And he said to me, "Son of man, take all my words that I speak to you to heart and listen carefully.

"And you, son of man, take a brick and set it in front of you. Inscribe a city on it -- Jerusalem.

Then for your part take an iron frying pan and set it up as an iron wall between you and the city. Set your face toward it. It is to be under siege; you are to besiege it. This is a sign for the house of Israel.

"As for you, take wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and spelt, put them in a single container, and make food from them for yourself. For the same number of days that you lie on your side -- 390 days -- you will eat it.

"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.

Burn a third of it in the fire inside the city when the days of your siege are completed. Take a third and slash it with a sword all around the city. Scatter a third to the wind, and I will unleash a sword behind them.

But take a few strands of hair from those and tie them in the ends of your garment.

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.

I will send famine and wild beasts against you and they will take your children from you. Plague and bloodshed will overwhelm you, and I will bring a sword against you. I, the Lord, have spoken!"

I will bring the most wicked of the nations and they will take possession of their houses. I will put an end to the arrogance of the strong, and their sanctuaries will be desecrated.

When the Lord commanded the man dressed in linen, "Take fire from within the wheelwork, from among the cherubim," the man went in and stood by one of the wheels.

Therefore, this is what the sovereign Lord says: 'The corpses you have dumped in the midst of the city are the meat, and this city is the cooking pot, but I will take you out of it.

But I will take you out of the city. And I will hand you over to foreigners. I will execute judgments on you.

"Take note, son of man, the house of Israel is saying, 'The vision that he sees is for distant days; he is prophesying about the far future.'

"'Therefore, this is what the sovereign Lord says: Take note that I am against your wristbands with which you entrap people's lives like birds. I will tear them from your arms and will release the people's lives, which you hunt like birds.

Can wood be taken from it to make anything useful? Or can anyone make a peg from it to hang things on?

therefore, take note: I am about to gather all your lovers whom you enjoyed, both all those you loved and all those you hated. I will gather them against you from all around, and I will expose your nakedness to them, and they will see all your nakedness.

I will give you into their hands and they will destroy your chambers and tear down your pavilions. They will strip you of your clothing and take your beautiful jewelry and leave you naked and bare.

He despised the oath by breaking the covenant. Take note -- he gave his promise and did all these things -- he will not escape!

"'This is what the sovereign Lord says: "'I will take a sprig from the lofty top of the cedar and plant it. I will pluck from the top one of its tender twigs; I myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain.

For I take no delight in the death of anyone, declares the sovereign Lord. Repent and live!

"You, son of man, mark out two routes for the king of Babylon's sword to take; both of them will originate in a single land. Make a signpost and put it at the beginning of the road leading to the city.

Mark out the routes for the sword to take: "Rabbah of the Ammonites" and "Judah with Jerusalem in it."

"Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: 'Because you have brought up your own guilt by uncovering your transgressions and revealing your sins through all your actions, for this reason you will be taken by force.

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!

They take bribes within you to shed blood. You engage in usury and charge interest; you extort money from your neighbors. You have forgotten me, declares the sovereign Lord.

Her princes within her are like a roaring lion tearing its prey; they have devoured lives. They take away riches and valuable things; they have made many women widows within it.

They will strip your clothes off you and take away your beautiful jewelry.

They will treat you with hatred, take away all you have labored for, and leave you naked and bare. Your nakedness will be exposed, just as when you engaged in prostitution and obscene conduct.

Take the choice bone of the flock, heap up bones under it; boil rapidly, and boil its bones in it.

To arouse anger, to take vengeance, I have placed her blood on an exposed rock so that it cannot be covered up.

"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.

"And you, son of man, this is what will happen on the day I take from them their stronghold -- their beautiful source of joy, the object in which their eyes delight, and the main concern of their lives, as well as their sons and daughters:

So take note, I am about to make you slaves of the tribes of the east. They will make camps among you and pitch their tents among you. They will eat your fruit and drink your milk.

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.'"

"This is what the sovereign Lord says: 'Edom has taken vengeance against the house of Judah; they have made themselves fully culpable by taking vengeance on them.

So this is what the sovereign Lord says: Take note, I am about to stretch out my hand against the Philistines. I will kill the Cherethites and destroy those who remain on the seacoast.

"For this is what the sovereign Lord says: Take note that I am about to bring King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon, king of kings, against Tyre from the north, with horses, chariots, and horsemen, an army and hordes of people.

"Son of man, speak to your people, and say to them, 'Suppose I bring a sword against the land, and the people of the land take one man from their borders and make him their watchman.

But suppose the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people. Then the sword comes and takes one of their lives. He is swept away for his iniquity, but I will hold the watchman accountable for that person's death.'

Say to them, 'As surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but prefer that the wicked change his behavior and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil deeds! Why should you die, O house of Israel?'

He returns what was taken in pledge, pays back what he has stolen, and follows the statutes that give life, committing no iniquity. He will certainly live -- he will not die.

"'I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries; then I will bring you to your land.

I will put my Spirit within you; I will take the initiative and you will obey my statutes and carefully observe my regulations.

"As for you, son of man, take one branch, and write on it, 'For Judah, and for the Israelites associated with him.' Then take another branch and write on it, 'For Joseph, the branch of Ephraim and all the house of Israel associated with him.'

tell them, 'This is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I am about to take the branch of Joseph which is in the hand of Ephraim and the tribes of Israel associated with him, and I will place them on the stick of Judah, and make them into one stick -- they will be one in my hand.'

Then tell them, 'This is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I am about to take the Israelites from among the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from round about and bring them to their land.

Sheba and Dedan and the traders of Tarshish with all its young warriors will say to you, "Have you come to loot? Have you assembled your armies to plunder, to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to haul away a great amount of spoils?"'

"Therefore, prophesy, son of man, and say to Gog: 'This is what the sovereign Lord says: On that day when my people Israel are living securely, you will take notice

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.

You will take some of its blood, and place it on the four horns of the altar, on the four corners of the ledge, and on the border all around; you will cleanse it and make atonement for it.

You will also take the bull for the sin offering, and it will be burned in the appointed place in the temple, outside the sanctuary.

"'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.

The priest will take some of the blood of the sin offering and place it on the doorpost of the temple, on the four corners of the ledge of the altar, and on the doorpost of the gate of the inner court.

The prince will not take away any of the people's inheritance by oppressively removing them from their property. He will give his sons an inheritance from his own possessions so that my people will not be scattered, each from his own property.'"