ezekiel 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 Daniel 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Hosea 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Joel 1 2 3 Amos 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Obadiah 1 Jonah 1 2 3 4 Micah 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Nahum 1 2 3 Habakkuk 1 2 3 Zephaniah 1 2 3 Haggai 1 2 Zechariah 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Malachi 1 2 3 4 Matthew 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Mark 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Luke 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 John 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Acts 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Romans 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 1 Corinthians 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 2 Corinthians 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Galatians 1 2 3 4 5 6 Ephesians 1 2 3 4 5 6 Philippians 1 2 3 4 Colossians 1 2 3 4 1 Thessalonians 1 2 3 4 5 2 Thessalonians 1 2 3 1 Timothy 1 2 3 4 5 6 2 Timothy 1 2 3 4 Titus 1 2 3 Philemon 1 Hebrews 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 James 1 2 3 4 5 1 Peter 1 2 3 4 5 2 Peter 1 2 3 1 John 1 2 3 4 5 2 John 1 3 John 1 Jude 1 Revelations 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 |
Ezek 1:1 NOW [when I was] in [my] thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was in the midst of captivity beside the river Chebar [in Babylonia], the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God. Ezek 1:2 On the fifth day of the month, which was in the fifth year of King Jehoiachin's captivity, Ezek 1:3 The word of the Lord came expressly to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the hand of the Lord was there upon him. Ezek 1:4 As I looked, behold, a stormy wind came out of the north, and a great cloud with a fire enveloping it {and} flashing continually; a brightness was about it and out of the midst of it there seemed to glow amber metal, out of the midst of the fire. Ezek 1:5 And out of the midst of it came the likeness of four living creatures [or cherubim]. And this was their appearance: they had the likeness of a man, Ezek 1:6 But each one had four faces and each one had four wings. Ezek 1:7 And their legs were straight legs, and the sole of their feet was like the sole of a calf's foot, and they sparkled like burnished bronze. Ezek 1:8 And they had the hands of a man under their wings on their four sides. And the four of them had their faces and their wings thus: Ezek 1:9 Their wings touched one another; they turned not when they went but went every one straight forward. Ezek 1:10 As for the likeness of their faces, they each had the face of a man [in front], and each had the face of a lion on the right side and the face of an ox on the left side; the four also had the face of an eagle [at the back of their heads]. Ezek 1:11 Such were their faces. And their wings were stretched out upward [each creature had four wings]; two wings of each one were touching the [adjacent] wing of the creatures on either side of it, and [the remaining] two wings of each creature covered its body. Ezek 1:12 And they went every one straight forward; wherever the spirit would go, they went, and they turned not when they went. Ezek 1:13 In the midst of the living creatures there was what looked like burning coals of fire, like torches moving to and fro among the living creatures; the fire was bright and out of the fire went forth lightning. Ezek 1:14 And the living creatures darted back and forth like a flash of lightning. Ezek 1:15 Now as I was still looking at the living creatures, I saw one wheel upon the ground beside each of the living creatures with its four faces. Ezek 1:16 As to the appearance of the wheels and their construction: in appearance they gleamed like chrysolite; and the four were formed alike, and their construction work was as it were a wheel within a wheel. Ezek 1:17 When they went, they went in one of their four directions without turning [for they were faced that way]. Ezek 1:18 As for their rims, they were so high that they were dreadful, and the four had their rims full of eyes round about. Ezek 1:19 And when the living creatures went, the wheels went beside them; and when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up. Ezek 1:20 Wherever the spirit went, the creatures went and the wheels rose along with them, for the spirit {or} life of the [four living creatures acting as one] living creature was in the wheels. Ezek 1:21 When those went, these went; and when those stood, these stood; and when those were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up high beside them, for the spirit {or} life of the [combined] living creature was in the wheels. Ezek 1:22 Over the head of the [combined] living creature there was the likeness of a firmament, looking like the terrible {and} awesome [dazzling of shining] crystal {or} ice stretched across the expanse of sky over their heads. Ezek 1:23 And under the firmament their wings were stretched out straight, one toward another. Every living creature had two wings which covered its body on this side and two which covered it on that side. Ezek 1:24 And when they went, I heard the sound of their wings like the noise of great waters, like the voice of the Almighty, the sound of tumult like the noise of a host. When they stood, they let down their wings. Ezek 1:25 And there was a voice above the firmament that was over their heads; when they stood, they let down their wings. Ezek 1:26 And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne in appearance like a sapphire stone, and seated above the likeness of a throne was a likeness with the appearance of a Man. Ezek 1:27 From what had the appearance of His waist upward, I saw a lustre as it were glowing metal with the appearance of fire enclosed round about within it; and from the appearance of His waist downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and there was brightness [of a halo] round about Him. Ezek 1:28 Like the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud on the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face and I heard a voice of One speaking. Ezek 2:1 AND HE said to me [Ezekiel], Son of man, stand upon your feet and I will speak to you. Ezek 2:2 And the Spirit entered into me when He spoke to me and set me upon my feet, and I heard Him speaking to me. Ezek 2:3 And He said to me, I send you, son of man, to the children of Israel, two rebellious nations that have rebelled against Me. They and their fathers have transgressed against Me even to this very day. Ezek 2:4 And the children are impudent and hard of heart. I send you to them and you shall say to them, Thus says the Lord God. Ezek 2:5 And they, whether they will hear or refuse to hear--for they are a rebellious house--yet shall they know {and} realize that there has been a prophet among them. Ezek 2:6 And you, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words; though briers and thorns are all around you and you dwell {and} sit among scorpions, be not afraid of their words nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house. Ezek 2:7 And you shall speak My words to them whether they will hear or refuse to hear, for they are most rebellious. Ezek 2:8 As for you, son of man, hear what I say to you; be not rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you. Ezek 2:9 And when I looked, behold, a hand was stretched out to me and behold, a scroll of a book was in it. Ezek 2:10 And He spread it before me and it was written within and on the back, and written on it were words of lamentation and mourning and woe. Ezek 3:1 HE SAID to me, Son of man, eat what you find [in this book]; eat this scroll; then go and speak to the house of Israel. Ezek 3:2 So I opened my mouth, and He caused me to eat the scroll. Ezek 3:3 And He said to me, Son of man, eat this scroll that I give you and fill your stomach with it. Then I ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth. Ezek 3:4 And He said to me, Son of man, go, get you to the house of Israel and speak to them with My words. Ezek 3:5 For you are not sent to a people of a foreign speech and of a difficult language but to the house of Israel; Ezek 3:6 Not to many peoples of foreign speech and of a hard language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely, had I sent you to such people, they would have listened to you {and} heeded My words. Ezek 3:7 But the house of Israel will not listen to you {and} obey you since they will not listen to Me {and} obey Me, for all the house of Israel are impudent and stubborn of heart. Ezek 3:8 Behold, I have made your face strong {and} hard against their faces and your forehead strong {and} hard against their foreheads. Ezek 3:9 Like an adamant harder than flint {or} a diamond point have I made your forehead; fear them not, neither be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house. Ezek 3:10 Moreover, He said to me, Son of man, all My words that I shall speak to you, receive in your heart and hear with your ears. Ezek 3:11 And go, get you to the [Jewish] captives [in Babylon], to the children of your people, and speak to them and tell them, Thus says the Lord God, whether they will hear or refuse to hear. Ezek 3:12 Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me a voice of a great rushing [saying], Blessed be the glory of the Lord from His place [above the firmament]. Ezek 3:13 I heard the noise of the wings of the living creatures as they touched {and} joined each one the other [its sister wing], and I heard the noise of the wheels beside them and the noise of a great rushing. Ezek 3:14 So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away [in the vision], and I went in bitterness [of discouragement] in the heat of my spirit; and the hand of the Lord was strong upon me. Ezek 3:15 Then I came to them of the captivity at Tel-abib, who sat {and} dwelt by the river of Chebar, and I sat where they sat and remained there among them seven days, overwhelmed with astonishment {and} silent. Ezek 3:16 And at the end of seven days, the word of the Lord came to me: Ezek 3:17 Son of man, I have made you a watchman to the house of Israel; therefore hear the word at My mouth and give them warning from Me. Ezek 3:18 If I say to the wicked, You shall surely die, and you do not give him warning or speak to warn the wicked to turn from his wicked way, to save his life, the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood will I require at your hand. Ezek 3:19 Yet if you warn the wicked and he turn not from his wickedness or from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity, but you have delivered yourself. Ezek 3:20 Again, if a righteous man turns from his righteousness (right doing and right standing with God) and some gift or providence which I lay before him he perverts into an occasion to sin and he commits iniquity, he shall die; because you have not given him warning, he shall die in his sin and his righteous deeds which he has done shall not be remembered, but his blood will I require at your hand. Ezek 3:21 Nevertheless if you warn the righteous man not to sin and he does not sin, he shall surely live because he is warned; also you have delivered yourself from guilt. Ezek 3:22 And the hand of the Lord was there upon me, and He said to me, Arise, go forth into the plain and I will talk with you there. Ezek 3:23 Then I arose and went forth into the plain, and behold, the glory of the Lord stood there, like the glory I had seen by the river Chebar, and I fell on my face. Ezek 3:24 Then the Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet; He spoke and said to me, Go, shut yourself up in your house. Ezek 3:25 But you, O son of man, behold, ropes will be put upon you and you will be bound with them, and you cannot go out among people. Ezek 3:26 And I will make your tongue cleave to the roof of your mouth so that you cannot talk and be a reprover of the people, for they are a rebellious house. Ezek 3:27 But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth and you shall say to the people, Thus says the Lord God; he who hears, let him hear, and he who refuses to hear, let him refuse; for they are a rebellious house. Ezek 4:1 AND YOU, son of man, take a tile and lay it before you, and make upon it a drawing of a city, even Jerusalem. Ezek 4:2 And put siege works against it, build a siege wall against it, and cast up a mound against it; set camps also against it and set battering rams against it round about. Ezek 4:3 Moreover, take a plate of iron and place it for an iron wall between you and the city; and set your face toward it and it shall be besieged, and you shall press the siege against it. This is a sign to the house of Israel. Ezek 4:4 Then [bound as you are] lie upon your left [and north] side to bear symbolically the iniquity of the house of the ten tribes of Israel upon that side. According to the number of days that you shall lie upon it you shall bear their iniquity. Ezek 4:5 For I have laid upon you the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, 390 days [representing 390 years]; so you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Israel. Ezek 4:6 And when you have fulfilled the days for Israel, lie again, but on your right [and south] side, and you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days. I have appointed you one day for each year. Ezek 4:7 Therefore you shall set your face toward the siege of Jerusalem and your arm shall be uncovered [ready for battle], and you shall prophesy against [the city]. Ezek 4:8 And, behold, I will lay bands upon you and you shall not turn yourself from one side to another till you have ended the days of your siege. Ezek 4:9 Also take wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and spelt, and put them into one vessel and make bread of them. According to the number of the days that you shall lie upon your side, 390 days you shall eat of it. Ezek 4:10 And the food you eat shall be by weight, twenty shekels {or} a full half pound a day, to be eaten at a fixed time each day. Ezek 4:11 You shall drink water by measure also, about one quart {or} the sixth part of a hin; you shall drink at a fixed time each day. Ezek 4:12 And you shall eat your food as barley cakes and you shall bake it with human dung as fuel in the sight of the people. Ezek 4:13 And the Lord said, Even thus shall the children of Israel eat their defiled bread among the nations to whom I will drive them. Ezek 4:14 Then said I, Ah, Lord God! Behold, I have never defiled myself. From my youth up even till now have I not eaten of that which dies of itself or is torn in pieces; neither did there ever come abominable flesh into my mouth. Ezek 4:15 Then He said to me, Behold, I will let you use cow's dung instead of human dung, and you shall prepare your food with it. Ezek 4:16 Moreover, He said to me, Son of man, behold, I will break the staff of bread [by which life is supported] in Jerusalem; and they shall eat bread rationed by weight and with fearfulness, and they shall drink water rationed by measure and with dismay (silent, speechless grief caused by the impending starvation), Ezek 4:17 In order that they may lack bread and water and look at one another in dismay and waste away [in their punishment] for their iniquity. Ezek 5:1 AND YOU, son of man [Ezekiel], take a sharp sword and use it as a barber's razor and shave your head and your beard. Then take balances for weighing and divide the hair into three parts. Ezek 5:2 You shall burn one part with fire in the midst of the city, when the days of the siege are fulfilled; and you shall take a second part and strike with the sword round about it; and a third part you shall scatter to the wind, and I will draw out a sword after them. Ezek 5:3 You shall also take from these a small number of hairs and bind them in the skirts of your robe. Ezek 5:4 And of these again take some hairs and cast them into the midst of the fire and burn them in the fire; from there a fire shall come forth into all the house of Israel. Ezek 5:5 Thus says the Lord God: This is Jerusalem; in the center of the nations I have set her, and countries are round about her. Ezek 5:6 And she has changed {and} rebelled against My ordinances more wickedly than the [heathen] nations, and against My statutes more than the countries that are round about her; for [Israel] rejected My ordinances, and as for My statutes, they have not walked in them. Ezek 5:7 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because you were more turbulent {and} raged [against Me] more than the nations that are round about you and have not walked in My statutes, neither have kept My ordinances, nor have done according to the ordinances [concerning] the nations that are round about you; Ezek 5:8 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, even I, am against you, and I will execute judgments in the midst of you in the sight of the nations. Ezek 5:9 And because of all your abominations, I will do in you that which I have not done and the like of which I will never do again. Ezek 5:10 Therefore fathers shall eat their sons in your midst, and sons shall eat their fathers; and I will execute judgments on you and all who are left of you I will scatter to all the winds. Ezek 5:11 Therefore, as I live, says the Lord God, surely because you have defiled My sanctuary with all your detestable things and with all your abominations, therefore will I also diminish you {and} withdraw My eye that it shall not spare you. And I also will have no pity. Ezek 5:12 And a third of you shall die of pestilence and be consumed by famine in the midst of you; a third shall fall by the sword round about you; and I will scatter a third to all the winds and will draw out a sword after them. Ezek 5:13 Thus shall My anger be spent and I will cause My wrath toward them to rest and I will be eased {and} comforted. And they shall know, understand, {and} realize that I the Lord have spoken in My zeal, when I have accomplished My wrath upon them. Ezek 5:14 Moreover, I will make you a desolation and a reproach among the nations that are round about you and in the sight of all who pass by. Ezek 5:15 So it shall be a reproach and a taunt, a warning and a horror {and} an astonishment to the [heathen] nations around you when I shall execute judgments upon you in anger and in wrath and in furious chastisements {and} rebukes--I the Lord have spoken it. Ezek 5:16 When I shall loose against them the evil arrows of hunger that are for destruction, which I will send to destroy you, then I will increase the famine upon you and will break your staff of bread. Ezek 5:17 And I will send upon you hunger and wild beasts, and they shall bereave you [of your loved ones]; and pestilence and blood shall pass through you, and I will bring the sword upon you. I the Lord have spoken it. Ezek 6:1 AND THE word of the Lord came to me, saying, Ezek 6:2 Son of man, set your face toward the mountains of Israel and prophesy against them, Ezek 6:3 And say, You mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God! Thus says the Lord God to the mountains and the hills, to the river ravines and the valleys: Behold, I, even I, will bring a sword upon you, and I will destroy your high places [of idolatrous worship], Ezek 6:4 And your altars shall be made desolate and your sun-pillars shall be broken in pieces, and I will cast down your slain before your idols. Ezek 6:5 And I will lay the dead bodies of the children of Israel before their idols, and I will scatter your bones round about your altars. Ezek 6:6 In all your dwelling places the cities shall be laid waste and the high places shall be made desolate, that your altars may bear their guilt {and} be laid waste and made desolate, your idols may be broken and destroyed, your sun-images may be hewn down, and your handiworks may be wiped away {and} blotted out. Ezek 6:7 And the slain shall fall in the midst of you, and you shall know, understand, {and} realize that I am the Lord. Ezek 6:8 Yet will I leave some of you alive. When you have some that shall escape the sword among the nations, when you shall be scattered through the countries, Ezek 6:9 Then those of you who escape shall [earnestly] remember Me among the nations to which they shall be carried captive, how that I have been broken by their lewdness {and} have Myself broken their wanton heart which has departed from Me and blinded their eyes which turn after their idols wantonly; and they shall be loathsome in their own sight for the evils which they have committed in all their abominations. Ezek 6:10 And they shall know, understand, {and} realize that I am the Lord. I have not said in vain that I would bring this evil calamity [in punishment] upon them. Ezek 6:11 Thus says the Lord God: Strike with your fist, stamp with your foot, and say, Alas! over all the vile abominations of the house of Israel for which [Israel] shall fall by sword, by famine, and by pestilence. Ezek 6:12 He who is far off shall die of the pestilence, and he that is near shall fall by the sword, and he who remains and is preserved shall die by the famine. Thus will I accomplish My wrath upon them. Ezek 6:13 Then shall you know, understand, {and} realize that I am the Lord, when their slain shall lie among their idols round about their altars upon every high hill, on all the tops of the mountains, under every green tree, and under every thickly leafed oak, the places where they were accustomed to offer sweet incense to all their idols. Ezek 6:14 And I will stretch out My hand upon them and make the land desolate and waste, yes, more desolate than the wilderness toward Diblah [a Moabite city], throughout all their dwelling places; and they shall know, understand, {and} realize that I am the Lord. Ezek 7:1 MOREOVER, THE word of the Lord came to me, saying, Ezek 7:2 Also, son of man, thus says the Lord God to the land of Israel: An end! The end has come upon the four corners of the land. Ezek 7:3 Now is the end upon you, and I will send My anger upon you and will judge you according to your ways and will bring upon you retribution for all your abominations. Ezek 7:4 And My eye will not spare you, neither will I have pity; but I will bring recompense for your evil ways upon you, while your abominations are in the midst of you [calling down punishment from a righteous God]; and you shall know (recognize, understand, and realize) that I am the Lord. Ezek 7:5 Thus says the Lord God: Behold, an evil is coming, [an evil so destructive and injurious, so sudden and violent, that it stands alone, not as a succession but as] only one evil. Ezek 7:6 An end has come! The end has come! [The end--after sleeping so long] awakes against you. See, it has come! Ezek 7:7 Your turn (your doom) has come upon you, O inhabitant of the land; the time has come, the day is near, a day not of joyful shouting, but a day of tumult upon the mountains. Ezek 7:8 Now will I shortly pour out My wrath upon you and finish spending My anger against you, and I will judge you according to your ways and will recompense you with punishment for all your abominations. Ezek 7:9 And My eye will not spare, nor will I have pity. I will punish you according to your ways while your abominations are right in the midst of you. And you shall know, understand, {and} realize that it is I the Lord Who smites you. Ezek 7:10 Behold, the day! Behold, it has come! Your doom has gone forth, the rod has blossomed, pride has budded. Ezek 7:11 Violence has grown up into a rod of wickedness; none of [Israel] shall remain, none of their abundance, none of their wealth; neither shall there be preeminence among them {or} wailing for them. Ezek 7:12 The time has come, the day draws near. Let not the buyer rejoice nor the seller mourn, for wrath is upon all their multitude. Ezek 7:13 For the seller shall not return to that which is sold, even were they yet alive. For the vision [of punishment] is touching [Israel's] whole multitude; he shall not come back, neither shall any strengthen himself whose life is in his iniquity. Ezek 7:14 They have blown the trumpet and have made all ready, but none goes to the battle, for My wrath is upon all their multitude. Ezek 7:15 The sword is without and pestilence and famine are within. He who is in the field shall die by the sword, and him who is in the city shall famine and pestilence devour. Ezek 7:16 But those of them that escape shall escape, but shall be on the mountains like doves of the valleys, all of them moaning, every one in his iniquity's [punishment]. Ezek 7:17 All hands shall be feeble and all knees shall be weak as water. Ezek 7:18 They shall also gird themselves with sackcloth; horror {and} dismay shall cover them, and shame shall be upon all faces and baldness upon all their heads [as evidence of grief]. Ezek 7:19 They shall cast their silver into the streets, and their gold shall be [discarded] like an unclean thing {or} rubbish; their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the Lord; they shall not satisfy their animal cravings nor fill their stomachs with them, for [wealth] has been the stumbling block of their iniquity. Ezek 7:20 As for the beauty of gold for ornament, they turned it to pride and made of it the images of their abominations (idols) and of their detestable things. Therefore I will make it to them as an unclean thing. Ezek 7:21 And I will give it for plunder into the hands of strangers and to the wicked of the earth for a spoil, and they shall profane it. Ezek 7:22 Also I will turn My face from them and they shall profane My secret treasure [the temple]; and robbers shall enter into it and profane it. Ezek 7:23 Prepare the chain [of imprisonment], for the land is full of bloodguiltiness [murders committed with pretended formalities of justice] and the city is full of violence. Ezek 7:24 Therefore I will bring in the worst of the [heathen] nations, who will take possession of the houses [of the people of Judah]; I will also silence their strongholds {and} put an end to their proud might, and their holy places {and} those who sanctify them shall be profaned. Ezek 7:25 Distress, panic, {and} destruction shall come, and they [of Judah] shall seek peace, and there shall be none. Ezek 7:26 Calamity shall come upon calamity and rumor shall be upon rumor, and they shall seek a vision of the prophet; and the law {and} instruction shall cease from the [distracted] priest and counsel from the [dismayed] elders. Ezek 7:27 The king [of Judah] shall wear mourning and the prince shall clothe himself with garments of despair {and} desolation, while the hands of the people of the land shall tremble [palsied by terror]; for I will do to them in accordance with their ways, and according to their deserts will I judge them; and they shall know, recognize, {and} realize that I am the Lord. Ezek 8:1 AND IN the sixth year [of the capitivity of King Jehoiachin], in the sixth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I sat in my house [a captive of the Babylonians] with the elders of Judah sitting before me, the hand of the Lord God fell there upon me. Ezek 8:2 Then I beheld, and lo, a likeness of a Man with the appearance of fire; from His waist downward He was like fire, and from His waist upward He had the appearance of brightness like gleaming bronze. Ezek 8:3 And He put forth the form of a hand and took me by a lock of my head; and the Spirit lifted me up between the earth and the heavens and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the door of the inner [court] which faces toward the north, where was the seat of the idol (image) of jealousy, which provokes to jealousy. Ezek 8:4 And behold, there was the glory of the God of Israel [Who had loved and chosen them], like the vision I saw in the plain. Ezek 8:5 Then He [the Spirit] said to me, Son of man, now lift up your eyes toward the north. So I lifted up my eyes toward the north, and behold, on the north of the altar gate was that idol (image) of jealousy in the entrance. Ezek 8:6 Furthermore, [the Spirit] said to me, Son of man, do you see what they are doing? The great abominations that the house of Israel is committing here to drive Me far from My sanctuary? But you shall again see greater abominations. Ezek 8:7 And He brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, behold, there was a hole in the wall. Ezek 8:8 Then He said to me, Son of man, dig now in the wall. And when I had dug in the wall, behold, there was a door. Ezek 8:9 And He said to me, Go in and see the wicked abominations that they do here. Ezek 8:10 So I went in and saw there pictures of every form of creeping things and loathsome beasts and all the idols of the house of Israel, painted round about on the wall. Ezek 8:11 And there stood before these [pictures] seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel, and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan [the scribe], with every man his censer in his hand, and a thick cloud of incense was going up [in prayer to these their gods]. Ezek 8:12 Then said He to me, Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in his [secret] chambers of [idol] pictures? For they say, The Lord does not see us; the Lord has forsaken the land. Ezek 8:13 He also said to me, Yet again you shall see greater abominations which they are committing. Ezek 8:14 Then He brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the Lord's house; and behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz [a Babylonian god, who was supposed to die annually and subsequently be resurrected]. Ezek 8:15 Then said [the Spirit] to me, Have you seen this, O son of man? Yet again you shall see greater abominations that they are committing. Ezek 8:16 And He brought me to the inner court of the Lord's house; and behold, at the door of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the bronze altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs to the temple of the Lord and their faces toward the east, and they were bowing themselves toward the east {and} worshiping the sun. Ezek 8:17 Then [the Spirit] said to me, Have you seen this, O son of man? Is it too slight a thing to the house of Judah to commit the abominations which they commit here, that they must fill the land with violence and turn back afresh to provoke Me to anger? And behold, they put the branch to their nose [actually, before their mouths, in superstitious worship]! Ezek 8:18 Therefore I