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Dry Bones Live Again

37 Some time later, I felt the Lord's power take control of me, and his Spirit carried me to a valley full of bones. The Lord showed me all around, and everywhere I looked I saw bones that were dried out. He said, “Ezekiel, son of man, can these bones come back to life?”

I replied, “Lord God, only you can answer that.”

He then told me to say:

Dry bones, listen to what the Lord is saying to you, “I, the Lord God, will put breath in you, and once again you will live. I will wrap you with muscles and skin and breathe life into you. Then you will know that I am the Lord.”

I did what the Lord said, but before I finished speaking, I heard a rattling noise. The bones were coming together! I saw muscles and skin cover the bones, but they had no life in them.

The Lord said:

Ezekiel, now say to the wind,[a] “The Lord God commands you to blow from every direction and to breathe life into these dead bodies, so they can live again.”

10 (A) As soon as I said this, the wind blew among the bodies, and they came back to life! They all stood up, and there were enough to make a large army.

11 The Lord said:

Ezekiel, the people of Israel are like dead bones. They complain that they are dried up and that they have no hope for the future. 12 So tell them, “I, the Lord God, promise to open your graves and set you free. I will bring you back to Israel, 13 and when that happens, you will realize that I am the Lord. 14 My Spirit will give you breath, and you will live again. I will bring you home, and you will know that I have kept my promise. I, the Lord, have spoken.”

Judah and Israel Together Again

15 The Lord said:

16 Ezekiel, son of man, get a stick and write on it, “The kingdom of Judah.” Then get another stick and write on it, “The kingdom of Israel.”[b] 17 Hold these two sticks end to end, so they look like one stick. 18 And when your people ask you what this means, 19 tell them that I, the Lord, will join together the stick of Israel and the stick of Judah. I will hold them in my hand, and they will become one.

20 Hold these two sticks where they can be seen by everyone 21 and then say:

I, the Lord God, will gather the people of Israel and bring them home from the foreign nations where they now live. 22 I will make them into one nation and let them once again live in the land of Israel. Only one king will rule them, and they will never again be divided into two nations. 23 They will no longer worship idols and do things that make them unacceptable to me. I will wash away their sin and make them clean, and I will protect them from everything that makes them unclean. They will be my people, and I will be their God.

24-25 (B) Their king will always come from the family of my servant King David and will care for them like a shepherd. The people of Israel will faithfully obey my laws. They and their descendants will live in the land I gave my servant Jacob, just as their ancestors did. 26 I solemnly promise to bless the people of Israel with unending peace. I will protect them and let them become a powerful nation. My temple will stand in Israel for all time, 27 (C) and I will live among my people and be their God. 28 Every nation on earth will know that my temple is in Israel and that I have chosen the Israelites to be my people.

Gog Invades Israel

38 The Lord said:

(D) Ezekiel, son of man, condemn Gog, that wicked ruler of the kingdoms of Meshech and Tubal in the land of Magog. Tell him:

I, the Lord God, am your enemy, and I will make you powerless! I will put a hook in your jaw and drag away both you and your large army. You command cavalry troops that wear heavy armor and carry shields and swords. Your army includes soldiers from Persia, Ethiopia,[c] and Libya, as well as from Gomer and Beth-Togarmah in the north. Your army is enormous!

So keep your troops prepared to fight, because in a few years, I will command you to invade Israel, a country that was ruined by war. It was deserted for a long time, but its people have returned from the foreign nations where they once lived. The Israelites now live in peace in the mountains of their own land. But you and your army will attack them like a fierce thunderstorm and surround them like a cloud.

10 When that day comes, I know that you will have an evil plan 11 to take advantage of Israel, that weak and peaceful country where people live safely inside towns that have no walls or gates or locks. 12 You will rob the people in towns that were once a pile of rubble. These people lived as prisoners in foreign nations, but they have returned to Israel, the most important place in the world, and they own livestock and property. 13 The people of Sheba and Dedan, along with merchants from villages in[d] southern Spain,[e] will be your allies. They will want some of the silver and gold, as well as the livestock and property that your army takes from Israel.

14 I, the Lord God, know that when you see[f] my people Israel living in peace, 15 you will lead your powerful cavalry from your kingdom in the north. 16 You will attack my people like a storm-cloud that covers their land. I will let you invade my country Israel, so that every nation on earth will know that I, the Lord, am holy.

