The hand of the Lord rested on me there, and he said to me, "Get up, go out to the valley, and I will speak with you there."

So I got up and went out to the valley, and the glory of the Lord was standing there, just like the glory I had seen by the Kebar River, and I threw myself face down.

"As for you, son of man, take a sharp sword and use it as a barber's razor. Shave off some of the hair from your head and your beard. Then take scales and divide up the hair you cut off.

He stretched out the form of a hand and grabbed me by a lock of hair on my head. Then a wind lifted me up between the earth and sky and brought me to Jerusalem by means of divine visions, to the door of the inner gate which faces north where the statue which provokes to jealousy was located.

Then I perceived that the glory of the God of Israel was there, as in the vision I had seen earlier in the valley.

He said to me, "Son of man, look up toward the north." So I looked up toward the north, and I noticed to the north of the altar gate was this statue of jealousy at the entrance.

Then he brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the Lord's house. I noticed women sitting there weeping for Tammuz.

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

Then the glory of the God of Israel went up from the cherub where it had rested to the threshold of the temple. He called to the man dressed in linen who had the writing kit at his side.

Next I noticed the man dressed in linen with the writing kit at his side bringing back word: "I have done just as you commanded me."

The sound of the wings of the cherubim could be heard from the outer court, like the sound of the sovereign God when he speaks.

The cherubim spread their wings, and they rose up from the earth while I watched (when they went the wheels went alongside them). They stopped at the entrance to the east gate of the Lord's temple as the glory of the God of Israel hovered above them.

These were the living creatures which I saw at the Kebar River underneath the God of Israel; I knew that they were cherubim.

A wind lifted me up and brought me to the east gate of the Lord's temple that faces the east. There, at the entrance of the gate, I noticed twenty-five men. Among them I saw Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah, officials of the people.

so that they may follow my statutes and observe my regulations and carry them out. Then they will be my people, and I will be their God.

Then the cherubim spread their wings with their wheels alongside them while the glory of the God of Israel hovered above them.

Then a wind lifted me up and carried me to the exiles in Babylonia, in the vision given to me by the Spirit of God. Then the vision I had seen went up from me.

"'This is because they have led my people astray saying, "All is well," when things are not well. When anyone builds a wall without mortar, they coat it with whitewash.

Tell the ones who coat it with whitewash that it will fall. When there is a deluge of rain, hailstones will fall and a violent wind will break out.

I will set my face against that person and will make him an object lesson and a byword and will cut him off from among my people. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

so that the house of Israel will no longer go astray from me, nor continue to defile themselves by all their sins. They will be my people and I will be their God, declares the sovereign Lord.'"

"Son of man, suppose a country sins against me by being unfaithful, and I stretch out my hand against it, cut off its bread supply, cause famine to come on it, and kill both people and animals.

As for your birth, on the day you were born your umbilical cord was not cut, nor were you washed in water; you were certainly not rubbed down with salt, nor wrapped with blankets.

So see here, I have stretched out my hand against you and cut off your rations. I have delivered you into the power of those who hate you, the daughters of the Philistines, who were ashamed by your obscene conduct.

In a good field, by abundant waters, it was planted to grow branches, bear fruit, and become a beautiful vine.

As for his father, because he practices extortion, robs his brother, and does what is not good among his people, he will die for his iniquity.

and say to them: "'This is what the sovereign Lord says: On the day I chose Israel I swore to the descendants of the house of Jacob and made myself known to them in the land of Egypt. I swore to them, "I am the Lord your God."

I said to them, "Each of you must get rid of the detestable idols you keep before you, and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt; I am the Lord your God."

But they rebelled against me, and refused to listen to me; no one got rid of their detestable idols, nor did they abandon the idols of Egypt. Then I decided to pour out my rage on them and fully vent my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt.

I am the Lord your God; follow my statutes, observe my regulations, and carry them out.

Treat my Sabbaths as holy and they will be a reminder of our relationship, and then you will know that I am the Lord your God."

