Amplified Bible (AMP)

Dirge for Pharaoh and Egypt

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 of the month, the word of the Lordcame to me, saying,

2 “Son of man, take up a dirge (funeral poem to be sung) over Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him,

‘You have compared yourself to a young lion among the nations,

But you are like a monster in the seas;

You burst into your rivers

And disturbedandmuddied the waters with your feet

And fouled their rivers [the source of their prosperity].’”

3 Thus says the Lord God,

“I will spread out My net over you

With a company of many nations,

And they will bring you up in My net.

4 “Then I will leave you (Egypt) on the land;

I will hurl you on the open field.

And I will make all the birds of the sky dwell on you,

And I will satisfy the animals of all the earth with you.

5 “And I will scatter your flesh on the mountains

And fill the valleys with your debris [your corpses and their worms].

6 “I will also water the land with your flowing blood

As far as the mountains,

And the ravines will be full of you.

7 “And when I extinguish you,

I will cover the heavens [of Egypt] and darken their stars;

I will cover the sun with a cloud

And the moon will not give its light.

8 “All the bright lights in the heavens

I will darken over you

And I will place darkness on your land,”

Says the Lord God.

9 I will also put fear into the hearts of many peoples when I bring your destruction [and captivity] among the nations, into countries which you have not known.

10 I will make many peoples appalled at you [at your judgment and your defeat], and their kings will be horribly afraid of you when I brandish My sword [of judgment] before them; they will trembleandshudder every moment, every man for his own life, on the day of your downfall.”

11 For thus says the Lord God, “The sword of the king of Babylon will come on you.

12 I will make your horde [of people] fall by the swords of the mighty–all of them are tyrants among the nations,

And they will devastate the prideandpresumption of Egypt,

And all its hordes will be destroyed.

13 “I will also destroy all its cattle from beside its great waters;

And the foot of man will not muddy them anymore

Nor will the hoofs of the animals muddy them.

14 “Then I will make their waters quietandclear;

I will make their rivers run [slowly and smoothly] like oil,”

Says the Lord God.

15 “When I make the land of Egypt desolate,

And the country is strippedanddeprived of all that which filled it,

When I strike all those who live in it,

Then they will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord.

16 This is the dirge (funeral poem to be sung) and they shall sing it [for her]. The daughters of the nations shall sing it; for Egypt and for all her hordes they shall sing it,” says the Lord God.

17 In the twelfth year [after King Jehoiachin of Judah was taken into exile], on the fifteenth of the month, the word of the Lordcame to me, saying,

18 “Son of man, wail over the hordes of Egypt and cast them down, both her and the daughters of the powerfulandmajestic nations, to the nether world (the place of the dead), with those who go down to the pit;

19 ‘Whom [among them] do you surpass in beauty?

Go down and make your bed with the uncircumcised (the barbaric, the boorish, the crude).’

20 They will fall among those who are slain by the sword. She (Egypt) is handed over to the sword; they have drawn her and all her hordes away [to judgment].

21 The strong among the mighty rulers will say of him (Pharaoh) and his allies from the midst of Sheol, ‘They have gone down [defeated]; they lie still, the uncircumcised, slain by the sword.’

22 “Assyria is there with all her warriors; their graves are all around her. All of them are slain, fallen by the sword,

23 whose graves are set in the remotest parts of the pit and her army is all around her grave. All of them are slain, fallen by the sword, who spread terror in the land of the living.

24 “Elam [a conquest of Assyria] is there and all her hordes around her grave; all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who have gone down uncircumcised to the lower parts of the earth, who made their terror spread in the land of the living and bore their shameanddefeat with those who went down to the pit.

25 They have made a bed for her among the slain with all her hordes. Her graves are around it; they are all uncircumcised (barbaric, boorish, crude), slain by the sword (for their terror had been spread in the land of the living), and they bore their disgrace with those who go down to the pit; they were laid among the slain.

26 “Meshech, Tubal, and all their hordes are there; their gravessurround them. All of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword, for they spread their terror in the land of the living.

27 Nor do they lie beside the fallen heroes of the uncircumcised, who went down to Sheol with their weapons of war, whose swords were laid [with honors] under their heads. The punishment for their sins rested on their bones, for the terror of these heroeswas oncein the land of the living.

28 But you will be broken in the midst of the uncircumcised and you will lie [without honors] with those who are slain by the sword.

29 “Edom is there also, her kings and all her princes, who for all their powerandstrength are laid with those who were slain by the sword; they will lie [in shame and defeat] with the uncircumcised and with those who go down to the pit.

30 “The princes of the north are there also, all of them, and all the Sidonians, who in spite of the terror resulting from their power, have gone down in shame with the slain. So they lay down uncircumcised with those slain by the sword and bore their disgrace with those who go down to the pit.

31 “Pharaoh will see them, and he will be comforted for all his hordes slain by the sword–Pharaoh and all his army,” says the Lord God.

32 “Though I instilled a terror of him in the land of the living, yet he will be made to lie down among the uncircumcised along with those slain by the sword, even Pharaoh and all his hordes,” says the Lord God.

