the word of the Lord came to the priest Ezekiel the son of Buzi, at the Kebar River in the land of the Babylonians. The hand of the Lord came on him there).

Then there was a voice from above the platform over their heads when they stood still.

I saw an amber glow like a fire enclosed all around from his waist up. From his waist down I saw something that looked like fire. There was a brilliant light around it,

I came to the exiles at Tel Abib, who lived by the Kebar River. I sat dumbfounded among them there, where they were living, for seven days.

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.

Again, take more of them and throw them into the fire, and burn them up. From there a fire will spread to all the house of Israel.

Doom is coming upon you who live in the land! The time is coming, the day is near. There are sounds of tumult, not shouts of joy, on the mountains.

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

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

Then he brought me to the inner court of the Lord's house. Right there at the entrance to the Lord's temple, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs to the Lord's temple, facing east -- they were worshiping the sun toward the east!

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.

But I will throw my net over him, and he will be caught in my snare. I will bring him to Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans (but he will not see it), and there he will die.

For there will no longer be any false visions or flattering omens amidst the house of Israel.

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.

"'Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: In my rage I will make a violent wind break out. In my anger there will be a deluge of rain and hailstones in destructive fury.

those prophets of Israel who would prophesy about Jerusalem and would see visions of peace for it, when there was no peace," declares the sovereign Lord.'

"'I passed by you and saw you kicking around helplessly in your blood. I said to you as you lay there in your blood, "Live!" I said to you as you lay there in your blood, "Live!"

Then you multiplied your promiscuity to the land of merchants, Babylonia, but you were not satisfied there either.

"'There was another great eagle with broad wings and thick plumage. Now this vine twisted its roots toward him and sent its branches toward him to be watered from the soil where it was planted.

I will throw my net over him and he will be caught in my snare; I will bring him to Babylon and judge him there because of the unfaithfulness he committed against me.

I brought them to the land which I swore to give them, but whenever they saw any high hill or leafy tree, they offered their sacrifices there and presented the offerings that provoke me to anger. They offered their soothing aroma there and poured out their drink offerings.

I will bring you into the wilderness of the nations, and there I will enter into judgment with you face to face.

For there on my holy mountain, the high mountain of Israel, declares the sovereign Lord, all the house of Israel will serve me, all of them in the land. I will accept them there, and there I will seek your contributions and your choice gifts, with all your holy things.

And there you will remember your conduct and all your deeds by which you defiled yourselves. You will despise yourselves because of all the evil deeds you have done.

As silver, bronze, iron, lead, and tin are gathered in a furnace so that the fire can melt them, so I will gather you in my anger and in my rage. I will deposit you there and melt you.

"Son of man, there were two women who were daughters of the same mother.

They engaged in prostitution in Egypt; in their youth they engaged in prostitution. Their breasts were squeezed there; lovers fondled their virgin nipples there.

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

I will restore the fortunes of Egypt, and will bring them back to the land of Pathros, to the land of their origin; there they will be an insignificant kingdom.

He and his people with him, the most terrifying of the nations, will be brought there to destroy the land. They will draw their swords against Egypt, and fill the land with corpses.

"'This is what the sovereign Lord says: I will destroy the idols, and put an end to the gods of Memphis. There will no longer be a prince from the land of Egypt; so I will make the land of Egypt fearful.

In Tahpanhes the day will be dark when I break the yoke of Egypt there. Her confident pride will cease within her; a cloud will cover her, and her daughters will go into captivity.

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.

"Assyria is there with all her assembly around her grave, all of them struck down by the sword.

"Elam is there with all her hordes around her grave; all of them struck down by the sword. They went down uncircumcised to the lower parts of the earth, those who spread terror in the land of the living. Now they will bear their shame with those who descend to the pit.

"Meshech-Tubal is there, along with all her hordes around her grave. All of them are uncircumcised, killed by the sword, for they spread their terror in the land of the living.

"Edom is there with her kings and all her princes. Despite their might they are laid with those killed by the sword; they lie with the uncircumcised and those who descend to the pit.

"All the leaders of the north are there, along with all the Sidonians; despite their might they have gone down in shameful terror with the dead. They lie uncircumcised with those killed by the sword, and bear their shame with those who descend to the pit.

but there is one who hears the sound of the trumpet yet does not heed the warning. Then the sword comes and sweeps him away. He will be responsible for his own death.

As surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, my sheep have become prey and have become food for all the wild beasts. There was no shepherd, and my shepherds did not search for my flock, but fed themselves and did not feed my sheep,

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.

"'You said, "These two nations, these two lands will be mine, and we will possess them," -- although the Lord was there --

He made me walk all around among them. I realized there were a great many bones in the valley and they were very dry.

So I prophesied as I was commanded. There was a sound when I prophesied -- I heard a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to bone.

As I watched, I saw tendons on them, then muscles appeared, and skin covered over them from above, but there was no breath in them.

"'My servant David will be king over them; there will be one shepherd for all of them. They will follow my regulations and carefully observe my statutes.

In my zeal, in the fire of my fury, I declare that on that day there will be a great earthquake in the land of Israel.

"'On that day I will assign Gog a grave in Israel. It will be the valley of those who travel east of the sea; it will block the way of the travelers. There they will bury Gog and all his horde; they will call it the valley of Hamon-Gog.

(A city by the name of Hamonah will also be there.) They will cleanse the land.'

In the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after the city was struck down, on this very day, the hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me there.

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.

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.

There was a barrier in front of the alcoves, 1? feet on either side; the alcoves were 10? feet on either side.

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 brought me to the outer court. I saw chambers there, and a pavement made for the court all around; thirty chambers faced the pavement.

There were windows all around it and its porches, like the windows of the others; 87? feet long and 43? feet wide.

There were seven steps going up to it; its porches were in front of them. It had decorative palm trees on its jambs, one on either side.

Its alcoves, its jambs, and its porches had the same dimensions as the others, and there were windows all around it and its porches; its length was 87? feet and its width 43? feet.

There were porches all around, 43? feet long and 8? feet wide.

Its alcoves, its jambs, and its porches had the same dimensions as the others, and there were windows all around it and its porches; its length was 87? feet and its width 43? feet.

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

There were hooks three inches long, fastened in the house all around, and on the tables was the flesh of the offering.

The length of the porch was 35 feet and the width 19? feet; steps led up to it, and there were pillars beside the jambs on either side.

The side chambers were in three stories, one above the other, thirty in each story. There were offsets in the wall all around to serve as supports for the side chambers, so that the supports were not in the wall of the temple.

There were entrances from the side chambers toward the open area, one entrance toward the north, and another entrance toward the south; the width of the open area was 8? feet all around.

On the doors of the outer sanctuary were carved cherubim and palm trees, like those carved on the walls, and there was a canopy of wood on the front of the outside porch.

There were narrow windows and decorative palm trees on either side of the side walls of the porch; this is what the side chambers of the temple and the canopies were like.

were the chambers which were toward the south. There was an opening at the head of the passage, the passage in front of the corresponding wall toward the east when one enters.

Then he said to me, "The north chambers and the south chambers which face the courtyard are holy chambers where the priests who approach the Lord will eat the most holy offerings. There they will place the most holy offerings -- the grain offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering, because the place is holy.

"'For the prince there will be land on both sides of the holy allotment and the allotted city, alongside the holy allotment and the allotted city, on the west side and on the east side; it will be comparable in length to one of the portions, from the west border to the east border

Then he brought me through the entrance, which was at the side of the gate, into the holy chambers for the priests which faced north. There I saw a place at the extreme western end.

Then he brought me out to the outer court and led me past the four corners of the court, and I noticed that in every corner of the court there was a court.

There was a row of masonry around each of the four courts, and places for boiling offerings were made under the rows all around.

Every living creature which swarms where the river flows will live; there will be many fish, for these waters flow there. It will become fresh and everything will live where the river flows.

In whatever tribe the foreigner resides, there you will give him his inheritance," declares the sovereign Lord.

The city will have open spaces: On the north there will be 437? feet, on the south 437? feet, on the east 437? feet, and on the west 437? feet.

the gates of the city will be named for the tribes of Israel; there will be three gates to the north: one gate for Reuben, one gate for Judah, and one gate for Levi.

On the east side, one and one-half miles in length, there will be three gates: one gate for Joseph, one gate for Benjamin, and one gate for Dan.

On the south side, one and one-half miles by measure, there will be three gates: one gate for Simeon, one gate for Issachar, and one gate for Zebulun.

On the west side, one and one-half miles in length, there will be three gates: one gate for Gad, one gate for Asher, and one gate for Naphtali.

The circumference of the city will be six miles. The name of the city from that day forward will be: 'The Lord Is There.'"