He led me here and there throughout the valley, and I was amazed to see that the surface of the entire valley was covered with myriads of very dry bones!

The LORD asked me, "Son of Man, will these bones ever live?" "Lord GOD," I replied, "you know the answer to that!"

I'm going to grow tendons on you, regenerate your flesh, cover you with skin, and make you breathe again so that you can come back to life and learn that I am the LORD.'"'"

Then you'll learn that I am the LORD, when I've opened your graves and caused you to come up out of them, my people.

I'm going to place my Spirit in you all, and you will live. I'll place you all into your land, and you'll learn that I, the LORD, have been speaking and doing this,' declares the LORD.'"

"Then join them together end-to-end so that they become a single baton in your hand.

you are to tell them, "This is what the LORD says: "Watch me! I'm taking the baton that represents Joseph, which Ephraim is holding in his hand, along with his companions the tribes of Israel, and I'm going to join them with the baton that represents Judah. I'm making them a single baton, that is, a complete baton in my hand."

They will live in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob and on which your ancestors lived. They will live in that land, along with their children and grandchildren, forever. David my servant will be their everlasting leader.

I'll make a secure covenant with them, one that will last forever. I will establish them, make them increase in population, and will place my sanctuary in their midst forever.

and the nations will learn that I, the LORD, am the sanctifier of Israel when I place my sanctuary in their midst forever."'"

Be prepared. Yes, prepare yourself you and all of your many battalions that have gathered together around you to protect you.

"""Many days from now in the latter years you will be summoned to a land that has been restored from violence. You will be gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel, which formerly had been a continuous waste, but which will be populated with people who have been brought back from the nations. All of them will be living there securely.

"This is what the Lord GOD says: "This is what's going to happen on the very day that you begin your invasion: You'll be thinking, making evil plans,

and boasting, "I'm going to invade a land comprised of open country that is at rest, its people living confidently, all of whose inhabitants will be living securely, with neither fortification nor bars on their doors.

You'll come up to invade my people Israel like a storm cloud to cover the land. In the last days, Gog, I'll bring you up to invade my land so that the world will learn to know me when I show them how holy I am before their very eyes."'"

"This is what the Lord GOD says: "Surely you're the one about whom I spoke years ago in the writings of my servants, Israel's prophets, aren't you? They predicted back then that I would bring you up after many years, didn't they?

So it will be that on that day, when Gog invades the land of Israel,' declares the Lord GOD, "my zeal will ignite my anger.

Because of my zeal and burning anger, at that time there will be a massive earthquake throughout the land of Israel.

I'm going to shake the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the wild beasts, all the creatures that crawl on the earth, and every single human being who lives on the surface of the earth. Mountains will collapse, as will their mountain passages, and every wall will fall to the ground.

I'll judge them with disease and bloodshed. I'll shower him, his soldiers, and the vast army that accompanies him with a torrential flood, hailstones, fire, and sulfur.

I will exalt myself and demonstrate my holiness, making myself known to many people, who will learn that I am the LORD.'"

You will collapse on the mountains of Israel, along with all of your soldiers and the nations that have accompanied you. There the raptors, vultures, and wild animals will feed on you.

"I'm also going to incinerate Magog, along with those who are settled down and at home in the islands. That's when they'll learn that I am the LORD.

I'll make my holiness and reputation known in the midst of my people Israel, and I won't let my holiness be profaned anymore. The nations will learn that I, the LORD, am holy in the midst of Israel.

Everyone in the land will be involved in the burials, and this will serve as a reminder for them that I have glorified myself," declares the Lord GOD.

"Men will be assigned to travel continuously throughout the land, exploring for seven full months as they go about burying the bodies that remain from the battle on the surface of the ground, so that the land may be sterilized.

They'll also name the city that is there "Hamonah,' as they purify the land."

"Now as for you, Son of Man, this is what the Lord GOD has to say: "Tell all of the birds and wild beasts, "Come! Gather together and participate in the sacrifice that I'm going to make for you. This great sacrifice will take place on the mountains of Israel, where you'll be eating flesh and drinking blood.

You'll eat until you're fat and satiated. You'll drink blood until you're drunk from the sacrifice that I'm going to make for all of you.

"I'm going to display my glory among the people, and every nation will see the judgment that I administer by my own hand among them.

The house of Israel will learn that I am the LORD their God from that day forward!

The nations will also learn that because of Israel's sin the house of Israel went into captivity, since they were unfaithful in their behavior toward me. As a result, I hid my presence from them, turned them over to the control of their enemies, and they died by violence.