The Watchman’s Duty

1 And the word of the Lordcame to me, saying,

2 “Son of man, speak to the sons of your people [who are exiled in Babylon] and say to them, ‘If I bring a sword on a land, and the people of the land take one man from among them and make him their watchman,

3 and he sees the sword coming on the land, and he blows the trumpet and warns the people,

4 then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, and a sword comes and takes him away, his blood will be on his [own] head.

5 ~‘He heard the sound of the trumpet but did not take warning; his blood shall be on himself. But if he had taken warning, he would have saved his life.

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 because of his corruptionandsin; but I will require his blood from the watchman’s hand.’

7 “Now as for you, son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so you shall hear a message from My mouth and give them a warning from Me.

8 When I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you will certainly die,’ and you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man will die because of his sin; but I will require his blood from your hand.

9 But if you on your part warn the wicked man to turn from his [evil] way and he does not turn from his [evil] way, he will die in his sin; but you have saved your life.

10 “Now as for you, son of man, say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus you have said, “Truly our transgressions and our sins are on us, and we are rotting away because of them; how then can we live?”’

11 Say to them, ‘As I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back (change your way of thinking), turn back [in repentance] from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?’

12 And you, son of man, say to the sons of your people, ‘The righteousness of the righteous man will not save him in the day of his transgression; and as for the wickedness of the wicked, he will not stagger because of it in the day that he turns from his wickedness, whereas a righteous man will not be able to live because of his [previous acts of] righteousness on the day when he commits sin.’

13 When I say to the righteous that he will most certainly live, and he trusts in his [previous acts of] righteousness [to save him] and commits injustice, none of his righteous deeds will be remembered; but he will die for his injustice that he committed.

14 But when I say to the wicked, ‘You will certainly die,’ and he turns from his sin and practices that which is just (fair) and right–

15 if a wicked man returns [what he took as] a pledge, pays back what he had taken by robbery, walks in the statutes which ensure life, without committing injustice, he will certainly live; he will not die.

16 None of his sins that he has committed will be remembered against him. He has practiced that which is just (fair) and right; he will most certainly live.

17 “Yet your people [who are in exile in Babylon] say, ‘The way of the Lord is not right;’ but as for them, it is their own way that is not right.

18 When the righteous turns back from his righteousness and commits injustice, he will also die because of it.

19 But when a wicked man turns back from his wickedness and practices what is just (fair) and right, he will live because of it.

20 Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not right.’ O house of Israel, I will judge you, every one [of you] in accordance with his own ways!”

Word of Jerusalem’s Capture

21 In the twelfth year of our exile [in Babylon], on the fifth of the tenth month, a survivor from Jerusalem came to me, saying, “The city has been captured.”

22 Now the hand of the Lordhad been upon me in the evening, before the survivor came. And Heopened my mouth at the time he came to me in the morning; so my mouth was opened [in readiness] and I was no longer mute.

23 Then the word of the Lordcame to me, saying,

24 “Son of man, those [back in Palestine] who inhabit these ruins in the land of Israel are saying, ‘Abraham was [only] one man and he took possession of the land, but we are many; the land has [most certainly] been given to us [to possess] as property.’

25 Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “You eat meat with the bloodin itand raise your eyes to your idols and shed blood. Should you take possession of the land?

26 You rely on your sword [as your security]; you commit outrageousanddisgraceful acts and each of you defiles his neighbor’s wife. Should you then take possession of the land?”’

27 You shall say this to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “As I live, those who are in the ruins certainly will fall by the sword, and I will give whoever is in the open field to the [predatory] animals to be devoured, and those who are in strongholds and in caves will die of virulent diseases.

28 And I will make the land [of Israel] a desolation and a ruin, and her pride in her power will be brought to an end; and the mountains of Israel will be so deserted that no one will pass through.

29 Then they will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord, when I make the land a desolation and a ruin because of all the atrocities which they have committed.”’

30 “But as for you, son of man, your people who talk about you by the walls and in the doorways of the houses say one to another, every one to his brother, ‘Come now and hear what the message is that comes from the Lord.’

31 They come to you as people come, and they sit before you as My people, and they hear your words, but they do not practice them; for with their mouth theyexpressloving devotion, but their heart goes after their (unlawful) gain.

32 Behold, you are to them like a love song by one who has a pleasant voice and plays well on a stringed instrument [merely to entertain them]; for they hear your words but do not practice them.

33 So when it comes to pass–as it most certainly will–then they will know [without any doubt] that a prophet has been among them.”

Prophecy against the Shepherds of Israel

1 And the word of the Lordcame to me, saying,

2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to them, the [spiritual] shepherds, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Woe (judgment is coming) to the [spiritual] shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flock?

3 You eat the fat [the choicest of meat], and clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the best of the livestock, but you do not feed the flock.

4 You have not strengthened those who are weak, you have not healed the sick, you have not bandaged the crippled, you have not brought back those gone astray, you have not looked for the lost; but you have ruled them with force and violence.

5 They were scattered because there was no shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the predators of the field.

6 My flock wandered through all the mountains and on every high hill; My flock was scattered over all the face of the earth and no one searched or sought them.”’”