will deal in wrath; My eye will not spare, nor will I have pity; and though they cry in My ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them. Ezek 9:1 [THE SPIRIT] cried in my ears [in the vision] with a loud voice, saying, Cause those to draw near who have charge over the city [as executioners], every man with his destroying weapon in his hand. Ezek 9:2 And behold, six men came from the direction of the Upper Gate, which faces north, every man with his battle-ax in his hand; and one man among them was clothed in linen, with a writer's ink bottle at his side. And they went in and stood beside the bronze altar. Ezek 9:3 And the glory of the God of Israel [the Shekinah, cloud] had gone up from the cherubim upon which it had rested to [stand above] the threshold of the [Lord's] house. And [the Lord] called to the man clothed with linen, who had the writer's ink bottle at his side. Ezek 9:4 And the Lord said to him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in the midst of it. Ezek 9:5 And to the others He said in my hearing, Follow [the man with the ink bottle] through the city and smite; let not your eye spare, neither have any pity. Ezek 9:6 Slay outright the elderly, the young man and the virgin, the infant and the women; but do not touch {or} go near anyone on whom is the mark. Begin at My sanctuary. So they began with the old men who were in front of the temple [who did not have the Lord's mark on their foreheads]. Ezek 9:7 And He said to [the executioners], Defile the temple and fill its courts with the slain. Go forth! And they went forth and slew in the city. Ezek 9:8 And while they were slaying them and I was left, I fell upon my face and cried, Ah, Lord God! Will You destroy all that is left of Israel in Your pouring out of Your wrath {and} indignation upon Jerusalem? Ezek 9:9 Then said He to me, The iniquity {and} guilt of the house of Israel and Judah are exceedingly great; the land is full of blood and the city full of injustice {and} perverseness; for they say, The Lord has forsaken the land; the Lord does not see [what we are doing]. Ezek 9:10 And as for Me, My eye will not spare, neither will I have pity, but I will recompense their wicked doings upon their own heads. Ezek 9:11 And behold, the man clothed in linen, who had the ink bottle at his side, reported the matter, saying, I have done as You have commanded me. Ezek 10:1 THEN I looked and behold, in the firmament that was over the heads of the cherubim there appeared above them something looking like a sapphire stone, in form resembling a throne. Ezek 10:2 And [the Lord] spoke to the man clothed in linen and said, Go in among the whirling wheels under the cherubim; fill your hands with coals of fire from between the cherubim and scatter them over the city. And he went in before my eyes. Ezek 10:3 Now the cherubim stood on the south side of the house when the man went in; and the cloud [the Shekinah] filled the inner court. Ezek 10:4 Then the glory of the Lord mounted up from the cherubim to stand over the threshold of the [Lord's] house; and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of the Lord's glory. Ezek 10:5 And the sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard even to the outer court, like the voice of God Almighty when He speaks. Ezek 10:6 And when He commanded the man clothed in linen, saying, Take fire from between the whirling wheels, from between the cherubim, [the man] went in and stood beside a wheel. Ezek 10:7 And a cherub stretched forth his hand from between the cherubim to the fire that was between the cherubim, and took some of it and put it into the hands of the man clothed in linen, who took it and went out. Ezek 10:8 And the cherubim seemed to have the form of a man's hand under their wings. Ezek 10:9 And I looked and behold, there were four wheels beside the cherubim, one wheel beside one cherub and another wheel beside another cherub; and the appearance of the wheels was like sparkling chrysolite. Ezek 10:10 And as for their appearance, they four looked alike, as if a wheel had been within a wheel. Ezek 10:11 When they went, they went in any one of the four directions [in which their four individual faces were turned]; they did not turn as they went, but to the place to which the front wheel faced the others followed; they turned not as they went. Ezek 10:12 And their whole body, their backs, their hands, and their wings, and the wheels, were full of eyes round about, even the wheels that each had. Ezek 10:13 As regarding the wheels [attached to them], they were called in my hearing the whirling wheels. Ezek 10:14 And every one had four faces: the first face was the face of the cherub, the second the face of a man, the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle. Ezek 10:15 And the cherubim mounted upward. This is the [same] living creature [the four regarded as one] that I saw by the river Chebar [in Babylonia]. Ezek 10:16 And when the cherubim went, the wheels went beside them; and when the cherubim lifted up their wings to mount up from the earth, the wheels did not turn from beside them. Ezek 10:17 When those stood still, these stood still; and when those mounted up, these [the wheels] mounted up also, for the spirit of life was in these [wheels]. Ezek 10:18 Then the glory of the Lord [the Shekinah, cloud] went forth from above the threshold of the temple and stood over the cherubim. Ezek 10:19 And the cherubim lifted up their wings and mounted up from the earth in my sight, and they went forth with the wheels beside them; and they stood at the entrance of the East Gate of the house of the Lord, and the glory of the God of Israel [the Shekinah, cloud] was over them. Ezek 10:20 This is the living creature [of four combined creatures] that I saw beneath the God of Israel by the river Chebar, and I knew that they were cherubim. Ezek 10:21 Each one had four faces and each one had four wings, and what looked like the hands of a man was under their wings. Ezek 10:22 And as for the likeness of their faces, they were the same faces which I saw by the river Chebar, with regard to their appearances and themselves; they went every one straight forward. Ezek 11:1 MOREOVER, THE Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the East Gate of the Lord's house, which faces east. And behold, at the door of the gateway there were twenty-five men; and I saw in the midst of them Jaazaniah the son of Azzur and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people. Ezek 11:2 Then [the Spirit] said to me, Son of man, these are the men who devise iniquity and give wicked counsel in this city, Ezek 11:3 Who say, [The time] is not near to build houses; this city is the boiling pot and we are the flesh. Ezek 11:4 Therefore prophesy against them; prophesy, O son of man! Ezek 11:5 And the Spirit of the Lord fell upon me, and He said to me, Speak. Say, Thus says the Lord: This is what you thought, O house of Israel, for I know the things that come into your mind. Ezek 11:6 You have multiplied your slain in this city and you have filled its streets with the slain. Ezek 11:7 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Your slain whom you have laid in your midst; they are the flesh and this city is the boiling pot, but you shall be brought forth out of the midst of it. Ezek 11:8 You have feared the sword, and I will bring a sword upon you, says the Lord God. Ezek 11:9 And I will bring you forth out of the midst of it and deliver you into the hands of foreigners and execute judgments among you. Ezek 11:10 You shall fall by the sword; I will judge {and} punish you [before your neighbors] at the border {or} outside the land of Israel, and you shall know (understand and realize) that I am the Lord. Ezek 11:11 This city shall not be your boiling pot, neither shall you be the flesh in the midst of it; I will judge you at the border {or} outside of Israel; Ezek 11:12 And you shall know (understand and realize) that I am the Lord; for you have not walked in My statutes nor executed My ordinances, but have acted according to the ordinances of the nations around you. Ezek 11:13 And while I was prophesying, Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died. Then I fell down upon my face and cried with a loud voice, Ah, Lord God! Will You make a complete end of the remnant of Israel? Ezek 11:14 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Ezek 11:15 Son of man, your brethren, even your kindred, your fellow exiles, and all the house of Israel, all of them, are they of whom the [present] inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, They have gone far from the Lord [and from this land]; therefore this land is given to us for a possession. Ezek 11:16 Therefore say, Thus says the Lord God: Whereas I have removed [Israel] far off among the nations, and whereas I have scattered them among the countries, yet I have been to them a sanctuary for a little while in the countries to which they have come. Ezek 11:17 Therefore say, Thus says the Lord God: I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give back to you the land of Israel. Ezek 11:18 And when they return there, they shall take away from it all traces of its detestable things and all its abominations (sex impurities and heathen religious practices). Ezek 11:19 And I will give them one heart [a new heart] and I will put a new spirit within them; and I will take the stony [unnaturally hardened] heart out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh [sensitive and responsive to the touch of their God], Ezek 11:20 That they may walk in My statutes and keep My ordinances, and do them. And they shall be My people, and I will be their God. Ezek 11:21 But as for those whose heart yearns for {and} goes after their detestable things and their loathsome abominations [associated with idolatry], I will repay their deeds upon their own heads, says the Lord God. Ezek 11:22 Then the cherubim lifted up their wings with the wheels which were beside them, and the glory of the God of Israel [the Shekinah, cloud] was over them. Ezek 11:23 Then the glory of the Lord rose up from over the midst of the city and stood over the mountain which is on the east side of the city. Ezek 11:24 And the Spirit lifted me up and brought me in a vision by the Spirit of God into Chaldea, to the exiles. Then the vision that I had seen went up from me. Ezek 11:25 And I told the exiles everything that the Lord had shown me. Ezek 12:1 THE WORD of the Lord also came to me, saying, Ezek 12:2 Son of man, you dwell in the midst of the house of the rebellious, who have eyes to see and see not, who have ears to hear and hear not, for they are a rebellious house. Ezek 12:3 Therefore, son of man, prepare your belongings for removing {and} going into exile, and move out by day in their sight; and you shall remove from your place to another place in their sight. It may be they will consider {and} perceive that they are a rebellious house. Ezek 12:4 And you shall bring forth your baggage by day in their sight, as baggage for removing into exile; and you shall go forth yourself at evening in their sight, as those who go forth into exile. Ezek 12:5 Dig through the wall in their sight and carry the stuff out through the hole. Ezek 12:6 In their sight you shall bear your baggage upon your shoulder and carry it forth in the dark; you shall cover your face so that you cannot see the land, for I have set you as a sign for the house of Israel. Ezek 12:7 And I did as I was commanded. I brought forth my baggage by day, as baggage for exile, and in the evening I dug through the wall with my own hands. I brought out my baggage in the dark, carrying it upon my shoulder in their sight. Ezek 12:8 And in the morning came the word of the Lord to me, saying, Ezek 12:9 Son of man, has not the house of Israel, the rebellious house, asked you what you are doing? Ezek 12:10 Say to them, Thus says the Lord God: This oracle {or} revelation concerns the prince in Jerusalem and all the house of Israel who are in it. Ezek 12:11 Say, I am your sign; as I have done, so shall it be done to them; into banishment, into captivity, they shall go. Ezek 12:12 And the prince who is in their midst shall lift up his luggage to his shoulder in the dark; then shall he go forth. They shall dig through the wall to carry out through the hole in it. He shall cover his face so that he will not see with his eyes the land. Ezek 12:13 My net also will I spread over him, and he shall be taken in My snare, and I will bring him to Babylonia, to the land of the Chaldeans; yet shall he not see it, though he shall die there. Ezek 12:14 And I will scatter toward every wind all who are about him to help him, even all his bands; and I will draw out the sword after them. Ezek 12:15 And they shall know (recognize, understand, and realize) that I am the Lord, when I shall scatter them among the nations and disperse them in the countries. Ezek 12:16 But I will leave a few survivors who will escape the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, that they may declare {and} confess all their [idolatrous] abominations among the nations to which they go, and [thus God's punishment of them will be justified before everyone and] they shall know (understand and realize) that I am the Lord. Ezek 12:17 Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Ezek 12:18 Son of man, eat your bread with shaking, and drink water with trembling and with fearfulness; Ezek 12:19 And say to the people of the land, Thus says the Lord God concerning the inhabitants of Jerusalem in the land of Israel: They shall eat their bread with fearfulness and drink water with dismay, for their land will be stripped {and} plundered of all its fullness, because of the violence of all those who dwell in it. Ezek 12:20 And the cities that are inhabited shall be laid waste, and the land shall be deserted {and} become a desolation; and you shall know (understand and realize) that I am the Lord. Ezek 12:21 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Ezek 12:22 Son of man, what is this proverb that you have in the land of Israel, saying, The days drag on and every vision comes to nothing {and} is not fulfilled? Ezek 12:23 Tell them therefore, Thus says the Lord God: I will put an end to this proverb, and they shall use it no more as a proverb in Israel. But say to them, The days are at hand and the fulfillment of every vision. Ezek 12:24 For there shall be no more any false, empty, {and} fruitless vision or flattering divination in the house of Israel. Ezek 12:25 For I am the Lord; I will speak, and the word that I shall speak shall be performed (come to pass); it shall be no more delayed {or} prolonged, for in your days, O rebellious house, I will speak the word and will perform it, says the Lord God. Ezek 12:26 Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Ezek 12:27 Son of man, behold, they of the house of Israel say, The vision that [Ezekiel] sees is for many days to come, and he prophesies of the times that are far off. Ezek 12:28 Therefore say to them, Thus says the Lord God: There shall none of My words be deferred any more, but the word which I have spoken shall be performed, says the Lord God. Ezek 13:1 AND THE word of the Lord came to me, saying, Ezek 13:2 Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who prophesy, and say to those who prophesy out of their own mind {and} heart, Hear the word of the Lord! Ezek 13:3 Thus says the Lord God: Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit [and things they have not seen] and have seen nothing! Ezek 13:4 O Israel, your prophets have been like foxes among ruins {and} in waste places. Ezek 13:5 You have not gone up into the gaps {or} breeches, nor built up the wall for the house of Israel that it might stand in the battle in the day of the Lord. Ezek 13:6 They have seen falsehood and lying divination, saying, The Lord says; but the Lord has not sent them. Yet they have hoped {and} made men to hope for the confirmation of their word. Ezek 13:7 Have you not seen a false vision and have you not spoken a lying divination when you say, The Lord says, although I have not spoken? Ezek 13:8 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because you have spoken empty, false, {and} delusive words and have seen lies, therefore behold, I am against you, says the Lord God. Ezek 13:9 And My hand shall be against the prophets who see empty, false, {and} delusive visions and who give lying prophecies. They shall not be in the secret council of My people, nor shall they be recorded in the register of the house of Israel, nor shall they enter into the land of Israel; and you shall know (understand and realize) that I am the Lord God. Ezek 13:10 Because, even because they have seduced My people, saying, Peace, when there is no peace, and because when one builds a [flimsy] wall, behold, [these prophets] daub it over with whitewash, Ezek 13:11 Say to them who daub it with whitewash that it shall fall! There shall be a downpour of rain; and you, O great hailstones, shall fall, and a violent wind shall tear apart [the whitewashed, flimsy wall]. Ezek 13:12 Behold, when the wall is fallen, will you not be asked, Where is the coating with which you [prophets] daubed it? Ezek 13:13 Therefore thus says the Lord God: I will even rend it with a stormy wind in My wrath, and there shall be an overwhelming rain in My anger and great hailstones in wrath to destroy [that wall]. Ezek 13:14 So will I break down the wall that you have daubed with whitewash and bring it down to the ground, so that its foundations will be exposed; when it falls, you will perish {and} be consumed in the midst of it. And you will know (understand and realize) that I am the Lord. Ezek 13:15 Thus will I accomplish My wrath upon the wall and upon those who have daubed it with whitewash, and I will say to you, The wall is no more, neither are they who daubed it, Ezek 13:16 The [false] prophets of Israel who prophesied deceitfully about Jerusalem, seeing visions of peace for her when there is no peace, says the Lord God. Ezek 13:17 And you, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people who prophesy out of [the wishful thinking of] their own minds {and} hearts; prophesy against them, Ezek 13:18 And say, Thus says the Lord God: Woe to the women who sew pillows to all armholes and fasten magic, protective charms to all wrists, and deceptive veils upon the heads of those of every stature to hunt {and} capture human lives! Will you snare the lives of My people to keep your own selves alive? Ezek 13:19 You have profaned Me among My people [in payment] for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, slaying persons who should not die and giving [a guaranty of] life to those who should not live, by your lying to My people, who give heed to lies. Ezek 13:20 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against your pillows {and} charms {and} veils with which you snare human lives like birds, and I will tear them from your arms and will let the lives you hunt go free, the lives you are snaring like birds. Ezek 13:21 Your [deceptive] veils also will I tear and deliver My people out of your hand, and they shall be no more in your hand to be hunted {and} snared. Then you shall know (understand and realize) that I am the Lord. Ezek 13:22 Because with lies you have made the righteous sad {and} disheartened, whom I have not made sad {or} disheartened, and because you have encouraged {and} strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should not return from his wicked way and be saved [in that you falsely promised him life], Ezek 13:23 Therefore you will no more see false visions or practice divinations, and I will deliver My people out of your hand. Then you will know (understand and realize) that I am the Lord. Ezek 14:1 THEN CAME certain of the elders of Israel to me and sat before me. Ezek 14:2 And the word of the Lord came to me: Ezek 14:3 Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their hearts and put the stumbling block of their iniquity {and} guilt before their faces; should I permit Myself to be inquired of at all by them? Ezek 14:4 Therefore speak to them and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Every man of the house of Israel who takes his idols [of self-will and unsubmissiveness] into his heart and puts the stumbling block of his iniquity [idols of silver and gold] before his face, and yet comes to the prophet [to inquire of him], I the Lord will answer him, answer him according to the multitude of his idols, Ezek 14:5 That I may lay hold of the house of Israel in the thoughts of their own mind {and} heart, because they are all estranged from Me through their idols. Ezek 14:6 Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: Repent {and} turn away from your idols, and turn away your faces from all your abominations. Ezek 14:7 For anyone of the house of Israel or of the strangers who sojourn in Israel who separates himself from Me, taking his idols into his heart and putting the stumbling block of his iniquity {and} guilt before his face, and [yet] comes to the prophet to inquire for himself of Me, I the Lord will answer him Myself! Ezek 14:8 And I will set My face against that [false worshiper] and will make him a sign and a byword, and I will cut him off from the midst of My people; and you shall know (understand and realize) that I am the Lord. Ezek 14:9 [The prophet has not been granted permission to give an answer to the hypocritical inquirer] but if the prophet does give the man the answer he desires [thus allowing himself to be a party to the inquirer's sin], I the Lord will see to it that the prophet is deceived in his answer, and I will stretch out My hand against him and will destroy him from the midst of My people Israel. Ezek 14:10 And they both shall bear the punishment of their iniquity: the iniquity of the [presumptuous] prophet shall be the same as the iniquity of the [hypocritical] inquirer, Ezek 14:11 That the house of Israel may go no more astray from Me, neither defile themselves any more with all their transgressions, but that they may be My people, and I may be their God, says the Lord God. Ezek 14:12 The word of the Lord came [again] to me, saying, Ezek 14:13 Son of man, when a land sins against Me by committing a trespass, and I stretch out My hand against it and break its staff of bread and send famine upon it and cut off from it man and beast, Ezek 14:14 Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, they would save but their own lives by their righteousness (their uprightness and right standing with Me), says the Lord God. Ezek 14:15 If I cause ferocious {and} evil wild animals to pass through the land and they ravage {and} bereave it, and it becomes desolate so that no man may pass through because of the beasts; Ezek 14:16 Though these three men were in it, as I live, says the Lord God, they would deliver neither sons nor daughters; they themselves alone would be delivered but the land would be desolate (laid waste and deserted). Ezek 14:17 Or if I bring a sword upon that land and say, Sword, go through the land, so that I cut off man and beast from it, Ezek 14:18 Though these three men were in it, as I live, says the Lord God, they would deliver neither sons nor daughters, but they themselves alone would be delivered. Ezek 14:19 Or if I send a pestilence into that land and pour out My wrath upon it in blood, to cut off from it man and beast, Ezek 14:20 Though Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live, says the Lord God, they would deliver neither son nor daughter; they would but deliver their own lives by their righteousness (their moral and spiritual rectitude in every area and relation). Ezek 14:21 For thus says the Lord God: How much more when I send My four sore acts of judgment upon Jerusalem--the sword, the famine, the evil wild beasts, and the pestilence--to cut off from it man and beast! Ezek 14:22 And yet, behold, in it shall be left a remnant (an escaped portion), both sons and daughters. They shall be carried forth to you [in Babylon], and when you see their [ungodly] walk and their [wicked] doings, you will be consoled for the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem, even concerning all that I have brought upon it. Ezek 14:23 And they shall console you when you see their evil ways and their rebellious actions. Then you shall know (understand and realize) that I have not done without cause all that I have done in Jerusalem, says the Lord God. Ezek 15:1 AND THE word of the Lord came to me, saying, Ezek 15:2 Son of man, How is the wood of the grapevine [Israel] more than that of any tree, the vine branch which was among the trees of the forest? Ezek 15:3 Shall wood be taken from it to do any work? Or will men take a peg of it on which to hang any vessel? Ezek 15:4 Behold, it is cast into the fire for fuel; the fire consumes both ends of it and the middle of it is charred. Is it suitable {or} profitable for any work? Ezek 15:5 Notice, even when it was whole, it was good for no work; how much less shall it be useful {and} profitable when the fire has devoured it and it is charred? Ezek 15:6 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Like the wood of the grapevine among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so will I give up the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Ezek 15:7 And I will set My face against them; they shall go out from one fire and another fire shall devour them, and you shall know (understand and realize) that I am the Lord, when I set My face against them. Ezek 15:8 And I will make the land desolate (laid waste and deserted) because they have acted faithlessly [through their idolatry], says the Lord. Ezek 16:1 AGAIN THE word of the Lord came to me, saying, Ezek 16:2 Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know, understand, {and} realize her [idolatrous] abominations [that they] are disgusting, detestable, and shamefully vile. Ezek 16:3 And say, Thus says the Lord God to Jerusalem [representing Israel]: Your [spiritual] origin and your birth are thoroughly Canaanitish; your [spiritual] father was an Amorite and your [spiritual] mother a Hittite. Ezek 16:4 And as for your birth, on the day you were born your navel cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to cleanse you, nor rubbed with salt or swaddled with bands at all. Ezek 16:5 No eye pitied you to do any of these things for you, to have compassion on you; but you were cast out in the open field, for your person was abhorrent {and} loathsome on the day that you were born. Ezek 16:6 And when I passed by you and saw you rolling about in your blood, I said to you in your blood, Live! Yes, I said to you still in your natal blood, Live! Ezek 16:7 I caused you [Israel] to multiply as the bud which grows in the field, and you increased and became tall and you came to full maidenhood {and} beauty; your breasts were formed and your hair had grown, yet you were naked and bare. Ezek 16:8 Now I passed by you again and looked upon you; behold, you were maturing {and} at the time for love, and I spread My skirt over you and covered your nakedness. Yes, I plighted My troth to you and entered into a covenant with you, says the Lord, and you became Mine. Ezek 16:9 Then I washed you with water; yes, I thoroughly washed away your [clinging] blood from you and I anointed you with oil. Ezek 16:10 I clothed you also with embroidered cloth and shod you with [fine seal] leather; and I girded you about with fine linen and covered you with silk. Ezek 16:11 I decked you also with ornaments and I put bracelets on your wrists and a chain on your neck. Ezek 16:12 And I put a ring on your nostril and earrings in your ears and a beautiful crown upon your head! Ezek 16:13 Thus you were decked with gold and silver, and your raiment was of fine linen and silk and embroidered cloth; you ate fine flour and honey and oil. And you were exceedingly beautiful and you prospered into royal estate. Ezek 16:14 And your renown went forth among the nations for your beauty, for it was perfect through My majesty {and} splendor which I had put upon you, says the Lord God. Ezek 16:15 But you trusted in {and} relied on your own beauty and were unfaithful to God {and} played the harlot [in idolatry] because of your renown, and you poured out your fornications upon anyone who passed by [as you worshiped the idols of every nation which prevailed over you] and your beauty was his. Ezek 16:16 And you took some of your garments and made for yourself gaily decorated high places {or} shrines and played the harlot on them--things which should not come and that which should not take place. Ezek 16:17 You did also take your fair jewels {and} beautiful vessels of My gold and My silver which I had given you and made for yourself images of men, and you played the harlot with them; Ezek 16:18 And you took your embroidered garments and covered them and set My oil and My incense before them. Ezek 16:19 My bread also which I gave you--fine flour and oil and honey with which I fed you--you have even set it before the idols for a sweet odor. Thus it was, says the Lord God. Ezek 16:20 Moreover, you have taken your sons and your daughters whom you have borne to Me, and you have sacrificed them [to your idols] to be destroyed. Were your harlotries too little, Ezek 16:21 That you have slain My children and delivered them up, in setting them apart {and} causing them to pass through the fire for [your idols]? Ezek 16:22 And in all your abominations and idolatrous whoredoms you have not [earnestly] remembered the days of your youth when you were naked and bare, rolling about in your natal blood. Ezek 16:23 And after all your wickedness--Woe, woe to you! says the Lord God-- Ezek 16:24 You have built also for yourself a vaulted chamber (brothel) and have made a high place [of idol worship] in every street. Ezek 16:25 At every crossway you built your high place [for idol worship] and have made your beauty an abomination [abhorrent, loathsome, extremely disgusting, and detestable]; and you have made your body available to every passerby and multiplied your [idolatry and spiritual] harlotry. Ezek 16:26 You have also played the harlot with the Egyptians, your neighbors, [by adopting their idolatries] whose worship is thoroughly sensuous, and you have multiplied your harlotry to provoke Me to anger. Ezek 16:27 Behold therefore, I have stretched out My hand against you, diminished your ordinary allowance of food, and delivered you over to the will of