Ezekiel 36 Israel to Come Home  1 "Human, prophesy to the mountains of Israel and say: 'Mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord.2 This is what the Lord God says: The enemy has said about you, "Now the old places to worship gods have become ours."'3 So prophesy and say: 'This is what the Lord God says: They have made you an empty ruin and have crushed you from all around. So you became a possession of the other nations. People have talked and whispered against you.4 So, mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God. The Lord God speaks to the mountains, hills, ravines, and valleys, to the empty ruins and abandoned cities that have been robbed and laughed at by the other nations.5 This is what the Lord God says: I speak in hot anger against the other nations. I speak against the people of Edom, who took my land for themselves with joy and with hate in their hearts. They forced out the people and took their pastureland.'6 So prophesy about the land of Israel and say to the mountains, hills, ravines, and valleys: 'This is what the Lord God says: I speak in my jealous anger, because you have suffered the insults of the nations.7 So this is what the Lord God says: I promise that the nations around you will also have to suffer insults.  8 " 'But you, mountains of Israel, will grow branches and fruit for my people, who will soon come home.9 I am concerned about you; I am on your side. You will be plowed, and seed will be planted in you.10 I will increase the number of people who live on you, all the people of Israel. The cities will have people living in them, and the ruins will be rebuilt.11 I will increase the number of people and animals living on you. They will grow and have many young. You will have people living on you as you did before, and I will make you better off than at the beginning. Then you will know that I am the Lord.12 I will cause my people Israel to walk on you and own you, and you will belong to them. You will never again take their children away from them.  13 " 'This is what the Lord God says: People say about you, "You eat people and take children from your nation."14 But you will not eat people anymore or take away the children, says the Lord God.15 I will not make you listen to insults from the nations anymore; you will not suffer shame from them anymore. You will not cause your nation to fall anymore, says the Lord God.' " The Lord Acts for Himself  16 The Lord spoke his word to me again, saying:17 "Human, when the nation of Israel was living in their own land, they made it unclean by their ways and the things they did. Their ways were like a woman's uncleanness in her time of monthly bleeding.18 So I poured out my anger against them, because they murdered in the land and because they made the land unclean with their idols.19 I scattered them among the nations, and they were spread through the countries. I punished them for how they lived and what they did.20 They dishonored my holy name in the nations where they went. The nations said about them, 'These are the people of the Lord, but they had to leave the land which he gave them.'21 But I had concern for my holy name, which the nation of Israel had dishonored among the nations where they went.  22 "So say to the people of Israel, 'This is what the Lord God says: Israel, I am going to act, but not for your sake. I will do something to help my holy name, which you have dishonored among the nations where you went.23 I will prove the holiness of my great name, which has been dishonored among the nations. You have dishonored it among these nations, but the nations will know that I am the Lord when I prove myself holy before their eyes, says the Lord God.  24 " 'I will take you from the nations and gather you out of all the lands and bring you back into your own land.25 Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your uncleanness and your idols.26 Also, I will teach you to respect me completely, and I will put a new way of thinking inside you. I will take out the stubborn hearts of stone from your bodies, and I will give you obedient hearts of flesh.27 I will put my Spirit inside you and help you live by my rules and carefully obey my laws.28 You will live in the land I gave to your ancestors, and you will be my people, and I will be your God.29 So I will save you from all your uncleanness. I will command the grain to come and grow; I will not allow a time of hunger to hurt you.30 I will increase the harvest of the field so you will never again suffer shame among the nations because of hunger.31 Then you will remember your evil ways and actions that were not good, and you will hate yourselves because of your sins and your terrible acts that I hate.32 I want you to know that I am not going to do this for your sake, says the Lord God. Be ashamed and embarrassed about your ways, Israel.  