7 Therefore, you [spiritual] shepherds, hear the word of the Lord:

8 “As I live,” says the Lord God, “certainly because My flock has become prey, My flock has even become food for every predator of the field for lack of a shepherd, and My shepherds did not search for My flock, butratherthe shepherds fed themselves and did not feed My flock;

9 therefore, you [spiritual] shepherds, hear the word of the Lord:

10 ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will demand My flock from them and make them stop tending the flock, so that the shepherds cannot feed themselves anymore. I will rescue My flock from their mouth, so that they will not be food for them.”’”

The Restoration of Israel

11 For thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I Myself will search for My flock and seek them out.

12 As a shepherd cares for his sheep on the day that he is among his scattered flock, so I will care for My sheep; and I will rescue them from all the places to which they were scattered on a cloudy and gloomy day.

13 I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries and bring them to their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the streams, and in all the inhabited places of the land.

14 I will feed them in a good pasture, and their grazing ground will be on the mountain heights of Israel. There they will lie down on good grazing ground and feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel.

15 I will feed My flock and I will let them lie down [to rest],” says the Lord God.

16 “I will seek the lost, bring back the scattered, bandage the crippled, and strengthen the weakandthe sick; but I will destroy the fat and the strong [who have become hard-hearted and perverse]. I will feed them with judgmentandpunishment.

17 “And as for you, My flock, thus says the Lord God, ‘Behold, I judge between one sheep and another, between the rams and the male goats [between the righteous and the unrighteous].

18 ~‘Is it too little a thing for you that you [unrighteous ones who are well-fed] feed in the best pasture, yet you must trample down with your feet [of wickedness] the rest of your pastures? Or that you drink clear [still] water, yet you must muddy with your feet [of wickedness] the rest [of the water]?

19 ~‘As for My flock (the righteous), they must feed on what you trample with your feet and drink what you muddy with your feet!’”

20 Therefore thus says the Lord Godto them, “Behold, I Myself will judge between the [well-fed] fat sheep and the lean sheep.

21 Because you push with side and shoulder, and gore with your horns all those that have become weakandsick until you have scattered them away,

22 therefore, I will rescue My flock, and they shall no longer be prey; and I will judge between one sheep [ungodly] and another [godly].

23 “Then I will appoint over them one shepherd and he will feed them, [a ruler like] My servantDavid; he will feed them and be their shepherd.

24 And I the Lordwill be their God, and My servant David will be a prince among them; I the Lordhave spoken.

25 “I will make a covenant of peace with them and will eliminate the predatory animals from the land so that they may live securely in the wilderness and sleep [safely] in the woods.

26 I will make them and the places around My hill (Jerusalem, Zion) a blessing. And I will make showers come down in their season; there will be [abundant] showers of blessing (divine favor).

27 Also the tree of the field will yield its fruit and the earth will yield its produce; and My people will be secure on their land. Then they will know [with confidence] that I am the Lord, when I have broken the bars of their yoke and have rescued them from the hand of those who made them slaves.

28 They will no longer be prey to the nations, and the predators of the earth will not devour them; but they will live safely, and no one will make them afraid [in theday of the Messiah’s reign].

29 I will prepare for them a place renowned for planting [crops], and they will not again be victims of famine in the land, and they will not endure the insults of the nations any longer.

30 Then they will know [with assurance] that I the Lordtheir God, am with them and that they, the house of Israel, are My people,” says the Lord God.

31 “As for you, My flock, the flock of My pasture, you are men, and I am your God,” says the Lord God.

Prophecy against Mount Seir

1 Moreover, the word of the Lordcame to me, saying,

2 “Son of man, set your face against Mount Seir (Edom), and prophesy against it

3 and say to it, ‘Thus says the Lord God,

“Behold, Mount Seir, I am against you,

And I will stretch out My hand against you

And make you completely desolate.

4 “I will destroy your cities

And you will become a wasteland.

Then you shall know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord.

5 Because you [descendants of Esau] have had an everlasting hatred [for Jacob (Israel)] and you handed over the sons of Israel to the power of the sword at the time of their tragedy, at the time of their final punishment [the Babylonian conquest],

6 therefore, as I live,” says the Lord God, “I will hand you over to bloodshed, and bloodshed will pursue you since you have not hated bloodshed, bloodshed will pursue you.

7 I will make Mount Seir (Edom) a ruin and a desolate wasteland and I will cut off from it the one who passes through it and the one who returns.

8 I will fill its mountains with its slain; those killed by the sword will fall on your hills, and in your valleys, and in all your ravines.

9 I will make you an everlasting desolation and yourcities will not be inhabited. Then you will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord.

10 “Because you [descendants of Esau] have said, ‘These two nations [Israel and Judah] and these two lands shall be mine, and we will take possession of them,’ although the Lordwas there,

11 therefore, as I live,” says the Lord God, “I will deal with you in accordance with the anger and envy you showed because of your hatred for them; and I will make Myself known among them [as Judge] when I judgeandpunish you.

12 Then you will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord, and that I have heard all your scornful speeches which you have spoken against the mountains of Israel, saying, ‘They have been made a wasteland; they have been given to us as food.’

13 So you have boastedandspoken arrogantly against Me, and have multiplied your words against Me; I have heard it.”

14 ~‘Thus says the Lord God, “While the whole earth rejoices, I will make you a wasteland.