those who hate {and} despise you, the daughters of the Philistines, who turned away in shame from your despicable policy {and} lewd behavior [for they are faithful to their gods]! Ezek 16:28 You played the harlot also with the Assyrians because you were unsatiable; yes, you played the harlot with them, and yet you were not satisfied. Ezek 16:29 Moreover, you multiplied your harlotry with the land of trade, with Chaldea, and yet even with this you were not satisfied. Ezek 16:30 How weak {and} spent with longing {and} lust is your heart {and} mind, says the Lord God, seeing you do all these things, the work of a bold, domineering harlot, Ezek 16:31 In that you build your vaulted place (brothel) at the head of every street and make your high place at every crossing. But you were not like a harlot because you scorned pay. Ezek 16:32 Rather, you were as an adulterous wife who receives strangers instead of her husband! Ezek 16:33 Men give gifts to all harlots, but you give your gifts to all your lovers and hire them, bribing [the nations to ally themselves with you], that they may come to you on every side for your harlotries (your idolatrous unfaithfulnesses to God). Ezek 16:34 And you are different [the reverse] from other women in your harlotries, in that nobody follows you to lure you into harlotry and in that you give hire when no hire is given you; and so you are different. Ezek 16:35 Therefore, O harlot [Israel], hear the word of the Lord! Ezek 16:36 Thus says the Lord God: Because your brass [coins and gifts] {and} your filthiness were emptied out and your nakedness uncovered through your harlotries with your lovers, and because of all the [filthy] idols of your abominations, and the blood of your children that you gave to them, Ezek 16:37 Therefore behold, I will gather all your lovers with whom you have taken pleasure, and all those whom you have loved with all those whom you have hated; I will even gather them [the allies you have courted] against you on every side and will uncover your nakedness to them, that they may see all your nakedness [making you, Israel, an object of loathing and of mockery, a spectacle among the nations]. Ezek 16:38 And I the Lord will judge you as women who break wedlock and shed blood are judged, and I will bring upon you the blood of [your divine Husband's] wrath and jealousy. Ezek 16:39 And I will also give you into the hand of those [your enemies], and they shall throw down your vaulted place (brothel) and shall demolish your high places [of idolatry]; they shall strip you of your clothes and shall take your splendid jewels and leave you naked and bare. Ezek 16:40 They shall also bring up a company against you, and they shall stone you with stones and hew down {and} thrust you through with their swords. Ezek 16:41 And they shall burn your houses with fire and execute judgments upon you before the eyes of many women spectators [the nations]. And I will cause you to cease playing the harlot, and you also shall give hire no more. Ezek 16:42 So will I make My wrath toward you to rest and My jealousy shall depart from you [My adulterous wife], and I will be quiet and will be no more angry. Ezek 16:43 Because you have not [earnestly] remembered the days of your youth but have enraged Me with all these things, therefore behold, I also will bring your deeds down on your own head, says the Lord God. Did you not commit this lewdness above {and} in addition to all your other abominations? Ezek 16:44 Behold, everyone who uses proverbs will use this proverb against you: As is the mother, so is her daughter. Ezek 16:45 You are your [spiritual] mother's daughter who loathed her husband and her children, and you are the sister of your sisters who loathed their husbands and their children. Your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite. Ezek 16:46 And your elder sister is Samaria, she and her daughters who dwelt in the north {and} at your left hand; and your younger sister who dwelt in the south {and} at your right hand is Sodom and her daughters. Ezek 16:47 Yet you were not satisfied to walk after their ways or to do after their abominations, but very soon you were more corrupt in all your ways than they were [for your sin, as those taught of God, is far blacker than theirs]. Ezek 16:48 As I live, says the Lord God, Sodom your sister has not done, she nor her daughters, as you have done, you and your daughters. Ezek 16:49 Behold, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: pride, overabundance of food, prosperous ease, {and} idleness were hers and her daughters'; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. Ezek 16:50 And they were haughty and committed abominable offenses before Me; therefore I removed them when I saw it {and} I saw fit. Ezek 16:51 Neither has Samaria committed half of your sins, but you have multiplied your [idolatrous] abominations more than they and have seemed to justify your sisters [Samaria and Sodom] in all their wickedness by all the abominable things which you have done--you even make them appear righteous in comparison with you. Ezek 16:52 Take upon you {and} bear your own shame {and} disgrace [in your punishment], you also who called in question {and} judged your sisters, for you have virtually absolved them by your sins in which you behaved more abominably than they; they are more right than you. Yes, be ashamed {and} confounded and bear your shame {and} disgrace, you also, for you have seemed to justify your sisters {and} make them appear righteous. Ezek 16:53 I will restore them again from their captivity, restore the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters and the fortunes of Samaria and her daughters, and I will restore your own fortunes in the midst of them [in the day of the Lord], Ezek 16:54 That you [Judah], amid your shame {and} disgrace, may be compelled to recognize your wickedness {and} be thoroughly ashamed {and} confounded at all you have done, becoming [converted and bringing] consolation {and} comfort to [your sisters.] Ezek 16:55 And your sisters, Sodom and her daughters shall return to their former estate, and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former estate; then you and your daughters shall return to your former estate. Ezek 16:56 For was your sister Sodom not mentioned by you [except] as a byword in the day of your pride, Ezek 16:57 Before your own wickedness was uncovered? Now you have become like her, an object of reproach {and} a byword for the daughters of Syria {and} of Edom and for all who are round about them and for the daughters of the Philistines--those round about who despise you. Ezek 16:58 You bear the penalty of your lewdness and your [idolatrous] abominations, says the Lord. Ezek 16:59 Yes, thus says the Lord God: I will even deal with you as you have done, who have despised the oath in breaking the covenant; Ezek 16:60 Nevertheless, I will [earnestly] remember My covenant with you in the days of your youth and I will establish with you an everlasting covenant. Ezek 16:61 Then you will [earnestly] remember your ways and be ashamed {and} confounded when you shall receive your sisters, both your elder and your younger; I will give them to you as daughters, but not on account of your covenant [with Me]. Ezek 16:62 And I will establish My covenant with you, and you shall know (understand and realize) that I am the Lord, Ezek 16:63 That you may [earnestly] remember and be ashamed {and} confounded and never open your mouth again because of your shame, when I have forgiven you all that you have done, says the Lord God. Ezek 17:1 AND THE word of the Lord came to me, saying, Ezek 17:2 Son of man, put forth a riddle and speak a parable {or} allegory to the house of Israel; Ezek 17:3 Say, Thus says the Lord God: A great eagle [Nebuchadnezzar] with great wings and long pinions, rich in feathers of various colors, came to Lebanon [symbolic of Jerusalem] and took the top of the cedar [tree]. Ezek 17:4 He broke off the topmost of its young twigs [the youthful King Jehoiachin] and carried it into a land of trade [Babylon]; he set it in a city of merchants. Ezek 17:5 He took also of the seedlings of the land [Zedekiah, one of the native royal family] and planted it in fertile soil {and} a fruitful field; he placed it beside abundant waters and set it as a willow tree [to succeed Zedekiah's nephew Jehoiachin in Judah as vassal king]. Ezek 17:6 And it grew and became a spreading vine of low [not Davidic] stature, whose branches turned [in submission] toward him, and its roots remained under {and} subject to him [the king of Babylon]; so it became a vine and brought forth branches and shot forth leafy twigs. Ezek 17:7 There was also another great eagle [the Egyptian king] with great wings and many feathers; and behold, this vine [Zedekiah] bent its roots [languishingly] toward him and shot forth its branches toward him, away from the beds of its planting, for him to water. Ezek 17:8 Though it was planted in good soil where water was plentiful for it to produce leaves and to bear fruit, it was transplanted, that it might become a splendid vine. Ezek 17:9 Thus says the Lord God: Ask, Will it thrive? Will he [the insulted Nebuchadnezzar] not pluck up its roots and strip off its fruit so that all its fresh sprouting leaves will wither? It will not take a strong arm or many people to pluck it up by its roots [totally ending Israel's national existence]. Ezek 17:10 Yes, behold, though transplanted, will it prosper? Will it not utterly wither when the east wind touches it? It will wither in the furrows {and} beds where it sprouted {and} grew. Ezek 17:11 Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Ezek 17:12 Say now to the rebellious house, Do you not know {and} realize what these things mean? Tell them, Behold, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and took its king [Jehoiachin] and its princes and brought them with him to Babylon. Ezek 17:13 And he took one of the royal family [the king's uncle, Zedekiah] and made a covenant with him, putting him under oath. He also took the mighty {and} chief men of the land, Ezek 17:14 That the kingdom might become low {and} base and be unable to lift itself up, but that by keeping his [Nebuchadnezzar's] covenant it might stand. Ezek 17:15 But he [Zedekiah] rebelled against him [Nebuchadnezzar] in sending his ambassadors into Egypt, that they might give him horses and much people. Will he prosper? Will he escape who does such things? Can he break the covenant with [Babylon] and yet escape? Ezek 17:16 As I live, says the Lord God, surely in the place where the king [Nebuchadnezzar] dwells who made [Zedekiah as vassal] king, whose oath [Zedekiah] despised and whose covenant he broke, even with him in the midst of Babylon shall [Zedekiah] die. Ezek 17:17 Neither shall Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company help him in the war when the [Babylonians] cast up mounds and build forts to destroy many lives. Ezek 17:18 For [Zedekiah] despised the oath and broke the covenant and behold, he had given his hand, and yet has done all these things; he shall not escape. Ezek 17:19 Therefore thus says the Lord God: As I live, surely My oath [made for Me by Nebuchadnezzar] that [Zedekiah] has despised and My covenant with him that he has broken, I will even bring down on his own head. Ezek 17:20 And I will spread My net over him, and he shall be taken in My snare; and I will bring him to Babylon and will enter into judgment {and} punishment with him there for his trespass {and} treason that he has committed against Me. Ezek 17:21 And all his fugitives [from Judah] in all his bands shall fall by the sword, and they that remain shall be scattered toward every wind. And you shall know (understand and realize) that I the Lord have spoken it. Ezek 17:22 Thus says the Lord God: I Myself will take a twig from the lofty top of the cedar and will set it out; I will crop off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one and will plant it upon a mountain high and exalted. Ezek 17:23 On the mountain height of Israel will I plant it, that it may bring forth boughs and bear fruit and be a noble cedar, and under it shall dwell all birds of every feather; in the shade of its branches they shall nestle {and} find rest. Ezek 17:24 And all the trees of the field shall know (understand and realize) that I the Lord have brought low the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree flourish. I the Lord have spoken, and I will do it. Ezek 18:1 THE WORD of the Lord came to me again, saying, Ezek 18:2 What do you mean by using this proverb concerning the land of Israel, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge? Ezek 18:3 As I live, says the Lord God, you shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel. Ezek 18:4 Behold, all souls are Mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is Mine; the soul that sins, it shall die. Ezek 18:5 But if a man is [uncompromisingly] righteous (upright and in right standing with God) and does what is lawful and right, Ezek 18:6 And has not eaten [at the idol shrines] upon the mountains nor lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, has not defiled his neighbor's wife nor come near to a woman in her time of impurity, Ezek 18:7 And has not wronged anyone but has restored to the debtor his pledge, has taken nothing by robbery but has given his bread to the hungry and has covered the naked with a garment, Ezek 18:8 Who does not charge interest or percentage of increase on what he lends [in compassion], who withholds his hand from iniquity, who executes true justice between man and man, Ezek 18:9 Who has walked in My statutes and kept My ordinances, to deal justly; [then] he is [truly] righteous; he shall surely live, says the Lord God. Ezek 18:10 If he begets a son who is a robber or a shedder of blood, who does to a brother either of these sins of violence, Ezek 18:11 And leaves undone all of the duties [of a righteous man], and has even eaten [the food set before idols] on the mountains and defiled his neighbor's wife, Ezek 18:12 Has wronged the poor and needy, has taken by robbery, has not restored [to the debtor] his pledge, has lifted up his eyes to the idols, has committed abomination (things hateful and exceedingly vile in the eyes of God), Ezek 18:13 And has charged interest or percentage of increase on what he has loaned [in supposed compassion]; shall he then live? He shall not live! He has done all these abominations; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon him. Ezek 18:14 But if this wicked man begets a son who sees all the sins which his father has committed, and considers {and} fears [God] and does not do like his father, Ezek 18:15 Who has not eaten [food set before idols] upon the mountains nor has lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, has not defiled his neighbor's wife, Ezek 18:16 Nor wronged anyone, nor has taken anything in pledge, nor has taken by robbery but has given his bread to the hungry and has covered the naked with a garment, Ezek 18:17 Who has withdrawn his hand from [oppressing] the poor, who has not received interest or increase [from the needy] but has executed My ordinances and has walked in My statutes; he shall not die for the iniquity of his father; he shall surely live. Ezek 18:18 As for his father, because he cruelly oppressed, robbed his brother, and did that which is not good among his people, behold, he shall die for his iniquity {and} guilt. Ezek 18:19 Yet do you say, Why does not the son bear the iniquity of the father? When the son has done that which is lawful and right and has kept all My statutes and has done them, he shall surely live. Ezek 18:20 The soul that sins, it [is the one that] shall die. The son shall not bear {and} be punished for the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear {and} be punished for the iniquity of the son; the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him only, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon the wicked only. Ezek 18:21 But if the wicked man turns from all his sins that he has committed and keeps all My statutes and does that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die. Ezek 18:22 None of his transgressions which he has committed shall be remembered against him; for his righteousness which he has executed [for his moral and spiritual rectitude in every area and relation], he shall live. Ezek 18:23 Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked? says the Lord, and not rather that he should turn from his evil way {and} return [to his God] and live? Ezek 18:24 But if the righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity and does according to all the abominations that the wicked man does, shall he live? None of his righteous deeds which he has done shall be remembered. In his trespass that he has trespassed and in his sin that he has sinned, in them shall he die. Ezek 18:25 Yet you say, The way of the Lord is not fair {and} just. Hear now, O house of Israel: Is not My way fair {and} just? Are not your ways unfair {and} unjust? Ezek 18:26 When a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity and dies in his sins, for his iniquity that he has done he shall die. Ezek 18:27 Again, when the wicked man turns away from his wickedness which he has committed and does that which is lawful and right, he shall save his life. Ezek 18:28 Because he considers and turns away from all his transgressions which he has committed, he shall surely live; he shall not die. Ezek 18:29 Yet says the house of Israel, The way of the Lord is not fair and just! O house of Israel, are not My ways fair and just? Are not your ways unfair and unjust? Ezek 18:30 Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, says the Lord God. Repent and turn from all your transgressions, lest iniquity be your ruin {and} so shall they not be a stumbling block to you. Ezek 18:31 Cast away from you all your transgressions by which you have transgressed against Me, and make you a new mind {and} heart and a new spirit. For why will you die, O house of Israel? Ezek 18:32 For I have no pleasure in the death of him who dies, says the Lord God. Therefore turn (be converted) and live! Ezek 19:1 MOREOVER, TAKE up a lamentation for the princes of Israel, Ezek 19:2 And say, What a lioness was your mother [Jerusalem-Judah]! She couched among lions; in the midst of young lions she nourished her cubs. Ezek 19:3 And she [the royal mother-city] brought up one of her cubs [Jehoahaz]; he became a young lion and he learned to catch the prey; he devoured men. Ezek 19:4 The nations also heard of him; he was taken in their pit, and they brought him with hooks to the land of Egypt. Ezek 19:5 Now when she had waited, she saw her hope was lost. Then she took another of her cubs [Jehoiachin] and made him a young lion. Ezek 19:6 And he [Jehoiachin] went up and down among the lions; he became a young lion and learned to catch prey, and he devoured men. Ezek 19:7 And he knew {and} ravaged their strongholds and he laid waste their cities, and the land was appalled and all who were in it by the noise of his roaring. Ezek 19:8 Then the nations set against [the king] on every side from the provinces, and they spread their net over him [Jehoiachin]; he was taken in their pit. Ezek 19:9 With hooks they put him in a cage and brought him to the king of Babylon; they brought him into custody {and} put him in strongholds, that his voice should no more be heard upon the mountains of Israel. Ezek 19:10 Your mother [the mother-city Jerusalem] was like a vine [like you, Zedekiah, and in your blood] planted by the waters; it was fruitful and full of branches by reason of abundant water. Ezek 19:11 And it had strong rods for the scepters of those who bore rule and its height was exalted among the thick branches {and} into the clouds, and it was seen in its height among the multitude of its branches {and} was conspicuous. Ezek 19:12 But the vine was plucked up in God's wrath [by His agent the Babylonian king] and it was cast down to the ground; the east wind dried up its fruit; its strong rods were broken off and withered; the fire [of God's judgment] consumed them. Ezek 19:13 And now it is transplanted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty land [Babylon]. Ezek 19:14 And fire went out of a rod [Zedekiah] of its branches which has consumed the vine's fruit, so that it has in it no [longer a] strong rod to be a scepter for ruling. This is a lamentation and shall be for a lamentation {and} a dirge. Ezek 20:1 IN THE seventh year, in the fifth [month], on the tenth [day] of the month [after the beginning of the Babylonian captivity, which was to last seventy years], certain of the elders of Israel came to inquire of the Lord and sat down before me [Ezekiel, in Babylonia]. Ezek 20:2 Then came the word of the Lord to me, saying, Ezek 20:3 Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Have you come to inquire of Me? As I live, says the Lord God, I will not be inquired of by you! Ezek 20:4 Will you judge them, son of man [Ezekiel], will you judge them? Then cause them to know, understand, {and} realize the abominations of their fathers. Ezek 20:5 And say to them, Thus says the Lord God: In the day when I chose Israel and lifted up My hand {and} swore to the offspring of the house of Jacob and made Myself known to them in the land of Egypt, when I lifted up My hand {and} swore to them, saying, I am the Lord your God, Ezek 20:6 On that day I lifted up My hand {and} swore to them to bring them out of the land of Egypt to a land that I had searched out for them, flowing with milk and honey, [a land] which is an ornament {and} a glory to all lands. Ezek 20:7 Then said I to them, Let every man cast away the abominable things on which he feasts his eyes, and defile not yourselves with the idols of Egypt; I am the Lord your God. Ezek 20:8 But they rebelled against Me and would not listen to Me; they did not every man cast away the abominable things on which they feasted their eyes, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt. Then I [thought], I will pour out My wrath upon them and finish My anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt. Ezek 20:9 But I acted for My name's sake, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the [heathen] nations among whom they dwelt, in whose sight I made Myself known to them by bringing them out of the land of Egypt. Ezek 20:10 So I caused them to go out from the land of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness. Ezek 20:11 And I gave them My statutes and showed {and} made known to them My judgments, which, if a man keeps, he must live in {and} by them. Ezek 20:12 Moreover, also I gave them My Sabbaths to be a sign between Me and them, that they might understand {and} realize that I am the Lord Who sanctifies them [separates and sets them apart]. Ezek 20:13 But the house of Israel rebelled against Me in the wilderness; they walked not in My statutes and they despised {and} cast away My judgments, which, if a man keeps, he must even live in {and} by them; and they grievously profaned My Sabbaths. Then I thought I would pour out My wrath on them in the wilderness and uproot {and} consume them. Ezek 20:14 But I acted for My name's sake, that it should not be profaned before the [heathen] nations in whose sight I brought them out. Ezek 20:15 Yet also I lifted up My hand to swear to them in the wilderness that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the ornament {and} glory of all lands-- Ezek 20:16 Because they despised {and} rejected My ordinances and walked not in My statutes and profaned My Sabbaths, for their hearts went after their idols. Ezek 20:17 Yet My eye pitied them instead of destroying them, and I did not make a full end of them in the wilderness. Ezek 20:18 But I said to their sons in the wilderness, You shall not walk in the statutes of your fathers nor observe their ordinances nor defile yourselves with their idols. Ezek 20:19 I the Lord am your God; walk in My statutes and keep My ordinances, Ezek 20:20 And hallow (separate and keep holy) My Sabbaths, and they shall be a sign between Me and you, that you may know, understand, {and} realize that I am the Lord your God. Ezek 20:21 Yet the sons rebelled against Me; they walked not in My statutes, neither kept My ordinances which, if a man does, he must live in {and} by them; they profaned My Sabbaths. Then I thought I would pour out My wrath on them and finish My anger against them in the wilderness. Ezek 20:22 Yet I withheld My hand and acted for My name's sake, that it should not be debased and profaned in the sight of the [heathen] nations, in whose sight I had brought them forth [from bondage]. Ezek 20:23 Moreover, I lifted up My hand {and} swore to them in the wilderness that I would scatter them among the [heathen] nations and disperse them in the countries, Ezek 20:24 Because they had not executed My ordinances but had despised {and} rejected My statutes and had profaned My Sabbaths, and their eyes were set on their fathers' idols. Ezek 20:25 Wherefore also I gave them [over to] statutes that were not good and ordinances whereby they should not live {and} could not have life, Ezek 20:26 And I [let them] pollute {and} make themselves unclean in their own offerings [to their idols], in that they caused to pass through the fire all the firstborn, that I might make them desolate, to the end that they might know, understand, {and} realize that I am the Lord. Ezek 20:27 Therefore, son of man, speak to the house of Israel and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Again in this your fathers blasphemed Me, in that they dealt faithlessly {and} treacherously with Me and committed a treasonous trespass against Me. Ezek 20:28 For when I had brought them into the land which I lifted up My hand {and} swore to give to them, then they saw every high hill and every dark {and} leafy tree [as a place for idol worship], and they offered there their sacrifices and there they presented their offering that provoked My anger {and} sadness; there also they made their sweet-smelling savor and poured out there their drink offerings. Ezek 20:29 Then I said to them, What is the high place to which you go? And the name of it is called Bamah [high place] to this day. Ezek 20:30 Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: Do you [exiles] debase {and} defile yourselves after the manner of your fathers? And do you play the harlot after their loathsome {and} detestable things? Ezek 20:31 And when you offer your gifts, when you make your sons pass through the fire, do you not debase {and} defile yourselves with all your idols to this day? And shall I be inquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live, says the Lord God, I will not be inquired of by you! Ezek 20:32 And that which has come up in your mind shall never happen, in that you think, We will be as the nations, as the tribes of the countries, to serve idols of wood and stone. Ezek 20:33 As I live, says the Lord God, surely with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with wrath poured out will I be King over you. Ezek 20:34 And I will bring you out from the peoples and will gather you out of the countries in which you are scattered, with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with wrath poured out. Ezek 20:35 And I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there will I enter into judgment with you {and} contend with you face to face. Ezek 20:36 As I entered into judgment {and} contended with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I enter into judgment {and} contend with you, says the Lord God. Ezek 20:37 And I will cause you to pass under the rod [as the shepherd does his sheep when he counts them, and I will count you as Mine and I will constrain you] and bring you into the covenant to which you are permanently bound. Ezek 20:38 And I will purge out {and} separate from among you the rebels and those who transgress against Me; I will bring them out of the country where they temporarily dwell, but they shall not enter the land of Israel. Then you shall know, understand, {and} realize that I am the Lord. Ezek 20:39 As for you, O house of Israel, thus says the Lord God: Go, serve every one of you his idols, now and hereafter, if you will not listen to Me! But you shall not profane My holy name any more with your sacrificial gifts and your idols! Ezek 20:40 For on My holy mountain, on the mountain height of Israel, says the Lord God, there all the house of Israel, all of them in the land, shall serve Me. There will I [graciously] accept them, and there will I require your offerings and the firstfruits {and} the choicest of your contributions, with all your sacred things. Ezek 20:41 I will accept you [graciously] as a pleasant odor when I lead you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries in which you have been scattered, and I will manifest My holiness among you in the sight of the nations [who will seek Me because of My power displayed in you]. Ezek 20:42 And you shall know, understand, {and} realize that I am the Lord, when I bring you into the land of Israel, into the country which I lifted up My hand {and} swore to give to your fathers. Ezek 20:43 And there you shall [earnestly] remember your ways and all your doings with which you have defiled yourselves, and you shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for all your evil deeds which you have done. Ezek 20:44 And you shall know, understand, {and} realize that I am the Lord, when I deal with you for My name's sake, not according to your evil ways nor according to your corrupt doings, O house of Israel, says the Lord God. Ezek 20:45 Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Ezek 20:46 Son of man, set your face toward the south, preach against the south, and prophesy against the forest land of the South (the Negeb), Ezek 20:47 And say to the forest of the South (the Negeb), Hear the word of the Lord; Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will kindle a fire in you and it shall devour every green tree in you and every dry tree. The blazing flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be scorched by it. Ezek 20:48 All flesh shall see that I the Lord have kindled it; it shall not be quenched. Ezek 20:49 Then said I, Ah, Lord God! They are saying of me, Does he not speak in parables {and} make allegories? Ezek 21:1 AND THE word of the Lord came to me, saying, Ezek 21:2 Son of man, set your face