and straight legs. Their feet resembled calves' hooves, but they gleamed like polished bronze.

"Son of Man," the LORD said, "get up on your feet. I want to talk to you."

Even while he was speaking to me, the Spirit entered me, set me on my feet, and I listened to the voice that had been speaking to me.

So I opened my mouth and he fed me the scroll.

The Spirit entered me, rested on me, caused me to stand on my feet, and then he spoke to me. This is what he had to say: "Go barricade yourself in your house.

The food that you'll be eating is to consist of portions weighing 20 shekels, to be consumed daily at regular intervals.

Then the LORD said, "This is how the Israelis will be eating unclean food among the nations, where I'll be sending them."

"Okay," he responded. "I'll allow you to substitute cow's dung for human dung. Cook your food over that."

I'll send arrows of severe famine in their direction, meant for destruction, which I'll shoot, intending to destroy them. I'll make you have more and more famines that will attack you, and I'll disrupt your source of food.

This is what the Lord GOD says: "Clap your hands and stamp your feet! Say, "Oh, no!' Because of all the detestable evil that has come from Israel's house, they'll fall by the sword, famine, and pestilence.

Then tell the people of the land, "This is what the LORD says to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to Israel's land: "They'll eat their food in anxiety and drink their water in trepidation, because their land will be desolate in its entirety due to all the violence committed by all who live in it.

"Son of Man, when a nation sins against me by a treacherous act, I'll reach out to oppose it, destroying its source of food, by sending famine against it, and by destroying both people and beast within it.

Then I covered you with embroidered clothing, clothed your feet with leather sandals, wrapped you with fine linen, and dressed you in silk.

You were adorned with gold, silver, clothing of fine linen, silk, and embroidery. You ate food made from the finest flour, honey, and olive oil. You were exceedingly beautiful, attaining royal status.

"Not only that, you took the food I gave you my fine flour, olive oil, and honey with which I fed you, and you offered them to those gods in order to appease them. That's exactly what happened," says the Lord GOD.

Look! This was the sin of your sister Sodom and her daughters: Pride, too much food, undisturbed peace, and failure to help the poor and needy.

if he doesn't oppress anyone, but instead returns the debtor's security for his debt, if he doesn't rob anyone, but instead shares his food with the hungry and gives clothes to those who are naked,

doesn't oppress anyone, doesn't take possession of a debtor's pledge, or doesn't steal, but instead shares his food with the hungry, gives clothes to those who are naked,

Righteous men will judge them with punishments fit for adulterers and for those who shed blood, because they're adulterers with blood on their hands."

You are to weep in silence, but you are not to participate in mourning rituals. You are to keep your turban on your head and your sandals on your feet. You are not to cover your mouth or eat what your comforters bring to you."

Your turbans will be on your heads and your sandals will be on your feet. You won't mourn or weep. Instead, you'll waste away in your sins. Every one of you will groan to his relative.

"This is what the Lord GOD says: "Because you've applauded, stamped your feet, and rejoiced with all sorts of malice in your heart against the land of Israel,

therefore you'd better watch out! I'm raising a clenched fist in your direction! I'm about to feed you to the surrounding nations as war plunder. I'm going to eliminate you as a nation and kill off those of you who survive to live in other countries. I'm going to destroy you, and that's how you'll learn that I am the LORD.'"

You will die a death fit for the uncircumcised at the hand of foreigners." "for I have said it will be so,' declares the LORD."

"Son of Man, start singing this lamentation about Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Tell him, "You may have called yourself a lion among nations, but you're a monster at sea. You thrash about in your rivers, muddy the water with your feet, and relieve yourself in the rivers.'

I'm going to destroy all of its livestock along its many riverbanks. Human feet won't muddy the rivers anymore, nor will the hooves of livestock stir up the water.

"Tell them this: "This is what the Lord GOD says: "As certainly as I'm alive and living, those who live in the wastelands are certain to die violently, I'll give those who die in the open fields to the wild animals for food, and whoever takes refuge in caves and fortified places will die of diseases.

"Woe to you shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves and not the sheep. Shouldn't shepherds feed the sheep? You're eating the best parts, clothing yourselves with the wool, and slaughtering the home-grown sheep without having fed the sheep!

"As certainly as I'm alive and living, my sheep have truly become victims, food for all of the wild animals because there are no shepherds. My shepherds did not go searching for my flock. Instead, the shepherds fed themselves, and my flock they would not feed!'

I'm going to bring them out from foreign nations and from foreign lands. Then I'll bring them to their own land and feed them in Israel on the mountains, in their valleys, and in all of their settlements throughout the land.

I'll feed them in excellent pastures, and even the very heights of Israel's mountains will serve as verdant pastures for them in which they'll rest and feed yes, even on the fertile mountains of Israel!

I will feed my sheep and give them rest,' declares the Lord GOD.

"I'm going to seek both the lost as well as the scattered, and bring them both back so their broken bones can be set and the sick can be healed. But in righteousness I'll exterminate the fat and the stiff-necked.'"

Is it such an insignificant thing to you that you're feeding in good pastures but trampling down the other pastures with your feet? Or that as you're drinking from the clear streams you're muddying the rest with your feet?

My flock is grazing on what you've been treading down with your feet and they're drinking what you've been making muddy with your feet!'

"Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says to them: "Watch me! I'm going to judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep,

""Then I'll install one shepherd for them my servant David and he will feed them, will be there for them, and will serve as their shepherd.

So I prophesied as I had been ordered, breath entered them, and they began to live. They stood on their own feet as a vast, united army.

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.

You'll eat the flesh of mighty men and drink the blood of the world's princes, drinking the blood of these rams, lambs, goats, bulls, all of them fattened as if they're from Bashan, fit for slaughter!

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.

"Son of Man," the Lord GOD told me, "This is where my throne is, where I place the soles of my feet, and where I will live among the Israelis forever. The house of Israel will no longer defile my holy name neither they nor their kings by their unfaithfulness, by the lifeless idols of their kings on their funeral mounds,

You kept on bringing in foreigners, those who were uncircumcised in heart and flesh, to profane my sanctuary by being inside my Temple, and by doing so you've emptied my covenant, all the while offering my food the fat and the blood in addition to all of the other loathsome things you've done.

"The descendants of Zadok, Levitical priests who took care of my sanctuary when the Israelis wandered away from me, are to come near me to minister to me. They are to stand before me to offer the fat and the blood to me," declares the Lord GOD.

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 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.