15 As you rejoiced over the inheritance of the house of Israel because it was desolate, so I will do to you; you will be a desolate waste, O Mount Seir, and all Edom, all of it. Then they will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord.”’

The Mountains of Israel to Be Blessed

1 “And you, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel and say, ‘You mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord.

2 ~‘Thus says the Lord God, “Because the enemy has said of you, ‘Aha!’ and, ‘The ancient heights have become our property,’

3 therefore prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “For good reason they have made you a desolation, and they crushed you from every side so that you would become a possession of the rest of the nations and you have become the talk and the whispering of the people.”’”

4 ~‘Therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God. Thus says the Lord Godto the mountains and to the hills, to the ravines and to the valleys, to the desolate ruins and to the deserted cities which have become prey and a mockery to the rest of the nations which surround you,

5 therefore thus says the Lord God, “Most certainly in the fire of My jealousy (love for that which is Mine) I have spoken against the rest of the nations and against all Edom, who appropriated My land for themselves as a possession with wholehearted joy and with uttermost contempt, so that they might empty it out [and possess it] as prey.”

6 ~‘Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel and say to the mountains and to the hills, to the ravines and to the valleys, “Thus says the Lord God, ‘Behold, I have spoken in My jealousy (love for that which is Mine) and in My wrath because you have endured the [shameful] insults of the nations.’

7 Therefore thus says the Lord God, ‘I have lifted up My handandsworn [an oath] that the nations that are around you will themselves endure their [shameful] insults.

8 ~‘But you, O mountains of Israel, will put out your branches and bear your fruit to My people Israel; for they will soon come [home].

9 ~‘For, behold, I am for you, and I will turn to you [in favor], and you shall be cultivated and sown.

10 ~‘I will multiply people on you, all the house of Israel, [indeed] all of it; the cities shall be inhabited and the ruins will be rebuilt.

11 ~‘I will multiply on you man and animal; and they will increase and be fruitful. And I will cause you to be inhabited as you were formerly, and I will do better [things] for you than at your beginning. Then you will know [with great confidence] that I am the Lord.

12 ~‘Yes, [O mountains of Israel] I will cause men–My people Israel–to walk on you and take possession of you, so that you will become their inheritance and never again bereave them of children.’

13 “Thus says the Lord God, ‘Because they say to you, “You [O land] are a devourer of people and have bereaved your nation of children,”

14 therefore you will no longer devour people, and no longer bereave your nation of children,’ says the Lord God.

15 I will not let you hear insults from the nations anymore, nor will you bear disgrace from the peoples any longer, nor will you cause your nation to stumble [through idolatry] any longer,” says the Lord God.’”

16 Moreover, the word of the Lordcame to me, saying,

17 “Son of man, when the house of Israel was living in their own land, they defiled it by their [own] behavior and by their [idolatrous] actions. Their conduct before Me was like the uncleanness of a woman during her [physical] impurity.

18 So I poured out My wrath on them for the blood which they had shed on the land and because they had defiled it with their idols.

19 Also I scattered them among the nations and they were dispersed throughout the countries. I judgedandpunished them in accordance with their conduct and their [idolatrous] behavior.

20 When they came to the nations wherever they went, they profaned My holy name, because it was said of them, ‘These are the people of the Lord; yet they have come out of His land.’

21 But I had concern for My holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations where they went.

Israel to Be Renewed for His Name’s Sake

22 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for My holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you went.

23 I will vindicate the holiness of My great name which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord,” says the Lord God, “when I prove Myself holy among you in their sight.

24 For I willtake you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land.

25 Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your uncleanness and from all your idols.

26 Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you, and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

27 I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My ordinances and do them.

28 You will live in the land that I gave to your fathers; and you will be My people, and I will be your God.

29 I will also save you from all your uncleanness, and I will call for the grain and make it abundant, and I will not bring famine on you.

30 I will multiply the fruit of the tree and the produce of the field, so that you will not suffer again the disgrace of famine among the nations.

31 Then you will remember [clearly] your [own] evil ways and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves in your own sight for your sins and for your outrageous atrocities.

32 I am not doing this for your sake,” says the Lord God. “Let that be known to you. Be ashamed and humiliated for your [wicked] ways, O house of Israel!”

33 ‘Thus says the Lord God, “On the day that I cleanse you from all your sins I will also cause the cities [of Israel] to be inhabited, and the ruins will be rebuilt.

34 The desolate land will be cultivated instead of being a desolation in the sight of everyone who passes by.

35 Then they will say, ‘This land that was desertedanddesolate has become like the garden of Eden; and the waste, desolate, and ruined cities are fortified and inhabited.’

36 Then the nations that are left around you will know that I the Lordhave rebuilt the ruined places and planted that which was desolate. I the Lordhave spoken, and will do it.”

37 ‘Thus says the Lord God, “This too I will let the house of Israel ask Me to do for them: I will increase their people like a flock.

38 Like the flock for sacrifices, like the flock at Jerusalem during her appointed feasts, so will the desolate cities be filled with flocks of people. Then they will know [with confident assurance] that I am the Lord.”’”