It was because of their defilement and transgression that I treated them this way by hiding my presence from them.'"

When I bring them back from the nations and gather them together from the lands that belong to their enemies, I will demonstrate my holiness through them right in front of the eyes of the world,

and they will learn that I am the LORD their God, who sent them into exile and who gathered them back to their land. I will not leave any of them remaining in exile.

At the beginning of year 25 of our captivity, on the tenth day of the fourteenth year after the destruction of Jerusalem on that very day the LORD grabbed me in his hand and took me there.

God brought me in a series of visions to the land of Israel and placed me on top of a very high mountain, where to the south there was something that looked like the outline of a city.

That's where he took me. All of a sudden, there was a man whose appearance resembled glowing bronze! He had a measuring reed and line in his hand as he stood in the city gate.

This is what the man told me: "Son of Man, watch carefully, listen closely, and remember everything I'm going to be showing you, because you've been brought here to be shown what you're about to see. Be sure that you tell the house of Israel everything that you observe."

All of a sudden, we were at the exterior wall that completely surrounded the Temple. The man whom I had observed held a measuring reed that was six cubits long as measured in cubits that were a cubit and a handbreadth long. As he measured the thickness of the wall, he measured out one reed. Its height was also one reed.

Then he went over to the gate that faced toward the east, ascended its steps, and measured its thresholds. One threshold measured one reed and the other one measured one reed.

Gate guardhouses stood facing east, numbering three on each side, each of them of equal size to the door jamb; that is, having the same measurement on each side.

Then he measured the open air porch at 60 cubits from the doorjamb of the courtyard that encompassed the gate.

From a gate that stood opposite the northern gate he measured 100 cubits, as well as from the eastern gate.

In that way, there were four tables on each side in front of the gate, for a total of eight tables for use in slaughtering the offerings.

The side chambers consisted of three stories, each above the other, with 30 chambers in each story. The side chambers extended out from the wall that faced the inside of the chambers where the chambers were fastened together, but the chamber walls were not fastened directly into the Temple walls themselves.

I observed a raised platform that surrounded the Temple, and the foundations of the side chambers were a full six cubits deep.

The building that faced the west side of the courtyard was 70 cubits wide, and the building's wall was five cubits thick all around. It was 90 cubits long.

Next, he measured 100 cubits as the length of the structure toward the front of the courtyard that stood behind it, where it housed a gallery on each side of it. Then he measured the Temple and the inner porticos of the courtyard,

the thresholds, the shielded windows, and the surrounding three-storied galleries that stood opposite. From the ground to the shielded windows, they were paneled with wood all around,

Shielded windows and palm trees were visible on both sides; that is, on the sides of the porch, the side chambers of the Temple, and on its thresholds.

Then he brought me to the outer, north-facing courtyard into the chamber that stood opposite the structure that was facing north.

Opposite the 20 cubits wide inner court, and opposite the paved area that comprised the outer court, there were three stories of galleries that faced each other.

There were chambers built into the thick part of the wall of the court facing the east; that is, facing the separate area toward the front of the building,

with a passageway in front of them, similar in appearance to the chambers that were on the north, proportional to their length and width, with all of their exits according to their arrangements and doorways.

Corresponding to the chamber doorways facing the south was an opening at the beginning of the passage; that is, the passage in front of the corresponding part of the wall facing east as one might enter.

He measured a wall that encompassed all four sides, 500 hundred long and 500 wide, dividing between the sacred and common areas.

His appearance in the vision that I was having was similar to what I observed in the vision where he had come to destroy the city, and also like the visions that I saw by the Chebar River. I fell flat on my face

by their setting up their threshold too close to my threshold and their door post too close to my door post, with a wall between me and them. After all, they have defiled my holy name by the loathsome things that they did, so I devoured them in my anger.

But now let them send their unfaithfulness that is, the lifeless idols of their kings far away from me, and I will live among them forever."

If they are ashamed of everything that they've done, you are to reveal to them the design of the Temple, its structure, its exits and entrances, its plans, its ordinances, and all of its regulations. Write it down where they can see it and remember all of its designs and regulations, so they will implement them.

"Here are the measurements of the altar in cubits that were a cubit and a handbreadth long: its base is a cubit long and a cubit wide, and its border around the edge at one handbreadth is to be the height of the altar.

The hearth is to be twelve cubits long and twelve cubits wide; that is, it will be a four-sided square.

Then he told me, "This is what the Lord GOD says: "These are the regulations for the altar, starting the day that it is constructed for presenting burnt offerings and sprinkling blood.

