# verses

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They'll come and cry out with joy on the heights of Zion. They'll be radiant over the Lord's goodness, over the grain, the new wine, the fresh oil, and over the young of the flocks and herds. Their lives will be like a well-watered garden. They'll never again grow faint. <n>{I.e. from lack of food and drink}</n> 


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The virgins will rejoice with dancing, together with young men and old men. For I'll turn their mourning into joy, and I'll comfort them and give them gladness instead of sorrow. 


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I'll give the priests abundant provisions, <n>{Lit. fatness}</n> and my people will be satisfied with my goodness," declares the Lord . 


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<n>{The End of Rachel's Mourning}</n> d This is what the Lord says: "A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter crying. Rachel is crying, and she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are no longer alive." 


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This is what the Lord says: "Restrain your voice from crying, and your eyes from tears, for there is a reward for your work," declares the Lord . "They'll return from the enemy's land. 


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There is hope for your future," declares the Lord . "Your <n>{The Heb. lacks Your}</n> children will return to their own territory." 


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<n>{Ephraim's Prayer and Confession}</n> d "I've certainly heard Ephraim shuddering with grief as they said, <n>{The Heb. lacks as they said}</n> «You have disciplined me, and I'm disciplined like an untrained calf. Restore me, and let me return, <n>{Or repent}</n> for you are the Lord my God. 


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Indeed, after I turned away, then I repented. And after I came to understand, I slapped my forehead. <n>{Lit. thigh ; i.e. as a sign of remorse}</n> I was both ashamed and humiliated because I bear the disgrace of my youth.»" 


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<n>{God's Gracious Response}</n> d "Is Ephraim my dear son? Is he a darling child? Indeed, as often as I've spoken about him, I surely still remember him. Therefore I deeply yearn for him. I'll surely have great compassion on him," declares the Lord . 


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Set up markers for yourselves. Erect signposts for yourselves. Pay attention to the highway, to the road you traveled. Return, virgin Israel, return to these cities of yours. 


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How long will you go this way and that, rebellious daughter? Indeed, the Lord will create a new thing on the earth; a woman will protect <n>{Lit. surround}</n> a man. 


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This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says: "They'll again speak this message in the land of Judah and its towns when I restore their fortunes: <n>{Or return them from captivity}</n> «The Lord bless you, righteous dwelling, holy mountain.'


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Judah and all its towns will live together in the land, <n>{Lit. in it}</n> along with farmers and those who follow the flock. 


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<n>{Restoration and Responsibility}</n> d "Look, days are coming," declares the Lord , "when I'll sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah using people and animals as seed. <n>{Lit. with the seed of people and the seed of animals}</n> 


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Just as I've watched over them to pull up, tear down, overthrow, destroy, and bring disaster, so I'll watch over them to build and to plant," declares the Lord . 


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"In those days people will no longer say, «The fathers have eaten sour grapes, but the children's teeth have been set on edge.'


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Instead, each person will die for his own iniquity. Everyone who eats sour grapes will have his own <n>{The Heb. lacks own}</n> teeth set on edge." 


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<n>{The New Covenant}</n> d "Look, days are coming," declares the Lord , "when I'll make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 


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It won't be like the covenant I made with their ancestors on the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. They broke my covenant, although I was a husband to them," declares the Lord . 


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"Rather, this is the covenant that I'll make with the house of Israel after those days," declares the Lord . "I'll put my Law <n>{Or instruction}</n> within them and will write it on their hearts. I'll be their God and they will be my people. 


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No longer will a person teach his neighbor or his relative: «Know the Lord .'Instead, they'll all know me, from the least to the greatest of them," declares the Lord . "Indeed, I'll forgive their iniquity, and I'll remember their sin no more." 


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This is what the Lord says, who gives the sun for light by day, the laws that govern the moon and stars for light by night, and who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar. The Lord of the Heavenly Armies is his name: 


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"If these laws cease to function in my presence," declares the Lord , "then the descendants of Israel will cease to be a nation in my presence for all time!" 


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This is what the Lord says: "If the heavens could be measured above, or the foundations of the earth be searched out below, then I also would reject all the descendants of Israel because of everything they have done," declares the Lord . 


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"Look, days are coming," declares the Lord , "when the city of the Lord will be rebuilt <n>{Or the city will be rebuilt for the Lord}</n> from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate. 


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A measuring line will go straight out from there to the hill of Gareb, and then it will turn to Goah. 


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The whole valley of dead bodies and ashes and all the fields as far as the Brook Kidron to the corner of the Horse Gate toward the east will be holy to the Lord . It won't be uprooted or overthrown again, forever." 


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<n>{Jeremiah Purchases a Field}</n> d This is <n>{The Heb. lacks This is}</n> the message that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the tenth year of the reign of <n>{The Heb. lacks of the reign of}</n> Zedekiah, king of Judah. It was the eighteenth year of the reign of <n>{The Heb. lacks of the reign of}</n> Nebuchadnezzar. 


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The army of the king of Babylon was then besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was confined in the courtyard of the guard at the palace of the king of Judah 


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where Zedekiah had confined him. Zedekiah had said, <n>{Lit. him, saying}</n> "Why did you prophesy and say these things? You said, <n>{Lit. Why did you prophesy, saying,}</n> «This is what the Lord says: "I'm about to give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will capture it. 


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Zedekiah, king of Judah, won't escape from <n>{Lit. from the hand of}</n> the Chaldeans, for he has surely been given over to the king of Babylon. He will speak to him face to face and look at him eye to eye. 


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The king of Babylon <n>{Lit. He}</n> will take Zedekiah to Babylon and there he will stay until I judge him," declares the Lord . "If you fight against the Chaldeans, you won't succeed."»" 


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«Look, Hanamel, your cousin, <n>{Lit. uncle's son ; and so throughout the chapter}</n> is coming to you and will say, "Buy my field in Anathoth for yourself, because the right of redemption to buy it belongs to you."'


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"Then my cousin Hanamel came to me in the courtyard of the guard just as the Lord had said, and he told me, «Please buy my field in Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin because you have the right to possess it, and the right to redeem it belongs to you. Buy it for yourself.'So I knew that this was a message from the Lord . 


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"Then I bought the field in Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel. I weighed out the silver for him seventeen shekels of silver. 


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Then I took the deed of purchase both the sealed one <n>{I.e. a private copy}</n> with the terms and conditions and the open one <n>{I.e. a public copy}</n> 


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and I gave the deed of purchase to Neriah's son Baruch, the grandson of Mahseiah, in the presence of my cousin Hanamel, in the presence of the witnesses who signed the deed of purchase, and in the presence of all the Judeans sitting in the courtyard of the guard. 


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«This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says: "Take these deeds both this sealed deed of purchase and this open deed and put them in a clay pot so they'll last for a long time. 


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For this is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says: «Houses, fields, and vineyards will again be bought in this land.»"»" 


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<n>{Jeremiah's Prayer}</n> d "After I had given the deed of purchase to Neriah's son Baruch, I prayed to the Lord : 


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«Lord ! Look, you made the heavens and the earth with your great power and your outstretched arm. Nothing is too difficult for you! 


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You, the great God, the mighty one, show gracious love to thousands and repay the parents'iniquity to their children after them. The Lord of the Heavenly Armies is his name. 


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You are <n>{The Heb. lacks You are}</n> great in regards to your purposes and mighty in regards to your works. Your eyes are open to everything that people do, and will reward each one according to their ways and just as their actions deserve. <n>{Lit. and according to the fruit of his deeds}</n> 


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You are the one who performed signs and wonders in the land of Egypt and continue to do so <n>{The Heb. lacks and continue to do so}</n> until this day, both in Israel and among the rest of humanity. You made a reputation for yourself that continues to this day. <n>{Lit. yourself as this day}</n> 


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By your strong hand and outstretched arm, and with great terror, you brought your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and wonders. 


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And you gave them this land which you had promised their ancestors that you would give them a land flowing with milk and honey. 


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They came and took possession of it, but they didn't obey you or walk according to your Law. <n>{Or instruction}</n> They didn't do what you commanded them to do, so you caused all this calamity to happen to them. 


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Look, the siege ramps have reached the city to take it. Because of the sword, famine, and plague, the city has been given over to the Chaldeans who are fighting against it. What you said has happened, and you are watching it occur! <n>{Lit. and look, you are watching}</n> 


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Lord, you have told me, "Buy the field for yourself with money and call in witnesses, <n>{Lit. have witnesses witness}</n> " even though the city is being given over to the Chaldeans.»" 


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Therefore, this is what the Lord says: "I'm about to give this city into the hands of the Chaldeans and Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and he will capture it. 


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The Chaldeans who are fighting against this city will come, set this city on fire, and burn it along with the houses on whose roofs incense was burned to Baal and liquid offerings were poured out to other gods in order to provoke me. 


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Indeed, the Israelis <n>{Lit. sons of Israel ; and so throughout the book}</n> and Judeans <n>{Lit. sons of Judah}</n> have been doing only evil in my presence since their youth. Indeed, the Israelis have done nothing but provoke me by what they have made with their hands," declares the Lord . 


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"Indeed, this city has provoked me to anger and wrath from the day they built it until now, and so I'll remove it <n>{Lit. to remove it}</n> from my sight 


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because of all the evil that the Israelis and Judeans have done to provoke me. They, their kings, their officials, their priests, their prophets, the people of Judah, and those living in Jerusalem have done these things. <n>{The Heb. lacks have done these things}</n> 


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They have turned their backs to me rather than their faces. Even though I taught them, teaching them again and again, <n>{Lit. getting up early and teaching}</n> they didn't listen to accept correction. 


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They built the high places of Baal that are in the Hinnom Valley <n>{Lit. Valley of Hinnom's son}</n> in order to sacrifice their sons and daughters to Molech something that I didn't command, nor did it ever enter my mind for them to require this utterly repugnant thing and lead Judah into sin." 


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<n>{A Promise of Restoration}</n> d "Now therefore," says the Lord God of Israel, "concerning this city about which you are saying, «It is being given into the control of the king of Babylon by sword, famine, and plague,'


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I'm about to gather my people <n>{Lit. them}</n> from all the lands where I've driven them in my anger, wrath, and great indignation. I'll bring them back to this place and let them live in safety. 


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I'll give them one heart and one lifestyle <n>{Lit. way}</n> so they'll fear me always for their own good and for the good of <n>{The Heb. lacks the good of}</n> their descendants after them. 


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I'll make an everlasting covenant with them that I won't turn away from doing good for them. <n>{Or from them to do good}</n> I'll put the fear of me in their hearts so they won't turn away from me. 


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I'll rejoice over them to do good for them, and I'll faithfully plant them in this land with all my heart and soul.'


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Indeed, this is what the Lord says: "Just as I'm bringing all this great disaster on this people, so I'll bring on them all the good things that I'm promising concerning them. 


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Fields will be bought in this land about which you will say, «It is a desolate place without people or animals. It is given into the hands of the Chaldeans.'


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People <n>{Lit. They}</n> will buy fields for money, sign deeds, seal them, and call witnesses in the land of Benjamin, in the areas around Jerusalem, in the towns of Judah, the towns of the hill country, the towns of the Shephelah, <n>{I.e. the verdant central lowlands of Israel; cf. Josh 10:40}</n> and the towns of the Negev, <n>{I.e. the southern regions of the Sinai peninsula; cf. Josh 10:40}</n> for I'll restore their fortunes," declares the Lord . 


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<n>{Restoration of Judah and Jerusalem}</n> d This message from the Lord came to Jeremiah a second time while he was still confined in the courtyard of the guard: 


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"This is what the Lord says who made the earth, the Lord who formed it in order to establish it whose name is the Lord 


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«Call to me and I'll answer you, and will tell you about great and hidden <n>{Or inaccessible}</n> things that you don't know.'