33 " 'This is what the Lord God says: This is what will happen on the day I cleanse you from all your sins: I will cause the cities to have people living in them again, and the destroyed places will be rebuilt.34 The empty land will be plowed so it will no longer be a ruin for everyone who passes by to see.35 They will say, "This land was ruined, but now it has become like the garden of Eden. The cities were destroyed, empty, and ruined, but now they are protected and have people living in them."36 Then those nations still around you will know that I, the Lord, have rebuilt what was destroyed and have planted what was empty. I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will do it.'  37 "This is what the Lord God says: I will let myself be asked by the people of Israel to do this for them again: I will make their people grow in number like a flock.38 They will be as many as the flocks brought to Jerusalem during her holy feasts. Her ruined cities will be filled with flocks of people. Then they will know that I am the Lord." Back to the Top Ezekiel 37 The Vision of Dry Bones  1 I felt the power of the Lord on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and put me down in the middle of a valley. It was full of bones.2 He led me around among the bones, and I saw that there were many bones in the valley and that they were very dry.3 Then he asked me, "Human, can these bones live?"    I answered, "Lord God, only you know."  4 He said to me, "Prophesy to these bones and say to them, 'Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.5 This is what the Lord God says to the bones: I will cause breath to enter you so you will come to life.6 I will put muscles on you and flesh on you and cover you with skin. Then I will put breath in you so you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.' "  7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. While I prophesied, there was a noise and a rattling. The bones came together, bone to bone.8 I looked and saw muscles come on the bones, and flesh grew, and skin covered the bones. But there was no breath in them.  9 Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the wind.[a] Prophesy, human, and say to the wind, 'This is what the Lord God says: Wind, come from the four winds, and breathe on these people who were killed so they can come back to life.' "10 So I prophesied as the Lord commanded me. And the breath came into them, and they came to life and stood on their feet, a very large army.  11 Then he said to me, "Human, these bones are like all the people of Israel. They say, 'Our bones are dried up, and our hope has gone. We are destroyed.'12 So, prophesy and say to them, 'This is what the Lord God says: My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves. Then I will bring you into the land of Israel.13 My people, you will know that I am the Lord when I open your graves and cause you to come up from them.14 And I will put my Spirit inside you, and you will come to life. Then I will put you in your own land. And you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken and done it, says the Lord.' " Judah and Israel Back Together  15 The Lord spoke his word to me, saying,16 "Human, take a stick and write on it, 'For Judah and all the Israelites with him.' Then take another stick and write on it, 'The stick of Ephraim, for Joseph and all the Israelites with him.'17 Then join them together into one stick so they will be one in your hand.  18 "When your people say to you, 'Explain to us what you mean by this,'19 say to them, 'This is what the Lord God says: I will take the stick for Joseph and the tribes of Israel with him, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and I will put it with the stick of Judah. I will make them into one stick, and they will be one in my hand.'20 Hold the sticks on which you wrote these names in your hand so the people can see them.21 Say to the people, 'This is what the Lord God says: I am going to take the people of Israel from among the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them into their own land.22 I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. One king will rule all of them. They will never again be two nations; they will not be divided into two kingdoms anymore.23 They will not continue to make themselves unclean by their idols, their statues of gods which I hate, or by their sins. I will save them from all the ways they sin and turn against me, and I will make them clean. Then they will be my people, and I will be their God.  24 " 'My servant David will be their king, and they will all have one shepherd. They will live by my rules and obey my laws.25 They will live on the land I gave to my servant Jacob, the land in which your ancestors lived. They will all live on the land forever: they, their children, and their grandchildren. David my servant will be their king forever.26 I will make an agreement of peace with them, an agreement that continues forever. I will put them in their land and make them grow in number. Then I will put my Temple among them forever.27 The place where I live will be with them. I will be their God, and they will be my people.28 When my Temple is among them forever, the nations will know that I, the Lord, make Israel holy.' " Footnotes: Ezekiel 37:9 wind This Hebrew word could also mean "breath" or "spirit." Back to the Top Ezekiel 38 Prophecy Against Gog  1 The Lord spoke his word to me, saying,2 "Human, look toward Gog of the land of Magog, the chief ruler of the nations of Meshech and Tubal. Prophesy against him3 and say, 'The Lord God says this: I am against you, Gog, chief ruler of Meshech and Tubal.4 I will turn you around and put hooks in your jaws. And I will bring you out with all your army, horses, and horsemen, all of whom will