Judgment on Gog

17 The Lord said to Gog:

Long ago, I ordered my prophets to warn the people of Israel that someday I would send an enemy to attack them. You, Gog, are that enemy, and that day is coming. 18 When you invade Israel, I will become furious, 19 and in my anger I will send a terrible earthquake to shake Israel. 20 Every living thing on earth will tremble in fear of me—every fish and bird, every wild animal and reptile, and every human. Mountains will crumble, cliffs will fall, and cities will collapse. 21 I, the Lord, will make the mountains of Israel turn against you.[g] Your troops will be so terrified that they will attack each other. 22 I will strike you with diseases and punish you with death. You and your army will be pounded with rainstorms, hailstones, and burning sulfur. 23 I will do these things to show the world that I, the Lord, am holy.

Gog Is Defeated

The Lord said:

39 Ezekiel, son of man, condemn Gog and tell him:

You are the ruler of Meshech and Tubal, but I, the Lord, am your enemy! I will turn you around and drag you from the north until you reach the mountains of Israel. I will knock the bow out of your left hand and the arrows out of your right hand, (E) and you and your army will die on those mountains. Then birds and wild animals will eat the flesh of your dead bodies left lying in open fields. I, the Lord, have spoken.

I will set fire to the land of Magog and to those nations along the seacoast that think they are so secure, and they will know that I am the Lord.

My people Israel will know me, and they will no longer disgrace my holy name. Everyone on earth will know that I am the holy Lord God of Israel. The day is coming when these things will happen, just as I have promised.

When that day comes, the people in the towns of Israel will collect the weapons of their dead enemies. They will use these shields, bows and arrows, spears, and clubs as firewood, and there will be enough to last for seven years. 10 They will burn these weapons instead of gathering sticks or chopping down trees. That's how the Israelites will take revenge on those who robbed and abused them. I, the Lord, have spoken.

The Burial of Gog

The Lord said:

11 After Gog has been destroyed, I will bury him and his army in Israel, in Travelers'[h] Valley, east of the Dead Sea. That graveyard will be so large that it will block the way of anyone who tries to walk through the valley,[i] which will then be known as “The Valley of Gog's Army.”[j] 12 The Israelites will spend seven months burying dead bodies and cleaning up their land. 13 Everyone will help with the burial, and they will be honored for this on the day the brightness of my glory is seen. 14 After those seven months, the people will appoint a group of men to look for any dead bodies left unburied. This must be done for seven months to make sure that the land is no longer unclean. 15 Whenever they find a human bone, they will set up a marker next to it. Then the gravediggers will bury it in “The Valley of Gog's Army” 16 near the town of “Gog's Army.” After that, the land will be pure again.

17 (F) Ezekiel, son of man, I am going to hold a feast on Israel's mountains and offer sacrifices there. So invite all the birds and wild animals to come from every direction and eat the meat of sacrifices and drink the blood. The birds and animals 18 will feast on the bodies of warriors and foreign rulers that I will sacrifice like sheep, goats, and bulls. 19 I want the birds and animals to eat until they are full and drink until they are drunk. 20 They will come to my table and stuff themselves with the flesh of horses and warriors of every kind. I, the Lord God, have spoken.

Israel Will Be Restored

The Lord said:

21 When I punish the nations of the earth, they will see the brightness of my glory. 22 The people of Israel will know from then on that I am the Lord their God. 23 Foreign nations will realize that the Israelites were forced to leave their own land because they sinned against me. I turned my back on my people and let enemies attack and kill them. 24 Their lives were wicked and corrupt, and they deserved to be punished.

25 Now I will show mercy to the people of Israel and bring them back from the nations where they are living. They are Jacob's descendants, so I will bless them and show that I am holy. 26 They will live safely in their own land, but will be ashamed when they remember their evil ways and how they disgraced me.[k] 27 Foreign nations will watch as I take the Israelites from enemy lands and bring them back home, and those nations will see that I am holy.

28 My people will realize that I, the Lord their God, sent them away as prisoners and now will bring them back to their own land. 29 Never again will I turn my back on the people of Israel, and my Spirit will live in them. I, the Lord, have spoken.

Ezekiel Sees the Future Temple in Jerusalem

40 1-2 (G) Twenty-five years after King Jehoiachin and the rest of us had been led away as prisoners to Babylonia, and 14 years after the Babylonians had captured Jerusalem, the Lord's power took control of me on the tenth day of the first month.[l] The Lord showed me some visions in which I was carried to the top of a high mountain in Jerusalem. I looked to the south and saw what looked like a city full of buildings. (H) In my vision the Lord took me closer, and I saw a man who was sparkling like polished bronze. He was standing near one of the gates and was holding a tape measure in one hand and a measuring stick in the other. The man said, “Ezekiel, son of man, pay close attention to everything I'm going to show you—that's why you've been brought here. Listen carefully, because you must tell the people of Israel what you see.”

