The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and hard-hearted, and you must say to them, 'This is what the sovereign Lord says.'

You must speak my words to them whether they listen or not, for they are rebellious.

"Son of man, I have appointed you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you must give them a warning from me.

But when I speak with you, I will loosen your tongue and you must say to them, 'This is what the sovereign Lord says.' Those who listen will listen, but the indifferent will refuse, for they are a rebellious house.

You must turn your face toward the siege of Jerusalem with your arm bared and prophesy against it.

The food you eat will be eight ounces a day by weight; you must eat it at fixed times.

And you must drink water by measure, a pint and a half; you must drink it at fixed times.

And you must eat the food like you would a barley cake. You must bake it in front of them over a fire made with dried human excrement."

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

You must bear your punishment for your obscene conduct and your abominable practices, declares the Lord.

so it would be a lowly kingdom which could not rise on its own but must keep its treaty with him in order to stand.

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."

this is what the sovereign Lord says: Tear off the turban, take off the crown! Things must change! Exalt the lowly, bring down the proud!

"Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: Because you have forgotten me and completely disregarded me, you must bear now the punishment for your obscene conduct and prostitution."

"Son of man, realize that I am about to take the delight of your eyes away from you with a jolt, but you must not mourn or weep or shed tears.

"As for you, son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you must warn them on my behalf.

When I say to the wicked, 'O wicked man, you must certainly die,' and you do not warn the wicked about his behavior, the wicked man will die for his iniquity, but I will hold you accountable for his death.

Suppose I say to the wicked, 'You must certainly die,' but he turns from his sin and does what is just and right.

"This is what you must say to them, 'This is what the sovereign Lord says: As surely as I live, those living in the ruins will die by the sword, those in the open field I will give to the wild beasts for food, and those who are in the strongholds and caves will die of disease.

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?

As for my sheep, they must eat what you trampled with your feet, and drink what you have muddied with your feet!

Now they must put away their spiritual prostitution and the pillars of their kings far from me, and then I will live among them forever.

"'When they enter the gates of the inner court, they must wear linen garments; they must not have any wool on them when they minister in the inner gates of the court and in the temple.

Linen turbans will be on their heads and linen undergarments will be around their waists; they must not bind themselves with anything that causes sweat.

When they go out to the outer court to the people, they must remove the garments they were ministering in, and place them in the holy chambers; they must put on other garments so that they will not transmit holiness to the people with their garments.

"'They must not shave their heads nor let their hair grow long; they must only trim their heads.

They must not marry a widow or a divorcee, but they may marry a virgin from the house of Israel or a widow who is a priest's widow.

"'They must not come near a dead person or they will be defiled; however, for father, mother, son, daughter, brother or sister, they may defile themselves.

After a priest has become ceremonially clean, they must count off a period of seven days for him.

On the day he enters the sanctuary, into the inner court to serve in the sanctuary, he must offer his sin offering, declares the sovereign Lord.

"'This will be their inheritance: I am their inheritance, and you must give them no property in Israel; I am their property.

You must use just balances, a just dry measure (an ephah), and a just liquid measure (a bath).

"'This is the offering you must offer: a sixth of an ephah from a homer of wheat; a sixth of an ephah from a homer of barley,

"'This is what the sovereign Lord says: In the first month, on the first day of the month, you must take an unblemished young bull and purify the sanctuary.

This is what you must do on the seventh day of the month for anyone who sins inadvertently or through ignorance; so you will make atonement for the temple.

You must divide it equally just as I vowed to give it to your forefathers; this land will be assigned as your inheritance.

You must allot it as an inheritance among yourselves and for the foreigners who reside among you, who have fathered sons among you. You must treat them as native-born among the people of Israel; they will be allotted an inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel.

"Next to the border of Judah from the east side to the west will be the allotment you must set apart. It is to be eight and a quarter miles wide, and the same length as one of the tribal portions, from the east side to the west; the sanctuary will be in the middle of it.

They must not sell or exchange any of it; they must not transfer this choice portion of land, for it is set apart to the Lord.

The whole allotment will be eight and a quarter miles square, you must set apart the holy allotment with the possession of the city.