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For this is what the Lord God of Israel says about the houses of this city and the houses of the kings of Judah that were torn down to defend <n>{The Heb. lacks to defend}</n> against the siege ramps and the sword, 


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«The Chaldeans are coming to fight and to fill those houses with the dead bodies of the people that I've struck down in my anger and wrath, for I've hidden my face from this city because of all their wickedness. 


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«Look, I'll bring restoration and healing to it, and I'll heal them. I'll reveal to them an abundance of peace and faithfulness. 


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I'll restore the security of Judah and Israel <n>{Lit. fortunes of Israel}</n> and rebuild them as they were at first. 


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I'll cleanse them from all their sin that they have committed against me, and I'll forgive all their sins that they committed against me and by which they rebelled against me. 


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Jerusalem <n>{Lit. It}</n> will be for me a name of joy, praise, and glory to all the nations of the earth that hear about all the good that I'm doing for them. They'll fear and tremble because of all the good and because of all the peace that I'm bringing to Jerusalem.'<n>{Lit. for it}</n> 


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"This is what the Lord says: «You are saying about this place, "It is a ruin without people and without animals." Yet in the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem which are desolate places without inhabitants and without animals, there will again be heard 


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the sounds of rejoicing and gladness, the sounds of the bridegroom and the bride, and the sounds of those saying, "Give thanks to the Lord of the Heavenly Armies, for the Lord is good, and his gracious love lasts forever," as they bring thanksgiving offerings to the Lord's Temple. For I'll restore the fortunes of the land as they were at first,'declares the Lord . 


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"This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies says: «In this place that is now a ruin without people or animals, and in all its towns there will again be pasture for shepherds resting their flocks. 


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In the towns of the hill country, in the towns of the Shephelah, <n>{I.e. the verdant central lowlands of Israel; cf. Josh 10:40}</n> in the towns of the Negev, <n>{I.e. the southern regions of the Sinai peninsula; cf. Josh 10:40}</n> in the territory of Benjamin, in the areas around Jerusalem, and in the towns of Judah flocks will again pass under the hands of the one who counts them,'says the Lord ." 


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<n>{The Righteous Branch and the Davidic Covenant}</n> d «Look, the time is coming,'declares the Lord , «when I'll fulfill the good promise that I spoke concerning the house of Israel and Judah. 


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In those days and at that time I'll cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he will uphold justice and righteousness in the land. 


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At that time Judah will be delivered and Jerusalem will dwell in safety. And this is the name people <n>{Lit. they}</n> will call it, "The Lord is Our Righteousness."'


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For this is what the Lord says: «David will never be without <n>{Lit. there will never be cut off for David}</n> a man sitting on the throne of the house of Israel, 


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nor will the Levitical priests be without <n>{ there will never be cut off for the Levitical priests}</n> a man offering up burnt offerings, bringing in grain offerings, and offering sacrifices continually <n>{Lit. all the days}</n> before me.»" 


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"This is what the Lord says: «If you could break my covenant with the day and night <n>{Lit. and my covenant with the night}</n> so that day and night wouldn't occur at the proper time, <n>{Lit. at their time}</n> 


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then my covenant with my servant David might also be broken so that he wouldn't have a son sitting on his throne, and so also with my servants the Levitical priests. 


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As the heavenly bodies <n>{Lit. the hosts of the heavens}</n> cannot be counted, and the sands of the sea cannot be measured, so I'll multiply the descendants <n>{Lit. seed}</n> of my servant David and the descendants of Levi who serve me.»" 


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"Haven't you noticed what these people have been saying?«The Lord rejected the two families that he had chosen!'They have contempt for my people and no longer consider them a nation. 


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This is what the Lord says: «If I had not established my covenant for day and night and the laws that govern <n>{Lit. the ordinances of}</n> the heavens and earth, 


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then I might reject the descendants <n>{Lit. seed ; and so throughout the verse}</n> of Jacob and my servant David by not taking some of his descendants as rulers over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Indeed, I'll restore their fortunes, and I'll have compassion on them.»" 


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<n>{A Message to Zedekiah}</n> d This is <n>{The Heb. lacks This is}</n> the message that came to Jeremiah from the Lord while king Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, all his army, all the kingdoms of the earth that were under his authority, along with all the people were fighting against Jerusalem and all its towns: 


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"This is what the Lord God of Israel says: «Go and speak to king Zedekiah of Judah. Say to him, "This is what the Lord says: «Look, I'm giving this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will set it on fire. 


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You won't escape from him. You will certainly be captured and given into his control. <n>{Lit. hand}</n> You will see the king of Babylon eye to eye, he will speak to you face to face, and you will go to Babylon.»"'


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Yet, hear this message from the Lord , king Zedekiah of Judah. This is what the Lord says to you, «You won't die by the sword. 


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You will die peacefully, and as they burned fires <n>{I.e. a memorial fire}</n> for your ancestors, <n>{Lit. like the burning for your ancestors}</n> the former kings who were before you, so they'll burn fires <n>{The Heb. lacks fires}</n> for you, wailing, "Oh how terrible, your majesty!"'For I've spoken the message," declares the Lord . 


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while the army of the king of Babylon was fighting against Jerusalem and all the cities of Judah that were left, namely Lachish and Azekah. (They were the only fortified cities that remained among the cities of Judah.) 


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<n>{A Broken Agreement with Hebrew Servants}</n> d This is <n>{The Heb. lacks This is}</n> this message from the Lord that came to Jeremiah from the Lord after Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people in Jerusalem proclaiming release for them. 


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Each person was to set free his male and female slaves who were Hebrews, so that no Jewish person would enslave his brother. <n>{I.e. another Jewish person}</n> 


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All the officials and all the people who had entered into the covenant agreed <n>{Or obeyed}</n> that each would set his male and female slaves free so that they <n>{Lit. he}</n> would not enslave them any longer. They obeyed and they released them. 


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But afterward they turned around and took back the male and female slaves that they had set free, and they forced them to become male and female slaves. 


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"This is what the Lord God of Israel says: «I made a covenant with your ancestors on the day I brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. I told them: 


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"At the end of seven years, each of you is to set free your fellow Hebrew who has sold himself to you and has served you for six years. You are to send him out from you with no further obligation." But your ancestors didn't obey me or pay attention. <n>{Lit. incline their ears}</n> 


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You recently repented and did what was right in my eyes by proclaiming release for one another, and you made a covenant before me in the house that is called by my name. 


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But then you turned around and profaned my name when each of you took back his male and female slaves whom you had set free according to their desire, and you forced them to become male and female slaves."'


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"Therefore, this is what the Lord says: «You haven't obeyed me by each of you proclaiming a release for your brothers and neighbors. Now I'm going to proclaim a release for you,'declares the Lord , «a release <n>{The Heb. lacks a release}</n> to the sword, to plague, and to famine, and I'll make you a horrifying sight to all the kingdoms of the earth. 


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I'll give over the men who transgressed my covenant, who haven't fulfilled the terms of the covenant that they made before me when they cut the calf in two and passed between its parts 


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the officials of Judah, the officials of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, <n>{Or palace officials}</n> the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf. 


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I'll give them to their enemies who are seeking to kill them, and their dead bodies will be food for the birds of the sky and the animals of the land. 


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I'll give Zedekiah, king of Judah, and his officials into the domination of their enemies, to those <n>{Lit. to the hands of those}</n> who are seeking to kill them, and to <n>{Lit. to the hands of the}</n> the army of the king of Babylon that is coming against them. 


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Look, I'm in command of them,'declares the Lord , «and I'll bring them back to this city. They'll capture it and burn it with fire, and I'll turn the towns of Judah into desolate places without inhabitants.»" 


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<n>{The Example of the Rechabites}</n> d This is the message that came to Jeremiah from the Lord during the reign <n>{Lit. days}</n> of Josiah's son Jehoiakim, king of Judah: 


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"Go to the house of the Rechabites and speak to them. Bring them into the Lord's Temple, to one of the offices, and offer them wine to drink." 


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So I took Jeremiah's son Jaazaniah (a descendant of Habazziniah), his brothers, all his sons, and the whole family of the Rechabites. 


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I brought them to the Lord's Temple to the office of the descendants of Igdaliah's son Hanan, the man of God, which was next to the office of the officials, and which was above the office of Shallum's son Maaseiah, the keeper of the threshold. 


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I put containers full of wine and cups in front of the members of the Rechabite clan <n>{Lit. the sons of the house of the Rechabites}</n> and told them, "Drink the wine!" 


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But they said, "We won't drink wine, because our ancestor, Rechab's son Jonadab commanded us: «You and your descendants are never to drink wine! 


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You aren't to build houses, you aren't to sow seeds, and you aren't to plant vineyards, or own them. Instead, you are to live in tents all your lives, <n>{Lit. your days}</n> so you will enjoy a long life in the land where you reside.'<n>{I.e. living as resident aliens}</n> 


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We have obeyed everything that our ancestor, Rechab's son Jonadab, commanded us. So we, our wives, our sons, and our daughters have drunk no wine all our lives, <n>{Lit. all our days}</n> 


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We have lived in tents. We have obeyed and have done everything that our ancestor Jonadab commanded us. 


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Now when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against the land, we said, «Come on! Let's go to Jerusalem because of the army of the Chaldeans and the army of Aram. And now we're living in Jerusalem.»" 


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"This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel says: «Go and say to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, "Will you not accept correction by listening to what I say?" declares the Lord . 


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"But what Rechab's son Jonadab commanded his sons about not drinking wine is observed, and they haven't drunk wine until this day. Indeed, they obey the commands of their ancestor. But I've spoken to you again and again, <n>{Lit. getting up early and speaking}</n> and you haven't obeyed me. 


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I've sent you all my servants, the prophets, sending them again and again. <n>{Lit. getting up early and sending}</n> I've said, «Each of you turn from his evil behavior <n>{Lit. way}</n> and make your deeds right. Don't follow other gods to serve them. Then you will remain in the land that I gave to you and to your ancestors.'But you haven't paid attention <n>{Lit. inclined your ear}</n> and you haven't obeyed me. 


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Indeed the descendants of Rechab's son Jonadab have carried out the command of their ancestor that he gave them, but this people has not obeyed me." 


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Therefore, this is what the Lord God of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel says: "Look, I'm bringing on Judah and all the residents of Jerusalem all the disaster that I pronounced against them, because I spoke to them, but they didn't listen, and I called out to them, but they didn't answer." '" 


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Then Jeremiah told the house of the Rechabites, "This is what the Lord God of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel says: «Because you obeyed the commandment of your ancestor Jonadab, have observed all his commandments, and have done everything that he commanded you,'


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therefore, this is what the Lord God of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel says: «Rechab's son Jonadab won't lack a descendant <n>{Cf. Neh 3:14}</n> who serves me <n>{Lit. there won't be cut off from Rechab's son Jonadab one standing before me}</n> always.»" 


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<n>{Jeremiah's Scroll Read in the Temple}</n> d In the fourth year of the reign of <n>{The Heb. lacks of the reign of}</n> Josiah's son King Jehoiakim of Judah, this message came to Jeremiah from the Lord : 


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"Take a scroll and write on it all the words that I've spoken to you about Israel, about Judah, and about all the nations, since I first spoke to you <n>{Lit. from the day I spoke to you}</n> in the time of Josiah until the present time. 


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Perhaps the house of Judah will hear about all the calamity that I'm planning to bring on them, and so each of them will turn from his wicked way and I'll forgive their iniquities and sins." 


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Jeremiah summoned Neriah's son Baruch and at Jeremiah's dictation, Baruch wrote on the scroll all the words of the Lord that he had spoken to him. 


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You go and read the words of the Lord that you wrote at my dictation from the scroll. Read them <n>{The Heb. lacks Read them}</n> to <n>{Lit. scroll in the hearing of}</n> the people at the Lord's Temple on the fast day. Also read them to all the people of Judah who are coming from their towns. 


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Perhaps their pleas for help will come to the Lord's attention, and each of them will turn from his evil lifestyle in light of the great anger and wrath that the Lord has declared against this people." 


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So Neriah's son Baruch did just as Jeremiah the prophet instructed him, reading the words of the Lord from the scroll at the Lord's Temple. 