Vision of the Valley of Dry Bones

1 The hand of the Lordwas upon me, and He brought me out in the Spirit of the Lordand set me down in the middle of the valley; and it was full of bones.

2 He caused me to pass all around them, and behold,there werevery many [human bones] in the open valley; and lo,they werevery dry.

3 And He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, You know.”

4 Again He said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.’

5 Thus says the Lord Godto these bones, ‘Behold, I will makebreath enter you so that you may come to life.

6 ~‘I will put sinews on you, make flesh grow back on you, cover you with skin, and I will put breath in you so that you may come alive; and you will know that I am the Lord.’”

7 So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a [thundering] noise, and behold, a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to its bone.

8 And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on the bones, and flesh grew and skin covered them; but there was no breath in them.

9 Then He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, son of man, and say to the breath, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.”’”

10 So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they came to life and stood up on their feet, an exceedingly great army.

The Vision Explained

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.’

12 Therefore prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I will open your graves and make you come up out of your graves, My people; and I will bring you [back home] to the land of Israel.

13 Then you will know [with confidence] that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves and made you come up out of your graves, My people.

14 I will put MySpirit in you and you will come to life, and I will place you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lordhave spoken, and fulfilled it,” says the Lord.’”

Reunion of Judah and Israel

15 The word of the Lordcame again to me, saying,

16 “And you, son of man, take a stick and write on it, ‘For Judah and for the children of Israel, his companions’; then take another stick and write on it, ‘For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim and all the house of Israel, his companions.’

17 Then join them together into one stick, so that they may become one in your hand.

18 When your people say to you, ‘Will you not tell us what you mean by these?’

19 say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am going to take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel, his companions; and I will join the stick of Judah with it and make them one stick, and they will be one in My hand.”’

20 The sticks on which you write shall be in your hand before their eyes.

21 Say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am going to take the children of Israel from among the nations where they have gone, and I willgather them from every side and bring them into their own land;

22 and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and oneking will be king over all of them; and they will no longer be two nations, and will no longer be divided into two kingdoms.

23 They will no longer defile themselves with their idols, or with their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions; but I will save them from all their transgressions in which they have sinned, and I will cleanse them. So they will be My people, and I will be their God.

The Davidic Kingdom

24 “My servant David will be king over them, and they all will have one shepherd. They will also walk in My ordinances and keep My statutes and observe them.

25 They will live in the land where your fathers lived, [the land] that I gave to My servant Jacob, and they will live there, they and their children and their children’s children, forever; and My servant David will be their leader forever.

26 I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will place them and multiply them, and will put My sanctuary in their midst forever.

27 My dwelling place also will be with them; and I will be their God, and they will be My people.

28 Then the nations will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lordwho sets apartandsanctifies Israel [for holy use], when My sanctuary is in their midst forever.”’”

Prophecy about Gog and Future Invasion of Israel

1 And the word of the Lordcame to me, saying,

2 “Son of man, set your face against Gog of the land of Magog, the chief ruler of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him,

3 and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am against you, O Gog, chief ruler of Meshech and Tubal.

4 I will turn you around and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out, and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them magnificently clothed in full armor, a great horde withbuckler (small shield) and [large] shield, all of them wielding swords;

5 Persia (Iran), Cush (Ethiopia), and Put (Libya, N. Africa) with them, all of them with shield and helmet;

6 Gomer and all its troops; Beth-togarmah from the remote parts of the north and all its troops–many peoples with you.

7 You [Gog] be prepared; prepare yourself, you and all your hordes that are assembled around you, and be a guardanda lookout for them.

8 After many days you will be summoned [for service]; in the latter years you shall come into the land that is restored from [the ravages of] the sword,where peoplehave been gathered out of many nations to the mountains of Israel, which had been a continual wasteland; but its people were brought out of the nations, and they are living securely, all of them.

9 You will go up [against them], you will come like a storm; you shall be like a cloud covering the land, you and all your troops, and many peoples with you.”

10 ‘Thus says the Lord God, “It will come about on that day that thoughts will come into your mind, and you will devise an evil plan,

11 and you will say, ‘I will go up against an open country; I will come against those who are at restandpeaceful, who live securely, all of them living without walls and having neither bars nor gates,

12 to take spoil and seize plunder, to turn your hand against the ruins which are now inhabited, and against the people who are gathered from the nations, who have acquired cattle and goods, who live at thecenter of the world [Israel].’

13 Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish (southern Spain), with all its young lions (villages) will say to you, ‘Have you come to take spoil? Have you assembled your hordes [of fighting men] to seize plunder, to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take great spoil?’”’

14 “Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say to Gog, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “On that day when My people Israel live securely, will you not become aware of it [and become active]?

15 You will come from your place in the remote parts of the north, you and many nations with you, all of them riding horses, a great horde, and a mighty army;

16 and you will go up against My people Israel like a cloud to cover the land. In the last days it will come about that I will bring you against My land, so that the nations may know Me when I show Myself holy through you before their eyes, O Gog.”

17 ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Are you the one of whom I spoke in former days through My servants, the prophets of Israel, who prophesied in those days for many years that I would bring you (Gog) against them?