I also gave them decrees which were not good and regulations by which they could not live.

and say to them, 'This is what the Lord says: Look, I am against you. I will draw my sword from its sheath and cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked.

Because I will cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked, my sword will go out from its sheath against everyone from the south to the north.

Cut sharply on the right! Swing to the left, wherever your edge is appointed to strike.

Her officials are like wolves in her midst rending their prey -- shedding blood and destroying lives -- so they can get dishonest profit.

Her prophets coat their messages with whitewash. They see false visions and announce lying omens for them, saying, 'This is what the sovereign Lord says,' when the Lord has not spoken.

I will direct my jealous anger against you, and they will deal with you in rage. They will cut off your nose and your ears, and your survivors will die by the sword. They will seize your sons and daughters, and your survivors will be consumed by fire.

add the pieces of meat to it, every good piece, the thigh and the shoulder; fill it with choice bones.

take note, I have stretched out my hand against you, and I will hand you over as plunder to the nations. I will cut you off from the peoples and make you perish from the lands. I will destroy you; then you will know that I am the Lord.'"

"Son of man, because Tyre has said about Jerusalem, 'Aha, the gateway of the peoples is broken; it has swung open to me. I will become rich, now that she has been destroyed,'

"Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, 'This is what the sovereign Lord says: "'Your heart is proud and you said, "I am a god; I sit in the seat of gods, in the heart of the seas" -- yet you are a man and not a god, though you think you are godlike.

Will you still say, "I am a god," before the one who kills you -- though you are a man and not a god -- when you are in the power of those who wound you?

You were in Eden, the garden of God. Every precious stone was your covering, the ruby, topaz, and emerald, the chrysolite, onyx, and jasper, the sapphire, turquoise, and beryl; your settings and mounts were made of gold. On the day you were created they were prepared.

I placed you there with an anointed guardian cherub; you were on the holy mountain of God; you walked about amidst fiery stones.

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

They will live securely in it; they will build houses and plant vineyards. They will live securely when I execute my judgments on all those who scorn them and surround them. Then they will know that I am the Lord their God.'"

I will pour out my anger upon Pelusium, the stronghold of Egypt; I will cut off the hordes of Thebes.

The cedars in the garden of God could not eclipse it, nor could the fir trees match its boughs; the plane trees were as nothing compared to its branches; no tree in the garden of God could rival its beauty.

I made it beautiful with its many branches; all the trees of Eden, in the garden of God, envied it.

Foreigners from the most terrifying nations have cut it down and left it to lie there on the mountains. In all the valleys its branches have fallen, and its boughs lie broken in the ravines of the land. All the peoples of the land have departed from its shade and left it.

In a good pasture I will feed them; the mountain heights of Israel will be their pasture. There they will lie down in a lush pasture, and they will feed on rich grass on the mountains of Israel.

Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture, that you must trample the rest of your pastures with your feet? When you drink clean water, must you muddy the rest of the water by trampling it with your feet?

I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David will be prince among them; I, the Lord, have spoken!

Then they will know that I, the Lord their God, am with them, and that they are my people, the house of Israel, declares the sovereign Lord.

And you, my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, are my people, and I am your God, declares the sovereign Lord.'"

I will turn Mount Seir into a desolate ruin; I will cut off from it the one who passes through or returns.

I will increase the number of people and animals on you; they will increase and be fruitful. I will cause you to be inhabited as in ancient times, and will do more good for you than at the beginning of your history. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

Then you will live in the land I gave to your fathers; you will be my people, and I will be your God.

Then you will remember your evil behavior and your deeds which were not good; you will loathe yourselves on account of your sins and your abominable deeds.

Then he said to me, "Son of man, these bones are all the house of Israel. Look, they are saying, 'Our bones are dry, our hope has perished; we are cut off.'