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In the ninth month of the fifth year of the reign of <n>{The Heb. lacks of the reign of}</n> Josiah's son Jehoiakim, king of Judah, a fast was proclaimed in the Lord's presence in Jerusalem for all the people of Jerusalem, as well as all the people who were coming from the towns of Judah. 


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Baruch read the words of Jeremiah from the scroll to <n>{Lit. book in the hearing of}</n> all the people at the Lord's Temple. He did this <n>{Heb. lacks He did this}</n> from the office of Shaphan's son Gemariah the scribe, in the upper court at the entrance of the New Gate of the Lord's Temple. 


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<n>{Jeremiah's Scroll Read in the Palace}</n> d When Gemariah's son Micaiah, the grandson of Shaphan, heard all the words of the Lord from the scroll, 


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he went down to the palace, to the scribe's office, where all the officials were sitting. Elishama the scribe, Shemaiah's son Delaiah, Achbor's son Elnathan, Shaphan's son Gemariah, Hananiah's son Zedekiah, and all the other officials were there. 


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Then all the officials sent Nethaniah's son Jehudi, (who was also the grandson of Shelemiah and Cushi's great-grandson), to Baruch, who said, "Take the scroll that you read to <n>{Lit. read in the hearing of}</n> the people and come." Neriah's son Baruch took the scroll with him and went to them. 


text:
They told him, "Please sit down and read it to us." <n>{Lit. in our hearing}</n> So Baruch read it to them. 


text:
When they heard all the words, they turned to one another in fear, saying to Baruch, "We must report all these things to the king." 


text:
Then they asked Baruch, "Please tell us how you wrote all the words. Did Jeremiah dictate them all?" <n>{Lit. from his mouth}</n> 


text:
Baruch answered them, "Yes, Jeremiah dictated all these words to me, and I wrote them in the scroll with ink." 


text:
Then the officials told Baruch, "Go, hide yourself, both you and Jeremiah, and don't let anyone know where you are." 


text:
<n>{The King Burns Jeremiah's Scroll}</n> d The officials <n>{Lit. They}</n> went to the king in the courtyard, but they deposited the scroll in the office of Elishama the scribe. Then they reported everything written on the scroll <n>{Lit. reported all the words}</n> to the king. 


text:
The king sent Jehudi to get the scroll, and he took it from the office of Elishama the scribe. Jehudi read it to the king <n>{Lit. in the hearing of the king}</n> and to all the officials who were standing beside the king. 


text:
The king was sitting in the winter palace in the ninth month and a stove <n>{Or brazier}</n> was burning in front of him. <n>{Or a fire was burning in the stove in front of him}</n> 


text:
As Jehudi would read three or four columns, the king <n>{Lit. he}</n> would cut it with a scribe's knife and throw it into the fire which was in the stove, until all the scroll was burned <n>{Lit. until the completion of the scroll}</n> in the fire in the stove. 


text:
The king and all his officials <n>{Or servants}</n> who were listening to these words were not afraid, nor did they tear their garments. 


text:
Even though Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah urged the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them. 


text:
The king ordered his <n>{Lit. the king's}</n> son Jerahmeel, Azriel's son Seraiah, and Abdeel's son Shelemiah to get Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet, but the Lord had hidden them. 


text:
<n>{Jeremiah Rewrites the Scroll}</n> d This message from the Lord came to Jeremiah after the king burned the scroll containing the words that Baruch had written at Jeremiah's dictation: 


text:
"Go back, take another scroll and write on it all the original <n>{Lit. first}</n> words which were on the scroll that Jehoiakim, king of Judah, burned. 


text:
Concerning Jehoiakim, king of Judah, you are to say, «This is what the Lord says: "You burned this scroll, all the while saying, «Why did you write on it that the king of Babylon will definitely come, destroy this land, and eliminate both people and animals from it?»" 


text:
Therefore, this is what the Lord says concerning Jehoiakim, king of Judah, "He will have no one to sit on the throne of David, and his corpse will be thrown out to rot during the heat of the day and the frost of the night. 


text:
I'll punish him, his descendants, and his officials <n>{Or servants}</n> for their iniquity. I'll bring on them, on the residents of Jerusalem, and on the men of Judah all the calamity about which I've warned them, but they would not listen."»" 


text:
Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to Neriah's son Baruch the scribe. He wrote on it, at Jeremiah's dictation, all the words of the book that Jehoiakim king of Judah burned in the fire. He also added to them many similar words. 


text:
<n>{Zedekiah Consults Jeremiah}</n> d Josiah's son King Zedekiah reigned in place of Jehoiakim's son Coniah, <n>{I.e. Jehoiachin}</n> whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had made king of the land of Judah. 


text:
But neither he nor his officials nor the people of the land listened to the words of the Lord that were spoken by <n>{Lit. that were in the hand of}</n> Jeremiah the prophet. 


text:
King Zedekiah sent Shelemiah's son Jehucal and Maaseiah's son Zephaniah the priest to Jeremiah the prophet, asking him, "Please pray to the Lord our God for us." 


text:
Now Jeremiah was still <n>{The Heb. lacks still}</n> going in and out among the people since he had not yet been put in prison. 


text:
Pharaoh's army had come out of Egypt, and when the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard the report about them, they withdrew from Jerusalem. 


text:
"This is what the Lord God of Israel says: «This is what you are to say to the king of Judah who sent you to me to inquire of me, "Look, Pharaoh's army that has come to help will go back to its own land of Egypt, 


text:
and then the Chaldeans will come back to fight against this city, to capture it, and burn it with fire."'


text:
"This is what the Lord says: «Don't deceive yourselves by saying, "The Chaldeans will surely go away from us," «for they won't go. 


text:
Indeed, even if you defeated the entire Chaldean army that is fighting against you, and they had only wounded men left in their tents, they would get up and burn this city with fire.»"»" 


text:
<n>{Jeremiah Arrested for Treason}</n> d When the Chaldean army was leaving Jerusalem because of Pharaoh's army, 


text:
Jeremiah left Jerusalem to go to the territory of Benjamin to take possession of his property <n>{The Heb. lacks of his property}</n> there among the people. 


text:
He was in the Gate of Benjamin, and chief officer Irijah, Shelemiah's son and the grandson of Hananiah, was there. He arrested Jeremiah the prophet, accusing him: "You are going over to the Chaldeans!" 


text:
Jeremiah said, "It's a lie! I'm not going over to the Chaldeans." But Irijah <n>{Lit. he}</n> would not listen to him, and he <n>{Lit. Irijah}</n> arrested Jeremiah and brought him to the officials. 


text:
The officials were angry with Jeremiah and beat him. They put him in jail in the house of Jonathan the scribe because they had made it into a prison. 


text:
So Jeremiah came into the cells in the dungeon <n>{Lit. cistern-house}</n> and remained there for a long time. <n>{Lit. for many days}</n> 


text:
Then King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah <n>{The Heb. lacks for Jeremiah}</n> and received him. The king questioned him secretly in his house: "Is there a message from the Lord ?" Jeremiah said, "There is," and then he said, "You will be given into the hand of the king of Babylon." 


text:
Then Jeremiah asked King Zedekiah, "What offense have I committed against you, your officials, or these people that you have put me in prison? 


text:
Where are your prophets who prophesied to you, telling you: «The king of Babylon won't come against you or against this land'? 


text:
Now, please listen, your majesty, <n>{Lit. my lord the king}</n> and pay attention to what I'm asking you. Don't make me go back to the house of Jonathan the scribe, so I don't die there." 


text:
So King Zedekiah gave the order, and they assigned Jeremiah to the courtyard of the guard. Each day they gave him a loaf of bread from the bakers'street until all the bread in the city was gone. So Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard. 


text:
<n>{Jeremiah is Arrested and Imprisoned}</n> d Mattan's son Shephatiah, Pashhur's son Gedaliah, Shelemiah's son Jucal, and Malchijah's son Pashhur heard the words that Jeremiah was speaking to all the people: 


text:
"This is what the Lord says: «Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, by famine, and by the plague, but the one who goes over to the Chaldeans will live. His life will be spared, <n>{Lit. He will have his life as a spoil of war}</n> and he will live.'


text:
This is what the Lord says: «This city will surely be given to the army of the king of Babylon, and he will capture it.»" 


text:
Then the officials told the king, "Let this man be put to death because he's undermining the efforts <n>{Lit. weakening the hands}</n> of the soldiers who remain in this city and that of all the people by speaking words like these to them. Indeed, this man is not seeking the well-being of this people, but rather their harm." 


text:
So they threw Jeremiah into a cistern that belonged to the king's son Malchijah and was located in the courtyard of the guard. When they let Jeremiah down with ropes, because there was no water in the cistern only mud Jeremiah sank into the mud. 


text:
<n>{Jeremiah Rescued from the Cistern}</n> d Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, a eunuch <n>{Or official}</n> in the king's house, heard that Jeremiah had been put in the cistern. The king was sitting in the Benjamin Gate, 


text:
"Your majesty, <n>{Lit. My lord the king}</n> these men have acted wickedly in all they have done to the prophet Jeremiah by throwing him into the cistern. He will die where he is because of the famine since there is no more bread in the city." 


text:
Then the king ordered Ebed-melech the Ethiopian: <n>{Lit. Cushite}</n> "Thirty men are at your disposal. Take them with you and bring up Jeremiah the prophet from the cistern before he dies." 


text:
So Ebed-melech took the men with him and went to the palace, underneath the storeroom. He took worn out rags and worn out clothes from there, and using ropes he lowered them down to Jeremiah in the cistern. 


text:
Ebed-melech the Ethiopian told Jeremiah, "Put the worn out rags and clothes under your armpits under the ropes," and Jeremiah did as he said. <n>{Lit. did thus}</n> 


text:
They pulled Jeremiah with the ropes and brought him up from the cistern, but Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard. 


text:
<n>{Zedekiah Again Seeks Advice from Jeremiah}</n> d King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah the prophet and had him brought to him <n>{Lit. sent and took Jeremiah the prophet to him}</n> at the third entrance to the Lord's Temple. The king told Jeremiah, "I'm going to ask you something, and don't hide anything from me." 


text:
Jeremiah told Zedekiah, "When I tell you, you will surely put me to death, won't you? And when I give you advice, you don't listen to me." 


text:
Then King Zedekiah, in secret, swore an oath to Jeremiah: "As surely as the Lord lives, who gave us this life to live, I won't have you put to death, nor will I hand you over to these men who are seeking to kill you." 


text:
So Jeremiah told Zedekiah, "This is what the Lord God of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says: «If you will immediately surrender <n>{Lit. go out}</n> to the officers <n>{Or officials}</n> of the king of Babylon, then you will live, and this city won't be burned with fire. Both you and your family will live. 


text:
But if you don't surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, then this city will be given to the Chaldeans, and they'll burn it with fire. You won't escape from their hands.»" 


text:
Then King Zedekiah told Jeremiah, "I'm afraid of the Judeans who have gone over to the Chaldeans. The Chaldeans <n>{Lit. They}</n> may turn me over to them, <n>{Lit. may give me into their hands}</n> and they may treat me harshly." 


text:
Jeremiah said, "They won't turn you over. Obey the Lord in what I'm telling you, and it will go well for you and you will live. 


text:
Look, all the women who are left in the house of the king of Judah will be brought out to the officers of the king of Babylon, and will say, «These friends of yours have mislead you and overcome you. Your feet have sunk down into the mire, but they have turned away.'


text:
"They'll bring all your women and children out to the Chaldeans, and you won't escape from their hand. Indeed, you will be seized by the hand of the king of Babylon, and this city will be burned with fire." 


text:
If the officials hear that I've spoken with you, and they come to you and say, <n>{Lit. say to you}</n> «Tell us what you told the king, and what the king told you; don't hide it from us, and we won't put you to death,'


text:
then you are to say to them, «I was presenting my request to the king that I not be taken back to the house of Jonathan to die there.»" 