toward Jerusalem and direct your [prophetic] word against the holy places; prophesy against the land of Israel Ezek 21:3 And say to the land of Israel, Thus says the Lord: Behold, I am against you and will draw forth My sword out of its sheath and will cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked. Ezek 21:4 Because I will cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked, therefore shall My sword go out of its sheath against all flesh from the south to the north, Ezek 21:5 And all living shall know, understand, {and} realize that I the Lord have drawn My sword out of its sheath; it shall not be sheathed any more. Ezek 21:6 Sigh therefore, son of man! With breaking heart and with bitterness shall you sigh before their eyes. Ezek 21:7 And it shall be that when they say to you, Why do you sigh? that you shall answer, Because of the tidings. When it comes, every heart will melt and all hands will be feeble, and every spirit will faint and all knees will be weak as water. Behold, it comes and it shall be fulfilled, says the Lord God. Ezek 21:8 Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Ezek 21:9 Son of man, prophesy and say, Thus says the Lord: Say, A sword, a sword is sharpened and also polished; Ezek 21:10 It [the sword of Babylon] is sharpened that it may make a slaughter, polished that it may flash {and} glitter like lightning! Shall we then rejoice {and} make mirth [when such a calamity is impending]? But the rod {or} scepter of My son [Judah] rejects {and} views with contempt every tree [that is, since God's promise long ago to Judah is certain, he believes Judah's scepter must remain no matter what power arises against it]! Ezek 21:11 And the sword [of Babylon] is given to be polished that it may be put to use; the sword is sharpened and polished to be given into the hand of the slayer. Ezek 21:12 Cry and wail, son of man, for it is against My people; it is against all the princes of Israel; they are thrown to the sword along with My people, {and} terrors by reason of the sword are upon My people. Therefore smite your thigh [in dismay]. Ezek 21:13 For this sword has been tested {and} proved [on others], and what if the rejecting {and} despising rod {or} scepter of Judah shall be no more but completely swept away? says the Lord God. Ezek 21:14 Therefore, son of man, prophesy and smite your hands together and let the sword be doubled, yes, trebled in intensity--the sword for those to be overthrown {and} pierced through; it is the sword of great slaughter which encompasses them [so that none can escape, even by entering into their inner chambers]. Ezek 21:15 I have set the threatening {and} glittering sword against all their gates, that their hearts may melt and their stumblings be multiplied. Ah! It is made [to flash] like lightning; it is pointed {and} sharpened for slaughter. Ezek 21:16 Turn [O sword] and cut right or cut left, whichever way your lust for blood {and} your edge direct you. Ezek 21:17 I will also clap My hands, and I will cause My wrath to rest. I the Lord have said it. Ezek 21:18 The word of the Lord came to me again, saying, Ezek 21:19 Also, son of man, mark out two ways by which the sword of the king of Babylon may come; both shall come forth from the same land. And make a signpost (a hand); make it at the head of the way to a city. Ezek 21:20 You shall point out a way for the [Babylonian] sword to come to Rabbah [the capital] of the sons of Ammon and to Judah with Jerusalem, the fortified {and} inaccessible. Ezek 21:21 For the king of Babylon stands at the parting of the way, at the fork of the two ways, to use divination. He shakes the arrows to and fro, he consults the teraphim (household gods), he looks at the liver. Ezek 21:22 In his right hand is the lot marked for Jerusalem: to set battering rams, to open the mouth calling for slaughter, to lift up the voice with a war cry, to set battering rams against the gates, to cast up siege mounds, and to build siege towers. Ezek 21:23 And it shall seem like a lying divination to them who have sworn oaths [of allegiance to Nebuchadnezzar]. [Will he now fight against their homeland?] But he will remind them of their guilt {and} iniquity [in violating those oaths], that they may be caught. Ezek 21:24 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because you have made your guilt {and} iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are uncovered, so that in all your doings your sins appear--because, I say, you have come to remembrance, you shall be taken with the [enemy's] hand. Ezek 21:25 And you, O dishonored and wicked one [Zedekiah], the prince of Israel, whose day will come at the time of your final reckoning {and} punishment, Ezek 21:26 Thus says the Lord God: Remove the [high priest's] miter {or} headband and take off the [king's] crown; things shall not remain as they have been; the low is to be exalted and the high is to be brought low. Ezek 21:27 I will overthrow, overthrow, overthrow it; this also shall be no more until He comes Whose right it is [to reign in judgment and in righteousness], and I will give it to Him. Ezek 21:28 And you, son of man, prophesy and say, Thus says the Lord God concerning the sons of Ammon and concerning their reproach: Say, A sword, a sword is drawn for the slaughter; it is polished to cause it to devour to the uttermost {and} to flash like lightning, Ezek 21:29 While they see for you false visions, while they divine lies for you to lay you [of Ammon] upon the headless trunks of those who are slain, of the wicked whose day is coming at the time of the final reckoning {and} punishment. Ezek 21:30 Return [the sword] to its sheath. In the place where you were created, in the land of your origin {and} of your birth, I will judge you. Ezek 21:31 And I will pour out My indignation upon you [O sons of Ammon]; I will blow upon you with the fire of My wrath and will deliver you into the hand of brutish men, skillful to destroy. Ezek 21:32 You shall be for fuel to the fire; your blood shall be in the midst of the land; you shall be no more remembered, for I the Lord have spoken it. Ezek 22:1 MOREOVER, THE word of the Lord came to me, saying, Ezek 22:2 And you son of man [Ezekiel], will you judge, will you judge the bloodshedding city? Then cause her to know all her abominations, Ezek 22:3 And say, Thus says the Lord God: A city that sheds blood in the midst of her so that her time [of doom] will come, and makes idols [over those who worship them] to defile her! Ezek 22:4 In your blood which you have shed you have become guilty, and you are defiled by the idols which you have made, and you have caused your time [of judgment and punishment] to draw near and have arrived at the full measure of your years. Therefore have I made you a reproach to the [heathen] nations and a mocking to all countries. Ezek 22:5 Those who are near and those who are far from you will mock you, you infamous one, full of tumult. Ezek 22:6 Behold, the princes of Israel in you, every one according to his power, have been intending to shed blood. Ezek 22:7 In you have they treated father and mother lightly; in the midst of you they have dealt unjustly {and} by oppression in relation to the stranger; in you they have wronged the fatherless and the widow. Ezek 22:8 You have despised {and} scorned My sacred things and have profaned My Sabbaths. Ezek 22:9 In you are slanderous men who arouse suspicions to shed blood, and in you are they who have eaten [food offered to idols] upon the mountains; in the midst of you they have committed lewdness. Ezek 22:10 In you men have uncovered their fathers' nakedness [the nakedness of mother or stepmother]; in you they have humbled women who are [ceremonially] unclean [during their periods or because of childbirth]. Ezek 22:11 And one has committed abomination with his neighbor's wife, another has lewdly defiled his daughter-in-law, and another in you has humbled his sister, his father's daughter. Ezek 22:12 In you they have accepted bribes to shed blood; you have taken [forbidden] interest and [percentage of] increase, and you have greedily gained from your neighbors by oppression {and} extortion and have forgotten Me, says the Lord God. Ezek 22:13 Behold therefore, I have struck My hands together at your dishonest gain which you have made and at the blood which has been in the midst of you. Ezek 22:14 Can your heart {and} courage endure or can your hands be strong in the days that I shall deal with you? I the Lord have spoken it, and I will do it. Ezek 22:15 And I will scatter you among the nations and disperse you through the countries, and I will consume your filthiness out of you. Ezek 22:16 And you shall be dishonored {and} profane yourself in the sight of the nations, and you shall know (understand and realize) that I am the Lord. Ezek 22:17 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Ezek 22:18 Son of man, the house of Israel has become to Me scum {and} waste matter. All of them are bronze and tin and iron and lead in the midst of the furnace; they are the dross of silver. Ezek 22:19 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because you have all become scum {and} waste matter, behold therefore, I will gather you [O Israel] into the midst of Jerusalem. Ezek 22:20 As they gather silver and bronze and iron and lead and tin into the midst of the furnace, to blow the fire upon it in order to melt it, so will I gather you in My anger and in My wrath, and I will put you in and melt you. Ezek 22:21 Yes, I will gather you and blow upon you with the fire of My wrath, and you shall be melted in the midst of it. Ezek 22:22 As silver is melted in the midst of the furnace, so shall you be melted in the midst of it, and you shall know, understand, {and} realize that I the Lord have poured out My wrath upon you [O Israel]. Ezek 22:23 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Ezek 22:24 Son of man, say to her, You are a land that is not cleansed nor rained upon in the day of indignation. Ezek 22:25 There is a conspiracy of [Israel's false] prophets in the midst of her, like a roaring lion tearing the prey; they have devoured human lives; they have taken [in their greed] treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in the midst of her. Ezek 22:26 Her priests have done violence to My law and have profaned My holy things. They have made no distinction between the sacred and the secular, neither have they taught people the difference between the unclean and the clean and have hid their eyes from My Sabbaths, and I am profaned among them. Ezek 22:27 Her princes in the midst of her are like wolves rending {and} devouring the prey, shedding blood and destroying lives to get dishonest gain. Ezek 22:28 And her prophets have daubed them over with whitewash, seeing false visions and divining lies to them, saying, Thus says the Lord God--when the Lord has not spoken. Ezek 22:29 The people of the land have used oppression {and} extortion and have committed robbery; yes, they have wronged {and} vexed the poor and needy; yes, they have oppressed the stranger {and} temporary resident wrongfully. Ezek 22:30 And I sought a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none. Ezek 22:31 Therefore have I poured out My indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; their own way have I repaid [by bringing it] upon their own heads, says the Lord God. Ezek 23:1 THE WORD of the Lord came again to me, saying, Ezek 23:2 Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother; Ezek 23:3 And they played the harlot in Egypt. There they played the harlot in their youth; there their bosoms were pressed and there their virgin breasts were handled. Ezek 23:4 And the names of them were Aholah the elder and Aholibah her sister, and they became Mine and they bore sons and daughters. As for the identity of their names, Aholah is Samaria and Aholibah is Jerusalem. Ezek 23:5 And Aholah played the harlot when she was Mine, and she was foolishly fond of her lovers {and} doted on the Assyrians her neighbors, Ezek 23:6 Who were clothed with blue, governors and deputies, all of them attractive young men, horsemen riding upon horses. Ezek 23:7 And she bestowed her harlotries upon them, the choicest men of Assyria all of them; and on whomever she doted, with all their idols she defiled herself. Ezek 23:8 Neither has she left her harlotries since the days of Egypt [from where she brought them], for in her youth men there lay with her and handled her girlish bosom, and they poured out their sinful desire upon her. Ezek 23:9 Wherefore I delivered her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the Assyrians upon whom she doted. Ezek 23:10 These uncovered her nakedness {and} shame; they took her sons and her daughters and they slew her with the sword, and her name became notorious {and} a byword among women when judgments were executed upon her. Ezek 23:11 And her sister Aholibah saw this; yet she was more corrupt in her foolish fondness than she, and in her harlotries she was more wanton than her sister in her harlotries. Ezek 23:12 She doted upon the Assyrians--governors and deputies, her neighbors, clothed most gorgeously, horsemen riding upon horses, all of them desirable young men. Ezek 23:13 And I saw that she was defiled, that both [of the sisters] took one way. Ezek 23:14 But [Aholibah] carried her harlotries further, for she saw men pictured upon the wall, the pictures of the Chaldeans sketched in bright red pigment, Ezek 23:15 Girded with girdles on their loins, with flowing turbans on their heads, all of them looking like officers, a picture of Babylonian men whose native land was Chaldea, Ezek 23:16 Then as soon as she saw [the sketches of] them, she doted on them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea. Ezek 23:17 And the Babylonians came to her into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their evil desire; and when she was polluted by them, she [Jerusalem] broke the relationship {and} pushed them away from her in disgust. Ezek 23:18 So she flaunted her harlotries and exposed her nakedness, and I was disgusted and turned from her, as I had turned in disgust from her sister. Ezek 23:19 Yet she multiplied her harlotries, remembering the days of her youth in which she had played the harlot in the land of Egypt. Ezek 23:20 For she doted upon her paramours there, whose lust was sensuous {and} vulgar like that of asses {or} stallions. Ezek 23:21 Thus you yearned for the lewdness of your youth, when those of Egypt handled your bosom on account of your girlish breasts. Ezek 23:22 Therefore, O Aholibah, thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will rouse up your lovers against you, from whom you turned in disgust, and I will bring them against you on every side: Ezek 23:23 The Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, Pekod and Shoa and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them, desirable young men, governors and officers all of them, princes, men of renown {and} counselors, all of them riding on horses. Ezek 23:24 And they shall come against you with weapons, chariots, wagons {and} wheels, and with a host of infantry which shall array themselves against you with buckler and shield and helmet round about; and I will commit the judgment {and} punishment to them, and they shall judge {and} punish you according to their [heathen] customs in such matters. Ezek 23:25 And I will set My jealous indignation against you, and they shall deal with you in fury; they shall take away your nose and your ears, and those who are left of you shall fall by the sword; they shall take your sons and your daughters, and the remainder shall be devoured by the fire. Ezek 23:26 They shall also strip you [Judah] of your clothes and take away your fine jewels. Ezek 23:27 Thus I will put an end to your lewdness and your harlotry brought from the land of Egypt, so that you will not lift up your eyes to them nor [earnestly] remember Egypt any more. Ezek 23:28 For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will deliver you into the hands of those whom you hate, into the hands of those from whom you turned away in disgust. Ezek 23:29 They shall deal with you in hatred and shall take away all [the earnings of] your labor and shall leave you naked and bare, and the nakedness of your harlotry shall be uncovered, both your lewdness and your wanton ways. Ezek 23:30 These things shall be done to you, because you have played the harlot after the nations and because you have defiled yourself with their idols. Ezek 23:31 You have walked in the way of your sister [Samaria, Israel's capital]; therefore I will give her cup into your hand. Ezek 23:32 Thus says the Lord God: You shall drink of your sister's cup which is deep and wide {and} brimful; you shall be laughed to scorn and held in derision, for it contains much [too much to endure]. Ezek 23:33 You shall be filled with drunkenness and sorrow, with the cup of wasting astonishment {and} horror and desolation, with the cup of your sister Samaria. Ezek 23:34 You shall drink it and drain it out, and then gnaw the pieces of it [which in your drunkenness you have broken] and shall tear your [own] breasts; for I have spoken it, says the Lord God. Ezek 23:35 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because you have forgotten Me [your divine Husband] and cast Me behind your back, therefore bear also [the consequences of] your lewdness and your harlotry. Ezek 23:36 The Lord said, moreover, to me: Son of man, will you judge Aholah and Aholibah? Then declare {and} show to them their abominations (the detestable, loathsome, and shamefully vile things they do), Ezek 23:37 For they have committed adultery and blood is on their hands, even with their idols have they committed adultery [against Me]. And they have also caused their sons, whom they bore to Me, to pass through the fire to their images [as an offering of food] to be devoured [by them]. Ezek 23:38 Moreover, this they have done to Me: they have defiled My sanctuary on the same day [of their idolatries] and have profaned My Sabbaths. Ezek 23:39 For when they had slain their children [as offerings] to their idols, then they came the same day into My sanctuary to profane it [by daring to offer sacrifice there also]! And behold, thus have they done in the midst of My house! Ezek 23:40 And furthermore, you have sent for men to come from afar, to whom a messenger was sent; and behold, they came--those for whom you washed yourself, painted your eyelids, and decked yourself with ornaments; Ezek 23:41 And you sat upon a stately couch with a table spread before it upon which you set My incense and My oil. Ezek 23:42 And the sound of a careless crowd was with her, and with men of the common sort were brought drunkards from the wilderness, who put bracelets upon the hands of both sisters and beautiful crowns upon their heads. Ezek 23:43 Then I said of the one [Aholah] worn out with adulteries, Will they now play the harlot with her [now that she is old] and she with them? Ezek 23:44 Yet they went in to her as they go in to a woman who plays the harlot; so they went in to Aholah and to Aholibah [Israel and Judah], the lewd women. Ezek 23:45 And the righteous men, they shall judge {and} condemn them to the punishment due to adulteresses, to women who shed blood, for they are adulteresses and blood is upon their hands. Ezek 23:46 For thus says the Lord God: I will bring up a host upon them and will give them over to be tossed to and fro and robbed. Ezek 23:47 And the host shall stone them with stones and cut them down with their swords; they shall slay their sons and their daughters and burn up their houses with fire. Ezek 23:48 Thus will I cause lewdness to cease out of the land, that all women may be taught not to do after your lewdness. Ezek 23:49 Thus your lewdness shall be recompensed upon you and you shall suffer the penalty for your sinful idolatry; and you shall know (understand and realize) that I am the Lord God. Ezek 24:1 AGAIN IN the ninth year [of King Jehoiachin's captivity by Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon], in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Ezek 24:2 Son of man, record the name of the day, even of this same day; the king of Babylon set himself against {and} assailed Jerusalem this same day. Ezek 24:3 And utter a parable against the rebellious house [of Judah] and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Put on a pot; put it on and also pour water into it. Ezek 24:4 Put into it the pieces [of meat], all the good pieces, the thigh and the shoulder; fill it with the choice of the bones. Ezek 24:5 Take the choicest of the flock and burn also the unused bones under it, and make it boil well and seethe its bones in [the pot]. Ezek 24:6 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Woe to the bloody city, to the pot whose rust {and} scum are in it and whose rust {and} scum have not gone out of it! Take out of it piece by piece, without making any choice. Ezek 24:7 For the blood she has shed remains in the midst of her; she put it upon the bare rock; she did not pour it on the ground to cover it with dust. Ezek 24:8 That it may cause wrath to come up to take vengeance, I have put her blood [guilt for her children sacrificed to Molech] upon the bare rock, that it would not be covered. Ezek 24:9 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Woe to the bloodguilty city! Also I will make the pile [of fuel] great. Ezek 24:10 Heap on wood, kindle the fire {and} make it hot, boil well the meat {and} mix the spices, pour out the broth when thick, and let the bones be burned up. Ezek 24:11 Then set [the pot Jerusalem] back empty upon the coals, that the bronze of it may be hot and may glow and the filthiness of it may be melted in it and the rust {and} scum of it may be consumed. Ezek 24:12 She has wearied herself {and} Me with toil; yet her great rust {and} scum go not forth out of her, for however hotly the fire burns, her thick rust {and} filth will not go out of her by fire. Ezek 24:13 In your filthiness is abomination; [and therefore] because I would have cleansed you and you were not cleansed, you shall not be cleansed from your filthiness any more until I have satisfied My wrath against {and} upon you. Ezek 24:14 I the Lord have spoken it; it shall come to pass and I will do it; I will not go back, neither will I spare, neither will I relent; according to your ways and according to your doings shall they judge {and} punish you, says the Lord God. Ezek 24:15 Also the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Ezek 24:16 Son of man [Ezekiel], behold, I take away from you the desire of your eyes [your wife] at a single stroke. Yet you shall neither mourn nor weep, neither shall your tears flow. Ezek 24:17 Sigh {and} groan, but not aloud [be silent]; make no mourning for the dead; bind your turban upon your head and put your shoes on your feet, and do not cover your beard or eat the bread of mourners [furnished by others]. Ezek 24:18 So I spoke to the people in the morning and in the evening my wife died, and I did the next morning as I was commanded. Ezek 24:19 And the people said to me, Will you not tell us what these things are supposed to mean to us, that you are acting as you do? Ezek 24:20 Then I answered them, The word of the Lord came to me, saying, Ezek 24:21 Speak to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will profane My sanctuary--[in which you take] pride as your strength, the desire of your eyes, and the pity {and} sympathy of your soul [that you would spare with your life]; and your sons and your daughters whom you have left behind shall fall by the sword. Ezek 24:22 And you shall do as I [Ezekiel] have done; you shall not cover your beard nor eat the bread of mourning [brought to you by others], Ezek 24:23 And your turbans shall be upon your heads and your shoes upon your feet; you shall not mourn or weep, but you shall pine away for your iniquities (your guilt) and sigh {and} groan to one another. Ezek 24:24 Thus Ezekiel is to you a sign; according to all that he has done you shall do. And when this [destruction of the temple] comes, you shall know, understand, {and} realize that I am the Lord God [the Sovereign Ruler, Who calls forth loyalty and obedient service]. Ezek 24:25 And you, son of man, on the day when I take from them [My temple] their strength {and} their stronghold, their joy and their glory, the delight of their eyes and their hearts' chief desire, and also [take] their sons and their daughters-- Ezek 24:26 On that day an escaped fugitive shall come to you to cause you to hear of it [the destruction of Jerusalem] with your own ears. Ezek 24:27 In that day your mouth shall be open to him who has escaped, and you shall speak and be no more speechless, and you shall be a sign to them and they shall know, understand, {and} realize that I am the Lord. Ezek 25:1 THE WORD of the Lord came again to me, saying, Ezek 25:2 Son of man, set your face toward the Ammonites and prophesy against them. Ezek 25:3 And say to the Ammonites, Hear the word of the Lord God, for thus says the Lord God: Because you said Aha! over My sanctuary when it was profaned and over the land of Israel when it was made desolate and over the house of Judah when it went into captivity {and} exile, Ezek 25:4 Therefore behold, I am delivering you to the people of the East for a possession, and they shall set their encampments among you and make their dwellings in your midst; they shall eat your fruit and they shall drink your milk. Ezek 25:5 And I will make Rabbah [your chief city] a stable for camels and [the cities of] the Ammonites a fold for flocks. And you shall know (understand and realize) that I am the Lord [the Sovereign Ruler, Who calls forth loyalty and obedient service]. Ezek 25:6 For thus says the Lord God: Because you have clapped your hands and stamped with the feet and rejoiced [in heart] with all the contempt, malice, {and} spite that is in you against the land of Israel, Ezek 25:7 Therefore behold, I have stretched out My hand against you and will hand you over for a prey {and} a spoil to the nations, and I will cut you off from the peoples and will cause you to perish {and} be lost out of the countries; I will destroy you. Then will you know (understand and realize) that I am the Lord [the Sovereign Ruler, Who calls forth loyalty and obedient service]. Ezek 25:8 Thus says the Lord God: Because Moab says, as does Seir [Edom], Behold, the house of Judah is like all the [heathen] nations, Ezek 25:9 Therefore behold, I will lay open the flank of Moab from the cities, from its cities on its frontiers {and} in every quarter, the glory of the country, Beth-jeshimoth, Baal-meon, and Kiriathaim. Ezek 25:10 I will give it along with the children of Ammon to the people of the East for a possession, that it {and} the children of Ammon may not be [any more seriously] remembered among the nations. Ezek 25:11 And I will execute judgments {and} punishments upon Moab, and they shall know (understand and realize) that I am the Lord [the Sovereign Ruler, Who calls forth loyalty and obedient service]. Ezek 25:12 Thus says the Lord God: Because Edom has dealt against the house of Judah by taking vengeance and has greatly offended {and} has become doubly guilty by taking revenge upon them, Ezek 25:13 Therefore thus says the Lord God: I will also stretch out My hand against Edom and will cut off {and} root out man and beast from it, and I will make it desolate; from Teman even to Dedan they shall fall by the sword. Ezek 25:14 And I will lay My vengeance upon Edom by the hand of My people Israel, and they shall do upon Edom according to My anger and according to My wrath, and they shall know My vengeance, says the Lord God. Ezek 25:15 Thus says the Lord God: Because the Philistines have dealt revengefully and have taken vengeance contemptuously, with malice {and} spite in their hearts, to destroy in perpetual enmity, Ezek 25:16 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will stretch out My hand against the Philistines, and I will cut off the Cherethites [an immigration in Philistia] and destroy the remainder of the seacoast. Ezek 25:17 And I will execute great vengeance upon them with wrathful rebukes {and} chastisements, and they shall know (understand and realize) that I am the Lord, when I lay My vengeance upon them. Ezek 26:1 AND IN the eleventh year, on the first day of the month [after the carrying away of King Jehoiachin], the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Ezek 26:2 Son of man, because Tyre has said against Jerusalem, Aha! She is broken that has been the gate of the people; she is open to me [Tyre]; I shall become full now that she is desolate {and} a wasteland, Ezek 26:3 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, O Tyre, and will cause many nations to come up against you as the sea mounts up by its waves. Ezek 26:4 And they shall destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers; I will also scrape her dust from her and make her bare like the top of a rock. Ezek 26:5 Her island in the midst of the sea shall become a place for the spreading of nets, for I have spoken it, says the Lord God; and she shall become a prey {and} a spoil to the nations. Ezek 26:6 And Tyre's daughters [her towns and villages on the mainland] in the level place shall be slain by the sword, and they shall know (understand and realize) that I am the Lord [the Sovereign Ruler, Who calls forth loyalty and obedient service]. Ezek 26:7 For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will bring from the north upon Tyre Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, a king of kings, with horses and chariots and with horsemen and a host of many people. Ezek 26:8 He shall slay with the sword your daughters [the towns and villages] in the level area [on the mainland], and he shall make a fortified wall against you and cast up a siege mound against you and raise up a roof of bucklers {and} shields as a defense against you. Ezek 26:9 And he shall set his battering engines in shock against your walls, and with his axes he will break down your towers. Ezek 26:10 Because of the great number of [Nebuchadrezzar's] horses, their dust will cover you; your walls [O Tyre] will shake at the noise of the horsemen and of the wagon wheels and of the chariots, when he enters into your gates as men enter into the city in whose walls there has been made a breach. Ezek 26:11 With the hoofs of his horses [Nebuchadrezzar] will trample all your