be dressed in beautiful uniforms. They will be a large army with large and small shields and all having swords.5 Persia, Cush, and Put will be with them, all of them having shields and helmets.6 There will also be Gomer with all its troops and the nation of Togarmah from the far north with all its troops—many nations with you.  7 " 'Be prepared. Be prepared, you and all the armies that have come together to make you their commander.8 After a long time you will be called for service. After those years you will come into a land that has been rebuilt from war. The people in the land will have been gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel, which were empty for a long time. These people were brought out from the nations, and they will all be living in safety.9 You will come like a storm. You, all your troops, and the many nations with you will be like a cloud covering the land.  10 " 'This is what the Lord God says: At that time ideas will come into your mind, and you will think up an evil plan.11 You will say, "I will march against a land of towns without walls. I will attack those who are at rest and live in safety. All of them live without city walls or gate bars or gates.12 I will capture treasures and take loot. I will turn my power against the rebuilt ruins that now have people living in them. I will attack these people who have been gathered from the nations, who have become rich with farm animals and property, who live at the center of the world." 13 Sheba, Dedan, and the traders of Tarshish, with all its villages, will say to you, "Did you come to capture treasure? Did you bring your troops together to take loot? Did you bring them to carry away silver and gold and to take away farm animals and property?" '  14 "So prophesy, human, and say to Gog, 'This is what the Lord God says: Now that my people Israel are living in safety, you will know about it.15 You will come with many people from your place in the far north. You will have a large group with you, a mighty army, all riding on horses.16 You will attack my people Israel like a cloud that covers the land. This will happen in the days to come when I bring you against my land. Gog, then the nations will know me when they see me prove how holy I am in what I do through you.  17 " 'This is what the Lord God says: You are the one about whom I spoke in past days. I spoke through my servants, the prophets of Israel, who prophesied for many years that I would bring you against them.18 This is what will happen: On the day Gog attacks the land of Israel, I will become very angry, says the Lord God.19 With jealousy and great anger I tell you that at that time there will surely be a great earthquake in Israel.20 The fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the wild animals, everything that crawls on the ground, and all the people on the earth will shake with fear before me. Also the mountains will be thrown down, the cliffs will fall, and every wall will fall to the ground.21 Then I will call for a war against Gog on all my mountains, says the Lord God. Everyone's sword will attack the soldier next to him.22 I will punish Gog with disease and death. I will send a heavy rain with hailstones and burning sulfur on Gog, his army, and the many nations with him.23 Then I will show how great I am. I will show my holiness, and I will make myself known to the many nations that watch. Then they will know that I am the Lord.' Back to the Top Ezekiel 39 The Death of Gog and His Army  1 "Human, prophesy against Gog and say, 'This is what the Lord God says: I am against you, Gog, chief ruler of Meshech and Tubal.2 I will turn you around and lead you. I will bring you from the far north and send you to attack the mountains of Israel.3 I will knock your bow out of your left hand and throw down your arrows from your right hand.4 You, all your troops, and the nations with you will fall dead on the mountains of Israel. I will let you be food for every bird that eats meat and for every wild animal.5 You will lie fallen on the ground, because I have spoken, says the Lord God.6 I will send fire on Magog and those who live in safety on the coastlands. Then they will know that I am the Lord.  7 " 'I will make myself known among my people Israel, and I will not let myself be dishonored anymore. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel.8 It is coming! It will happen, says the Lord God. The time I talked about is coming.  9 " 'Then those who live in the cities of Israel will come out and make fires with the enemy's weapons. They will burn them, both large and small shields, bows and arrows, war clubs, and spears. They will use the weapons to burn in their fires for seven years.10 They will not need to take wood from the field or chop firewood from the forests, because they will make fires with the weapons. In this way they will take the treasures of those who took their treasures; they will take the loot of those who took their loot, says the Lord God.  11 " 'At that time I will give Gog a burial place in Israel, in the Valley of the Travelers, east of the Dead Sea. It will block the road for travelers. Gog and all his army will be buried there, so people will call it The Valley of Gog's Army.  12 " 'The people of Israel will be burying them for seven months to make the land clean again.13 All the people in the land will bury them, and they will be honored on the day of my victory, says the Lord God.  14 " 'The people of Israel will choose men to work through the land to make it clean. Along with others, they will bury Gog's soldiers still lying dead on the ground. After the seven months are finished, they will still search.15 As they go through the land, anyone who sees a human bone is to put a marker by it. The sign will stay there until the gravediggers bury the bone in The Valley of Gog's Army.16 A city will be there named Hamonah. So they will make the land clean again.'  