18 It will come about on that day, when Gog comes against the land of Israel,” says the Lord God, “that My wrath will rise and show on My face.

19 In My zeal and in My blazing rage I declare that on that day there will most certainly be agreat earthquake in the land of Israel,

20 so that the fishes of the sea, the birds of the sky, the animals of the field, all the creatures that crawl on the earth, and all the men that are on the face of the earth will trembleandshake at My presence; the mountains will crumble, the steep places will fall, and every wall will fall to the ground.

21 I will call for a sword against Gog throughout all My mountains,” says the Lord God. “Every man’s (invading soldier’s) sword will be against his brother (ally) [in panic and confusion].

22 With pestilence and with bloodshed I will enter into judgment with Gog; and I will rain on him torrents of rain with [great] hailstones,fire and brimstone on his hordes and on the many nations that are with him.

23 Thus I shall magnify Myselfanddemonstrate My greatness and sanctify Myself, and I will be recognizedandwill make Myself known in the sight of many nations; they will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord.”’

Prophecy against Gog–Invaders Destroyed

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 Meshech and Tubal;

2 and I will turn you around and lead you along, and bring you up from the remotest parts of the north, and I will bring you against the mountains of Israel.

3 I will strike your bow from your left hand and make your arrows to fall out of your right hand.

4 You will fall [dead] on the mountains of Israel, you and all your troops and the nations who are with you. I will give you to every kind of predatory bird and animal of the field as food.

5 You will fall in the open field, for I have spoken,” says the Lord God.

6 “I will also send fire on Magog and on those who live securely in the coastlands; and they will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord.

7 “I will make My holy name known in the midst of My people Israel, and I will not let them profane My holy name anymore; and the nations will know that I am the Lord, the Holy One of Israel.

8 Behold, it is coming and it will be done,” says the Lord God. “That is the day of which I have spoken.

9 And [when you, Gog, no longer exist] those who live in the cities of Israel will go out and make fires with the weapons and burn them, both the [large] shields and thebucklers (small shields), the bows and the arrows, the war clubs and the spears; and for seven years they will burn them.

10 They will not take any wood from the field or cut downandgather [any] firewood from the forests, because they will make their fires using the weapons. And they will take the spoil from those who despoiled them and seize the plunder of those who plundered them,” says the Lord God.

11 “And on that day I will give Gog a place for burial there in Israel, the valley of those who pass through east of the sea, and it will block the way of those who would pass through. So they willbury Gog there with all his hordes, and they will call it the Valley of Hamon-gog (the multitude of Gog).

12 For seven months the house of Israel will be burying them in order to cleanse the land.

13 Yes, all the people of the land will bury them; and it will be to their renown on the day that I appear in My gloryandbrilliance,” says the Lord God.

14 “They will elect men who will constantly go through the land, [men commissioned] to bury those who were passing through, those bodies that lie unburied on the surface of the ground, in order to cleanse it. At the end of seven months they will do a search.

15 As those who pass through the land pass through and anyone sees a human bone, he will set up a marker beside it, until the buriers have buried it in the Valley of Hamon-gog.

16 And even the name of the city will be Hamonah. In this manner they shall cleanse the land.”’

17 “As for you, son of man, thus says the Lord God, ‘Say to every kind of bird and to every animal of the field, “Assemble and come, gather from every side to My sacrifice that I am slaughtering for you, as a great sacrificial feast on the mountains of Israel, and you will eat flesh and drink blood.

18 You will eat the flesh of mighty men and drink the blood of the princes of the earth,as though they wererams, lambs, goats, and bulls, all of them fatlings of Bashan [east of the Jordan].

19 So you will eat fat until you are filled and drink blood till you are drunk, at the sacrificial feast which I have prepared for you.

20 You will eat your fill at My table with horses and riders, with mighty men, and with all the men of war,” says the Lord God.

21 “And I will bring [and manifest] My glory among the nations; and all the nations will see My judgmentandjustice [in the punishment] which I have executed and My hand which I have laid on them.

22 So the house of Israel will know [with absolute confidence] that I am the Lordtheir God from that day forward.

23 And the nations will know [without any doubt] that the house of Israel went into exile for their great sin, because they acted treacherously against Me; and I hid My face (favor, blessing) from them. So I gave them into the hand of their enemies, and they all fell [into captivity or were killed] by [the power of] the sword.

24 I dealt with them in accordance with their uncleanness and their transgressions, and I hid My face from them.”’”

Israel Restored

25 Therefore thus says the Lord God, “Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob (Israel) and have mercy on the whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for My holy name [demanding what is rightfully and uniquely mine].

26 They will forget their disgrace and all their treachery (unfaithfulness) which they perpetuated against Me, when they live securely in their own land and there is no one who makes them afraid.

27 When I bring them back from the nations and gather them out of their enemies’ lands, then I shall show Myself holy [and My justice and holiness will be vindicated] through them in the sight of many nations.

28 Then they will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lordtheir God because I made them go into exile among the nations, and then gathered them to their own land. I will leave none of them there [among the nations] any longer.

29 I will not hide My face from them any longer, because I will have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel,” says the Lord God.