streets; he will slay your people with the sword and your strong pillars {or} obelisks will fall to the ground. Ezek 26:12 And [your adversaries] shall make a spoil of your riches and make booty of your merchandise. And they shall break down your walls and destroy your pleasant houses, and they shall lay the stones and the timber and the very dust from your demolished city out in the midst of the water [between the island and the mainland city site to make a causeway]. Ezek 26:13 And I will cause the noise of your songs to cease, and the sound of your lyres shall be no more heard. Ezek 26:14 And I will make you [Tyre] a bare rock; you shall be a place upon which to spread nets; you shall never be rebuilt, for I the Lord have spoken it, says the Lord God. Ezek 26:15 Thus says the Lord God to Tyre: Shall not the isles {and} coastlands shake at the sound of your fall when the wounded groan, when the slaughter is made in the midst of you? Ezek 26:16 Then all the princes of the sea shall come down from their thrones and lay aside their robes and strip off their embroidered garments; they shall clothe themselves with tremblings; they shall sit upon the ground and shall tremble every moment and be astonished at you {and} appalled. Ezek 26:17 They shall take up a lamentation over you and say to you, How you are destroyed {and} vanished, O renowned city that was won from the seas {and} inhabited by seafaring men, renowned city that was mighty on the sea, she and her inhabitants who caused their terror to fall upon all who dwell there! Ezek 26:18 Now the isles {and} coastlands tremble in the day of your fall; yes, the isles that are in the sea are troubled {and} dismayed at your departure. Ezek 26:19 For thus says the Lord God: When I make you a desolate city like the cities that are not inhabited, when I bring up the deep over you and great waters cover you, Ezek 26:20 Then I will thrust you down with those who descend into the pit (the place of the dead) to the people of olden times, and I will make you [Tyre] to dwell in the lower world like the places that were desolate of old, with those who go down to the pit, that you be not inhabited or shed forth your glory {and} renown in the land of the living. Ezek 26:21 I will make you a terror [bring you to a dreadful end] and you shall be no more. Though you be sought, yet you shall never be found again, says the Lord God. Ezek 27:1 THE WORD of the Lord came again to me, saying, Ezek 27:2 Now you, son of man, take up a lamentation over Tyre, Ezek 27:3 And say to Tyre, O you who dwell at the entrance to the sea, who are merchant of the peoples of many islands {and} coastlands, thus says the Lord God: O Tyre, you have thought {and} said, I am perfect in beauty. Ezek 27:4 Your borders are in the heart of the seas; your builders have perfected your beauty. Ezek 27:5 They have made all your planks {and} boards of fir trees from Senir [a peak of Mount Hermon]; they have taken a cedar from Lebanon to make a mast for you. Ezek 27:6 Of the oaks of Bashan they have made your oars; they have made your deck {and} benches of boxwood from the coasts of Cyprus, inlaid with ivory. Ezek 27:7 Of fine linen with embroidered work from Egypt was your sail, that it might be an ensign for you; blue and purple from the coasts of Elishah [of Asia Minor] was the [ship's] awning which covered you. Ezek 27:8 The inhabitants of Sidon and [the island] of Arvad were your oarsmen; your skilled {and} wise men, O Tyre, were in you; they were your pilots. Ezek 27:9 The old men of Gebal [a city north of Sidon] and its skilled {and} wise men in you were your calkers; all the ships of the sea with their mariners were in you to deal in your merchandise {and} trading. Ezek 27:10 Persia and Lud and Put were in your army as your men of war; they hung the shield and helmet in you; they gave you beauty {and} splendor. Ezek 27:11 The men of Arvad with your army were upon your walls round about and valorous men [of Gamad] were in your towers; they hung their shields upon your walls round about; they have perfected your beauty {and} splendor. Ezek 27:12 Tarshish [in Spain] carried on traffic with you because of the abundance of your riches of all kinds; with silver, iron, tin, and lead they traded for your wares. Ezek 27:13 Javan (Greece), Tubal, and Meshech [in the mountainous region between the Black and Caspian Seas] traded with you. They exchanged the lives of men [taken as slaves] and vessels of bronze for your merchandise. Ezek 27:14 They of the house of Togarmah (Armenia) traded for your wares with [chariot] horses, cavalry horses, and mules. Ezek 27:15 The men of Dedan [in Arabia] traded with you; many islands {and} coastlands were your own markets; they brought you in payment {or} as presents ivory tusks and ebony. Ezek 27:16 Aram (Syria or Mesopotamia) {and Edom} traded with you because of the multitude of the wares of your making. They exchanged for your merchandise emeralds, purple, embroidered work, fine linen, coral, and agate {or} rubies. Ezek 27:17 Judah and the land of Israel, they were your traders; they exchanged in your market wheat of Minnith [in Ammon], olives {or} early figs, honey, oil, and balm. Ezek 27:18 Damascus traded with you because of the abundance of supplies of your handiworks and the immense wealth of every kind, with wine of Helbon [Aleppo] and white wool [of Sachar in Syria]. Ezek 27:19 Vedan also and [Arabic] Javan traded with yarn from Uzal [in Arabia] for your wares; wrought iron, cassia, and calamus were exchanged for your merchandise. Ezek 27:20 Dedan supplied you with precious [saddle] cloths for riding. Ezek 27:21 Arabia and all the princes of Kedar, they were the merchants in lambs, rams, and goats favored by you; in these they traded with you. Ezek 27:22 The merchants of Sheba and Raamah [in Arabia] traded with you; they exchanged for your wares the choicest of all kinds of spices and all precious stones and gold. Ezek 27:23 Haran and Canneh and Eden [in Mesopotamia], the merchants of Sheba [on the Euphrates], Asshur, and Chilmad [near Bagdad] were your traders. Ezek 27:24 These traded with you in choice fabrics, in bales of garments of blue and embroidered work, and in treasures of many colored rich damask {and} carpets bound with cords and made firm; in these they traded with you. Ezek 27:25 The ships of Tarshish were your caravans for your merchandise, and you were replenished [Tyre] and were heavily loaded {and} made an imposing fleet [in your location] in the heart of the seas. Ezek 27:26 Your rowers have brought you out into great {and} deep waters; the east wind has broken {and} wrecked you in the heart of the seas. Ezek 27:27 Your riches, your wares, your merchandise, your oarsmen and your pilots, your caulkers, your dealers in merchandise, and all your men of war who are in you, with all your company which is in your midst, sink in the heart of the seas on the day of your ruin! Ezek 27:28 The waves {and} the countryside shake at the [piercing] sound of the [hopeless, wailing] cry of your pilots. Ezek 27:29 And down from their ships come all who handle the oar. The mariners and all the pilots of the sea stand upon the shore Ezek 27:30 And are heard wailing loudly over you, and they cry bitterly. They cast up dust on their heads; they wallow in ashes, Ezek 27:31 And they make themselves [utterly] bald for you and gird themselves with sackcloth, and they weep over you in bitterness of heart and with bitter mourning {and} wailing. Ezek 27:32 And in their wailing they take up a lamentation for you and lament over you, saying, Who was ever like Tyre, the destroyed (the annihilated), [who has become so still] in the heart of the sea? Ezek 27:33 When your wares came forth from the seas, you met the desire, the demand, {and} the necessities of many people; you enriched the kings of the earth with your abundant wealth and merchandise. Ezek 27:34 Now you are shattered by the seas in the depths of the waters; your merchandise and all your crew have gone down with you. Ezek 27:35 All the inhabitants of the isles {and} coastlands are astonished {and} appalled at you, and their kings are horribly frightened {and} shudder greatly; their faces quiver. Ezek 27:36 The merchants among the people hiss over you [with malicious joy]; you have become a horror {and} a source of terrors. You shall be no more [forever]. Ezek 28:1 THE WORD of the Lord came again to me, saying, Ezek 28:2 Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, Thus says the Lord God: Because your heart is lifted up and you have said {and} thought, I am a god, I sit in the seat of the gods, in the heart of the seas; yet you are only man [weak, feeble, made of earth] and not God, though you imagine yourself to be almost more than mortal with your mind as the mind of God; Ezek 28:3 Indeed, you are [imagining yourself] wiser than Daniel; there is no secret [you think] that is hidden from you; Ezek 28:4 With your own wisdom and with your own understanding you have gotten you riches {and} power and have brought gold and silver into your treasuries; Ezek 28:5 By your great wisdom and by your traffic you have increased your riches {and} power, and your heart is proud {and} lifted up because of your wealth; Ezek 28:6 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because you have imagined your mind as the mind of God [having thoughts and purposes suitable only to God Himself], Ezek 28:7 Behold therefore, I am bringing strangers upon you, the most terrible of the nations, and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom [O Tyre], and they shall defile your splendor. Ezek 28:8 They shall bring you down to the pit [of destruction] and you shall die the [many] deaths of all the Tyrians that are slain in the heart of the seas. Ezek 28:9 Will you still say, I am a god, before him who slays you? But you are only a man [made of earth] and no god in the hand of him who wounds {and} profanes you. Ezek 28:10 You shall die the death of the uncircumcised by the hand of strangers, for I have spoken it, says the Lord God. Ezek 28:11 Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Ezek 28:12 Son of man, take up a lamentation over the king of Tyre and say to him, Thus says the Lord God: You are the full measure {and} pattern of exactness [giving the finishing touch to all that constitutes completeness], full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. Ezek 28:13 You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, the carnelian, topaz, jasper, chrysolite, beryl, onyx, sapphire, carbuncle, and emerald; and your settings and your sockets {and} engravings were wrought in gold. On the day that you were created they were prepared. Ezek 28:14 You were the anointed cherub that covers with overshadowing [wings], and I set you so. You were upon the holy mountain of God; you walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire [like the paved work of gleaming sapphire stone upon which the God of Israel walked on Mount Sinai]. Ezek 28:15 You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created until iniquity {and} guilt were found in you. Ezek 28:16 Through the abundance of your commerce you were filled with lawlessness {and} violence, and you sinned; therefore I cast you out as a profane thing from the mountain of God and the guardian cherub drove you out from the midst of the stones of fire. Ezek 28:17 Your heart was proud {and} lifted up because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor. I cast you to the ground; I lay you before kings, that they might gaze at you. Ezek 28:18 You have profaned your sanctuaries by the multitude of your iniquities {and} the enormity of your guilt, by the unrighteousness of your trade. Therefore I have brought forth a fire from your midst; it has consumed you, and I have reduced you to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all who looked at you. Ezek 28:19 All who know you among the people are astonished and appalled at you; you have come to a horrible end and shall never return to being. Ezek 28:20 Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Ezek 28:21 Son of man, set your face toward Sidon and prophesy against her. Ezek 28:22 And say, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, O Sidon, and I will show forth My glory {and} be glorified in the midst of you. And they shall know (understand and realize) that I am the Lord when I execute judgments {and} punishments in her, and am set apart {and} separated {and} My holiness is manifested in her. Ezek 28:23 For I will send pestilence into her and blood into her streets, and the wounded shall be judged {and} fall by the sword in the midst of her on every side, and they shall know (understand and realize) that I am the Lord [the Sovereign Ruler, Who calls forth loyalty and obedient service]. Ezek 28:24 And there shall be no more a brier to prick the house of Israel or a hurting thorn of all those around them who have treated them with contempt, and they shall know (understand and realize) that I am the Lord God [the Sovereign Ruler, Who calls forth loyalty and obedient service]. Ezek 28:25 Thus says the Lord God: When I gather the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, and I shall be set apart {and} separated {and} My holiness made apparent in them in the sight of the nations, then shall they dwell in their own land which I gave to My servant Jacob. Ezek 28:26 And they shall dwell safely in it and shall build houses and plant vineyards; yes, they shall dwell securely {and} with confidence when I have executed judgments {and} punishments upon all those round about them who have despised {and} trodden upon them {and} pushed them away, and they shall know (understand and realize) that I am the Lord their God [their Sovereign Ruler, Who calls forth loyalty and obedient service]. Ezek 29:1 IN THE tenth year [of the captivity of King Jehoiachin by the king of Babylon], in the tenth [month], on the twelfth [day] of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Ezek 29:2 Son of man, set your face toward Pharaoh king of Egypt and prophesy against him and against all Egypt. Ezek 29:3 Say, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great monster [of sluggish and unwieldy strength] that lies in the midst of his [delta] streams, [boastfully] declaring, My river Nile is my own and I have made it for myself. Ezek 29:4 But I will put hooks in your jaws [O Egyptian dragon] and I will cause the fish of your rivers to stick to your scales, and I will draw you up out of the midst of your streams with all the fish of your streams which stick to your scales. Ezek 29:5 And I will cast you forth into the wilderness, you and all the fish of your rivers; you shall fall upon the open field and not be gathered up or buried. I have given you for food to the [wild] beasts of the earth and the birds of the heavens. Ezek 29:6 And all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know (understand and realize) that I am the Lord [the Sovereign Ruler, Who calls forth loyalty and obedient service], because they have been a [deceitful] staff [made of fragile] reeds to the house of Israel. Ezek 29:7 When they grasped you with the hand {and} leaned upon you, you broke and tore their whole shoulder, and [by injuring their muscles made them so stiff and rigid that] they could do no more than stand. Ezek 29:8 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will bring a sword upon you and cut off man and beast from you, Ezek 29:9 And the land of Egypt shall be a desolation and a waste. And they shall know (understand and realize) that I am the Lord [the Sovereign Ruler, Who calls forth loyalty and obedient service]. Because you have said, The river is mine and I have made it, Ezek 29:10 Behold therefore, I am against you and against your streams, and I will make the land of Egypt an utter [plundered] waste and desolation [of subjection] from [northern] Migdol to [southern] Syene, even as far as the border of Ethiopia. Ezek 29:11 No foot of man shall pass through it [in travel], no foot of beast shall pass through it [in trade with other countries], neither shall [Egypt] be [truly] inhabited [again] for forty years. Ezek 29:12 And I will make the land of Egypt a desolation [plundered and reduced to subjection] in the midst of desolated (plundered and reduced to subjection) countries, and her cities among the cities that are laid waste shall be a desolation forty years. I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and will disperse them through the countries. Ezek 29:13 Yet thus says the Lord God: At the end of [their] forty years will I gather the Egyptians from the peoples among whom they were scattered, Ezek 29:14 And I will reverse the captivity of Egypt [as I will that of Israel] and will cause them to return into the land of Pathros [under Egypt], the land of their origin, and they shall be there a lowly kingdom. Ezek 29:15 It shall be the lowliest of the kingdoms, neither shall it exalt itself any more above the nations; I will diminish [the Egyptians] so they shall never again rule over the nations. Ezek 29:16 And never again shall Egypt have the confidence {and} be the reliance of the house of Israel; their iniquity will be brought to remembrance whenever [Israel] looks toward them [for help]. They shall know (understand and realize) that I am the Lord God [Who demands loyalty and obedient service]. Ezek 29:17 In the twenty-seventh year [after King Jehoiachin was taken to Babylon], in the first month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Ezek 29:18 Son of man, Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon caused his army to render heavy service [at My bidding] against Tyre; every [soldier's] head became bald and every shoulder was worn {and} peeled [with carrying loads of earth and stones for siege works]. Yet he had no remuneration from Tyre [in proportion to the time and labor expended in the thirteen years' siege], either for himself or his army, for the work that he had done against it [for Me]. Ezek 29:19 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and he shall carry off her great mass of people {and} of things (her riches) and take her spoil and take her prey, and it shall be the wages for his army. Ezek 29:20 I have given him the land of Egypt for his labor with which he served [against Tyre] because they did it for Me, says the Lord God. Ezek 29:21 In that day will I cause a horn to spring forth to the house of Israel and I will open your lips among them, and they shall know (understand and realize) that I am the Lord [the Sovereign Ruler, Who calls forth loyalty and obedient service]. Ezek 30:1 THE WORD of the Lord came again to me, saying, Ezek 30:2 Son of man, prophesy and say, Thus says the Lord God: Wail, Alas for the day! Ezek 30:3 For the day is near, even the day of the Lord is near, a cloudy day; it shall be the time [of doom] for the nations. Ezek 30:4 And a sword shall come upon Egypt, and anguish {and} great sorrow shall be in Ethiopia (Cush), when the slain fall in Egypt and they [of Babylon] carry away her great mass of people {and} of things and her foundations are broken down. Ezek 30:5 Ethiopia (Cush) and Put, Lud and all the mingled people [foreigners living in Egypt], Cub (Lub, Libya) and the children of the land of the covenant [the Jews who had taken refuge in Egypt] shall fall with [the Egyptians] by the sword. Ezek 30:6 Thus says the Lord: They also who uphold {or} lean upon {and} are supported by Egypt shall fall, and the pride of her power shall come down; from Migdol [in the north] to Syene [in the south] they shall fall within her by the sword, says the Lord God. Ezek 30:7 And they shall be desolated in the midst of countries that are desolated, and her cities shall be in the midst of cities that are wasted [by plunder and subjection]. Ezek 30:8 And they shall know (understand and realize) that I am the Lord [the Sovereign Ruler, Who calls forth loyalty and obedient service], when I have set a fire in Egypt and all her helpers are broken {and} destroyed. Ezek 30:9 In that day shall [swift] messengers go forth from Me in ships to terrify the careless {and} unsuspecting Ethiopians, and there shall be anguish {and} great sorrow upon them as in the day of Egypt's [doom], for behold, [their day] comes! Ezek 30:10 Thus says the Lord God: I will also make the tumult {and} the wealth {and} the large population of Egypt to cease by the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon. Ezek 30:11 He and his people with him, the [most] terrible of the nations, shall be brought in to destroy the land, and they shall draw their swords against Egypt and fill the land with the slain. Ezek 30:12 And I will make the [artificial] streams [of the Nile delta] dry and will sell the land into the hand of evil men, and I will make the land desolate, and all that is in it, by the hand of strangers. I the Lord [the Sovereign Ruler, Who calls forth loyalty and obedient service] have spoken it. Ezek 30:13 Thus says the Lord God: I will also destroy the idols and I will put an end to the images in Noph {or} Memphis, and there shall be no longer a prince of the land of Egypt. And I will put fear in the land of Egypt. Ezek 30:14 And I will make Pathros desolate and will set fire to Zoan and will execute judgments {and} punishments upon No {or} Thebes. Ezek 30:15 And I will pour My wrath upon Pelusium, the stronghold of Egypt, and I will cut off the tumult, the prosperity {and} the population of No {or} Thebes. Ezek 30:16 And I will set fire to Egypt; Pelusium shall have great anguish and No {or} Thebes shall be torn open and Noph {or} Memphis shall have adversaries in the daytime {and} all the day long. Ezek 30:17 The young men of Aven {or} On and of Pibeseth shall fall by the sword, and the [women and children] shall go into captivity. Ezek 30:18 At Tehaphnehes also the day shall withdraw itself {and} be dark when I break there the yokes {and} dominion of Egypt, and the pride of her power shall come to an end. As for her, a cloud [of calamities] shall cover her and her daughters shall go into captivity. Ezek 30:19 Thus will I execute judgments {and} punishments upon Egypt. Then shall they know (understand and realize) that I am the Lord [the Sovereign Ruler, Who calls forth loyalty and obedient service]. Ezek 30:20 And in the eleventh year [after King Jehoiachin was taken to Babylon], in the first month, on the seventh day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Ezek 30:21 Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and behold, it has not been bound up to heal it by binding it with a bandage, to make it strong to hold {and} wield the sword. Ezek 30:22 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt and will break his arms, both the strong one and the one which was broken, and I will cause the sword to fall from his hand. Ezek 30:23 And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and will disperse them throughout the countries. Ezek 30:24 And I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put My sword in his hand, but I will break Pharaoh's arms and he will groan before [Nebuchadrezzar] with the groanings of a mortally wounded man. Ezek 30:25 But I will strengthen {and} hold up the arms of the king of Babylon and the arms of Pharaoh shall fall down, and they [of Egypt] shall know (understand and realize) that I am the Lord [the Sovereign Ruler, Who calls forth loyalty and obedient service], when I put My sword into the hand of the king of Babylon and he shall stretch it out upon the land of Egypt. Ezek 30:26 And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them through the countries, and they shall know (understand and realize) that I am the Lord [the Sovereign Ruler, Who calls forth loyalty and obedient service]. Ezek 31:1 AND IN the eleventh year [after King Jehoiachin was taken captive to Babylon], in the third month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Ezek 31:2 Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his multitude: Whom are you like in your greatness? Ezek 31:3 Behold, [I will liken you to] Assyria, a cedar in Lebanon, with fair branches and with forestlike shade and of high stature, with its top among the thick boughs [even among the clouds]. Ezek 31:4 The waters nourished it; the deep made it grow tall; its rivers ran round about its planting, sending out its streams to all the trees of the forest [the other nations]. Ezek 31:5 Therefore it towered higher than all the trees of the forest; its boughs were multiplied and its branches became long, because there was much water when they were shot forth. Ezek 31:6 All the birds of the heavens made their nests in its boughs, and under its branches all the wild beasts of the field brought forth their young and under its shadow dwelt all of the great nations. Ezek 31:7 Thus was it beautiful in its greatness, in the length of its branches, for its root was by many {and} great waters. Ezek 31:8 The cedars in the garden of God could not hide {or} rival it; the cypress trees did not have boughs like it and the plane trees did not have branches like it, nor was any tree in the garden of God like it in its beauty. Ezek 31:9 I made it beautiful with the multitude of its branches, so that all the trees of Eden that were in the garden of God envied it [Assyria]. Ezek 31:10 Therefore thus said the Lord God: Because it is exalted in stature and has set its top among the thick boughs {and} the clouds, and its heart is proud of its height, Ezek 31:11 I will even deliver it into the hand of a mighty one of the nations; he shall surely deal with it. I have driven it out for its wickedness {and} lawlessness. Ezek 31:12 And strangers, the most terrible of the nations, will cut it off and leave it; upon the mountains and in all the valleys its branches will fall and its boughs will lie broken by all the watercourses of the land, and all the peoples of the earth will go down out of its shade and leave it. Ezek 31:13 Upon its ruins all the birds of the heavens will dwell, and all the wild beasts of the field will be upon [Assyria's fallen] branches. Ezek 31:14 All this is so that none of the trees by the waters may exalt themselves because of their height or shoot up their top among the thick boughs {and} the clouds, and that none of their mighty ones should stand upon [their own estimate of] themselves for their height, all that drink water. For they are all delivered over to death, to the lower world, in the midst of the children of men, with those who go down to the pit (the grave). Ezek 31:15 Thus says the Lord God: When [Assyria] goes down to Sheol (the place of the dead), I will cause a mourning; I will cover the deep for it and I will restrain its floods, and the many waters [that contributed to its prosperity] will be stayed; and I will cause Lebanon to be in black gloom {and} to mourn for it, and all the trees of the field, dismayed, will faint because of it. Ezek 31:16 I will make the nations quake at the sound of its fall when I cast it down to Sheol with those who descend into the pit, and all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all [the trees] that drink water, will be comforted in the netherworld [at Assyria's downfall]. Ezek 31:17 They also shall go down into Sheol with it to those who were slain by the sword--yes, those who were its arm, who dwelt under its shadow in the midst of the nations. Ezek 31:18 To whom [O Egypt] among the trees of Eden are you thus like in glory and in greatness? Yet you [also] shall be brought down with the trees of Eden to the netherworld. You shall lie among the uncircumcised heathen with those who are slain by the sword. This is how it shall be with Pharaoh and all the multitude of his strength, his tumult, {and} his store [of wealth and glory], says the Lord God. Ezek 32:1 IN THE twelfth year [after King Jehoiachin of Judah was taken into exile by the king of Babylon], in the twelfth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Ezek 32:2 Son of man, take up a lamentation over Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him, You have likened [yourself] to a young lion, leader of the nations, but you are like a [monster] dragon in the seas; you break forth in your rivers and trouble the waters with your feet, and you make foul their rivers [the sources of their prosperity]. Ezek 32:3 Thus says the Lord God: I will therefore throw out My net over you with a host of many peoples, and they shall bring you up in My dragnet. Ezek 32:4 Then I will leave you [Egypt] upon the shore; I will cast you on the open field and will cause all the birds of the heavens to settle upon you, and I will fill the beasts of the whole earth with you. Ezek 32:5 And I will scatter your flesh upon the mountains and fill the valleys with your high heap of corpses {and} their worms. Ezek 32:6 I will also water with your flowing blood the land, even to the mountains, and the hollows {and} water channels shall be full of you. Ezek 32:7 And when I have extinguished you, I will cover the heavens [of Egypt] and make their stars dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud and the moon shall not give her light. Ezek 32:8 All the bright lights of the heavens I will make dark over you and set darkness upon your land, says the Lord God. Ezek 32:9 I will also trouble {and} vex the hearts of many peoples when I bring your breaking {and} trembling {and} destruction {and} carry you captive among the nations, into the countries which you have not known. Ezek 32:10 I will make many peoples amazed {and} appalled at you [Egypt], and their kings shall shudder {and} be horribly afraid because of you when I brandish My sword before them; they shall tremble every moment, every man for his own life, in the day of your downfall. Ezek 32:11 For thus says the Lord God: The sword of the king of Babylon shall come upon you. Ezek 32:12 I will cause your multitude, your tumult, {and} your store [of wealth, strength, and glory] to fall by the swords of the mighty--the most terrible among the nations are they all. And they shall bring to nothing the pomp {and} pride of Egypt, and all its multitude [with its activity and its wealth in every sphere] shall be destroyed. Ezek 32:13 I will destroy also all its beasts from beside many {and} great waters, and no foot of man shall trouble them any more, nor shall the hoofs of beasts trouble them. Ezek 32:14 Then will I make their waters sink down (subside, be quiet, and become clear); their rivers I will cause to run [slowly and smoothly] like oil, says the