However, if you warn the wicked to turn from his behavior and he does not do so, he will die in his guilt, and you will have saved yourself."

"And now, Son of Man, say this to your people: "The righteousness of the righteous won't save them when they keep on committing crimes against me, the wickedness of the wicked won't keep them from remaining away when they're turning from their wickedness, and no righteous person will keep on living by their righteousness when they sin.'

"If I tell the righteous person that he will certainly live, if he trusts in his own righteousness and commits evil, none of his righteousness will be remembered, and he will die because of the wrong that he commits.

"If I tell the wicked person that he will certainly die, if he turns from his sin and acts with justice and righteousness,

returning what has been placed as collateral for a loan, paying back what he has taken, following the regulations that promote life, and committing no iniquity, he will certainly live, and not die.

None of the sins that he has committed will be remembered against him. Since he did what is just and right, he will certainly live.

When a righteous man forsakes his own righteousness and commits evil acts, he will die because of those acts,

and when the wicked turn away from their wickedness and do what is just and right, he will certainly live because of that.

"And yet you keep saying, "Living life the Lord's way isn't right,' But I will judge every one of you according to the way you live, you house of Israel!"

"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.

Then I'll turn the land into a desolate ruin and her arrogant strength will come to an abrupt end. The mountains of Israel will become so desolate that no one will be able to travel over them."

When all of this comes about and you can be sure that it will! they'll learn that a prophet has been in their midst."

"Since they have no shepherd, they have been scattered around and have become prey for all sorts of wild animals. How scattered they are!

"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'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.

""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.

I, the LORD, will be their God, and my servant David will rule among them as Prince.' I, the LORD, have spoken this.

"I'm going to enter into a covenant with them, one of peace, and I'll eliminate wild beasts from the land so they can live securely in the wilderness and sleep in the forests.

I'm going to make them and everything that surrounds my hill a blessing. I'll send down the rain! At the appropriate time there will be a rainstorm of blessing!

I'll bring fruit to the trees in the orchards, the land will yield its produce, they will live securely on their land, and they will learn that I am the LORD, when I break the bar that has been their yoke and deliver them from the control of those who have enslaved them.

They will no longer be plundered by the nations, and wild animals will no longer devour them. They will settle down confidently, with nothing to frighten them.

I'm going to prepare for them the best of gardening spots. They will no longer live as victims in a land of starvation, nor will they have to bear the insults of the international community.

I'm going to turn your cities into ghost towns, and you will become a ruin. Then you will learn that I am the LORD.

therefore as I'm alive and living," declares the Lord GOD, "I'm turning you over to bloodshed, and bloodshed will certainly overtake you, since you never have hated shedding blood. That's why bloodshed will certainly pursue you.

and I'll fill that mountain with the dead. Those who die by violence will cover your hills, and fill your valleys and all your ravines!

I will turn you into an everlasting wasteland, and your cities will never be inhabited. Then you'll learn that I am the LORD!

"Because you have claimed, "These two nations and these two lands are going to belong to me, and we will take possession of them, even though the LORD is there,'

Just as you rejoiced when Israel's inheritance became desolate, I'm going to do the same thing to you. Mount Seir, you and Edom all of you will become a desolate wasteland.' Then they will learn that I am the LORD."

"Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: "I hereby raise my hand to swear this oath: the nations that surround you will have their own mockery to endure!

"Watch me! I'm on your side! I'll be turning in your direction, and you mountains will be plowed and planted.

I'm going to make the entire house of Israel grow every single member and their cities will be inhabited with all the ruins rebuilt.

I'll make both the population and the livestock increase throughout your territories. They'll increase and be fruitful. I'll make your territories to be settled like you were in the past, and you will be treated better than you ever were before. At that time you will know that I am the LORD.

"I'll lead my people, my nation of Israel, across you mountains, and they will take possession of you again, and you'll be their inheritance once more. Never again will you leave them robbed of children.

therefore you will no longer devour human beings or leave their nation childless,' declares the Lord GOD.

"I won't let you hear other people mock you, and no nation will ever make you childless again,' declares the Lord GOD."

I'm going to affirm my great reputation that has been defiled among the nations (that is, that you have defiled in their midst), and those people will learn that I am the LORD," declares the Lord GOD, "when I affirm my holiness in front of their very eyes.

You'll live in the land that I gave to your ancestors, you'll be my people, and I will be your God.

In addition, I'll deliver you from everything that makes you unclean. I'll call out to the grain you plant, ordering it to produce abundant yields, and I will never bring famine in your direction.