text:
When all the officials came to Jeremiah and questioned him, he replied to them exactly as the king had ordered him. <n>{Lit. according to all these words that the king ordered him}</n> So they stopped speaking with him because the conversation had not been overheard. 


text:
<n>{The Fall of Jerusalem and the Capture of Zedekiah}</n> d This is how Jerusalem was captured: <n>{39:1a in English is 38:28b in Hebrew}</n> In the tenth month of the ninth year of the reign of <n>{The Heb. lacks of the reign of}</n> Zedekiah king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came to Jerusalem and laid siege to it. 


text:
On the ninth day of the fourth month, in the eleventh year of the reign of <n>{The Heb. lacks of the reign of}</n> Zedekiah, the wall of <n>{The Heb. lacks the wall of}</n> the city was breached. 


text:
All the officials of the king of Babylon came and sat in the Middle Gate, including <n>{The Heb. lacks including}</n> Nergal-sarri-usur, governor <n>{Or high official}</n> of Sinmagir, <n>{I.e. a province of Babylon}</n> Nabu-sarrussu-ukin the high official, <n>{Lit. the Rab-sa-resi ; a Babylonian title for a royal official}</n> Nergal-sarri-user, the chief official, <n>{Lit. the Rab-mugi , a Babylonian title for a royal official}</n> and <n>{Or Gate: Nergal-sarezer, Samgar-nebu, Sarsekim, the high official, Nergal-sarezer, the chief official, and}</n> all the rest of the officials of the king of Babylon. 


text:
When Zedekiah king of Judah and all the soldiers saw them, they fled and went out of the city at night through the king's garden through the gate between the two walls. Then he went out on the road toward the Arabah. 


text:
The Chaldean army pursued them and overtook Zedekiah on the plains of Jericho. When they seized him they brought him to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, and he passed judgment on him. 


text:
At Riblah, the king of Babylon executed Zedekiah's sons right <n>{The Heb. lacks right}</n> before his eyes. He <n>{Lit. The king of Babylon}</n> also executed all the nobles of Judah. 


text:
The Chaldeans burned the palace and the houses of the people with fire, and they broke down the walls of Jerusalem. 


text:
Nebuzaradan, the captain of the Babylonian guard, took into exile in Babylon the rest of the people who remained in the city, those who had deserted to Nebuchadnezzar, and the rest of the people who remained. 


text:
Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left in the land of Judah some of the poor people who did not have anything, and he gave them vineyards and fields on that day. 


text:
<n>{Jeremiah's Release from Prison}</n> d Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon gave orders concerning Jeremiah through Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard: 


text:
"Take him, look after him, and don't do anything to harm him. Rather, do for him whatever he tells you." 


text:
So Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, Nebushazban, the high official, Nergal-sar-ezer, the chief official, and all the officials of the king of Babylon sent for Jeremiah. <n>{The Heb. lacks for Jeremiah}</n> 


text:
They sent for Jeremiah <n>{The Heb. lacks for Jeremiah}</n> and took <n>{The Heb. lacks took}</n> him from the courtyard of the guard. They handed him over to Ahikam's son Gedaliah, the grandson of Shaphan, to take him home. So he remained among the people. 


text:
<n>{Ebed-melech Rewarded}</n> d This message from the Lord came to Jeremiah while he was confined in the courtyard of the guard: 


text:
"Go and speak to Ebed-melech the Ethiopian: «This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says: "Look, I'm going to fulfill my promise against this city for disaster rather than for good, and on that day it will happen before your eyes. 


text:
But I'll deliver you on that day," declares the Lord . "You won't be given into the hands of the men you fear. 


text:
For I'll surely deliver you, and you won't fall by the sword. Your life will be spared <n>{Lit. You will have your life as a spoil of war}</n> because you trusted me," declares the Lord .»" 


text:
<n>{Jeremiah Chooses to Remain in Judah}</n> d This is <n>{The Heb. lacks This is}</n> the message that came to Jeremiah from the Lord after Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had released him from Ramah, when he was bound in chains, along with all the exiles from Jerusalem and Judah who were being taken into exile in Babylon. 


text:
The captain of the guard took Jeremiah and told him, "The Lord your God has predicted this disaster on this place. 


text:
And now the Lord has brought it about and has done just as he said. Because you people sinned against the Lord and didn't obey him, this has happened to you. 


text:
Now, look, I've freed you today from the chains that were on your hands. If you want <n>{Lit. it is good in your eyes}</n> to come with me to Babylon, come, and I'll look after you. But if you don't want <n>{Lit. it is bad in your eyes}</n> to come with me to Babylon, don't. <n>{Lit. stop!}</n> Look, the whole land lies before you, so go wherever it seems good and right for you to go." 


text:
When he still did not respond, Nebuzaradan said, <n>{The Heb. lacks Nebuzaradan said}</n> "Return to Ahikam's son Gedaliah, whom the king of Babylon has appointed over the cities of Judah, and remain with him among the people or go wherever it seems right for you to go." Then the captain of the guard gave him an allowance of food and a gift and sent him off. 


text:
Jeremiah came to Ahikam's son Gedaliah at Mizpah, and he remained with him among the people who were left in the land. 


text:
<n>{Gedaliah and the Community in Judah}</n> d All the leaders of the forces who were in the field along with their men heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Ahikam's son Gedaliah over the men, women, children, and the poor of the land who had not been taken into exile in Babylon. 


text:
Those who came to Gedaliah at Mizpah included Nethaniah's son Ishmael, Jonathan, Kareah's son Jonathan, Tanhumeth's son Seraiah, Ephai's sons from Netophah; and Jezaniah, the son of a man from Maacah. They came along with <n>{The Heb. lacks came along with}</n> their men. 


text:
Ahikam's son Gedaliah, the grandson of Shaphan, swore an oath to them and their men: "Don't be afraid to serve the Chaldeans. Remain in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and things will go well for you. 


text:
As for me, I'll remain at Mizpah to represent you before <n>{Lit. to stand before}</n> the Chaldeans who come to us. As for you, gather wine, summer fruit, and oil. Put it in your containers and live in your cities that you have taken over." 


text:
All the Judeans who were in Moab, those with the people in Ammon, those in Edom, and those in all the other <n>{The Heb. lacks other}</n> countries also heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant for Judah and that he had appointed Ahikam's son Gedaliah, the grandson of Shaphan, over them. 


text:
So all the Judeans returned from all the countries where they had been scattered. They came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah, and they gathered wine and summer fruit in great abundance. 


text:
<n>{A Plot against Gedaliah}</n> d Kareah's son Jonathan and all leaders of the forces who were in the field came to Gedaliah at Mizpah. 


text:
They told him, "Are you aware that Baalis, the king of the people of Ammon, has sent Nethaniah's son Ishmael to take your life?" But Ahikam's son Gedaliah did not believe them. 


text:
Then Kareah's son Jonathan spoke privately to Gedaliah at Mizpah: "Let me go kill Nethaniah's son Ishmael, and no one will know. Why should he take your life? Otherwise <n>{Lit. Then}</n> all the Judeans who have gathered around you will be scattered, and the remnant of Judah will perish." 


text:
Ahikam's son Gedaliah replied to Kareah's son Jonathan, "Don't do this! You're lying about Ishmael!" 


text:
<n>{Gedaliah is Assassinated}</n> d In the seventh month, Nethaniah's son Ishmael, the grandson of Elishama, a member of the royal family and one of the chief officers of the king, came to Ahikam's son Gedaliah at Mizpah, along with ten men. While they were dining together there at Mizpah, 


text:
Nethaniah's son Ishmael and the ten men with him got up and killed Ahikam's son Gedaliah, the grandson of Shaphan, with swords and killed the man whom the king of Babylon had appointed over the land. 


text:
Ishmael also struck down all the Judeans who were with him (that is, with Gedaliah) at Mizpah, along with the Chaldean soldiers who were found there. 


text:
Now on the day after Gedaliah was killed, when as yet no one knew about it, <n>{The Heb. lacks about it}</n> 


text:
eighty men from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria came with their beards shaved, their clothes torn, and their bodies slashed. They had grain offerings and incense with them to present at the Lord's Temple. 


text:
Nethaniah's son Ishmael went out from Mizpah to meet them, crying as he went. As he met them he told them, "Come meet with Ahikam's son Gedaliah." 


text:
When they reached the middle of the city, Nethaniah's son Ishmael and the men who were with him slaughtered them and threw them into a cistern. <n>{Lit. slaughtered them to the middle of the cistern}</n> 


text:
Ten men who were among <n>{Lit. found among}</n> them told Ishmael, "Don't kill us because we have stores of wheat, barley, oil, and honey hidden in the field. So Ishmael stopped and did not kill them or their companions. 


text:
Ishmael threw the bodies of the men he killed on account of Gedaliah into the cistern that King Asa had made for protection against <n>{Lit. made on account of}</n> King Baasha of Israel. That is the same one Nethaniah's son Ishmael filled with those he killed. 


text:
Then Ishmael took captive all the rest of the people who were in Mizpah, including the king's daughters and all the rest of the people in Mizpah over whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had appointed Ahikam's son Gedaliah. Nethaniah's son Ishmael took them captive and then set out to cross over to the Ammonites. 


text:
<n>{The Captives Rescued; Ishmael Escapes}</n> d Kareah's son Jonathan and all the military leaders who were with him heard about all the terrible things that Nethaniah's son Ishmael had done. 


text:
So they took all the men and went to fight Nethaniah's son Ishmael, and they found him at the large pool that is at Gibeon. 


text:
When all the people who were with Ishmael saw Kareah's son Jonathan and all the military leaders who were with him, they were glad. 


text:
All the people whom Ishmael had taken captive from Mizpah turned around and went back to Kareah's son Jonathan. 


text:
But Nethaniah's son Ishmael and eight other <n>{The Heb. lacks other}</n> men escaped from Jonathan and went to the Ammonites. 


text:
Kareah's son Jonathan and all the military leaders who were with him took all the rest of the people from Mizpah whom he had rescued <n>{Lit. brought back}</n> from Nethaniah's son Ishmael after he had killed Ahikam's son Gedaliah, including the young men, the soldiers, women, children, and eunuchs <n>{Or officials}</n> whom he had rescued from Gibeon. 


text:
because of the Chaldeans. They were afraid of the Chaldeans <n>{Lit. them}</n> because Nethaniah's son Ishmael had killed Ahikam's son Gedaliah, whom the king of Babylon had appointed over the land. 


text:
<n>{Jeremiah Asked to Pray for the People}</n> d Then all the military leaders, Kareah's son Jonathan, Hoshaiah's son Jezaniah, and all the people from the least to the greatest approached Jeremiah. <n>{The Heb. lacks Jeremiah}</n> 


text:
They told Jeremiah the prophet, "Please listen to what we have to ask of you. Pray to the Lord your God for us and for all these survivors. Indeed, only a few of us remain out of many, as you can see. <n>{Lit. as your eyes see us}</n> 


text:
Pray that the Lord your God may inform us as to how we should live <n>{Lit. way we should walk}</n> and what we should do." 


text:
Jeremiah the prophet told them, "I've heard, and I'm going to pray to the Lord your God just as you have requested. Whatever the Lord answers, I'll tell you. I won't withhold anything from you." 


text:
Then they told Jeremiah, "May the Lord be a true and faithful witness against us if we don't do everything that the Lord your God tells us through you. <n>{Lit. sends to you for us}</n> 


text:
Whether it seems good or bad, we will obey the Lord our God to whom we send you, so it may go well for us. Indeed, we will obey the Lord our God." 


text:
<n>{The Lord's Answer through Jeremiah}</n> d At the end of ten days a message from the Lord came to Jeremiah. 


text:
So he called Kareah's son Jonathan, all the military leaders who were with him, and all the people from the least to the greatest. 


text:
«If you will just remain in this land, I'll build you up and not pull you down. I'll plant you and not uproot you, for I'm sorry about the disaster I've brought on you. 