They will not defile themselves with their idols, their detestable things, and all their rebellious deeds. I will save them from all their unfaithfulness by which they sinned. I will purify them; they will become my people and I will become their God.

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

They will not need to take wood from the field or cut down trees from the forests, because they will make fires with the weapons. They will take the loot from those who looted them and seize the plunder of those who plundered them, declares the sovereign Lord.

Then the house of Israel will know that I am the Lord their God, from that day forward.

Then they will know that I am the Lord their God, because I sent them into exile among the nations, and then gathered them into their own land. I will not leave any of them in exile any longer.

When he brought me there, I saw a man whose appearance was like bronze, with a linen cord and a measuring stick in his hand. He was standing in the gateway.

Then he went to the gate facing east. He climbed its steps and measured the threshold of the gate as 10? feet deep.

The alcoves were 10? feet long and 10? feet wide; between the alcoves were 8? feet. The threshold of the gate by the porch of the gate facing inward was 10? feet.

Then he measured the porch of the gate facing inward as 10? feet.

He measured the porch of the gate as 14 feet, and its jambs as 3? feet; the porch of the gate faced inward.

There were three alcoves on each side of the east gate; the three had the same measurement, and the jambs on either side had the same measurement.

He measured the width of the entrance of the gateway as 17? feet, and the length of the gateway as 22? feet.

He measured the gateway from the roof of one alcove to the roof of the other, a width of 43? feet from one entrance to the opposite one.

He measured the porch at 105 feet high; the gateway went all around to the jamb of the courtyard.

From the front of the entrance gate to the porch of the inner gate was 87? feet.

There were closed windows toward the alcoves and toward their jambs within the gate all around, and likewise for the porches. There were windows all around the inside, and on each jamb were decorative palm trees.

Then he measured the width from before the lower gate to the front of the exterior of the inner court as 175 feet on the east and on the north.

He measured the length and width of the gate of the outer court which faces north.

Its alcoves, three on each side, and its jambs and porches had the same measurement as the first gate; 87? feet long and 43? feet wide.

Its windows, its porches, and its decorative palm trees had the same measurement as the gate which faced east. Seven steps led up to it, and its porch was in front of them.

Opposite the gate on the north and the east was a gate of the inner court; he measured the distance from gate to gate at 175 feet.

Then he led me toward the south. I saw a gate on the south. He measured its jambs and its porches; they had the same dimensions as the others.

The inner court had a gate toward the south; he measured it from gate to gate toward the south as 175 feet.

Then he brought me to the inner court by the south gate. He measured the south gate; it had the same dimensions as the others.

Then he brought me to the inner court on the east side. He measured the gate; it had the same dimensions as the others.

Then he brought me to the north gate, and he measured it; it had the same dimensions as the others --

There was a chamber with its door by the porch of the gate; there they washed the burnt offering.

In the porch of the gate were two tables on either side on which to slaughter the burnt offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering.

On the outside of the porch as one goes up at the entrance of the north gate were two tables, and on the other side of the porch of the gate were two tables.

Four tables were on each side of the gate, eight tables on which the sacrifices were to be slaughtered.

On the outside of the inner gate were chambers for the singers of the inner court, one at the side of the north gate facing south, and the other at the side of the south gate facing north.

Then he brought me to the porch of the temple and measured the jambs of the porch as 8? feet on either side, and the width of the gate was 24? feet and the sides were 5? feet on each side.

Now when he had finished measuring the interior of the temple, he led me out by the gate which faces east and measured all around.

Then he brought me to the gate that faced toward the east.

I saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east; the sound was like that of rushing water; and the earth radiated his glory.

The glory of the Lord came into the temple by way of the gate that faces east.

"On the second day, you will offer a male goat without blemish for a sin offering. They will purify the altar just as they purified it with the bull.

"For seven days you will provide every day a goat for a sin offering; a young bull and a ram from the flock, both without blemish, will be provided.

Then he brought me back by way of the outer gate of the sanctuary which faces east, but it was shut.