Lord God. Ezek 32:15 When I make the land of Egypt desolate, and the country is stripped {and} destitute of all that of which it was full when I smite all those who dwell in it, then will they know, understand, {and} realize that I am the Lord [the Sovereign Ruler, Who requires and calls forth loyalty and obedient service]. Ezek 32:16 This is the lamentation with which they shall intone {or} chant the lament for her; the daughters of the nations shall chant their lament with it; over Egypt and over all her multitude, her tumult, {and} her wealth in every sphere shall they chant it, says the Lord God. Ezek 32:17 In the twelfth year [after King Jehoiachin of Judah was taken into exile], on the fifteenth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Ezek 32:18 Son of man, wail over the multitude of Egypt and cast them down, even her and the daughters of the famous {and} majestic nations, to the netherworld, with those who go down to the pit; Ezek 32:19 Whom [among them] do you surpass in beauty? Go down and be laid with the uncircumcised (the heathen). Ezek 32:20 They shall fall in the midst of those who are slain by the sword; she [Egypt] is delivered to the sword; they draw her down [to her judgment], and all her multitudes [with their noise and stores]. Ezek 32:21 The strong among the mighty shall speak of [Pharaoh] out of the midst of Sheol (the place of the dead, the netherworld) with those who helped him; they are gone down; they lie still, even the uncircumcised (the heathen) slain by the sword. Ezek 32:22 Assyria is there and all her company; their graves are round about her, all of them slain, fallen by the sword, Ezek 32:23 Whose graves are set in the uttermost parts of the pit and whose company is round about her grave, all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who caused terror to spread in the land of the living. Ezek 32:24 Elam [an auxiliary of Assyria] is there and all her multitude round about her grave, all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who have gone down uncircumcised into the netherworld, who caused their terror to spread in the land of the living and have borne their shame with those who go down to the pit. Ezek 32:25 They have set her a bed (a sepulcher) among the slain with all her multitude--their graves round about her, all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword, for their terror had spread in the land of the living, and they henceforth bear their shame with those who go down to the pit; they are laid in the midst of the slain. Ezek 32:26 Meshech, Tubal, and all their multitude are there; their graves are round about [Pharaoh], all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword, for they caused their terror to be spread in the land of the living. Ezek 32:27 And they shall not lie with the mighty who have fallen of the uncircumcised [and] who have gone down to Sheol (the place of the dead, the netherworld) with their weapons of war, whose swords were laid [with honors] under their heads and whose iniquities are upon their bones, for they caused their terror to spread in the land of the living. Ezek 32:28 But you [Meshech and Tubal] shall be broken in the midst of the uncircumcised and shall lie [without honors] with those who are slain with the sword. Ezek 32:29 Edom is there, her kings and all her princes, who for all their might are laid with those who were slain by the sword; they shall lie with the uncircumcised (the heathen) and with those who go down to the pit. Ezek 32:30 The princes of the north are there, all of them, and all the Sidonians, who have gone down with the slain; for all the terror which they caused by their might they are put to shame, and they lie uncircumcised with those who are slain by the sword and henceforth bear their shame with those who go down to the pit. Ezek 32:31 When Pharaoh sees them, he will comfort himself for all his multitude--even Pharaoh and all his army, slain by the sword, says the Lord God. Ezek 32:32 For I have put his {and} My terror in the land of the living, and he shall be laid in the midst of the uncircumcised (the heathen) with those slain by the sword, even Pharaoh and all his multitude, says the Lord God. Ezek 33:1 AND THE word of the Lord came to me, saying, Ezek 33:2 Son of man, speak to your people [the Israelite captives in Babylon] and say to them, When I bring the sword upon a land and the people of the land take a man from among them and make him their watchman, Ezek 33:3 If when he sees the sword coming upon the land, he blows the trumpet and warns the people, Ezek 33:4 Then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, and the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. Ezek 33:5 He heard the sound of the trumpet and did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But he who takes warning shall save his life. Ezek 33:6 But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any one of them, he is taken away in {and} for his perversity {and} iniquity, but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand. Ezek 33:7 So you, son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore hear the word at My mouth and give them warning from Me. Ezek 33:8 When I say to the wicked, O wicked man, you shall surely die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his perversity {and} iniquity, but his blood will I require at your hand. Ezek 33:9 But if you warn the wicked to turn from his evil way and he does not turn from his evil way, he shall die in his iniquity, but you will have saved your life. Ezek 33:10 And you, son of man, say to the house of Israel, Thus you have said: Truly our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we waste away because of them; how then can we live? Ezek 33:11 Say to them, As I live, says the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel? Ezek 33:12 And you, son of man, say to your people, The uprightness {and} justice of the [uncompromisingly] righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression; and as for the wicked lawlessness of the wicked lawless, he shall not fall because of it in the day that he turns from his wickedness, neither shall the rigidly upright {and} just be able to live because of his past righteousness in the day that he sins {and} misses the mark [in keeping in harmony and right standing with God]. Ezek 33:13 When I shall say to the [uncompromisingly] righteous that he shall surely live, and he trusts to his own righteousness [to save him] and commits iniquity (heinous sin), all his righteous deeds shall not be [seriously] remembered; but for his perversity {and} iniquity that he has committed he shall die. Ezek 33:14 Again, when I have said to the wicked, You shall surely die, if he turns from his sin and does that which is lawful and right-- Ezek 33:15 If the wicked restores [what he took in] pledge, gives back what he had taken in robbery, walks in the statutes of life [right relationship with God], without committing iniquity, he shall surely live; he shall not die. Ezek 33:16 None of his sins that he has committed shall be [seriously] remembered against him; he has done that which is lawful and right; he shall surely live. Ezek 33:17 Yet your people say, The way of the Lord is not perfect {or} even just; but as for them, it is their own way that is not perfect {or} even just. Ezek 33:18 When the righteous turns back from his [uncompromising] righteousness and commits perverseness {and} iniquity, he shall even die in {and} because of it. Ezek 33:19 But if the wicked turns back from his wickedness and does what is lawful and right, he shall live because of it. Ezek 33:20 Yet you say, The way of the Lord is not perfect {or} [even] just. O you house of Israel, I will judge you, every one according to his own ways! Ezek 33:21 In the twelfth year of our captivity [in Babylon], in the tenth [month], on the fifth [day] of the month, a man who had escaped out of Jerusalem came to me [Ezekiel], saying, The city [Jerusalem] is taken. Ezek 33:22 Now the hand of the Lord had been upon me in the evening before this one who had escaped came, and He had opened my mouth [in readiness for the fugitives] coming to me in the morning, and my mouth was opened and I was no longer dumb. Ezek 33:23 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Ezek 33:24 Son of man, those [back in Palestine] who inhabit those wastes of the ground of Israel are saying, Abraham was only one man and he inherited the land, but we are many; the land is surely given to us to possess as our inheritance. Ezek 33:25 Therefore say to them, Thus says the Lord God: You eat meat with the blood [as an idolatrous rite] and lift up your eyes to your [filthy] idols and shed blood; shall you then possess the land? Ezek 33:26 You stand upon your sword [as your dependence]; you commit abominations and each of you defiles your neighbor's wife; shall you then possess the land? Ezek 33:27 Say this to them, Thus says the Lord God: As I live, surely those who are in the waste places shall fall by the sword, and him that is in the open field will I give to the beasts to be devoured, and those who are in strongholds and in caves shall die by pestilence. Ezek 33:28 And I will make the land [of Israel] a desolation and a waste, and her proud might shall cease, and the mountains of Israel shall be so desolate that no one will pass through them. Ezek 33:29 Then shall they know, understand, {and} realize that I am the Lord, when I have made the land a desolation and a waste because of all their abominations which they have committed. Ezek 33:30 As for you, son of man, your people who talk of you by the walls and in the doors of the houses say one to another, every one to his brother, Come and hear what the word is that comes forth from the Lord. Ezek 33:31 And they come to you as people come, and they sit before you as My people, and they hear the words you say, but they will not do them; for with their mouths they show much love, but their hearts go after {and} are set on their [idolatrous greed for] gain. Ezek 33:32 Behold, you are to them as a very lovely [love] song of one who has a pleasant voice and can play well on an instrument, for they hear your words but do not do them. Ezek 33:33 When this comes to pass--for behold, it will come!--then shall they know, understand, {and} realize that a prophet has been among them. Ezek 34:1 AND THE word of the Lord came to me, saying, Ezek 34:2 Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them, even to the [spiritual] shepherds, Thus says the Lord God: Woe to the [spiritual] shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the sheep? Ezek 34:3 You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you kill the fatlings, but you do not feed the sheep. Ezek 34:4 The diseased {and} weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the hurt {and} crippled you have not bandaged, those gone astray you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought to find, but with force and hardhearted harshness you have ruled them. Ezek 34:5 And they were scattered because there was no shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild beasts of the field. Ezek 34:6 My sheep wandered through all the mountains and upon every high hill; yes, My sheep were scattered upon all the face of the earth and no one searched or sought for them. Ezek 34:7 Therefore, you [spiritual] shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: Ezek 34:8 As I live, says the Lord God, surely because My sheep became a prey, and My sheep became food for every beast of the field because there was no shepherd--neither did My shepherds search for My sheep, but the shepherds fed themselves and fed not My sheep-- Ezek 34:9 Therefore, O you [spiritual] shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: Ezek 34:10 Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will require My sheep at their hand and cause them to cease feeding the sheep, neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more. I will rescue My sheep from their mouths, that they may not be food for them. Ezek 34:11 For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, I Myself, will search for My sheep and will seek them out. Ezek 34:12 As a shepherd seeks out his sheep in the day that he is among his flock that are scattered, so will I seek out My sheep; and I will rescue them out of all places where they have been scattered in the day of clouds and thick darkness. Ezek 34:13 And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries and will bring them to their own land; and I will feed them upon the mountains of Israel, by the watercourses, and in all the inhabited places of the country. Ezek 34:14 I will feed them with good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be; there shall they lie down in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel. Ezek 34:15 I will feed My sheep and I will cause them to lie down, says the Lord God. Ezek 34:16 I will seek that which was lost and bring back that which has strayed, and I will bandage the hurt {and} the crippled and will strengthen the weak {and} the sick, but I will destroy the fat and the strong [who have become hardhearted and perverse]; I will feed them with judgment {and} punishment. Ezek 34:17 And as for you, O My flock, thus says the Lord God: Behold, I judge between sheep and sheep, between the rams and the great he-goats [the malicious and the tyrants of the pasture]. Ezek 34:18 Is it too little for you that you feed on the best pasture, but you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pasture? And to have drunk of the waters clarified by subsiding, but you must foul the rest of the water with your feet? Ezek 34:19 And My flock, must they feed on what your feet have trodden and drink what your feet have fouled? Ezek 34:20 Therefore thus says the Lord God to them: Behold, I, I Myself, will judge between fat sheep and impoverished sheep, {or} fat goats and lean goats. Ezek 34:21 Because you push with side and with shoulder and thrust with your horns all those that have become weak {and} diseased, till you have scattered them abroad, Ezek 34:22 Therefore will I rescue My flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between sheep and sheep. Ezek 34:23 And I will raise up over them one Shepherd and He shall feed them, even My Servant David; He shall feed them and He shall be their Shepherd. Ezek 34:24 And I the Lord will be their God and My Servant David a Prince among them; I the Lord have spoken it. Ezek 34:25 And I will confirm with them a covenant of peace and will cause the evil beasts to cease out of the land, and [My people] shall dwell safely in the wilderness, desert, {or} pastureland and sleep [confidently] in the woods. Ezek 34:26 And I will make them and the places round about My hill a blessing, and I will cause the showers to come down in their season; there shall be showers of blessing [of good insured by God's favor]. Ezek 34:27 And the tree of the field shall yield its fruit and the earth shall yield its increase; and [My people] shall be secure in their land, and they shall be confident {and} know (understand and realize) that I am the Lord, when I have broken the bars of their yoke and have delivered them out of the hand of those who made slaves of them. Ezek 34:28 And they shall no more be a prey to the nations, nor shall the beasts of the earth devour them, but they shall dwell safely and none shall make them afraid [in the day of the Messiah's reign]. Ezek 34:29 And I will raise up for them a planting of crops for renown, and they shall be no more consumed with hunger in the land nor bear the reproach of the nations any longer. Ezek 34:30 Then shall they know [positively] that I, the Lord their God, am with them and that they, the house of Israel, are My people, says the Lord God, Ezek 34:31 And that you, My sheep, the sheep of My pasture, are [only] men and I am your God, says the Lord God. Ezek 35:1 MOREOVER, THE word of the Lord came to me, saying, Ezek 35:2 Son of man, set your face against the mountain [range of] Seir [in Edom] and prophesy against it, Ezek 35:3 And say to it, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, O Mount Seir, I am against you, and I will stretch out My hand against you and I will make you a desolation and an astonishment. Ezek 35:4 I will lay your cities waste and you shall be desolate, and you shall know, understand, {and} realize that I am the Lord [the Sovereign Ruler, Who calls forth loyalty and obedient service]. Ezek 35:5 Because you [of Esau] have had a perpetual enmity [for Jacob] and you gave over the sons of Israel to the power of the sword at the time of their calamity, when they were suffering their final punishment [the Babylonian conquest], Ezek 35:6 Therefore, as I live, says the Lord God, I will expose you to slaughter and slaughter shall pursue you; since you could not bear to live without bloodshed, therefore bloodshed shall pursue you. Ezek 35:7 Thus will I make Mount Seir an astonishment and a desolation, and I will cut off from it him who passes through it and him who returns [that way]. Ezek 35:8 And I will fill [Edom's] mountains with his slain men; on your hills and in your valleys and in all your ravines shall those fall who are slain with the sword. Ezek 35:9 I will make you a perpetual desolation and your cities shall not be inhabited. Then you will know, understand, {and} realize that I am the Lord [the Sovereign Ruler, Who calls forth loyalty and obedient service]. Ezek 35:10 Because you [Edom] said, These two nations [Israel and Judah] and these two countries shall be mine and we will take possession of them--although the Lord was there, Ezek 35:11 Therefore, as I live, says the Lord God, I will deal with you according to the anger and envy you showed because of your enmity for them, and I will make Myself known among them [as He Who will judge and punish] when I judge {and} punish you. Ezek 35:12 And you shall know, understand, {and} realize that I am the Lord [the Sovereign Ruler, Who calls forth loyalty and obedient service], and that I have heard all your revilings {and} scornful speeches that you have uttered against the mountains of Israel, saying, They are laid waste {and} desolate; they are given to us to devour. Ezek 35:13 Thus you have boasted {and} magnified yourselves against Me with your mouth, multiplying your words against Me; I have heard it. Ezek 35:14 Thus says the Lord God: While the whole earth rejoices, I will make you a waste {and} desolation. Ezek 35:15 As you rejoiced over the inheritance of the house of Israel because it was desolate, so will I deal with you; you shall be a waste {and} desolation, O Mount Seir and all Edom, all of it. Then they shall know, understand, {and} realize that I am the Lord [the Sovereign Ruler, Who calls forth loyalty and obedient service]. Ezek 36:1 ALSO YOU, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel and say, You mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord. Ezek 36:2 Thus says the Lord God: Because the enemy has said over you, Aha! and, The ancient heights have become our possession, Ezek 36:3 Therefore prophesy and say, Thus says the Lord God: Because, yes, because they made you a desolation, and they snapped after {and} crushed you from every side so that you became the possession of the rest of the nations and you became the talk and evil gossip of the people, Ezek 36:4 Therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God: Thus says the Lord God to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys, to the desolate wastes and the cities that are forsaken, that have become a prey and derision to the rest of the nations that are round about; Ezek 36:5 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Surely in the fire of My hot jealousy have I spoken against the rest of the nations and against all Edom, who have given to themselves My land with wholehearted joy and with uttermost contempt, that they might empty it out {and} possess it for a prey {and} a spoil. Ezek 36:6 Prophesy therefore concerning the land of Israel and say to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I have spoken in My jealousy and in My wrath because you have suffered the shame {and} reproach of the nations; Ezek 36:7 Therefore thus says the Lord God: I have lifted up My hand {and} sworn, Surely the nations that are round about you shall themselves suffer shame and reproach. Ezek 36:8 But you, O mountains of Israel, shall shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit to My people Israel, for they are soon to come [home]. Ezek 36:9 For behold, I am for you and I will turn to you; and you shall be tilled and sown, Ezek 36:10 And I will multiply men upon you, the whole house of Israel, even all of it; the cities shall be inhabited and the waste places shall be rebuilt, Ezek 36:11 And I will multiply upon you man and beast, and they shall increase and be fruitful. And I will cause you to be inhabited according to your former estate and I will do better for you than at your beginnings; and you shall know, understand, {and} realize that I am the Lord [the Sovereign Ruler, Who calls forth loyalty and obedient service]. Ezek 36:12 Yes, [O mountains of Israel] I will cause men to walk upon you, even My people Israel, and they shall possess you, and you shall be their inheritance; and you shall no more after this bereave them of children [for idol sacrifices]. Ezek 36:13 Thus says the Lord God: Because they say to you, You [O land] are a devourer of men and have bereaved your nation of children [offered to idols], Ezek 36:14 Therefore you shall devour men no more, neither bereave your nation {or} cause it to stumble any more, says the Lord God. Ezek 36:15 Neither will I let you hear any more the reproach of the nations, nor shall you suffer the dishonor of the peoples any more, nor shall you cause your nation to stumble {and} fall any more [through idolatry], says the Lord God. Ezek 36:16 Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Ezek 36:17 Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by [doing] their [own] way and by their [idolatrous] doings. Their conduct before Me was like the uncleanness of a woman during her [physical] impurity. Ezek 36:18 So I poured out My wrath upon them for the blood that they had shed upon the land and for their idols with which they had defiled it. Ezek 36:19 And I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed through the countries; according to their conduct and their [idolatrous] deeds I judged {and} punished them. Ezek 36:20 And when they came to the nations to which they went, they profaned My holy name in that men said of them, These are the people of the Lord, and yet they had to go forth out of His land. Ezek 36:21 But I had regard, concern, {and} compassion for My holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations to which they went. Ezek 36:22 Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: I do not do this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for My holy name's sake, which you have profaned among the nations to which you went. Ezek 36:23 And I will vindicate the holiness of My great name {and} separate it for its holy purpose from all that defiles it--My name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned among them--and the nations will know, understand, {and} realize that I am the Lord [the Sovereign Ruler, Who calls forth loyalty and obedient service], when I shall be set apart by you {and} My holiness vindicated in you before their eyes {and} yours. Ezek 36:24 For I will take you from among the nations and gather you out of all countries and bring you into your own land. Ezek 36:25 Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleanness; and from all your idols will I cleanse you. Ezek 36:26 A new heart will I give you and a new spirit will I put within you, and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. Ezek 36:27 And I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you shall heed My ordinances and do them. Ezek 36:28 And you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and you shall be My people, and I will be your God. Ezek 36:29 I will also save you from all your uncleannesses, and I will call forth the grain and make it abundant and lay no famine on you. Ezek 36:30 And I will multiply the fruit of the tree and the increase of the field, that you may no more suffer the reproach {and} disgrace of famine among the nations. Ezek 36:31 Then you shall [earnestly] remember your own evil ways and your doings that were not good, and shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and for your abominable deeds. Ezek 36:32 Not for your sake do I do this, says the Lord God; let that be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your [own] wicked ways, O house of Israel! Ezek 36:33 Thus says the Lord God: In the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities I will [also] cause [Israel's] cities to be inhabited, and the waste places shall be rebuilt. Ezek 36:34 And the desolate land shall be tilled, that which had lain desolate in the sight of all who passed by. Ezek 36:35 And they shall say, This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden, and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are fortified and inhabited. Ezek 36:36 Then the nations that are left round about you shall know that I the Lord have rebuilt the ruined places and replanted that which was desolate. I the Lord have spoken it, and I will do it. Ezek 36:37 Thus says the Lord God: For this also I will let the house of Israel inquire of Me to do it for them; I will increase their men like a flock. Ezek 36:38 Like the flock of holy things for sacrifice, like the flock of Jerusalem in her [solemn] appointed feasts, so shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of men; and they shall know, understand, {and} realize that I am the Lord [the Sovereign Ruler, Who calls forth loyalty and obedient service]. Ezek 37:1 THE HAND of the Lord was upon me, and He brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones. Ezek 37:2 And He caused me to pass round about among them, and behold, there were very many [human bones] in the open valley {or} plain, and behold, they were very dry. Ezek 37:3 And He said to me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, You know! Ezek 37:4 Again He said to me, Prophesy to these bones and say to them, O you dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Ezek 37:5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath {and} spirit to enter you, and you shall live; Ezek 37:6 And I will lay sinews upon you and bring up flesh upon you and cover you with skin, and I will put breath {and} spirit in you, and you [dry bones] shall live; and you shall know, understand, {and} realize that I am the Lord [the Sovereign Ruler, Who calls forth loyalty and obedient service]. Ezek 37:7 So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a [thundering] noise and behold, a shaking {and} trembling {and} a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. Ezek 37:8 And I looked and behold, there were sinews upon [the bones] and flesh came upon them and skin covered them over, but there was no breath {or} spirit in them. Ezek 37:9 Then said He to me, Prophesy to the breath {and} spirit, son of man, and say to the breath {and} spirit, Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath {and} spirit, and breathe upon these slain that they may live. Ezek 37:10 So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath {and} spirit came into [the bones], and they lived and stood up upon their feet, an exceedingly great host. Ezek 37:11 Then He said to me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, Our bones are dried up and our hope is lost; we are completely cut off. Ezek 37:12 Therefore prophesy and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves, O My people; and I will bring you [back home] to the land of Israel. Ezek 37:13 And you shall know that I am the Lord [your Sovereign Ruler], when I have opened your graves and caused you to come up out of your graves, O My people. Ezek 37:14 And I shall put My Spirit in you and you shall live, and I shall place you in your own land. Then you shall know, understand, {and} realize that I the Lord have spoken it and performed it, says the Lord. Ezek 37:15 The word of the Lord came again to me, saying, Ezek 37:16 Son of man, take a stick and write on it, For Judah and the children of Israel his companions; then take another stick and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and all the house of Israel his companions; Ezek 37:17 And join them together into one stick that they may become one in your hand. Ezek 37:18 And when your people say to you, Will you not show us what you mean by these? Ezek 37:19 Say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph--which is in the hand of Ephraim--and the tribes of Israel his associates, and will join with it the stick of Judah and make them one stick, and they shall be one in My hand. Ezek 37:20 When the sticks on which you write shall be in your hand before their eyes, Ezek 37:21 Then say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the nations to which they have gone, and will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land. Ezek 37:22 And I will make them one nation in the land, upon the mountains of Israel, and one King shall be King over them all; and they shall be no longer two nations, neither be divided into two kingdoms any more. Ezek 37:23 They shall not defile themselves any more with their idols and their detestable things or with any of their transgressions, but I will save them out of all their dwelling places {and} from all their backslidings in which they have sinned, and I will cleanse them. So shall they be My people, and I will be their God. Ezek 37:24 And David My Servant shall be King over them, and they all shall have one Shepherd. They shall also walk in My ordinances and heed My statutes and do them. Ezek 37:25 They shall dwell in the land in which your fathers dwelt, that I gave to My servant Jacob, and they shall dwell there, they and their children and their children's children, forever; and My Servant David shall be their Prince forever. Ezek 37:26 I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them, and I will give blessings to them and multiply them and will set My sanctuary in the midst of them forevermore. Ezek 37:27 My tabernacle {or} dwelling place also shall be with