text:
Don't be afraid of the king of Babylon as you have been. <n>{Lit. whom you fear}</n> Don't fear him,'declares the Lord , «because I am with you to save you and deliver you from his control. 


text:
and you also say, "No, but we will go to the land of Egypt where we won't see war or hear the sound of the trumpet or hunger for bread, and there we will stay," 


text:
then hear this message from the Lord , remnant of Judah: «This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says: "If you are really determined <n>{Lit. really set your faces}</n> to go into Egypt, and you go there to settle, 


text:
the sword that you fear will overtake you there in the land of Egypt. The famine that you dread will pursue you into Egypt, and there you will die. 


text:
All the people who are determined to go into Egypt to settle there will die by the sword, by famine, and by the plague. No one will survive the disaster that I'll bring on them." 


text:
For this is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says: «Just as my anger and my wrath were poured out on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so my wrath will be poured out on you when you enter Egypt. You will be a curse and an object of horror, ridicule, and scorn, and you will never again see this place.'


text:
The Lord has told you, remnant of Judah, «Don't go to Egypt!'So be fully aware that I've warned you, today, 


text:
that you have deceived yourselves. Indeed, you yourselves sent me to the Lord your God, saying, «Pray to the Lord your God for us, and whatever the Lord our God tells us we will do.'


text:
I've told you today, but you haven't obeyed the Lord your God in all that he sent me to tell <n>{The Heb. lacks tell}</n> you. 


text:
Now, be fully aware that you will die by the sword, by famine, and by plague in the place where you want to settle." <n>{Lit. to go to settle}</n> 


text:
<n>{The Refugees Reject the Lord's Instruction}</n> d When Jeremiah had finished telling all the people all the words that the Lord their God had sent him to tell them that is, all these words 


text:
Hoshaiah's son Azariah, Kareah's son Johanan, and all the arrogant men told Jeremiah, "You're lying! The Lord our God didn't send you to say, «Don't go to Egypt to settle there.'


text:
Indeed, Neriah's son Baruch is inciting you against us in order to give us into the hands of the Chaldeans, to kill us, or to take us into exile to Babylon." 


text:
So Kareah's son Johanan, all the military leaders, and all the people did not obey the instructions given by <n>{The Heb. lacks the instructions given by}</n> the Lord to remain in the land of Judah. 


text:
Kareah's son Johanan and all the military leaders took the entire remnant of Judah that had returned from all the nations where they had been scattered to settle in the land of Judah 


text:
the young men, the women, the children, the daughters of the king, and everyone whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had left with Ahikam's son Gedaliah, the grandson of Shaphan, along with Jeremiah the prophet and Neriah's son Baruch. 


text:
So they went into the land of Egypt, because they did not obey the Lord , and they travelled as far as Tahpanhes. <n>{ Tahpanhes was a city in the delta region of Egypt.}</n> 


text:
<n>{Nebuchadnezzar's Invasion of Egypt Predicted}</n> d Then this message from the Lord came to Jeremiah in Tahpanhes: 


text:
"Take large stones in your hands, and, in the sight of the men of Judah, bury them in the mortar of the brickwork at the entrance of Pharaoh's house in Tahpanhes. 


text:
Then say to them, «This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says: "I'm going to send for my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. I'll take him and set his throne over these stones that I've buried, and he will spread his canopy over them. 


text:
He will come and attack the land of Egypt those meant for death will be put to death, those meant for captivity will be taken captive, and those meant for the sword will be put to the sword. 


text:
He <n>{So LXX; Heb. reads I}</n> will set fire to the temples <n>{Lit. houses; and so throughout the section}</n> of the gods of Egypt. He will burn their idols <n>{Lit. them}</n> and take them captive. He will wrap himself with the land of Egypt like a shepherd wraps himself with a garment, and then he will leave from there in peace. 


text:
He will shatter the pillars of Heliopolis <n>{Lit. beth-shemesh ; i.e. house of the sun}</n> in the land of Egypt and will burn the temples of the gods of Egypt with fire."»" 


text:
<n>{Jeremiah Warns the Refugees in Egypt}</n> d This is the message that came to Jeremiah for all the Judeans who were living in the land of Egypt, who were living in Migdol, Tahpanhes, Memphis, and in the land of Pathros, <n>{I.e. in southern Egypt}</n> saying, 


text:
"This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says: «You have seen the disaster that I brought on Jerusalem and all the cities of Judah. Look, they're in ruins today, with no one living in them, 


text:
because of the <n>{Lit. their}</n> wickedness that they did, provoking me to anger by continuing to offer sacrifices and worship other gods that neither they nor you nor your ancestors had known. 


text:
Yet I sent all my servants the prophets to you again and again, <n>{Lit. getting up early and sending}</n> saying, "Don't do this repulsive thing that I hate." 


text:
«But they didn't listen or pay attention <n>{Lit. turn their ears}</n> by turning from their wickedness and not offering sacrifices to other gods. 


text:
My wrath and my anger were poured out, and they burned in the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem so that they have become a ruin and a desolate place, as is the case today.'


text:
"Now, this is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says: «Why are you doing great harm to yourselves so as to cut off from Judah <n>{Lit. from the midst of Judah}</n> man and woman, child and infant from you, leaving yourselves without a remnant? 


text:
And why have you provoked me to anger by the works of your hands, <n>{I.e. idols}</n> by offering sacrifices to other gods in the land of Egypt where you have come to settle so that you cut yourselves off and become an object of ridicule and scorn among all the nations of the earth? 


text:
Have you forgotten the evil deeds of your ancestors, the evil deeds of the kings of Judah, the evil deeds of their <n>{Lit. his}</n> wives, your evil deeds, and the evil deeds of your wives, that they did in the land of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem? 


text:
To this day they haven't humbled themselves, they haven't shown reverence for the Lord , <n>{The Heb. lacks for the LORD}</n> and they haven't lived according to my Law and my statutes that I set before them and before their ancestors.'


text:
"Therefore, this is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says: «Look, I've determined to bring disaster on you <n>{Lit. have set my face against you for disaster}</n> and to cut off all Judah. 


text:
I'll take the remnant of Judah that determined to go to the land of Egypt to settle there, and all of them <n>{The Heb. lacks of them}</n> will come to an end in the land of Egypt. They'll fall by the sword, and they'll come to an end by famine. They'll become a curse, an object of horror, ridicule, and scorn. 


text:
I'll punish those who live in the land of Egypt just as I punished Jerusalem with the sword, with famine, and with plague. 


text:
Of the remnant of Judah that came into the land of Egypt to settle there, no one will escape or survive to return to the land of Judah where they long to return and live. <n>{Lit. live there}</n> Indeed, they won't return, except for some <n>{The Heb. lacks for some}</n> refugees.»" 


text:
<n>{The Refugees Refuse to Repent}</n> d Then all the men who knew that their wives were offering sacrifices to other gods and all the women who were standing by a large group, including all the people who were living in the land of Egypt in Pathros answered Jeremiah: 


text:
Rather, we will keep doing everything that we said we would <n>{Lit. every word that comes out of our mouths}</n> by offering sacrifices to the Queen of Heaven <n>{I.e. the Near Eastern fertility goddess Ishtar}</n> and by pouring out liquid offerings to her just as we, our ancestors, our kings, and our leaders did in the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem. Then we had plenty of bread, things went well for us, and we didn't experience disaster. 


text:
From the time we stopped offering sacrifices to the Queen of Heaven and pouring out liquid offerings to her, we have lacked everything, and we have been consumed <n>{Lit. have come to an end}</n> by the sword and famine. 


text:
Indeed, we <n>{I.e. the women}</n> are going to continue offering sacrifices to the Queen of Heaven and pouring out liquid offerings to her. And do you think we have made <n>{Lit. And have we made}</n> cakes to represent her or poured out liquid offerings for her without our husbands'approval?" <n>{Lit. apart from our husbands}</n> 


text:
<n>{Final Judgment Proclaimed}</n> d Then Jeremiah spoke a message to all the people, to the young men, to the women, and to all the people who were answering him: 


text:
"As for the sacrifices that you, your ancestors, your kings, your officials, and the people of the land offered in the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem, the Lord remembered them, did he not? And they came to his attention, did they not? 


text:
The Lord could no longer bear it because of your evil deeds and the repulsive things that you did. So your land has become a ruin and an object of horror and ridicule without an inhabitant, as is the case today. 


text:
Because you offered sacrifices and sinned against the Lord , you didn't obey the Lord and didn't live according to his Law, his statutes, or his testimonies; therefore, this disaster has happened to you, as is the case today." 


text:
Then Jeremiah told all the people and all the women, "All you people of Judah who are in the land of Egypt, listen to this message from the Lord ! 


text:
This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says: «You and your wives have spoken with your mouths and acted with your hands: "We will certainly carry through <n>{Lit. cause to stand}</n> on the vows that we vowed to offer sacrifices to the Queen of Heaven and pour out liquid offerings to her!" Go ahead, carry through on your vows, and diligently do what you vowed!'


text:
But <n>{Or Therefore}</n> listen to this message from the Lord , all you people of <n>{The Heb. lacks you people of}</n> Judah who are living in the land of Egypt. «Look, I've sworn by my great name', says the Lord , «my name will no longer be invoked by the mouth of any person in the entire land of Egypt, as he says, "As surely as the Lord G od <n>{MT word usually translated LORD}</n> lives" <n>{I.e. using the LORD's name to confirm an oath}</n> 


text:
«Look, I'm watching over them to bring disaster rather than good. Every person of Judah in the land of Egypt will be brought to an end by the sword and by famine until they're completely gone. 


text:
The ones who escape the sword will return from the land of Egypt to the land of Judah, few in number. Then all the remnant of Judah who have come into the land of Egypt to settle will know whose message will stand, mine or theirs. 


text:
This will be a sign to you,'declares the Lord , «that I'll punish you in this place so that you may know that my words concerning disaster against you will surely stand.'


text:
This is what the Lord says: "Look, I'm going to give Pharaoh Hophra, king of Egypt, into the hands of his enemies and into the hands of those seeking his life, just as I gave Zedekiah king of Judah into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, his enemy who was seeking his life." 


text:
<n>{God's Message to Baruch}</n> d This is <n>{The Heb. lacks This is}</n> the message that Jeremiah the prophet spoke to Neriah's son Baruch, when in the fourth year of the reign of <n>{The Heb. lacks the reign of}</n> Josiah's son King Jehoiakim of Judah had, at Jeremiah's dictation, written these words in a scroll: 


text:
«You have said, "How terrible for me, for the Lord has added sorrow to my pain. I'm weary with my groaning, and I haven't found rest."'


text:
Say this to him: «This is what the Lord says: "Look! What I've built I'm about to tear down, and what I've planted I'm about to pull up and this will involve the entire land." 


text:
Are you seeking great things for yourself? Don't seek them. Indeed, I'm about to bring disaster on all flesh,'declares the Lord , «but your life will be spared <n>{Lit. life as a spoil of war}</n> wherever you go.»" 


text:
<n>{Prophecies against the Nations}</n> d This is <n>{The Heb. lacks This is}</n> the message from the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations. 


text:
<n>{Prophecies against Egypt: Its Defeat at Carchemish}</n> d To Egypt: Concerning the army of King Pharaoh Neco of Egypt, which was encamped by the Euphrates River at Carchemish and which King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon defeated in the fourth year of the reign of <n>{The Heb. lacks the reign of}</n> Josiah's son Jehoiakim, king of Judah. 


text:
Harness the horses! Riders, mount up! Take your <n>{The Heb. lacks your}</n> positions with your <n>{The Heb. lacks your}</n> helmets! Polish lances, and put on armor! 


text:
Why am I seeing this? <n>{The Heb. lacks this}</n> They're terrified, they have turned back. Their warriors are crushed, and they take flight. They don't look back. Terror is on every side," declares the Lord . 


text:
"The swift cannot flee, nor can the strong escape. In the north, beside the Euphrates River, they stumble and fall. 