Vision of the Man with a Measuring Rod

1 In the twenty-fifth year of our exile [in 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 that [very] same day the hand of the Lordwas upon me and He brought me there.

2 In the visions of God He brought me to the land of Israel and set me down on a very high mountain, on the south side of whichthere waswhat seemed to be a structure of a city.

3 So He brought me there; and behold, there was a man [an angel] whose appearance was like bronze, with a line of flax and a measuringrod in his hand; and he was standing in the gateway.

4 The man said to me, “Son of man, look with your eyes and hear with your ears and set your heart on all that I am going to show you; for you have been brought here that I may show it to you. Declare to the house of Israel all that you see.”

Measurements Relating to the Temple

5 And behold, there was a wall all around the outside [area] of the temple (house) [of the Lord], and in the man’s hand a measuring rod six cubits long (10.2 ft.),eachcubit being longer than thestandard one by a hand width. So he measured the thickness of the wall, one rod; and the height, one rod.

6 Then he went to the gate which faced the east and went up its [seven] steps and measured the threshold of the gate, one rod in width; and the other threshold [of the gate inside the thick wall] was one rod in width.

7 The guardroom was one rod long and one rod wide, and [the space] between the guardrooms was five cubits. And the threshold of the gate by the porch (portico) of the gate facing inward was one rod.

8 He also measured the porch of the gate facing inward [toward the temple of the Lord], one rod.

9 Then he measured the porch of the gate, eight cubits, and its side pillars, two cubits. The porch of the gate faced inward [toward the temple of the Lord].

10 There were three guardrooms on each side of the gate toward the east; the three were the same size, and the side pillars on each side measured the same.

11 And he measured the width of thegateway, ten cubits, and the length of the gate, thirteen cubits.

12 On each side a border (barrier wall) one cubit wide stood in front of the guardrooms on each side; and the guardrooms were six cubitssquareon each side.

13 He measured the gate from the roof of one guardroom to the roof of the other, a width of twenty-five cubits from one door to the opposite door.

14 He made [the measurement of] the side pillars sixty cubitshigh;the gateextendedall around to the side pillar of the courtyard.

15 From the front of the entrance gate [on the outside] to the front of the inner porch (portico) of the gate [the distance] was fifty cubits.

16 There wereshuttered windowslookingtoward the guardrooms, and toward their side pillars within the gate all around, and likewise for the porches. And windows were all around inside; and palm tree decorations were on each side pillar.

17 Then he brought me into the outer courtyard, and behold,there werechambers and a pavement made for the courtyard all around; thirty chambers faced the pavement.

18 The pavement (that is,the lower pavement) was by theside of the gates, corresponding to the length of the gates.

19 Then he measured the width from the front of the lower gate to the front of the exterior of the inner court, a hundred cubits [both] on the east and on the north.

20 And as for the gate of the outer courtyard which faced the north he measured [both] its length and its width.

21 Its guardrooms, three on each side, and its side pillars and its porches had the same measurement as the first gate. Its length was fifty cubits and the width was twenty-five cubits.

22 Its windows and its porches and its palm tree decorations had the same measurements as the gate that faced toward the east. It was reached by going up seven steps, and its porch was in front of them.

23 The inner courtyard had a gate opposite the gate on the north as well asthe gateon the east; and he measured a hundred cubits from gate to gate.

24 Then he led me toward the south, and behold, there was a gate toward the south; and he measured its side pillars and its porches,and they measured the same as the others.

25 The gate and its porches had windows all around like those windows [in the other gateways]; the length was fifty cubits and the width was twenty-five cubits.

26 There wereseven steps going up to the gate, and its porches were in front of them; and it had palm tree decorations [carved] on its side pillars, one on each side.

27 The inner courtyard had a gate toward the south; and he measured from gate to gate toward the south, a hundred cubits.

28 Then the man (angel) brought me to the inner courtyard by the south gate; and he measured the south gate according to those same measurements.

29 Its guardrooms also, its side pillars and its porchesmeasured the same as the others. And the gate and its porches had windows all around; the length was fifty cubits and the width was twenty-five cubits.

30 There wereporches all around, twenty-five cubits long and five cubits wide.

31 Its porches faced the outer courtyard; and palm tree decorations were [carved] on its side pillars, and its stairway had eight steps.

32 He brought me into the inner courtyard toward the east, and he measured the gate; it measured the same as the others.

33 Its guardrooms also, its side pillars and its porches measured the same as the others. The gate and its porches had windows all around; it was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide.

34 Its porches faced the outer courtyard; and palm tree decorations were [carved] on either side of its side pillars, and its stairway had eight steps.

35 Then he brought me to the north gate and he measured it; the measurements were the same as those of the other gates,

36 with its guardrooms, its side pillars, its porches; and the gate had windows all around. The length was fifty cubits and the width was twenty-five cubits.

37 Its side pillars faced the outer courtyard, and palm tree decorations were [carved] on them on either side. And its stairway had eight steps.

38 A chamber with its doorway was by the side pillars of the gates; there the burnt offering was to be washed.

39 In the porch (portico) of the gate were two tables on each side, on which to slaughter the burnt offering, the sin offering and the guilt offering.