them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. Ezek 37:28 Then the nations shall know, understand, {and} realize that I the Lord do set apart {and} consecrate Israel for holy use, when My sanctuary shall be in their midst forevermore. Ezek 38:1 AND THE word of the Lord came to me, saying, Ezek 38:2 Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, of Meshech, and of Tubal, and prophesy against him, Ezek 38:3 And say, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, O Gog, chief prince (ruler) of Rosh, of Meshech, and of Tubal. Ezek 38:4 And I will turn you back and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you forth and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed in full armor, a great company with buckler and shield, all of them handling swords-- Ezek 38:5 Persia, Cush, and Put {or} Libya with them, all of them with shield and helmet, Ezek 38:6 Gomer and all his hordes, the house of Togarmah in the uttermost parts of the north and all his hordes--many people are with you. Ezek 38:7 You [Gog] be prepared; yes, prepare yourself, you and all your companies that are assembled about you, and you be a guard {and} a commander for them. Ezek 38:8 After many days you shall be visited {and} mustered [for service]; in the latter years you shall go against the land that is restored from the ravages of the sword, where people are gathered out of many nations upon the mountains of Israel, which had been a continual waste; but its [people] are brought forth out of the nations and they shall dwell securely, all of them. Ezek 38:9 You shall ascend and come like a storm; you shall be like a cloud to cover the land, you and all your hosts and many people with you. Ezek 38:10 Thus says the Lord God: At the same time thoughts shall come into your mind, and you will devise an evil plan. Ezek 38:11 And you will say, I will go up against an open country [the land of unwalled villages]; I will fall upon those who are at rest, who dwell securely, all of them dwelling without walls and having neither bars nor gates, Ezek 38:12 To take spoil and prey, to turn your hand upon the desolate places now inhabited and assail the people gathered out of the nations, who have obtained livestock and goods, who dwell at the center of the earth [Palestine]. Ezek 38:13 Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish, with all their lionlike cubs [or satellite areas], shall say to you, Have you come to take spoil? Have you gathered your hosts to take the prey? To carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods, to take a great spoil? Ezek 38:14 Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say to Gog, Thus says the Lord God: In that day when My people Israel dwell securely, will you not know it {and} be aroused? Ezek 38:15 And you will come from your place out of the uttermost parts of the north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great host, a mighty army. Ezek 38:16 And you shall come up against My people Israel like a cloud to cover the land. In the latter days I will bring you against My land, that the nations may know, understand, {and} realize Me when My holiness shall be vindicated through you [vindicated and honored in your overwhelming destruction], O Gog, before their eyes. Ezek 38:17 Thus says the Lord God: Are you he of whom I have spoken in olden times by My servants the prophets of Israel, who prophesied in those days for years that I would bring you [Gog] against them? Ezek 38:18 But in that day when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, says the Lord God, My wrath shall come up into My nostrils. Ezek 38:19 For in My jealousy and in the fire of My wrath have I said, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking {or} cosmic catastrophe in the land of Israel, Ezek 38:20 So that the fishes of the sea and the birds of the heavens, the beasts of the field and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall tremble {and} shake at My presence; and the mountains shall be thrown down and the steep places shall fall and every wall [natural or artificial] shall fall to the ground. Ezek 38:21 And I will call for a sword against [Gog] throughout all My mountains, says the Lord God, every man's sword shall be against his brother [over the dividing of booty]. Ezek 38:22 And with pestilence and with bloodshed will I enter into judgment with [Gog], and I will rain upon him and upon his hordes and upon the many peoples that are with him torrents of rain and great hailstones, fire and brimstone. Ezek 38:23 Thus will I demonstrate My greatness and My holiness, and I will be recognized, understood, {and} known in the eyes of many nations; yes, they shall know that I am the Lord [the Sovereign Ruler, Who calls forth loyalty and obedient service]. Ezek 39:1 AND YOU, son of man, prophesy against Gog, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, O Gog, chief prince (ruler) of Rosh, of Meshech, and of Tubal. Ezek 39:2 And I will turn you about and will lead you on, and will cause you to come up from the uttermost parts of the north and will lead you against the mountains of Israel; Ezek 39:3 And I will smite your bow from your left hand and will cause your arrows to fall out of your right hand. Ezek 39:4 You shall fall [dead] upon the mountains of Israel, you and all your hosts and the peoples who are with you. I will give you to the ravenous birds of every sort and to the beasts of the field to be devoured. Ezek 39:5 You shall fall in the open field, for I have spoken [it], says the Lord God. Ezek 39:6 I will send fire on Magog and upon those who dwell securely in the coastlands, and they shall know, understand, {and} realize that I am the Lord [the Sovereign Ruler, Who calls forth loyalty and obedient service]. Ezek 39:7 And I will make My holy name known in the midst of My people Israel, and I will not let them profane My holy name any more; and the nations shall know, understand, {and} realize that I am the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. Ezek 39:8 Behold, it is coming and it will be done, says the Lord God; that is the day of which I have spoken. Ezek 39:9 And [when you, Gog, are no longer] they who dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth and shall set on fire and burn the battle gear, the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, the handspikes {or} riding whips and the spears; and they shall burn them as fuel for seven years, Ezek 39:10 So that My people shall take no firewood out of the field or cut down any out of the forests, for they shall make their fires of the weapons. And they shall despoil those who despoiled them and plunder those who plundered them, says the Lord God. Ezek 39:11 And in that day, I will give to Gog a place for burial there in Israel, the valley of those who pass through on the east side in front of the [Dead] Sea [the highway between Syria, Petra, and Egypt], and it will delay {and} stop those who pass through. And there shall they bury Gog and all his multitude, and they shall call it the Valley of Hamon-gog [multitude of Gog]. Ezek 39:12 For seven months the house of Israel will be burying them, that they may cleanse the land. Ezek 39:13 Yes, all the people of the land will bury them, and it shall bring them renown in the day that I shall be glorified, says the Lord God. Ezek 39:14 And they shall set apart men to work continually who shall pass through the land, men commissioned to bury, with the help of those who are passing by, those bodies that lie unburied on the face of the ground, in order to cleanse the land. After the end of seven months they shall make their search. Ezek 39:15 And when these pass through the land and anyone sees a human bone, he shall set up a marker by it as a sign to the buriers, until they have buried it in the Valley of Hamon-gog {or} of Gog's multitude. Ezek 39:16 And Hamonah [multitude] shall also be the name of the city [of the dead]. Thus shall they cleanse the land. Ezek 39:17 And you, son of man, thus says the Lord God: Say to the birds of prey of every sort and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves and come, gather from every side to the sacrificial feast that I am preparing for you, even a great sacrificial feast on the mountains of Israel at which you may eat flesh and drink blood. Ezek 39:18 You shall eat the flesh of the mighty and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, of goats, and of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan [east of the Jordan]. Ezek 39:19 And you shall eat fat till you are filled and drink blood till you are drunk at the sacrificial feast which I am preparing for you. Ezek 39:20 And you shall be filled at My table with horses and riders, with mighty men, and with soldiers of every kind, says the Lord God. Ezek 39:21 And I will manifest My honor {and} glory among the nations, and all the nations shall see My judgment {and} justice [in the punishment] which I have executed and My hand which I have laid on them. Ezek 39:22 So the house of Israel shall know, understand, {and} realize beyond all question that I am the Lord their God from that day forward. Ezek 39:23 And the nations shall know, understand, {and} realize positively that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity, because they trespassed against Me; and I hid My face from them. So I gave them into the hand of their enemies and they all fell [into captivity or were slain] by the power of the sword. Ezek 39:24 According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions I dealt with them and hid My face from them. Ezek 39:25 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Now will I reverse the captivity of Jacob and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel and will be jealous for My holy name. Ezek 39:26 They shall forget their shame {and} self-reproach and all their treachery {and} unfaithfulness in which they have transgressed against Me, when they dwell securely in their land and there is none who makes them afraid. Ezek 39:27 When I have brought them again from the peoples and gathered them out of their enemies' lands, and My justice {and} holiness are set apart {and} vindicated through them in the sight of many nations, Ezek 39:28 Then shall they know, understand, {and} realize positively that I am the Lord their God, because I sent them into captivity {and} exile among the nations and then gathered them to their own land. I will leave none of them remaining among the nations any more [in the latter days]. Ezek 39:29 Neither will I hide My face any more then from them, when I have poured out My Spirit upon the house of Israel, says the Lord God. Ezek 40:1 IN THE twenty-fifth year of our captivity [by Babylon], in the beginning of the year, on the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after the city [of Jerusalem] was taken, on the very same day the hand of the Lord was upon me and He brought me to that place. Ezek 40:2 In the visions of God He brought me into the land of Israel and set me down upon a very high mountain, on the south side of which there was what seemed to be the structure of a city. Ezek 40:3 He brought me there, and behold, there was a man [an angel] whose appearance was like bronze, with a line of flax and a measuring reed in his hand, and he stood in the gateway. Ezek 40:4 And the man said to me, Son of man, look with your eyes and hear with your ears and set your heart {and} mind on all that I will show you, for you are brought here that I may show them to you. Declare all that you see to the house of Israel. Ezek 40:5 And behold, there was a wall all around the outside area of the house [of the Lord], and in the man's hand a measuring reed six long cubits in length, each cubit being longer [than the usual one] by a handbreadth; so he measured the thickness of the wall, one reed, and the height, one reed. Ezek 40:6 Then he came to the gate which faced the east and went up its [seven] steps and measured the threshold of the gateway, one reed broad, and the other threshold of the gateway [inside the thick wall], one reed broad. Ezek 40:7 And every room for the guards was one reed long and one reed broad, and the space between the guardrooms {or} lodges was five cubits. And the threshold of the gate by the porch {or} vestibule of the gateway within was one reed. Ezek 40:8 He measured also the porch {or} vestibule of the gate toward the house [of the Lord], one reed. Ezek 40:9 Then he measured the porch {or} vestibule of the gateway, eight cubits, and its posts {or} jambs, two cubits. And the porch {or} vestibule of the gate was inside [toward the house of the Lord]. Ezek 40:10 And the guardrooms {or} lodges of the east gateway were three on this side and three on that side; the three were the same size, and the posts {or} jambs were the same size on either side. Ezek 40:11 And he measured the breadth of the opening of the gateway, ten cubits, and the length of the gateway, thirteen cubits. Ezek 40:12 And a border {or} barrier before the guardrooms was one cubit on this side, and a border {or} barrier, one cubit on that side. And the guardrooms {or} lodges were six cubits on this side and six cubits on that side. Ezek 40:13 And {the man} [an angel] measured the gate from the outer wall of one chamber {or} guardroom to the outer wall of another--a breadth of twenty-five cubits from door to door. Ezek 40:14 And the open part of the porch {or} vestibule of the gateway on the outside was twenty cubits, the chambers {or} guardrooms of the gate being round about. Ezek 40:15 And including this porch {or} vestibule of the gate on the outside and the porch {or} vestibule on the inside, the extent was fifty cubits. Ezek 40:16 And there were closed windows to the guardrooms {or} chambers and to their posts {or} pillars within the gate round about, and likewise to the archway {or} vestibule; and windows were round about facing into the court, and upon each post {or} pillar were palm tree [decorations]. Ezek 40:17 Then he brought me into the outward court, and behold, there were chambers and a pavement round about the court; thirty chambers fronted on the pavement. Ezek 40:18 And the pavement was along by the side of the gates, answerable to the length of the gateways; this was the lower pavement. Ezek 40:19 Then {the man} measured the distance from the inner front before the lower gate to the outer front of the inner court, a hundred cubits, both on the east and on the north. Ezek 40:20 And the gate of the outward court which faced the north, of it he measured both the length and the breadth. Ezek 40:21 And its guardrooms {or} lodges, three on this side and three on that side, and its posts {or} pillars and archway {or} vestibule were the same size as those of the first gate; the length was fifty cubits and the breadth twenty-five cubits. Ezek 40:22 And its windows and its archway {or} vestibule and its palm trees were of the same size as those of the gate that faces toward the east. It was reached by going up seven steps, and the archway of its vestibule was on the inner side. Ezek 40:23 Opposite the gate on the north and on the east was a gate to the inner court, and he [the man with the measuring rod of reed] measured from gate to gate, a hundred cubits. Ezek 40:24 After that {the man} brought me toward the south, and behold, there was a gate on the south, and he measured its posts {or} pillars and its archway {or} vestibule; they measured as the others did. Ezek 40:25 And there were windows round about in it and in its archway {or} vestibule, like those windows in the other gateways; its length was fifty cubits and its breadth twenty-five cubits. Ezek 40:26 And there were seven steps going up to the gate, and its archway {or} vestibule was on the inside. And it had palm trees, one on this side and another on that side, carved on its posts {or} pillars. Ezek 40:27 And there was a gate to the inner court on the south, and he measured from gate to gate toward the south, a hundred cubits. Ezek 40:28 And {the man} [an angel] brought me into the inner court by the south gate, and he measured the south gate; its measurements were the same as those of the other gateways. Ezek 40:29 And its guardrooms {or} chambers and its posts {or} pillars and its archway {or} vestibule measured as did the others. And there were windows in the gateway and in its archway {or} vestibule round about; its length was fifty cubits and its breadth twenty-five cubits. Ezek 40:30 And there was an archway {or} a vestibule round about, twenty-five cubits long and five cubits wide. Ezek 40:31 And its [arched] vestibule faced the outer court; and palm trees were carved upon its posts {or} pillars, and the steps going up to it were eight. Ezek 40:32 And he brought me into the inner court toward the east and he measured the gate; it measured the same as the others. Ezek 40:33 And its guardrooms {or} chambers and its posts {or} pillars and its archway {or} vestibule measured as did the others. And there were windows in it and in its [arched] vestibule round about; the gateway was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide. Ezek 40:34 And its [arched] vestibule faced the outer court; and palm trees were carved upon its posts {or} pillars on either side, and the steps leading to it were eight. Ezek 40:35 And {the man} [an angel] brought me to the north gate and measured it; the measurements were the same as those of the other gates. Ezek 40:36 Its guardrooms {or} chambers, its posts {or} pillars, its [arched] vestibule, and the windows to it round about [were of the same size as the others]. The length of the gateway was fifty cubits and the width was twenty-five cubits. Ezek 40:37 And its posts {or} pillars were toward the outer court, and palm trees were carved upon them on either side. And the approach to it had eight steps. Ezek 40:38 There was an attached chamber with its door beside the posts {or} pillars of the gates where the burnt offering was to be washed. Ezek 40:39 And in the porch {or} vestibule of the gate were two tables on this side and two tables on that side, on which to slay the burnt offering and the sin offering and the trespass {or} guilt offering. Ezek 40:40 And on the one side without, as one goes up to the entrance of the gate to the north, were two tables; and on the other side at the vestibule of the gate were two tables. Ezek 40:41 Four tables were on the inside and four tables on the outside of the side of the gate, eight tables upon which the sacrifices were to be slain. Ezek 40:42 Moreover, there were four tables of hewn stone for the burnt offering, a cubit and a half long, a cubit and a half broad, and one cubit high. Upon them were to be laid the instruments with which were slain the burnt offering and the sacrifice. Ezek 40:43 And slabs {or} hooks a handbreadth long were fastened within [the room] round about. Upon the tables was to be placed the flesh of the offering. Ezek 40:44 Then {the man} [an angel] led me [from without] into the inner court, and behold, there were two chambers in the inner court: one beside the north gate but facing the south, and one beside the south gate but looking toward the north. Ezek 40:45 And {the man} [an angel who was guiding me] said, This chamber with its view to the south is for the priests who have charge of the house [of the Lord], Ezek 40:46 And the chamber with its view to the north is for the priests who have charge of the altar. These are the sons of Zadok, who alone among the sons of Levi may come near to the Lord to minister to Him. Ezek 40:47 And he measured the court, a hundred cubits long and a hundred cubits broad, foursquare; and the altar was in front of the house [of the Lord]. Ezek 40:48 Then he brought me to the porch {or} vestibule of the temple proper, and he measured each post {or} pillar of the porch, five cubits on either side. And the width of the gate was three cubits for this [leaf] and three cubits for that one. Ezek 40:49 And the length of the porch {or} vestibule was twenty cubits and the breadth eleven cubits; and he brought me by the steps by which it was reached, and there were two pillars standing on the posts [as bases] {or} beside them, one on either side of the entrance. Ezek 41:1 AND {the man} [an angel] brought me to [the Holy Place of] the temple and measured the wall pillars, six cubits broad on one side [of the ten-cubit door] and six cubits broad on the other side, which was the breadth of the tabernacle {or} tent [later called the temple]. Ezek 41:2 And the breadth of the entrance was ten cubits, and the leaves of the door were five cubits on the one side and five cubits on the other side; and he measured its length, forty cubits, and its breadth, twenty cubits. Ezek 41:3 Then {the man} [being an angel, and unrestricted] went inside [the inner room, but went alone] and measured each post of the door, two cubits, the doorway, six cubits, and the breadth of the entrance, seven cubits. Ezek 41:4 And he measured the length [of the interior of the second room] in the temple proper, twenty cubits, and the breadth, twenty cubits; and he [came out and] said to me, This is the Most Holy Place (the Holy of Holies). Ezek 41:5 Then he measured the wall of the temple, six cubits thick [to accommodate side chambers]; and the breadth of every side chamber, four cubits, round about the temple proper on every side. Ezek 41:6 These side chambers were three stories high, one over another and thirty in each story; and they entered into the wall which belonged to the house for the side chambers round about, that they might have hold of the wall [of the house], but they did not have hold of the wall of the temple. Ezek 41:7 And the side rooms became broader as they encompassed the temple higher and higher, for the encircling of the house went higher and higher round about the temple; therefore the breadth of the house continued upward, and so one went up from the lowest story to the highest one by way of the middle story [on a winding stairway]. Ezek 41:8 I saw also that the temple had an elevation {or} foundation platform round about it. The foundations of the side chambers measured a full reed measure of six long cubits. Ezek 41:9 The thickness of the outer wall of the side chamber was five cubits, as was the width of that part of the foundation that was left free of the side chambers that belonged to the house. Ezek 41:10 And between [the free space of the foundation platform and] the chambers was a breadth of twenty cubits round about the temple on every side. Ezek 41:11 And the doors of the attached side chambers opened on the free space that was left, one door toward the north and another door toward the south; and the breadth of the space on the foundation platform that was left free was five cubits round about. Ezek 41:12 And the building that faced the temple yard on the west side was seventy cubits broad, and the wall of the building was five cubits thick round about, and its length ninety cubits. Ezek 41:13 And {the man} [an angel in my vision] measured the temple, a hundred cubits long; and the yard and the building with its walls, a hundred cubits long; Ezek 41:14 Also the breadth of the east front of the temple and the yard, a hundred cubits. Ezek 41:15 Then {the man} [an angel] measured the length of the building on the west side of the yard with its walls on either side, a hundred cubits. The Holy Place of the temple, the inner Holy of Holies, and the outer vestibule Ezek 41:16 Were roofed over, and all three had latticed windows all around. The inside walls of the temple were paneled with wood round about from the floor up to the windows and from the windows to the roof, Ezek 41:17 Including the space above the door leading to the inner room, inside and out. And on the walls round about in the inner room and the Holy Place were carvings, Ezek 41:18 With figures of cherubim and palm trees, so that a palm tree was between a cherub and a cherub; and every cherub had two faces, Ezek 41:19 So that the face of a man was toward the palm tree on the one side, and the face of a young lion toward the palm tree on the other side. It was made this way through all the house round about. Ezek 41:20 From the floor to above the entrance were cherubim and palm trees made, and also on the wall of the temple [the Holy Place]. Ezek 41:21 The door frames of the temple were squared, and in front [outside of the sanctuary or Holy of Holies] was what appeared to be Ezek 41:22 An altar of wood, three cubits high and two cubits long [and wide]; and its corners, its base, and its sides were of wood. And {the man} [an angel] said to me, This is the table that is before the Lord. Ezek 41:23 And the temple {or} Holy Place and the sanctuary {or} Holy of Holies, had two doors [one for each of them]. Ezek 41:24 And the doors had two leaves apiece, two folding leaves--two leaves for the one door and two leaves for the other door. Ezek 41:25 And there were carved on them, on the doors of the temple, cherubim and palm trees, like those carved upon the walls; and there was also a canopy of wood in front of the porch outside. Ezek 41:26 And there were recessed windows and palm trees on the one side and on the other side of the porch. Thus were the side chambers and the canopies of the house. Ezek 42:1 THEN {the man} [an angel] brought me forth into the outer court northward, and he brought me to the attached chambers that were opposite the temple yard and were opposite the building on the north. Ezek 42:2 Before the long side of one hundred cubits was the door toward the north, and the breadth was fifty cubits. Ezek 42:3 Adjoining the twenty cubits which belonged to the inner court, and opposite the pavement which belonged to the outer court, was balcony facing balcony in three stories. Ezek 42:4 And before the attached chambers was a walk inward of ten cubits breadth and a hundred cubits long, and their doors were on the north. Ezek 42:5 Now the upper chambers were shorter, for the balconies took off from these more than from the lower and middle chambers of the building. Ezek 42:6 For they were in three stories, but did not have pillars as the pillars of the [outer] court; therefore the upper chambers were set back more than the lower and the middle ones from the ground. Ezek 42:7 And the wall {or} fence that was outside, opposite {and} parallel to the chambers, toward the outer court before the chambers, was fifty cubits long, Ezek 42:8 For the length of the [combined] chambers that were on the outer court was fifty cubits, while [the length] of those opposite the temple was a hundred cubits. Ezek 42:9 And under these chambers was the entrance on the east side, as one approached them from the outer court. Ezek 42:10 In the breadth of the wall of the court going toward the east, before the yard and before the building, were the chambers Ezek 42:11 With a passage before them that gave the appearance of the attached chambers on the north, of the same length and breadth, with similar exits and arrangements and doors. Ezek 42:12 And like the doors of the chambers that were toward the south there was an entrance at the head of the way, the way before the dividing wall toward the east, as one enters them. Ezek 42:13 Then said {the man} [an angel] to me, The north chambers and the south chambers, which are opposite the yard, are the holy chambers where the priests who approach the Lord shall eat the most holy offerings; there shall they lay the most holy things--the meal offering, the sin offering, and the trespass {or} guilt offering--for the place is holy. Ezek 42:14 When the priests enter the Holy Place, they shall not go out of it into the outer court unless they lay aside there the garments in which they minister, for these are holy, separate, {and} set apart. They shall put on other garments before they approach that which is for the people. Ezek 42:15 Now when he had finished measuring the inner temple area, he brought me forth toward the gate which faces east and measured it [the outer area] round about. Ezek 42:16 He measured the east side with the measuring reed, five hundred reeds with the measuring reed round about. Ezek 42:17 He measured the north side, five hundred reeds with the measuring reed round about. Ezek 42:18 He measured the south side, five hundred reeds with the measuring reed. Ezek 42:19 He turned about to the west side and measured five hundred reeds with the measuring reed. Ezek 42:20 He measured it on the four sides; it had a wall round about, the length five hundred reeds and the breadth five hundred, to make a separation between that which was holy [the temple proper] and that which was common [the outer area]. Ezek 43:1 AFTERWARD {the man} [an angel] brought me to the gate, the gate that faces east. Ezek 43:2 And behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the east and His voice was like the sound of many waters, and the earth shone with His glory. Ezek 43:3 And the vision which I saw was like the vision I had seen when I came to foretell the destruction of the city and like the vision I had seen beside the river Chebar [near Babylon]; and I fell on my face. Ezek 43:4 And the glory of the Lord entered the temple by the gate facing east. Ezek 43:5 Then the Spirit caught me up and brought me into the inner court, and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the temple. Ezek 43:6 And I heard One speaking to me out of the temple, and a Man stood by me. Ezek 43:7 And He [the Lord] said to me, Son of man, this is the place of My throne and the place of the soles of My feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel forever; and My holy name the house of Israel shall no more profane, neither they nor their kings, by their [idolatrous] harlotry, nor by the dead bodies {and} monuments of their kings, Ezek 43:8 Nor by setting their threshold by My thresholds and their doorposts by My doorposts, with a mere wall between Me and them. They have profaned My holy name by their abominations which they have committed; therefore I have consumed them in My anger. Ezek 43:9 Now let them put away their [idolatrous] harlotry and the dead bodies {and} monuments of their kings far from Me, and I will dwell in their midst forever. Ezek 43:10 Son of man, show the temple by your description of it to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; and let them measure accurately its appearance and plan. Ezek 43:11 And if they are ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the form of the temple and the arrangement of it--its exits and its entrances and the whole