text:
Egypt is rising like the Nile, like rivers whose waters surge. He says, «I'll rise and cover the land. <n>{Or earth}</n> I'll destroy the city and its inhabitants.'


text:
Horses, get up! Chariots, drive furiously! Let the warriors go forward, Ethiopia and Put, who carry shields, and the Lydians who handle and bend the bow. 


text:
That day belongs to the Lord of the Heavenly Armies. It is a day of vengeance to take vengeance on his foes. The sword will devour and be satisfied, and will drink its fill of their blood. For the Lord G od of the Heavenly Armies will hold a sacrifice in the land of the north, by the Euphrates river. 


text:
Go up to Gilead and get balm, <n>{ Balm was a spice with medicinal uses.}</n> virgin daughter of Egypt! In vain you multiply remedies, but there is no healing for you. 


text:
The nations have heard of your disgrace, and your cry of distress fills the earth. Indeed, one warrior stumbles over another, and both of them fall down together." 


text:
<n>{Nebuchadnezzar's Conquest of Egypt}</n> d This is the message that the Lord spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon to conquer <n>{Lit. strike down}</n> the land of Egypt. 


text:
"Announce in Egypt, proclaim in Migdol. Proclaim also in Memphis and Tahpanhes. Say, «Take your positions and be ready, for the sword will devour all around you.'


text:
Why are your warriors prostrate? They don't stand <n>{Or Why does Apis flee and your bull not stand?}</n> because the Lord has brought them down. 


text:
They repeatedly stumble and fall. They say to each other, «Get up! Let's go back to our people and to the land of our birth, away from the oppressor's sword.'


text:
There they'll cry out, «Pharaoh, king of Egypt, is just a big noise. He has let the appointed time pass by.'<n>{I.e. he has missed the opportunity}</n> 


text:
As certainly as I'm alive and living," declares the King, whose name is the Lord of the Heavenly Armies, "Indeed, one will come like Tabor among the mountains and like Carmel by the sea. 


text:
Prepare your baggage for exile, daughter living in Egypt, for Memphis will become a desolate place. It will become a ruin without inhabitant. 


text:
Even the mercenary troops in her ranks are like a fattened calf. They too will turn around, and will flee together. They won't stand, for the day of their disaster is coming on them, the time of their punishment. 


text:
Her cry will be like that of a fleeing serpent when they come in strength. They're coming to her with axes like woodcutters. 


text:
They'll cut down her forest, though it's impenetrable," declares the Lord , "for they're more numerous than locusts, and there are too many of them to count. 


text:
The daughter of Egypt will be put to shame, she will be given into the hands of the people from the north." 


text:
The Lord of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel says, "Look, I'm going to punish Amon of Thebes, Pharaoh, Egypt, its gods and its kings, Pharaoh, and those who trust in him. 


text:
I'll give them to those who are seeking their lives and to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and his officers. <n>{Or servants}</n> Then afterwards, Egypt will be inhabited as in times past," declares the Lord . 


text:
<n>{Israel will be Delivered}</n> d "As for you, my servant Jacob, don't be afraid, and Israel, don't be dismayed. For I'll deliver you from a distant place, and your descendants from the land of their captivity. Jacob will return. He will be undisturbed and secure, and no one will cause him to fear. 


text:
"As for you, my servant Jacob, don't be afraid, and Israel, don't be dismayed," declares the Lord , "for I am with you. Indeed, I'll make an end of all the nations where I scattered you; but I won't make an end of you! I'll discipline you justly, but I'll certainly not leave you unpunished." 


text:
<n>{A Prophecy against the Philistines}</n> d This is <n>{The Heb. lacks This is}</n> the message from the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the Philistines, before Pharaoh conquered Gaza. 


text:
This is what the Lord says: "Look, waters are rising from the north, and they'll become an overflowing river. They'll overflow the land and all that fills it <n>{Lit. its fullness}</n> the city and those that live in it. People will cry out, and all those living in the land will wail. 


text:
At the sound of the galloping hooves of his horses, <n>{Lit. his strong ones}</n> at the rumbling of his chariots, the clatter of his wheels, fathers won't turn back for their <n>{The Heb. lacks their}</n> children because their hands are weak, 


text:
for the day is coming to destroy all the Philistines, to cut off from Tyre and Sidon every helper who remains. For the Lord is destroying the Philistines, the remnant of the coastlands of Caphtor. <n>{I.e. Crete and the Aegean islands from which the Philistines came}</n> 


text:
Baldness <n>{I.e. the head was shaved as a rite of mourning}</n> is coming to Gaza. Ashkelon is silenced. Remnant of their valley, how long will you gash yourself? <n>{I.e. people made cuts on their bodies as an act of mourning}</n> 


text:
Ah, sword of the Lord , how long before you are quiet? Put yourself into your scabbard, be at rest, be silent! 


text:
How can it be quiet, when the Lord has ordered disaster to come to Ashkelon and the seashore? That's where he has assigned it." 


text:
<n>{A Prophecy against Moab}</n> d To Moab: This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says: "How terrible for Nebo, for it's laid waste. Kiriathaim is put to shame, it's captured. The fortress is put to shame, it's shattered. 


text:
The pride of Moab is no more. In Heshbon they plotted evil against her: «Come and let's eliminate her as a nation.'Madmen <n>{ Madmen was a town in Moab. The name sounds like the Heb. word silenced}</n> will also be silenced, and the sword will pursue you. 


text:
Indeed, at the ascent of Luhith people will go up with bitter weeping. At the descent of Horonaim the anguished cries over the destruction will be heard. 


text:
Flee, save your lives, and you will be like a wild donkey <n>{So LXX; MT reads Aroer}</n> in the desert. 


text:
But, because you trust in your deeds and your riches, you will also be captured. Chemosh <n>{ Chemosh was the chief Moabite deity.}</n> will go out into exile, along with his priests and officials. 


text:
A destroyer will come to every town and no town will escape. The valley will be ruined and the plateau destroyed." This <n>{The Heb. lacks this .}</n> is what the Lord has said! 


text:
"Put salt <n>{Or take wing}</n> on Moab <n>{I.e. as a sign of destruction}</n> for she will surely fall. Her towns will become desolate places, <n>{Lit. a desolation}</n> without any inhabitants in them. 


text:
Cursed is the one who is slack in doing the Lord's work. Cursed is the one who holds back his sword from shedding <n>{The Heb. lacks shedding}</n> blood. 


text:
Moab has been at ease from his youth. He has been undisturbed like wine <n>{The Heb. lacks like wine}</n> on its dregs and not poured from vessel to vessel. He has not gone into exile. Therefore, his flavor has remained, and his aroma has not changed. 


text:
"Therefore, look, days are coming," declares the Lord , "when I'll send those who tip over vessels <n>{The Heb. lacks vessels}</n> to him, and they'll tip him over. They'll empty his vessels and shatter his jars. 


text:
Moab will be ashamed because of Chemosh just as the house of Israel was ashamed because of Bethel, their confidence. 


text:
"How can you say, «We're strong warriors, and soldiers ready <n>{The Heb. lacks ready}</n> for battle'? 


text:
Moab will be destroyed, and the enemy <n>{Lit. he}</n> will come up against her cities. Her finest young men will go down to slaughter," declares the King, whose name is the Lord of the Heavenly Armies. 


text:
Mourn for him, all who live around him, and all who know his name. Say, «Oh how the mighty rod is broken, the glorious staff.'


text:
"Come down from glory, and sit on parched ground, O woman who lives in Dibon, for the destroyer of Moab will come up against you to destroy you. He will destroy your strongholds. 


text:
Stand by the road and keep watch, O woman who lives in Aroer. Ask the man who flees and the woman who escapes. Say, «What happened'? 


text:
Moab will be put to shame, for it will be destroyed. Wail and cry out. Announce by the Arnon that Moab is destroyed. 


text:
Judgment has come to the plateau: <n>{Moab was located on a plateau overlooking the Jordan River.}</n> to Holon and Jahzah, and against Mephaath, 


text:
"Make him drunk for he has exalted himself against the Lord . Moab will wallow in his vomit, and he will be the object of mocking. 


text:
Wasn't Israel an object of mocking for you? Wasn't he treated like a thief, <n>{Lit. found among thieves}</n> so that whenever you spoke about him you shook your head in contempt? <n>{The Heb. lacks in contempt}</n> 


text:
Abandon the cities, and live on the cliffs, <n>{Or among the crags ; i.e. on the face of a cliff}</n> you inhabitants of Moab. Be like a dove that builds a nest by the mouth of a cave. 


text:
We have heard about Moab's pride he's very proud his haughtiness, his arrogance, his insolence, and his conceit. <n>{Lit. the elevation of his heart}</n> 


text:
Therefore, I'll wail for Moab, and for the whole of Moab I'll cry out, for the men of Kir-heres I'll moan. 


text:
More than the weeping for Jazer, <n>{ Jazer was a town in Moab.}</n> I'll weep for you, vine of Sibmah. <n>{ Sibmah was a town in Moab noted for its vineyards.}</n> Your branches spread out to the sea, and reached as far as the Sea of Jazer. <n>{I.e. the Dead Sea}</n> On your summer fruit and grapes <n>{Lit. your vintage}</n> the destroyer will fall. 


text:
Gladness and rejoicing will be taken away from the fruitful land. <n>{Or from Carmel}</n> From the land of Moab I'll cause the wine in the wine presses to stop flowing. <n>{The Heb. lacks flowing}</n> The workers won't tread <n>{Lit. He won't tread}</n> the grapes with a loud shout. <n>{Lit. with a shout, shout}</n> There will be no shout! 


text:
"From the cry of Heshbon, to Elealeh, to Jahaz they have lifted up their voice. From Zoar to Horonaim and to Eglath-shelishiyah, even the waters of Nimrim will become a desolate place. 


text:
In Moab," declares the Lord , "I'll put an end to the one who offers a burnt offering on the high place and to the one who burns incense to his gods. 


text:
Therefore my heart wails for Moab like flutes <n>{I.e. flutes were played as a part of mourning for the dead}</n> and my heart wails for the men of Kir-heres like flutes. Therefore they'll lose the abundance they produced. 


text:
Indeed every head will be bald <n>{I.e. heads were shaved as a sign of mourning}</n> and every beard cut short. <n>{I.e. beards were cut short as a sign of mourning}</n> There will be gashes on all the hands <n>{I.e. people cut themselves as a sign of mourning}</n> and sackcloth on the loins. 


text:
On all the housetops of Moab and in the streets there will be nothing but mourning, for I'll break Moab like a vessel that no one wants," declares the Lord . 


text:
"How it will be shattered! How they'll wail! How Moab will turn his back in shame! Moab will be an object of ridicule and terror to all those around him." 


text:
For this is what the Lord says: "Look, like an eagle one will fly swiftly and spread his wings against Moab. 


text:
The towns <n>{Or Kerioth}</n> will be captured and the strongholds seized. On that day the hearts of the warriors of Moab will be like the heart of a woman in labor. 


text:
Moab will be destroyed as a nation <n>{Lit. from being a nation}</n> because he exalted himself against the Lord . 


text:
Terror, pit, and trap will be used <n>{The Heb. lacks used}</n> against you who live in Moab," declares the Lord . 


text:
"The one who flees from the terror will fall into a pit. And the one who comes up out of the pit will be caught in a trap. For I'll bring upon her, that is upon Moab, the time of her <n>{Lit. their}</n> punishment," declares the Lord . 


text:
"The fugitives will stand without strength in the shadow of Heshbon, for fire will go out from Heshbon and a flame from the middle of Sihon. It will devour the forehead of Moab and the heads of the rebellious people. <n>{Lit. sons of tumult}</n> 


text:
How terrible for you, Moab! The people of Chemosh <n>{ Chemosh was the chief deity of Moab.}</n> will perish. Indeed, your sons will be taken into captivity, and your daughters as well. <n>{Lit. daughters into captivity}</n> 


text:
But I'll restore the fortunes of Moab in the latter days," declares the Lord . This concludes the judgment on Moab. 