17 "Human, this is what the Lord God says: Speak to every kind of bird and wild animal: 'Come together, come! Come together from all around to my sacrifice, a great sacrifice which I will prepare for you on the mountains of Israel. Eat flesh and drink blood!18 You are to eat the flesh of the mighty and drink the blood of the rulers of the earth as if they were fat animals from Bashan: male sheep, lambs, goats, and bulls.19 You are to eat and drink from my sacrifice which I have prepared for you, eating fat until you are full and drinking blood until you are drunk.20 At my table you are to eat until you are full of horses and riders, mighty men and all kinds of soldiers,' says the Lord God.  21 "I will show my glory among the nations. All the nations will see my power when I punish them.22 From that time onward the people of Israel will know that I am the Lord their God.23 The nations will know Israel was taken away captive because they turned against me. So I turned away from them and handed them over to their enemies until all of them died in war.24 Because of their uncleanness and their sins, I punished them and turned away from them.  25 "So this is what the Lord God says: Now I will bring the people of Jacob back from captivity, and I will have mercy on the whole nation of Israel. I will not let them dishonor me.26 The people will forget their shame and how they rejected me when they live again in safety on their own land with no one to make them afraid.27 I will bring the people back from other lands and gather them from the lands of their enemies. So I will use my people to show many nations that I am holy.28 Then my people will know that I am the Lord their God, because I sent them into captivity among the nations, but then I brought them back to their own land, leaving no one behind.29 I will not turn away from them anymore, because I will put my Spirit into the people of Israel, says the Lord God." Back to the Top Ezekiel 40 The New Temple  1 It was the twenty-fifth year of our captivity, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth day of the month. It was in the fourteenth year after Jerusalem was captured. On that same day I felt the power of the Lord, and he brought me to Jerusalem.2 In the visions of God he brought me to the land of Israel and put me down on a very high mountain. On the south of the mountain there were some buildings that looked like a city.3 He took me closer to the buildings, and I saw a man who looked as if he were made of bronze, standing in the gateway. He had a cord made of linen and a stick in his hand, both for measuring.4 The man said to me, "Human, look with your eyes and hear with your ears. Pay attention to all that I will show you, because that's why you have been brought here. Tell the people of Israel all that you see." The East Gateway  5 I saw a wall that surrounded the Temple area. The measuring stick in the man's hand was ten and one-half feet long. So the man measured the wall, which was ten and one-half feet thick and ten and one-half feet high.  6 Then the man went to the east gateway. He went up its steps and measured the opening of the gateway. It was ten and one-half feet deep.7 The rooms for the guards were ten and one-half feet long and ten and one-half feet wide. The walls that came out between the guards' rooms were about nine feet thick. The opening of the gateway next to the porch that faced the Temple was ten and one-half feet deep.  8 Then the man measured the porch of the gateway.9 It was about fourteen feet deep, and its side walls were three and one-half feet thick. The porch of the gateway faced the Temple.  10 On each side of the east gateway were three rooms, which measured the same on each side. The walls between each room were the same thickness.11 The man measured the width of the entrance to the gateway, which was seventeen and one-half feet wide. The width of the gate was about twenty-three feet.12 And there was a low wall about twenty-one inches high in front of each room. The rooms were ten and one-half feet on each side.13 The man measured the gateway from the roof of one room to the roof of the opposite room. It was about forty-four feet from one door to the opposite door.14 The man also measured the porch, which was about thirty-five feet wide. The courtyard was around the porch.15 From the front of the outer side of the gateway to the front of the porch of the inner side of the gateway was eighty-seven and one-half feet.16 The rooms and porch had small windows on both sides. The windows were narrower on the side facing the gateway. Carvings of palm trees were on each side wall of the rooms. The Outer Courtyard  17 Then the man brought me into the outer courtyard where