The East Gate

(I) The first thing I saw was an outer wall that completely surrounded the temple area. The man took his measuring stick, which was three meters long, and measured the wall; it was three meters high and three meters thick. 6-7 Then he went to the east gate, where he walked up steps that led to a long passageway. On each side of this passageway were three guardrooms, which were three meters square, and they were separated by walls two and a half meters thick. The man measured the distance between the opening of the gate and the first guardroom, and it was three meters, the thickness of the outer wall.

At the far end of this passageway, I saw an entrance room that faced the courtyard of the temple itself. There was also a distance of three meters between the last guardroom and the entrance room 8-9 at the end of the passageway. The man measured this room: It was four meters from the doorway to the opposite wall, and the distance from the doorway to the wall on either side was one meter. 10 The three guardrooms on each side of the passageway were the same size, and the walls that separated them were the same thickness.

11 Next, the man measured the width of the passageway, and it was six and a half meters, but the two doors of the gate were only five meters wide.[m] 12 In front of the guardrooms, which were three meters square, was a railing about 50 centimeters high and 50 centimeters thick. 13 The man measured the distance from the back wall[n] of one of these rooms to the same spot in the room directly across the passageway, and it was twelve and a half meters. 14 He measured the entrance room at the far end of the passageway, and it was ten meters wide.[o] 15 Finally, he measured the total length of the passageway, from the outer wall to the entrance room, and it was 25 meters. 16 The three walls in the guardrooms had small windows in them, just like the ones in the entrance room.[p] The walls along the passageway were decorated with carvings of palm trees.

The Outer Courtyard

17 The man then led me through the passageway and into the outer courtyard of the temple, where I saw 30 rooms built around the outside of the courtyard.[q] These side rooms were built against the outer wall, and in front of them was a sidewalk that circled the courtyard. 18 This was known as the lower sidewalk, and it was 25 meters wide.

19 I saw the gates that led to the inner courtyard of the temple and noticed that they were higher than those leading to the outer courtyard. The man measured the distance between the outer and inner gates, and it was 50 meters.[r]

The North Gate

20 Next, the man measured the north gate that led to the outer courtyard. 21 This gate also had three guardrooms on each side of a passageway. The measurements of these rooms, the walls between them, and the entrance room at the far end of the passageway were exactly the same as those of the east gate. The north gate was also 25 meters long and 12.5 meters wide, 22 and the windows, the entrance room, and the carvings of palm trees were just like those in the east gate. The entrance room also faced the courtyard of the temple and had seven steps leading up to it. 23 Directly across the outer courtyard was a gate that led to the inner courtyard, just as there was for the east gate. The man measured the distance between the outer and inner gate, and it was 50 meters.

The South Gate

24 The man then took me to the south gate. He measured the walls and the entrance room of this gate, and the measurements were exactly the same as those of the other two gates. 25 There were windows in the guardrooms of this gate and in the entrance room, just like the others, and this gate was also 25 meters long and 12.5 meters wide. 26 Seven steps led up to the gate; the entrance room was at the far end of the passageway and faced the courtyard of the temple. Carvings of palm trees decorated the walls along the passageway. 27 And directly across the outer courtyard was a gate on the south side of the inner courtyard. The man measured the distance between the outer and inner gate, and it was also 50 meters.

The Gates Leading to the Inner Courtyard

28 We then went into the inner courtyard, through the gate on the south side of the temple. The man measured the gate, and it was the same size as the gates in the outer wall. 29-30 In fact, everything along the passageway was also the same size, including the guardrooms, the walls separating them, the entrance room at the far end, and the windows. This gate, like the others, was 25 meters long and 12.5 meters wide. 31 The entrance room of this gate faced the outer courtyard, and carvings of palm trees decorated the walls of the passageway. Eight steps led up to this gate.

32 Next, we went through the east gate to the inner courtyard. The man measured this gate, and it was the same size as the others. 33 The guardrooms, the walls separating them, and its entrance room had the same measurements as the other gates. The guardrooms and the entrance room had windows, and the gate was 25 meters long and 12.5 meters wide. 34 The entrance room faced the outer courtyard, and the walls in the passageway were decorated with carvings of palm trees. Eight steps also led up to this gate.