text:
<n>{Prophecies against Ammon}</n> d To the people of Ammon: This is what the Lord says: "Does Israel have no sons? Does he have no heir? Why then has Milcom <n>{ Milcom or Molech was the chief deity of the Ammonites.}</n> taken possession of Gad, and his people settled in its towns? 


text:
Therefore, look, the time is <n>{Lit. the days are}</n> coming," declares the Lord , "when I'll cause a battle cry to be heard in Rabbah <n>{ Rabbah was the capital city of Ammon.}</n> of the Ammonites. It will become a desolate mound, and its towns will be burned with fire. Israel will take possession of those who possessed him," says the Lord . 


text:
"Wail, Heshbon, because Ai is destroyed. Cry out, daughters of Rabbah, put on sackcloth and lament. Run back and forth inside the walls, for Milcom is going into exile along with his priests and his princes. 


text:
Why do you boast in your valleys? Your valley is flowing away, faithless daughter, who trusted in her treasures, saying, «Who will come against me? '


text:
Look, I'm bringing terror on you from all around you," declares the Lord GOD of the Heavenly Armies. "You will be driven out, fleeing recklessly, <n>{Lit. each one before him}</n> and there will be no one to gather the fugitives. 


text:
But afterwards I'll restore the fortunes of the people of Ammon," <n>{Lit. the sons of Ammon}</n> declares the Lord . 


text:
<n>{Prophecies against Edom}</n> d To Edom: This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies says: "Is there no longer wisdom in Teman? Has counsel perished among the prudent? Is their wisdom gone? 


text:
Flee, turn around! Go to a remote place to stay, residents of Dedan! For I'll bring Esau's <n>{I.e. the Edomites were descendants of Esau}</n> disaster on him at the time when I punish him. 


text:
If the grape harvesters came to you, would they not leave gleanings? If thieves came at night, they would destroy only until they had enough. 


text:
But I'll strip Esau bare. I'll uncover his hiding places so he cannot conceal himself. His offspring, his relatives, and his neighbors will be destroyed, and he will no longer exist. 


text:
For this is what the Lord says: "Look, those who don't deserve <n>{Lit. it was not their judgment}</n> to drink the cup will surely drink it, and will you actually go unpunished? You won't go unpunished! You will certainly drink it! <n>{The Heb. lacks it}</n> 


text:
Indeed, I've sworn by myself," declares the Lord , "that Bozrah will become an object of horror and scorn, a waste, and an object of ridicule. All her towns will become perpetual ruins." 


text:
I've heard a message from the Lord , and a messenger has been sent among the nations: "Gather together and come up against her, and rise up to fight. 


text:
The terror you cause and the pride of your heart have deceived you. You who live in hidden places in the rocks, who hold on to the heights of the hill, although you make your nest high like the eagle, I'll bring you down from there," declares the Lord . 


text:
"Edom will become an object of horror. Everyone who passes by her will be horrified and will scoff <n>{Lit. hiss ; i.e. hissing was an expression of contempt}</n> because of all her wounds. 


text:
Just like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and their <n>{Lit. her}</n> neighbors," says the Lord , "no one will live there. No human being will reside in it. 


text:
Look, like a lion comes up from the thicket of the Jordan to a pasture that grows year round, <n>{Lit. a perpetual pasture}</n> so I'll drive them <n>{So LXX; Heb. him ; i.e. the Edomites}</n> away from her in an instant, and I'll appoint whomever is chosen over her. Indeed, who is like me? Who gives me counsel? Who is the shepherd who will stand against me?" 


text:
Therefore, hear the plan that the Lord has made against Edom, and the strategy that he devised against the inhabitants of Teman. Surely he will drag the little ones of the flock away. Surely their pasture will be desolate because of them. 


text:
The earth will quake at the sound of their fall. A cry it's her voice is heard at the Reed <n>{So MT; LXX lacks Reed}</n> Sea. 


text:
Look, he will rise up and fly swiftly like an eagle. He will spread his wings against Bozrah, and on that day the hearts of the warriors of Edom will be like the heart of a woman in labor. 


text:
<n>{Prophecies against Damascus}</n> d To Damascus: "Hamath and Arpad will be humiliated. Their courage melts because they have heard bad news. There is anxiety like <n>{Lit. by}</n> the sea that cannot be calmed. 


text:
Damascus will become weak. She will turn to flee, but panic will seize her. Distress and anguish will take hold of her like that of <n>{The Heb. lacks that of}</n> a woman giving birth. 


text:
Why <n>{Lit. How}</n> is the famous city, <n>{Lit. city of praise}</n> the joyful town, not abandoned? 


text:
Therefore her young men will fall in her streets, and all her soldiers will be silenced on that day," declares the Lord of the Heavenly Armies. 


text:
<n>{Prophecies against Kedar and Hazor}</n> d To Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor that King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon destroyed: This is what the Lord says: "Arise, go against Kedar! Plunder the people of the east! 


text:
Take their tents and their flocks, their tent curtains and all their goods. Take their camels away from them. Cry out against them, «Terror is all around!'


text:
Flee! Run away quickly! Go to a remote place to stay, residents of Hazor," declares the Lord . "For King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon has formed a plan and devised a strategy against them. 


text:
"Arise, go up against a nation at ease, living securely," declares the Lord , "without gates or bars, living alone. 


text:
Their camels will become booty, their many herds will become spoil. I'll scatter to the winds those who shave the corners of their beards, <n>{Lit. cut off of the side}</n> and I'll bring disaster on them from every side," declares the Lord . 


text:
"Hazor will become a dwelling place for jackals, a perpetual wasteland. No one will live there; no human being will reside in it." 


text:
<n>{Prophecies against Elam}</n> d This is what came as a message from the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet about Elam at the beginning of the reign of King Zedekiah of Judah: 


text:
This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies says: "Look, I'm going to break the bow of Elam, the finest of their troops. 


text:
I'll bring the four winds against Elam from the four corners of the heavens, and I'll scatter them to all these winds. There will be no nation to which the exiles from Elam won't go. 


text:
I'll terrify Elam before their enemies and before those who seek to kill them. I'll bring on them disaster and become fiercely angry at them," declares the Lord . "I'll send the sword after them, until I've made an end of them. 


text:
<n>{Prophecies against Babylon}</n> d This is <n>{The Heb. lacks This is}</n> the message that the Lord spoke through the prophet Jeremiah about Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans. 


text:
"Declare and proclaim among the nations. Lift up a banner and proclaim. Don't conceal anything. <n>{The Heb. lacks anything}</n> Say, «Babylon will be captured. Bel <n>{ Bel was another name for Marduk , the sun god of Babylon}</n> will be disgraced, and Marduk will be destroyed. Her idols will be disgraced, and her filthy images will be destroyed.'


text:
For a nation from the north will go up against her. It will make her land into an object of horror, and no one will live in it. Both people and animals will wander off, and they'll leave. 


text:
In those days, and at that time," declares the Lord , "the people of Israel will come together with the people of Judah. They'll be weeping as they travel along, and they'll be seeking the Lord their God. 


text:
They'll ask the way to Zion, turning their faces in that direction. They'll come <n>{So with LXX; MT reads Come!}</n> and join themselves to the Lord in an everlasting covenant that won't be forgotten. 


text:
My people have become lost sheep. Their shepherds have led them astray, turning them toward the mountains. They go from mountain to hill. They have forgotten their resting place. 


text:
All who find them devour them, but their enemies say, «We're not guilty, because they have sinned against the Lord , the habitation of righteousness, the Lord , the hope of their ancestors.'


text:
Move away from the middle of Babylon, and go out of the land of the Chaldeans. Be like male goats at the head <n>{Lit. in front of}</n> of the flock. 


text:
Indeed, I'm going to stir up and bring against Babylon a great company of nations from the land of the north. They'll deploy for battle against her, and from there she will be captured. Their arrows will be like a skilled warrior; they won't miss their targets. <n>{Lit. won't return empty-handed}</n> 


text:
The Chaldeans will become plunder, and all who plunder them will get more than enough," declares the Lord . 


text:
"Though you rejoice, though you exult, you plunderers of my inheritance, though you skip around like a heifer in the grass <n>{So LXX; MT reads like a threshing heifer}</n> and neigh like stallions, 


text:
your mother will be greatly devastated, she who gave birth to you will be ashamed. She will become the least of the nations, a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert. 


text:
Because of the anger of the Lord she won't be inhabited, but will be utterly devastated. Everyone who passes by Babylon will be horrified and will scoff <n>{Lit. hiss ; i.e. hissing was an expression of contempt}</n> because of all her wounds. 


text:
Deploy the troops all around Babylon. All who bend the bow, shoot at her and spare no arrows, for she has sinned against the Lord . 


text:
Raise a battle cry against her on every side. She has surrendered, <n>{Lit. she has given her hand}</n> her pillars have fallen, her walls are thrown down. For this is the vengeance of the Lord . Take vengeance on her; as she has done, do to her. 


text:
Eliminate from Babylon the one who plants seeds and the one who uses the sickle at harvest time. Because of the oppressor's sword, let each one turn toward his own people and flee to his own land." 


text:
<n>{Hope for Israel}</n> d "Israel is a scattered flock, driven out by lions. The first to devour him was the king of Assyria, and then afterward <n>{The Heb. lacks afterward}</n> King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon gnawed <n>{The Heb. lacks gnawed}</n> his bones. 


text:
Therefore this is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says: «Look, I'm about to judge the king of Babylon and his land, just as I've judged the king of Assyria. 


text:
I'll bring Israel back to his pasture. He will graze on Carmel, on Bashan, on Mt. Ephraim, and on Gilead his hunger will be satisfied. 


text:
In those days and at that time,'declares the Lord , «the iniquity of Israel will be searched for, but there will be none; and the sin of Judah, but none will be found, because I'll pardon those I leave as a remnant.»" 


text:
<n>{God's Judgment on Babylon}</n> d "Go up against the land of Merathaim <n>{ Merathaim was an area in southern Mesopotamia; the Heb. word means double rebellion}</n> and the inhabitants of Pekod. <n>{ Pekod was a region in southern Mesopotamia; the Heb. word means punishment}</n> Kill them with swords, and completely destroy them," declares the Lord , "and do everything that I've commanded you. 


text:
How the hammer of all the earth is cut off and broken! How Babylon has become a horror among the nations! 


text:
I'll set a trap for you, and you will be caught, Babylon, but you don't realize it. You will be found and also seized, because you challenged the Lord ! 


text:
"The Lord will open his armory, and bring out the weapons of his anger. Indeed, a work of the Lord GOD <n>{Heb. Yahweh, usually translated LORD}</n> of the Heavenly Armies will be in the land of the Chaldeans. 


text:
Come to her from afar. <n>{Lit. from the end}</n> Open up her barns. Pile her up like heaps of grain, and completely destroy her. Don't leave any survivors. 


text:
Put all her bulls to the sword, let them go down to the slaughter. How terrible for them because their day has come, the time of their judgment. 


text:
"The sound of fugitives and refugees will come from the land of Babylon to declare in Zion the vengeance of the Lord our God, vengeance for his Temple. 


text:
"Summon many to Babylon, all those who bend the bow. Camp all around her, let no one escape. Repay her according to her deeds. Do to her just as she has done. For she has behaved arrogantly against the Lord, against the Holy One of Israel. 


text:
Therefore, her warriors will fall in her streets, and all her soldiers will be silenced on that day," declares the Lord . 


text:
"Look, I'm against you, arrogant one," declares the Lord God of the Heavenly Armies. "Indeed your day is coming, the time of your judgment. 


text:
The arrogant one will stumble and fall, and there will be no one to lift him up. I'll set fire to his cities, and it will devour everything around him." 


text:
This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies says: "The people of <n>{Lit. sons of}</n> Israel are oppressed, along with the people of <n>{Lit. sons of}</n> Judah. All their captors have held on to them and refused to let them go. 