"This is what the Lord GOD says: "At the same time that I cleanse you from all of your guilt, I'll make your cities become inhabited again and the desolate wastelands will be rebuilt.

The desolate fields will be cultivated, replacing the former wasteland that everyone who passed by in times past had noticed.

They will say, "This wasteland has become like the garden of Eden, and what used to be desolate ruins are now fortified and inhabited."

Then the surviving people that live around you will learn that I, the LORD, have rebuilt these ruins and have cultivated these pastures that used to be desolate wastelands. I, the LORD, have spoken this, and I'm going to bring it about!'

The desolate cities will be filled with flocks of human beings, just like Jerusalem used to be filled with flocks of sheep during the times of the appointed festivals. Then they will know that I am the LORD.'"

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

Then he ordered me, "Prophesy to the Spirit, Son of Man. Tell the Spirit, "This is what the Lord GOD says: "Come from the four winds, you Spirit, and breathe into these people who have been killed, so they will live."'"

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.'"

They will never again defile themselves with their idols, with other loathsome things, or with any of their sins. Instead, I will deliver them from all of the places where they have sinned, and then I'll cleanse them. They will be my people and I will be their God."'"

"""My servant King David will be there for them, and one shepherd will be appointed for them. They will live according to my decrees, keep my regulations, and practice them.

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.

I will pitch my tent among them and will be their God. They will be my people,

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

Persia, Cush, and Libya will be accompanying them, all of them equipped with shields and helmets.

Gomer with all its troops, and the household of Togarmah from the remotest parts of the north with all its troops many people will accompany 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.

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.

"Businessmen based in Sheba, Dedan, Tarshish, and all of its growling lions will ask you, "Are you coming for war spoils? Have you assembled your armies to carry off silver and gold, and to gather lots of war booty?"'"

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."'"

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.

Then I'll call for war against Gog on top of every mountain,' declares the Lord GOD, "and every weapon of war will be turned against their fellow soldier.

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

There I will strike your bow from your left hand and your arrows from your right, causing your fall.

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 will fall dead in the open fields, because I have ordered this to happen,' declares the Lord GOD.

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.

Pay attention! It's coming and will certainly happen,' declares the Lord GOD. "This will be the day about which I've spoken!'"'"

"After all this happens, the people who live in the cities of Israel will be kindling fires for seven years, using small shields, large shields, bows, arrows, clubs, personal weapons, and spears to do so.

They won't need to cut down trees from the fields nor gather firewood from the forests, because they will light fires with the weapons as they plunder the plunderers and loot the looters!" declares the Lord GOD.

"When all of this happens, I'm going to set aside a grave site for Gog in Israel's Traveler's Valley, near the approach to the Dead Sea. She will block off everyone who tries to bypass it. There they will bury Gog, and rename the area "Valley of Gog's Gang'.

The house of Israel will be burying them for seven months in order to purify the land.

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.

As scouts go searching throughout the land, whenever they see someone's bones, they will place a sign beside the remains until the remains have been buried in the Valley of Gog's Gang.

"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.

"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.

They'll forget their shame and all of their unfaithfulness by which they behaved so unfaithfully toward me. They will live on their land in confidence, not in fear.

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.

Then he told me, "The north and south chamber, which are opposite the courtyard, are consecrated areas where the priests who approach the LORD will eat consecrated offerings and lay the consecrated grain offerings, sin offerings, and guilt offerings, because the area is holy.

When the priest enters, they will not enter the outer court from the sanctuary without having removed their garments worn during their time of ministry, because they are holy. They will put on different clothes, and then they will approach the area reserved for the people."

"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,

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."

"And now, Son of Man, describe the Temple to the house of Israel. They will be ashamed because of their sin. They will measure its pattern.

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.

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

You are to present to the Levitical priests, Zadok's descendants, who will approach me to serve me, a young bull for a sin offering,' declares the Lord GOD.

When they will have completed this period, starting the next day, the priests are to offer your burnt offerings on the altar, along with your peace offerings, and I will accept you,' declares the Lord GOD."

The LORD told me, "This gate is to remain shut. It will not be opened. No man is to enter through it, because the LORD God of Israel entered through it, so it is to remain shut.

The Regent Prince will be seated there, as Regent Prince, and will dine in the LORD's presence, entering through the portico of the gate and exiting through it also."

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.'"

"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.

The first portion of all the first fruits of every kind and every offering of any kind is to be for the priests. You are to give the priest the first portion of your grain. As a result a blessing will rest on your household.

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 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.'"

about which he said, "This is where the priests will be boiling the guilt and sin offerings and baking the grain offerings so they don't bring them through the outer courtyard, thus diminishing the people's holiness."