form of it--all its ordinances and all its forms and all its laws. And write it down in their sight so that they may keep the whole form of it and all the ordinances of it and do them. Ezek 43:12 This is the law of the house [of the Lord]: The whole area round about on the top of the mountain [Mount Moriah] shall be most holy, separated, {and} set apart. Behold, this is the law of the house [of the Lord]. Ezek 43:13 And these are the measurements of the altar [of burnt offering] in cubits. The cubit is a royal cubit [the length of a forearm and a palm of the hand]; the bottom {or} gutter shall be a cubit deep and a cubit wide, with a rim or lip round about it of a span's breadth. And this shall be the height of the altar: Ezek 43:14 From the bottom {or} gutter on the ground to the lower ledge {or} brim shall be two cubits, and the breadth one cubit; and from the lesser ledge to the greater ledge shall be four cubits, and the breadth one cubit. Ezek 43:15 And the altar hearth shall be four cubits high, and from the altar hearth reaching upward there shall be four horns one cubit high. Ezek 43:16 And the altar hearth shall be square--twelve cubits long, twelve broad, square in its four sides. Ezek 43:17 And the ledge shall be fourteen cubits long and fourteen cubits broad on its four sides, and the border about it shall be half a cubit; and its bottom {or} gutter shall be a cubit deep and wide, and its ascent [not steps] shall face the east. Ezek 43:18 And [the Lord] said to me, Son of man, thus says the Lord God: These are the regulations for the use of the altar in the day that it is erected, upon which to offer burnt offerings and to sprinkle blood against it: Ezek 43:19 You shall give to the priests, the Levites who are of the offspring of Zadok, who are near to Me to minister to Me, says the Lord God, a young bull for a sin offering. Ezek 43:20 And you shall take of its blood and put it on the four horns of [the altar of burnt offering] and on the four corners of the ledge and on the rim {or} border round about. Thus shall you cleanse {and} make atonement for [the altar]. Ezek 43:21 You shall also take the bullock of the sin offering, and it shall be burned in the appointed place of the temple, outside the sacred enclosure. Ezek 43:22 And on the second day you shall offer a male goat without blemish for a sin offering. Thus the altar shall be cleansed, as it was cleansed with the bullock. Ezek 43:23 When you have finished cleansing it, you shall offer a young bull without blemish and a ram out of the flock without blemish. Ezek 43:24 And you shall bring them near before the Lord, and the priests shall cast salt upon them and they shall offer them up for a burnt offering to the Lord. Ezek 43:25 Seven days you shall prepare every day a goat for a sin offering; also a young bull and a ram out of the flock, without blemish, shall be prepared. Ezek 43:26 For seven days shall they make atonement for the altar and purify it; so the priests shall consecrate, separate, {and} set it apart to receive offerings. Ezek 43:27 And when these days have been accomplished, on the eighth day and from then on, the priests shall offer your burnt offerings upon the altar and your peace offerings; and I will accept you, says the Lord God. Ezek 44:1 THEN {the man} [an angel] brought me back the way of the outer gate of the sanctuary which faces the east, and it was shut. Ezek 44:2 Then the Lord said to me, This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened and no man shall enter in by it, for the Lord, the God of Israel, has entered in by it; therefore it shall remain shut. Ezek 44:3 As for the prince, being the prince, he shall sit in it to eat bread before the Lord; he shall enter by way of the porch {or} vestibule of the gate and shall go out the same way. Ezek 44:4 Then he brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the temple; I looked, and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord, and I fell upon my face. Ezek 44:5 And the Lord said to me, Son of man, mark well {and} set your heart to see with your eyes and hear with your ears all that I say to you concerning all the ordinances of the house of the Lord and all its laws, and mark well {and} set your heart to know who are allowed to enter the temple and all those who are excluded from the sanctuary. Ezek 44:6 And you shall say to the rebellious, even to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: O you house of Israel, let all your previous abominations be enough for you! [Do not repeat them!] Ezek 44:7 You have brought into My sanctuary aliens, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in My sanctuary to pollute {and} profane it, even My house, when you offer My bread, the fat and the blood; and through it all {and} in addition to all your abominations, they {and} you have broken My covenant. Ezek 44:8 And you have not kept charge of My holy things, but you have chosen foreign keepers to please yourselves and have set them in charge of My sanctuary. Ezek 44:9 Therefore thus says the Lord God: No foreigner uncircumcised in heart and flesh shall enter into My sanctuary [where no one but the priests might enter], of any foreigners who are among the children of Israel. Ezek 44:10 But the Levites who went far away from Me when Israel went astray, who went astray from Me after their idols, they shall bear [the punishment for] their iniquity {and} guilt. Ezek 44:11 They shall minister in My sanctuary, having oversight as guards at the gates of the temple and ministering in the temple. They shall slay the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall attend the people to serve them. Ezek 44:12 Because [the priests] ministered to [the people] before their idols and became a stumbling block of iniquity {and} guilt to the house of Israel, therefore I have lifted up My hand {and} have sworn against them, says the Lord God, that they shall bear the punishment for their iniquity {and} guilt. Ezek 44:13 And they shall not come near to Me to do the office of a priest to Me, nor come near to any of My holy things that are most sacred; but they shall bear their shame {and} their punishment for the abominations which they have committed. Ezek 44:14 Yet I will appoint them as caretakers to have charge of the temple, for all the service of the temple and for all that will be done in it. Ezek 44:15 But the Levitical priests, the sons of Zadok, who kept the charge of My sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from Me, shall come near to Me to minister to Me, and they shall attend Me to offer to Me the fat and the blood, says the Lord God. Ezek 44:16 They shall enter into My sanctuary; and they shall come near to My table to minister to Me, and they shall keep My charge. Ezek 44:17 When they enter the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed in linen garments; no wool shall be on them while they minister at the gates of the inner court and within the temple. Ezek 44:18 They shall have linen turbans on their heads and linen breeches upon their loins; they shall not gird themselves with anything that causes [them to] sweat. Ezek 44:19 And when they go out into the outer court to the people, they shall put off the garments in which they ministered and lay them in the holy chambers, and they shall put on other garments, lest by contact of their garments with the people they should consecrate (separate and set apart for holy use) such persons [unintentionally and unfittingly]. Ezek 44:20 Neither shall they shave their heads or allow their locks to grow long; they shall only cut short {or} trim the hair of their heads. Ezek 44:21 Neither shall any priest drink wine when he enters the inner court. Ezek 44:22 Neither shall they take for their wives a widow or a woman separated {or} divorced from her husband; but they shall marry maidens [who are virgins] of the offspring of the house of Israel or a widow previously married to a priest. Ezek 44:23 The priests shall teach My people the difference between the holy and the common {or} profane, and cause them to distinguish between the unclean and the clean. Ezek 44:24 And in a controversy they shall act as judges, and they shall judge according to My judgments; and they shall keep My laws and My statutes in all My appointed feasts, and they shall keep My Sabbaths holy. Ezek 44:25 And they shall go near to no dead person to defile themselves, except for father or for mother, for son or for daughter, for brother or for sister who has had no husband; for them they may defile themselves. Ezek 44:26 And after he is cleansed [from the defilement of a dead body] they shall reckon to him seven days more before returning to the temple. Ezek 44:27 And on the day that he goes into the sanctuary, into the inner court to minister in the sanctuary, he shall offer his sin offering, says the Lord God. Ezek 44:28 This [their ministry to Me] shall be to them as an inheritance, for I am their inheritance; and you shall give them no possession in Israel, for I am their possession. Ezek 44:29 They shall eat the meal offering and the sin offering and the trespass offering, and every offering in Israel dedicated by a solemn vow to God shall be theirs. Ezek 44:30 And the first of all the firstfruits of all kinds, and every offering of all kinds from all your offerings, shall belong to the priests. You shall also give to the priest the first of your coarse meal {and} bread dough, that a blessing may rest on your house. Ezek 44:31 The priests shall not eat of anything that has died of itself or is torn, whether it be bird or beast. Ezek 45:1 MOREOVER, WHEN you shall divide the land by apportioned {and} assigned lots for inheritance, you shall set apart as an offering to the Lord a portion of the land to be used for holy purposes. The length shall be 25,000 {cubits,} and the breadth 20,000. It shall be holy (set apart and consecrated to sacred use) in its every area. Ezek 45:2 Of this there shall belong to the sanctuary a square plot 500 by 500, and 50 {cubits} for the open space around it. Ezek 45:3 And in this sacred section you shall measure off a portion 25,000 {cubits} in length and 10,000 {cubits} in breadth. And in it shall be the sanctuary which is most holy. Ezek 45:4 It is a holy portion of the land; it shall be for the priests, the ministers of the sanctuary, who come near to minister to the Lord; and it shall be a place for their houses and a holy place (set apart as sacred) for the sanctuary. Ezek 45:5 And another portion of land, 25,000 {cubits} long and 10,000 {cubits} wide, shall also be for the Levites, the ministers of the temple, and they shall possess it as a place in which to live. Ezek 45:6 And you shall appoint for the possession of the city an area of 5,000 {cubits} wide and 25,000 {cubits} long, along beside the portion set aside as a holy section. It shall belong to the whole house of Israel. Ezek 45:7 And to the prince shall belong the land on the one side and on the other side of the portion set aside as a holy section and the property of the city, in front of the holy section and the property of the city, from the west side westward and from the east side eastward; and the length shall be answerable to that of one of the tribal portions {and} parallel to it from the western boundary to the eastern boundary of the land. Ezek 45:8 It shall be for the prince--his possession in Israel. And My princes shall no more oppress My people, but they shall give the rest of the land to the house of Israel according to their tribes. Ezek 45:9 Thus says the Lord God: That is enough for you, O princes of Israel! Stop the violence and plundering {and} oppression [that you did when you were given no property], and do justice and righteousness, and take away your exactions {and} cease your evictions of My people, says the Lord God. Ezek 45:10 You shall have just weights on your scales and just measures--both a just ephah measure and a just bath measure. Ezek 45:11 The ephah and the bath measures shall both be the same size, the bath containing one tenth of a homer and the ephah one tenth of a homer; the standard measure shall be the homer. Ezek 45:12 And the shekel shall be twenty gerahs; twenty shekels and twenty-five shekels and fifteen shekels shall be your maneh. Ezek 45:13 This is the offering which you shall make: a sixth of an ephah from each homer of wheat and a sixth of an ephah from each homer of barley. Ezek 45:14 And as to the set portion of oil, you shall offer the tenth part of a bath of oil out of each cor, which is a homer of ten baths, for ten baths make [both a cor and] a homer. Ezek 45:15 And [you shall offer] one lamb out of every flock of two hundred, out of the well-watered pastures of Israel {and} from all the families of Israel, to provide for a meal offering and for a burnt offering and for peace offerings, to make atonement for those who brought them, says the Lord God. Ezek 45:16 All the people of the land shall give this offering for the prince in Israel. Ezek 45:17 And it shall be the prince's part to furnish [from the contributions of the people] the burnt offerings, meal offerings, and drink offerings at the feasts and on the New Moons and on the Sabbaths, at all the appointed feasts of the house of Israel. He shall prepare {and} make the sin offering, the meal offering, the burnt offering, and the peace offerings to make atonement for, bringing forgiveness {and} reconciliation to, the house of Israel. Ezek 45:18 Thus says the Lord God: In the first [month], on the first [day] of the month, you shall take a young bull without blemish and you shall cleanse the sanctuary. Ezek 45:19 And the priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering and put it upon the doorposts of the temple and upon the four corners of the ledge of the altar and upon the posts of the gate of the inner court. Ezek 45:20 You shall do this on the seventh day of the month for everyone who has sinned through error {or} ignorance and for him who is simple-minded. So shall you make atonement for the temple. Ezek 45:21 In the first month on the fourteenth day of the [month]; you shall have the Passover, a feast of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten. Ezek 45:22 Upon that day the prince shall prepare for himself and for all the people of the land a bullock for a sin offering. Ezek 45:23 And for the seven days of the feast he shall prepare a burnt offering to the Lord, seven bullocks and seven rams without blemish daily for the seven days, and a he-goat daily for a sin offering. Ezek 45:24 And he shall prepare as a meal offering to be offered with each bullock an ephah of meal, an ephah for each ram, and a hin of oil for each ephah of meal. Ezek 45:25 In the seventh [month], on the fifteenth day of the month, he shall make the same provision {and} preparation for the seven days of the feast, for sin offerings, burnt offerings, bloodless {or} meal offerings, and for the oil. Ezek 46:1 THUS SAYS the Lord God: The gate of the inner court that faces east shall be shut during the six working days, but on the Sabbath it shall be opened, and also on the day of the New Moon it shall be opened. Ezek 46:2 And the prince shall enter by the porch {or} vestibule of the gate from without and shall stand by the sidepost of the gate. The priests shall prepare {and} offer his burnt offering and his peace offerings, and he shall worship at the threshold of the gate. Then he shall go out, but the gate shall not be shut until evening. Ezek 46:3 The people of the land shall worship at the entrance of that gate before the Lord on the Sabbaths and on the New Moons. Ezek 46:4 And the burnt offering that the prince shall offer to the Lord on the Sabbath day shall be six lambs without blemish and a ram without blemish. Ezek 46:5 And the bloodless {or} meal offering with the ram shall be an ephah, and the meal offering with the lambs shall be as much as he is able {and} willing to give, and a hin of oil with each ephah. Ezek 46:6 And on the day of the New Moon the offering shall be a young bull without blemish and six lambs and a ram without blemish. Ezek 46:7 And the prince shall provide {and} make a meal {or} bloodless offering, an ephah for the bullock and an ephah for the ram, and for the lambs as he is able {and} willing according to what has been made available to his hand, and a hin of oil to each ephah. Ezek 46:8 And when the prince shall enter, he shall go in by the porch {or} vestibule of that gate and he shall go out by way of it. Ezek 46:9 But when the people of the land shall come before the Lord at the appointed solemn feasts, he who enters the north gate to worship shall go out by the south gate, and he who enters by the south gate shall go out by the north gate; he shall not return by the gate by which he came in but shall go out by the opposite gate [straight ahead]. Ezek 46:10 And the prince, when they go in, shall go in with them, and when they go out, he shall go out. Ezek 46:11 And in the appointed and solemn feasts the meal {or} bloodless offering shall be with a bullock an ephah, and with a ram an ephah, and with the lambs as much as the prince is willing {and} able to give [from what has been made available to him], and a hin of oil with each ephah. Ezek 46:12 When the prince shall prepare {and} make a freewill burnt offering or peace offerings voluntarily to the Lord, the gate that faces east shall be opened for him, and he shall offer his burnt offering and his peace offerings as he does on the Sabbath day. Then he shall go out, and after he has gone out, the gate shall be shut. Ezek 46:13 And a lamb a year old without blemish shall you [the priests, for the congregation] offer daily to the Lord; you shall prepare {and} offer it every morning. Ezek 46:14 And you [the priests] shall prepare a meal offering to go with it every morning, one-sixth of an ephah with one-third of a hin of oil to moisten the fine flour. This is a perpetual ordinance for a continual meal offering to the Lord. Ezek 46:15 Thus shall they prepare {and} offer the lamb and the meal offering and the oil every morning for a continual burnt offering. Ezek 46:16 Thus says the Lord God: If the prince gives a gift to any of his sons out of his inheritance, it shall belong to his sons; it is their property by inheritance. Ezek 46:17 But if he gives a gift out of his inheritance to one of his servants, then it shall be his until the year of liberty [the Year of Jubilee]; after that it shall be returned to the prince; only his sons may keep a gift from his inheritance [permanently]. Ezek 46:18 Moreover, the prince shall not take of the people's inheritance by oppression, thrusting them out of their property; what he gives to his sons he shall take out of his own possession, so that none of My people shall be separated from his [inherited] possession. Ezek 46:19 Then he [my guide] led me through the entrance which was at the side of the gate into the holy chambers for the priests, which faced the north; and behold, there was a place at the extreme western end of them. Ezek 46:20 And he said to me, This is the place where the priests shall boil the guilt offering and the sin offering, and where they shall bake the [bloodless] meal offering, to prevent their having to bring them into the outer court, lest they should thereby wrongfully sanctify (separate and consecrate for holy service) the people who are there. Ezek 46:21 And he brought me out into the outer court and caused me to pass by the four corners of the court, and behold, in every corner of the court there was a court. Ezek 46:22 In the four corners of the court there were courts joined on {and} enclosed, forty cubits long and thirty broad; these four in the corners were the same size. Ezek 46:23 And there was a row of masonry inside them, round about [each of] the four courts, and it was made with hearths for boiling at the bottom of the rows round about. Ezek 46:24 Then said he to me, These are the kitchens of those who do the boiling, where the ministers [the Levites] of the temple shall boil the sacrifices of the people. Ezek 47:1 THEN HE [my guide] brought me again to the door of the house [of the Lord--the temple], and behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the temple toward the east, for the front of the temple was toward the east; and the waters came down from under, from the right side of the temple, on the south side of the altar. Ezek 47:2 Then he brought me out by way of the north gate and led me around outside to the outer gate by the way that faces east, and behold, waters were running out on the right side. Ezek 47:3 And when the man went on eastward with the measuring line in his hand, he measured a thousand cubits, and he caused me to pass through the waters, waters that were ankle-deep. Ezek 47:4 Again he measured a thousand cubits and caused me to pass through the waters, waters that reached to the knees. Again he measured a thousand cubits and caused me to pass through the waters, waters that reached to the loins. Ezek 47:5 Afterward he measured a thousand, and it was a river that I could not pass through, for the waters had risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over {or} through. Ezek 47:6 And he said to me, Son of man, have you seen this? Then he led me and caused me to return to the bank of the river. Ezek 47:7 Now when I had returned, behold, on the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other. Ezek 47:8 Then he said to me, These waters pour out toward the eastern region and go down into the Arabah (the Jordan Valley) and on into the Dead Sea. And when they shall enter into the sea [the sea of putrid waters], the waters shall be healed {and} made fresh. Ezek 47:9 And wherever the double river shall go, every living creature which swarms shall live. And there shall be a very great number of fish, because these waters go there that [the waters of the sea] may be healed {and} made fresh; and everything shall live wherever the river goes. Ezek 47:10 The fishermen shall stand on [the banks of the Dead Sea]; from En-gedi even to En-eglaim shall be a place to spread nets; their fish shall be of very many kinds, as the fish of the Great {or} Mediterranean Sea. Ezek 47:11 But its swamps and marshes will not become wholesome for animal life; they shall [as the river subsides] be left encrusted with salt {and} given over to it. Ezek 47:12 And on the banks of the river on both its sides, there shall grow all kinds of trees for food; their leaf shall not fade nor shall their fruit fail [to meet the demand]. Each tree shall bring forth new fruit every month, [these supernatural qualities being] because their waters came from out of the sanctuary. And their fruit shall be for food and their leaves for healing. Ezek 47:13 Thus says the Lord God: These shall be the boundaries by which you shall divide the land among the twelve tribes of Israel: Joseph shall have two portions. Ezek 47:14 And you shall divide it equally. I lifted up My hand {and} swore to give it to your fathers, and this land shall fall to you as your inheritance. Ezek 47:15 And this shall be the boundary of the land on the north side: from the Great {or} Mediterranean Sea by way of Hethlon to the entrance of Zedad, Ezek 47:16 Hamath, Berothah, Sibraim, which is on the border between Damascus and Hamath, as far as Hazer-hatticon on the border of Hauran. Ezek 47:17 So the boundary shall extend from the [Mediterranean] Sea to Hazar-enan, at the boundary of Damascus on the north, together with the boundary of Hamath to the north. This is the north side. Ezek 47:18 And on the east side you shall measure the boundary from between Hauran and Damascus, and Gilead on one side and the land of Israel on the other, with the Jordan forming the boundary down to the East {or} Dead Sea. And this [from Damascus to the Dead Sea and including it] is the east side. Ezek 47:19 And the south side [boundary] southward, from Tamar [near the Dead Sea] shall run as far as the waters of Meribath-kadesh, then along the Brook of Egypt to the Great {or} Mediterranean Sea. And this is the south side. Ezek 47:20 On the west side [the boundary] shall be the Great {or} Mediterranean Sea to a point opposite the entrance of Hamath [north of Mount Hermon]. This is the west side. Ezek 47:21 So you shall divide this land among you according to the tribes of Israel. Ezek 47:22 You shall divide it by allotment as an inheritance for yourselves and for the foreigners who reside among you and shall have children born among you. They shall be to you as those born in the country among the children of Israel; they shall inherit with you among the tribes of Israel. Ezek 47:23 In whatever tribe the foreigner resides, there shall you give him his inheritance, says the Lord God. Ezek 48:1 NOW THESE are the names of the tribes: From the north end, beside the way of Hethlon to the entrance of Hamath as far as Hazar-enan, which is on the northern border of Damascus opposite Hamath, and reaching from the east border to the west, Dan, one [portion]. Ezek 48:2 And beside the border of Dan, from the east side to the west side, Asher, one [portion]. Ezek 48:3 And beside the border of Asher, from the east side to the west side, Naphtali, one [portion]. Ezek 48:4 And beside the border of Naphtali, from the east side to the west side, Manasseh, one [portion]. Ezek 48:5 And beside the border of Manasseh, from the east side to the west side, Ephraim, one [portion]. Ezek 48:6 And beside the border of Ephraim, from the east side to the west side, Reuben, one [portion]. Ezek 48:7 And beside the border of Reuben, from the east side to the west side, Judah, one [portion]. Ezek 48:8 And beside the border of Judah, from the east side to the west side, shall be the offering of land which you shall offer: 25,000 reeds in breadth, and in length as one of the tribal portions from the east side to the west side; and the sanctuary shall be in the midst of it. Ezek 48:9 The portion of land that you shall set apart and offer to the Lord shall be 25,000 [measures] in length and 10,000 in breadth [for each of the two districts]. Ezek 48:10 And for these, even for the priests, shall be this holy offering of land: toward the north 25,000 [measures] in length, and toward the west 10,000 in breadth, and toward the east 10,000 in breadth, and toward the south 25,000 in length, and the sanctuary of the Lord shall be in the midst of it. Ezek 48:11 The set-apart {and} sacred portion shall be for the consecrated priests of the sons of Zadok, who have kept My charge and who did not go astray when the children of Israel went astray, as the other Levites did. Ezek 48:12 And this land offering shall be for the priests as a thing most holy beside the border of the [other] Levites. Ezek 48:13 And opposite the border of the priests the [other] Levites shall have 25,000 [measures] in length and 10,000 in breadth. The whole length shall be 25,000 and the breadth 10,000. Ezek 48:14 And they shall not sell any of it or exchange it; they shall not convey {or} transfer this the firstfruits of the land, for it has been offered to the Lord and is holy to Him. Ezek 48:15 And the remaining strip of 5,000 [measures] in breadth and 25,000 in length shall be for the city's secular use, for a place in which to dwell and for open country {or} suburbs. The city shall be in the midst of the plot. Ezek 48:16 And these shall be the dimensions of it: the north side 4,500 [measures] and the south side 4,500, the east side 4,500 and the west side 4,500. Ezek 48:17 And the city shall have suburbs {or} open country: toward the north 250 [measures] and toward the south 250, toward the east 250 and toward the west 250. Ezek 48:18 The remainder of the length along beside the holy portion shall be 10,000 [measures] to the east and 10,000 to the west, and it shall be along beside the holy portion. The produce from it shall be for food for those who work in the city. Ezek 48:19 And the workers of the city from all the tribes of Israel shall till the open land. Ezek 48:20 The whole portion that you shall set apart as an offering to God shall be 25,000 [measures] by 25,000; you shall set apart the holy portion foursquare, together with the property of the city. Ezek 48:21 And what is left unallotted, on both sides of the holy portion and of that possessed by the city, shall belong to the prince. Reaching eastward from the 25,000 [measures] of the holy portion to the east border, and westward from the 25,000 [measures] to the west border, parallel to the tribal allotments, it belongs to the prince. The holy portion with the sanctuary of the temple in its midst, Ezek 48:22 And the possession of the Levites and the property of the city [of Jerusalem] shall be in the midst of that which belongs to the prince. What lies between the border of Judah and the border of Benjamin shall be for the prince. Ezek 48:23 As for the rest of the tribes, from the east side to the west side, Benjamin, one [portion]. Ezek 48:24 And beside the border of Benjamin, from the east side to the west side, Simeon, one [portion]. Ezek 48:25 And beside the border of Simeon, from the east side to the west side, Issachar, one [portion]. Ezek 48:26 And beside the border of Issachar, from the east side to the west side, Zebulun, one [portion]. Ezek 48:27 And beside the border of Zebulun, from the east side to the west side, Gad, one [portion]. Ezek 48:28 And beside the border of Gad, at the south side southward, the border shall extend from Tamar to the waters of Meribath-kadesh and on along the Brook [of Egypt] to the Great {or} Mediterranean Sea. Ezek 48:29 This is the land which you shall divide by allotment among the tribes of Israel as their inheritance, and these are their several portions, says the Lord God. Ezek 48:30 And these shall be the exits of the city: On the north side, which is to extend 4,500 measures, Ezek 48:31 Three gates: one gate of Reuben, one gate of Judah, one gate of Levi, the gates of the city being called after the names of the tribes of Israel; Ezek 48:32 And on the east side's 4,500 measures, three gates: one gate of Joseph, one gate of Benjamin, one gate of Dan; Ezek 48:33 And on the south side's 4,500 measures, three gates: one gate of Simeon, one gate of Issachar, one gate of Zebulun; Ezek 48:34 On the west side's 4,500 measures, three gates: one gate of Gad, one gate of Asher, one gate of Naphtali. Ezek 48:35 The distance around the city shall be 18,000 [4 x 4,500] measures; and the name of the city from that day {and} ever after shall be, THE LORD IS THERE. |