You are to take some of its blood and put it on the four horns of the altar, on the four corners of its ledge, and on the border that surrounds it, thus cleansing it and making an atonement for it.

"You are to tell the Resistance that is, the house of Israel, "This is what the Lord GOD says: "I've had enough of all of your loathsome behavior, you house of Israel!

""I have sworn to them that they are to bear the consequences of their iniquity. They are not to come near me to serve me as a priest, nor approach any of my holy things, including the most holy things. Instead, they are to bear the shame of the loathsome things that they have done.

Nevertheless, I will appoint them to take care of my Temple, including all of its service and everything that is to be done inside of it.'"

Linen turbans are to be on their heads, and they are to wear linen undergarments. Also, they are not to clothe themselves with anything that makes them perspire.

"When they enter the outer courtyard, that is, the outer courtyard where the people are, they are to take off their garments in which they were ministering, lay them in the consecrated chambers, and put on different garments so they will not transfer holiness to the people through their garments.

After he is cleansed from that contact, he is to not to minister for seven days.

On the day that he returns to the sanctuary's inner court to minister, he is to offer his own sin offering," declares the Lord GOD.

However, the priests are not to eat any bird or animal that has died a natural death or that has been torn apart."

This property in Israel is to belong to the Regent Prince, so my regent princes will no longer mistreat my nation. The remaining portion of the land is to be allotted to the house of Israel, that is, to its tribes."

The ephah and the bath are to be of equal volume; that is, the bath is to contain one tenth of an omer and the ephah one tenth of an omer. The omer is to be the standard on which their volume measurement is to be based.

"Here are the standards for presenting offerings: a sixth of an ephah that is based on the standard omer of wheat, and a sixth of an ephah based on the standard omer of barley.

On that day, the Regent Prince is to provide, both for himself and for all the people who live in the land, a bull for a sin offering.

""The burnt offering that the Regent Prince is to present to the LORD on the Sabbath day is to consist of six lambs without defect, a ram without defect,

When the people who live in the land come into the LORD's presence during the festivals, whoever enters through the northern gate is to leave through the southern gate, and whoever enters through the southern gate is to leave through the northern gate. No one is to leave by the same route that he enters, but instead is to go straight out.

The Regent Prince is not to appropriate the nation's inheritance nor take advantage of them by taking their property from them. Instead, he is to provide an inheritance for his sons from his own possessions so that my people will not be separated from their possessions.'"

all of them the same size; that is, each was 40 cubits long and 30 cubits wide.

He told me, "This is where the ministers of the Temple will be preparing the sacrifices that will be presented by the people.

After this, he brought me back to the doorway to the Temple. To my amazement, there was water flowing out toward the east from beneath the threshold of the Temple! (The Temple faced eastward.) The water flowed down from beneath the right side of the Temple, that is, from the south-facing side where the altar was located.

Then he brought me out through the north gateway and around to the one outside that faces toward the east. To my amazement, water was trickling out from that part of the south side, too!

As the man went out toward the east, he carried a measuring line in his hand. He measured out 1,000 cubits as he led me through water that was ankle-deep.

Then he measured out another 1,000 cubits, where he led me through water that was knee-deep. And then he measured out another 1,000 cubits, where the water was waist-deep.

When he had measured out another 1,000 cubits, the water had become deep enough that I wasn't able to ford it. Instead, I would have had to swim through it.

As we were coming back, I was amazed to see that there were many, many trees lining both banks of the river.

It will support all kinds of living creatures that will thrive abundantly wherever the river flows. There will be a great many fish, because this water will flow there and turn the salt water fresh. As a result, everything will live wherever the river flows.

A day will come when fishermen will line its banks from En-gedi to En-eglaim there will be plenty of room to spread out nets. There will be all sorts of species of fish, as abundant as the fish that live in the Mediterranean Sea. There will be lots of them!

"The river delta will consist of swamps and marshes that will remain a salt water wetland preserve.

Lining each side of the river banks, all sorts of species of fruit trees will be growing. Their leaves will never wither and their fruit will never fail. They will bear fruit every month, because the water that nourishes them will be flowing from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food and their leaves will contain substances that promote healing."

The Terumah that you are to give to the LORD is to be 25,000 units wide."

"The remainder of the length that borders the holy Terumah is to be 10,000 units long eastward and 10,000 units westward. It is to lie adjacent to the holy Terumah. Its harvest will produce food for those who work in the city.

This is the land that you are to allocate by lottery to the tribes of Israel as their inheritance, and these are their respective divisions," declares the Lord GOD.

A perimeter is to measure 18,000 units, and the name of the city from that time on is to be: "THE LORD IS THERE.'"