I saw rooms and a pavement of stones all around the court. Thirty rooms were along the edge of the paved walkway.18 The pavement ran alongside the gates and was as deep as the gates were wide. This was the lower pavement.19 Then the man measured from the outer wall to the inner wall. The outer court between these two walls was one hundred seventy-five feet on the east and on the north. The North Gateway  20 The man measured the length and width of the north gateway leading to the outer courtyard.21 Its three rooms on each side, its inner walls, and its porch measured the same as the first gateway. It was eighty-seven and one-half feet long and forty-four feet wide.22 Its windows, porch, and carvings of palm trees measured the same as the east gateway. Seven steps went up to the gateway, and the gateway's porch was at the inner end.23 The inner courtyard had a gateway across from the northern gateway like the one on the east. The man measured it and found it was one hundred seventy-five feet from inner gateway to outer gateway. The South Gateway  24 Then the man led me south where I saw a gateway facing south. He measured its inner walls and its porch, and they measured the same as the other gateways.25 The gateway and its porch had windows all around like the other gateways. It was eighty-seven and one-half feet long and forty-four feet wide.26 Seven steps went up to this gateway. Its porch was at the inner end, and it had carvings of palm trees on its inner walls.27 The inner courtyard had a gateway on its south side. The man measured from gate to gate on the south side, which was one hundred seventy-five feet. The Inner Courtyard  28 Then the man brought me through the south gateway into the inner courtyard. The inner south gateway measured the same as the gateways in the outer wall.29 The inner south gateway's rooms, inner walls, and porch measured the same as the gateways in the outer wall. There were windows all around the gateway and its porch. The gateway was eighty-seven and one-half feet long and forty-four feet wide.30 Each porch of each inner gateway was about forty-four feet long and about nine feet wide.31 The inner south gateway's porch faced the outer courtyard. Carvings of palm trees were on its side walls, and its stairway had eight steps.  32 The man brought me into the inner courtyard on the east side. He measured the inner east gateway, and it was the same as the other gateways.33 The inner east gateway's rooms, inside walls, and porch measured the same as the other gateways. Windows were all around the gateway and its porch. The inner east gateway was eighty-seven and one-half feet long and forty-four feet wide.34 Its porch faced the outer courtyard. Carvings of palm trees were on its inner walls on each side, and its stairway had eight steps.  35 Then the man brought me to the inner north gateway. He measured it, and it was the same as the other gateways.36 Its rooms, inner walls, and porch measured the same as the other gateways. There were windows all around the gateway, which was eighty-seven and one-half feet long and forty-four feet wide.37 Its porch faced the outer courtyard. Carvings of palm trees were on its inner walls on each side, and its stairway had eight steps. Rooms for Preparing Sacrifices  38 There was a room with a door that opened onto the porch of the inner north gateway. In this room the priests washed animals for the burnt offerings.39 There were two tables on each side of the porch, on which animals for burnt offerings, sin offerings, and penalty offerings were killed.40 Outside, by each side wall of the porch, at the entrance to the north gateway, were two more tables.41 So there were four tables inside the gateway, and four tables outside. In all there were eight tables on which the priests killed animals for sacrifices.42 There were four tables made of cut stone for the burnt offering. These tables were about three feet long, three feet wide, and about two feet high. On these tables the priests put their tools which they used to kill animals for burnt offerings and the other sacrifices.43 Double shelves three inches wide were put up on all the walls. The flesh for the offering was put on the tables. The Priests' Rooms  44 There were two rooms in the inner courtyard. One was beside the north gateway and faced south. The other room was beside the south gateway and faced north.45 The man said to me, "The room which faces south is for the priests who serve in the Temple area,46 while the room that faces north is for the priests who serve at the altar. This second group of priests are descendants of Zadok, the only descendants of Levi who can come near the Lord to serve him."  47 The man measured the inner courtyard. It was a square—one hundred seventy-five feet long and one hundred seventy-five feet wide. The altar was in front of the Temple. The Temple Porch  48 The man brought me to the porch of the Temple and measured each side wall of the porch. Each was about nine feet thick. The doorway was twenty-four and one-half feet wide. The side walls of the doorway were each about five feet wide.49 The porch was thirty-five feet long and twenty-one feet wide, with ten steps leading up to it. Pillars were by the side walls, one on each side of the entrance. 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