35 Then the man took me to the north gate. He measured it, and it was the same size as the others, 36 including the guardrooms, the walls separating them, and the entrance room. There were also windows in this gate. It was 25 meters long and 12.5 meters wide, 37 and like the other inner gates, its entrance room faced the outer courtyard, and its walls were decorated with carvings of palm trees. Eight steps also led up to this gate.

The Rooms for Sacrificing Animals

38-39 Inside the entrance room of the north gate, I saw four tables, two on each side of the room, where the animals to be sacrificed were killed. Just outside[s] this room was a small building used for washing the animals before they were offered as sacrifices to please the Lord[t] or sacrifices for sin[u] or sacrifices to make things right.[v] 40 Four more tables were in the outer courtyard, two on each side of the steps leading into the entrance room. 41 So there was a total of eight tables, four inside and four outside, where the animals were killed, 42-43 and where the meat was placed until it was sacrificed on the altar.[w]

Next to the tables in the entrance room were four stone tables 50 centimeters high and 75 centimeters square; the equipment used for killing the animals was kept on top of these tables. All around the walls of this room was a 75-millimeter shelf.[x]

The Rooms Belonging to the Priests

44 The man then took me to the inner courtyard, where I saw two buildings, one beside the inner gate on the north and the other beside the inner gate on the south.[y] 45 He said, “The building beside the north gate belongs to the priests who serve in the temple, 46 and the building beside the south gate belongs to those who serve at the altar. All of them are descendants of Zadok and are the only Levites allowed to serve as the Lord's priests.”

The Inner Courtyard and the Temple

47 Now the man measured the inner courtyard; it was 50 meters square. I also saw an altar in front of the temple.

48 We walked to the porch of the temple, and the man measured the doorway of the porch: It was seven meters long,[z] two and a half meters wide, and the distance from the doorway to the wall on either side was one and a half meters. 49 The porch itself was ten meters by six[aa] meters, with steps[ab] leading up to it. There was a column on each side of these steps.

Footnotes

  1. 37.9 wind: Or “breath.” The Hebrew word may mean either.
  2. 37.16 Israel: The Hebrew text has “Joseph, that is, Ephraim,” the leading tribe in the northern kingdom.
  3. 38.5 Ethiopia: See the note at 29.10.
  4. 38.13 from villages in: One ancient translation; Hebrew “and soldiers from.”
  5. 38.13 southern Spain: See the note at 27.12.
  6. 38.14 when you see: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  7. 38.21 I, the Lord … against you: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  8. 39.11 Travelers': Hebrew “Abarim.”
  9. 39.11 That graveyard … the valley: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  10. 39.11 Gog's Army: Hebrew “Hamon-Gog.”
  11. 39.26 me: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 26.
  12. 40.1,2 Twenty-five years … first month: Probably March of 573 b.c.
  13. 40.11 the width of the passageway … six and a half meters … the two doors of the gate … five meters wide: The doors themselves probably were hung on stone sockets, which could explain the two meters difference in width between the passageway and the doors.
  14. 40.13 back wall: One ancient translation; Hebrew “roof.”
  15. 40.14 wide: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 14.
  16. 40.16 just like the ones in the entrance room: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  17. 40.17 30 rooms built around the outside of the courtyard: These were probably used by worshipers as places to meet and share sacrificial meals (see, for example, Jeremiah 35.2).
  18. 40.19 meters: The Hebrew text adds “the east and the north.”
  19. 40.38,39 Just outside: Or “Inside.”
  20. 40.38,39 sacrifices to please the Lord: These sacrifices have traditionally been called “whole burnt offerings” because the whole animal was burned on the altar. A main purpose of such sacrifices was to please the Lord with the smell of the sacrifice, and so in the CEV they are often called “sacrifices to please the Lord.”
  21. 40.38,39 sacrifices for sin: See Leviticus 4.1,2; 6.24-30.
  22. 40.38,39 sacrifices to make things right: See Leviticus 5.14-19; 7.1-10.
  23. 40.42,43 where the meat … altar: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  24. 40.42,43 was a 75-millimeter shelf: Or “were 75-millimeter pegs.”
  25. 40.44 south: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 44.
  26. 40.48 seven meters long: One ancient translation; these words are not in the Hebrew text of this verse.
  27. 40.49 six: One ancient translation; Hebrew “five and a half.”
  28. 40.49 steps: Hebrew; one ancient translation “ten steps.”

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