40 On the outerside, as one went up to thegateway toward the north, were two tables; and on the otherside of the porch of the gate were two tables.

41 Four tables were on eachside next to the gate; [a total of] eight tables on which they slaughtersacrifices.

42 Moreover,there werefour tables of hewn stone (ashlar) for the burnt offering, a cubit and a half long, a cubit and a half wide, and one cubit high, on which they lay the instruments with which they slaughter the burnt offering and the sacrifice.

43 The double hooks, one hand width in length were installed in thehouse all around. The meat of the offering was [to be placed] on the tables.

44 From the outside to the inner gate were chambers for the singers in the inner courtyard,one ofwhich wasbeside the north gate, with its front toward the south, and onebeside thesouth gate facing toward the north.

45 He [who was guiding me] said to me, “This is the chamber which faces toward the south; it is for the priests who have the responsibilityandtake care of the temple;

46 but the chamber which faces toward the north is for the priests who have the responsibilityandtake care of the altar. These are the sons of Zadok, who [alone] from the sons of Levi come near to the Lordto minister to Him.”

47 He measured the courtyard, a hundred cubits long and a hundred cubits wide, aperfectsquare; and the altar was in front of the temple.

48 Then he brought me to the porch of the temple, and he measured each side pillar of the porch, five cubits on each side; and the width of the gate was three cubits on each side.

49 The length of the porch was twenty cubits and the width eleven cubits; and at the stairway by which it was ascended, there were [two] columns beside the side pillars, one on each side [of the entrance].

The Inner Temple

1 Then he (the angel) brought me to the nave (outer sanctuary) and measured the side pillars; six cubits wide on each side was the width of theside pillar.

2 The width of the entrance was ten cubits and thesides of the entrance were five cubits on each side; and he measured its length, forty cubits, and its width, twenty cubits.

3 Then he went inside [the inner sanctuary] and measured each side pillar of the doorway, two cubits, and the doorway, six cubits [high], and the width of the doorway, seven cubits.

4 He measured the length [of the interior of the inner sanctuary], twenty cubits, and the width, twenty cubits,opposite the nave (outer sanctuary); and he said to me, “This is theMost Holy Place.”

5 Then he measured the wall of the temple, six cubits [thick, to accommodate side chambers]; and the width of every side chamber, four cubits, all around the temple on every side.

6 The side chambers were three stories [high], one above another, and thirty chambers in each story; and the side chambers extended to the wall which stood on their inward side all around, so that they would be attached, but not attached to the wall of the templeitself.

7 The side chambers became wider at each successive level as they encompassed the temple. Because the structure surrounding the temple went higher by stages on all sides of the temple, for that reason the width of the templeincreasedas it went higher; and thus one went up from the loweststoryto the highest one by way of thesecondstory.

8 I also saw that the temple (house) had a raised platform all around it; the foundations of the side chambersmeasureda full rod of six long cubitsin height.

9 The thickness of the outer wall of the side chambers was five cubits. But the free space between the side chambers belonging to the temple

10 and theouterchambers was a width of twenty cubits all around the temple on every side.

11 The doorways of the side chambers toward the free space were one doorway toward the north and another doorway toward the south; and the width of the free space was five cubits all around.

12 The building that was in front of the separate area on the side toward the west was seventy cubits wide; and the wall of the building was five cubits thick all around, and its length was ninety cubits.

13 Then he measured the temple, a hundred cubits long; the separate area and the building with its walls were also a hundred cubits long.

14 Also the width of the front of the temple and the separate areas along the eastside totaleda hundred cubits.

15 He (the angel) measured the length of the building along the front of the separate area behind it, with a gallery on each side, a hundred cubits; he alsomeasuredthe inner sanctuary and the porches (porticoes) of the courtyard.

16 The thresholds, the latticed windows, and the galleries all around their three stories, opposite the threshold, were paneled with wood all around, and from the ground to the windows (but the windows were covered),

17 over the entrance, and to the innerroom, and on the outside, and on all the wall all around inside and outside, by measurement.

18 It wascarved with [figures of] cherubim and palm trees; so that a palm decoration was between cherub and cherub, and every cherub had two faces,

19 so that the face of a man was toward the palm decoration on the one side, and the face of a young lion toward the palm decoration on the other side. It was carved [this way] on the entire house (temple) all around.

20 From thefloor to [the space] above the entrance cherubim and palm decorations were carved, and also on the wall of the nave [the Holy Place].

21 The doorposts of the nave were square; as for the front of the sanctuary, the appearance of one doorpost was like that of the other.

22 Thealtar was of wood, three cubits high and two cubits long; and its corners, itsbase, and itssides were wood. And he said to me, “This is the table that is before the Lord.”

23 The nave (Holy Place) and the sanctuary (Holy of Holies) each had a double door.

24 Each of the doors had two leaves, two swinging (folding) leaves; twoleavesfor the one door and two leaves for the other.

25 And there were carved on them, on the doors of the nave, cherubim and palm decorations like those carved on the walls; andthere wasathreshold of wood on the front of the porch outside.

26 There werelatticed windows and palm decorations on one side and on the other, on the sides of the porch. Thus were the side chambers and thethresholds of the house.