text:
Their Redeemer <n>{I.e. the one who pleads their case in a court of law}</n> is strong, the Lord of the Heavenly Armies is his name. He will vigorously plead their case in order to bring rest to the earth, but turmoil to the inhabitants of Babylon. 


text:
A sword against the Chaldeans," declares the Lord , "and against the inhabitants of Babylon, against her officials and her wise men. 


text:
A sword against the diviners. <n>{Lit. empty talkers ; a pun on the Babylonian word for these priests}</n> They'll be made fools. A sword against her warriors. They'll be shattered. 


text:
A sword against her horses, against her chariots, <n>{Lit. against his horses, against his chariots}</n> and against all the foreign troops <n>{Lit. mixed peoples}</n> in her midst. They'll become women. A sword against her treasures. They'll be plundered. 


text:
A drought against her waters. They'll dry up. For it's a land of idols, and they go mad over their terrifying images. 


text:
Therefore the desert creatures along with hyenas will live there. They'll live in it with ostriches, but people won't live in it again. They won't inhabit it from generation to generation. 


text:
Just as when God overthrew Sodom, Gomorrah, and their neighbors," declares the Lord , "so also no one will live there. No human being will reside in it. 


text:
"Look, people are coming from the north. A great nation and many kings will be stirred up from the ends of the earth. 


text:
They grab bow and spear. They're cruel and show no mercy. Their sound roars like the sea, as they ride on horses deployed like men ready for battle against you, daughter of Babylon. 


text:
The king of Babylon has heard the news about them, and his hands hang limp. Distress has seized him, like a woman in labor. 


text:
"Look, like a lion comes up from the thicket of the Jordan to a pasture that grows year round, <n>{Lit. a perpetual pasture}</n> so I'll drive them away from her in an instant, and I'll appoint whomever is chosen over her. Indeed, who is like me? Who gives me counsel? Who is the shepherd who will stand against me?" 


text:
Therefore, hear the plan that the Lord has made against Babylon, and the strategy that he devised against the land of the Chaldeans. Surely they'll drag the little ones of the flock away. Surely their pasture will be desolate because of them. 


text:
At the shout that Babylon has been seized, the earth will be shaken, and the cry will be heard among the nations. 


text:
<n>{Judgment against Babylon}</n> d This is what the Lord says: "Look, I'm going to stir up a destroying wind against Babylon and the inhabitants of Leb-kamai. <n>{I.e. a cryptogram for Chaldea}</n> 


text:
I'll send foreigners to Babylon, and they'll winnow her, and devastate <n>{Lit. empty out}</n> her land. They'll come against her from every side on the day of her <n>{The Heb. lacks her}</n> disaster. 


text:
Don't let the archer <n>{Lit. one who bends the bow}</n> bend the bow; don't let him rise up in his armor. Don't spare her young men. Completely destroy her entire army. 


text:
Indeed, Israel and Judah haven't been abandoned <n>{Lit. widowed}</n> by their <n>{Lit. his}</n> God, by the Lord of the Heavenly Armies, although their land is full of guilt against the Holy One of Israel." 


text:
Flee from Babylon, <n>{Lit. from the midst of Babylon}</n> and each of you, escape with your life! Don't be destroyed <n>{Or silent}</n> because of her guilt, for it's time for the Lord's vengeance. He is paying back what is due to her. 


text:
Babylon was a golden cup in the Lord's hand, making the whole earth drunk. The nations drank her wine, therefore the nations have gone mad. 


text:
Suddenly, Babylon fell down and was shattered. Wail for her! Bring balm for her wound, perhaps she will be healed. 


text:
We tried to heal Babylon, but she wouldn't be healed. Leave her, and let each of us go to his own country. For her judgment has reached to the heavens, and is lifted up to the sky. 


text:
Sharpen the arrows, fill the quivers! The Lord has stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes he has decided to destroy Babylon. Indeed, it's the Lord's vengeance, vengeance for his Temple. 


text:
Lift up the battle standard <n>{I.e. Give the signal to attack}</n> against Babylon's walls. Strengthen the guard; post watchmen. <n>{Or guards}</n> Set men in position for an ambush. For the Lord will both plan and carry out what he has declared against the inhabitants of Babylon. 


text:
You who live beside many waters, rich in treasures, your end has come, your life thread is cut. <n>{Or the measure of your unjust gain}</n> 


text:
The Lord of the Heavenly Armies has sworn by himself: "I'll surely fill you with soldiers <n>{Lit. men}</n> like a swarm of locusts, and they'll sing songs of victory over you." 


text:
<n>{Praise to the God of Jacob}</n> d He made the earth by his power. He established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding he spread out the heavens. 


text:
When his voice sounds, there is thunder from the waters of heaven, and he makes clouds rise up from the ends of the earth. He makes lightning for the rain and brings wind out of his storehouses. 


text:
Everyone is stupid <n>{I.e. like a beast}</n> and without knowledge. Every goldsmith is put to shame by his own idols, for his images are false, <n>{Lit. deception}</n> and there is no life in them. 


text:
The Portion of Jacob <n>{I.e. Portion of Jacob is a name for the Lord}</n> is not like these. He made everything, including the tribe of his inheritance. The Lord of the Heavenly Armies is his name. 


text:
<n>{The Lord's Instrument of Judgment}</n> d "You are my war-club and weapons of war. I'll smash nations with you and destroy kingdoms with you. 


text:
I'll smash man and woman with you. I'll smash old man and young boy with you. I'll smash young man and young woman <n>{Or virgin}</n> with you. 


text:
I'll smash the shepherd and his flock with you. I'll smash the farmer and his team of oxen with you. I'll smash governors and officials with you. 


text:
"Before your eyes I'll repay Babylon and all the inhabitants of Chaldea for all the evil that they did in Zion," declares the Lord . 


text:
"Look, I'm against you, destroying mountain, who destroys the whole earth," declares the Lord . "I'll stretch out my hand against you and roll you down from the crags. And I'll make you a burned-out mountain. 


text:
They won't get a cornerstone or a foundation stone from you, because you will be a wasteland forever," declares the Lord . 


text:
Lift up a battle standard in the land. Blow a trumpet among the nations. Consecrate the nations against her. Summon the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz against her. Appoint a commander against her, bring up horses like bristling locusts. 


text:
Consecrate the nations against her, the kings of the Medes, their governors, their prefects, and every land under their domination. 


text:
The land quakes and writhes because the Lord's purposes against Babylon stand firm, to make the land of Babylon a waste without inhabitants. 


text:
The warriors of Babylon have stopped fighting. They stay in their strongholds; their strength is dried up; they have become like women. Her buildings are set on fire; the bars of her gates are broken. 


text:
One runner runs to meet another runner, <n>{Lit. to meet a runner}</n> and one messenger to meet another messenger, <n>{Lit. to meet a messenger}</n> to tell the king of Babylon that his city has been seized from one end to the other. <n>{Lit. from the end}</n> 


text:
For this is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says: "The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor at the time when it's pounded down. <n>{I.e. threshing floors were pounded and smoothed in preparation for an upcoming harvest}</n> In just a little while, the time of her harvest will come." 


text:
<n>{Judah's Complaint against Babylon}</n> d "King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon has devoured me and crushed me. He set me down like an empty vessel. He swallowed me like a monster, and filled his belly with my delicacies. Then he washed me away. 


text:
May the violence done to me and my flesh be on Babylon," says the inhabitant of Zion. "May my blood be on the inhabitants of Chaldea," says Jerusalem. 


text:
Therefore this is what the Lord says: "Look, I'm going to argue your case and take vengeance for you. I'll dry up her sea and make her fountain dry. <n>{I.e. dry up the source of Babylon's waters}</n> 


text:
Babylon will become a heap of ruins, a refuge for jackals, a desolate place and an object of scorn. <n>{Lit. hissing ; i.e. as a sign of mocking and contempt}</n> 


text:
When they're excited <n>{Lit. hot}</n> I'll serve them their banquet, and make them drunk until they're merry. They'll sleep forever and won't wake up," declares the Lord . 


text:
"How Sheshak <n>{ Sheshak is a cryptogram for Babylon.}</n> will be captured, and the prince of all the earth seized! How Babylon will become an object of horror among the nations! 


text:
The sea will come up against Babylon, and she will be covered by wave upon wave. <n>{Lit. its many waves}</n> 


text:
Her cities will become an object of horror, a dry land and a desert, a land in which no one lives, and through which no human being passes. 


text:
I'll punish Bel <n>{ Bel was another name for Marduk , the sun god of Babylon.}</n> in Babylon, and I'll make what he has swallowed come out of his mouth. The nations will no longer stream to him. Even the wall of Babylon will fall. 


text:
Do this <n>{Lit. And}</n> now, so your heart does not grow faint, and so you don't become frightened because of the rumors <n>{Lit. rumor}</n> that are heard in the land a rumor comes one year <n>{Lit. in a year}</n> and then after it another rumor <n>{Lit. a rumor}</n> comes the next year <n>{Lit. in a year}</n> about violence in the land and one ruler against another ruler. <n>{Lit. a ruler against a ruler}</n> 


text:
Therefore, look, days are coming when I'll punish the idols of Babylon. Her entire land will be put to shame, and all her slain will fall in her midst. 


text:
Then the heavens and the earth and all that are in them will shout for joy about Babylon because the destroyers will come out of the north against her," declares the Lord . 


text:
"So Babylon will fall because of the slain of Israel, even as the slain of all the earth have fallen because of Babylon. 


text:
Go, you who escaped the sword! Don't stand around! Remember the Lord from far away, and let Jerusalem come to your mind. 


text:
We have been put to shame because we have heard insults. Disgrace has covered our faces because foreigners have come into the Holy Places of the Lord's house. 


text:
"Therefore, look, days are coming," declares the Lord , "when I'll punish her idols, and throughout her land the wounded will groan. 


text:
Though Babylon should reach up to the heavens and fortify her high fortresses, from me destroyers will come to her," declares the Lord . 


text:
For the Lord is destroying Babylon, and he will make the loud sounds from her disappear. <n>{Lit. perish}</n> Their waves will roar like many waters, the noise of their voices will sound forth. 


text:
Indeed, the destroyer is coming against her, against Babylon. Her warriors are captured, and her bows are broken. For the Lord is a God of recompense, and he will repay in full. 


text:
I'll make their leaders, their wise men, their governors, their deputies, and their warriors drunk so that they sleep forever and don't wake up," declares the King whose name is the Lord of the Heavenly Armies. 


text:
This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies says: "The broad wall of Babylon will be completely leveled, and its high gate set on fire. and so the peoples toil for nothing, and the nations weary themselves only for fire." 


text:
<n>{Jeremiah's Symbolic Message against Babylon}</n> d This is <n>{The Heb. lacks This is}</n> the message that Jeremiah the prophet delivered <n>{Lit. commanded}</n> to Neriah's son Seraiah, the grandson of Mahseiah, when he went with King Zedekiah of Judah to Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. Seraiah was the quartermaster. 


text:
Jeremiah wrote on a single scroll all the disasters that would come on Babylon, all these things that were written about Babylon. 


text:
and say, «Lord , you have declared about this place that you would destroy it so that there wouldn't be an inhabitant in it, neither human nor animal, because it will be a wasteland forever.'


text:
When you finish reading this scroll, tie a rock around it and throw it into the middle of the Euphrates. 


text:
Then say, «Babylon will sink like this and won't rise from the disaster that I'm bringing on her. Her people <n>{Lit. They}</n> will be exhausted.»" This concludes the writings of Jeremiah. 


text:
<n>{The Fall of Jerusalem}</n> d Zedekiah was 21 years old when he began to rule, and he ruled for 11 years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 


text:
Because Jerusalem and Judah had angered the Lord, he cast them out of his presence. Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon, 


text:
and in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came against Jerusalem with all his army. He encamped near it and set up siege works all around it. 


text:
The city was under siege until the eleventh year of the reign of <n>{The Heb. lacks the reign of}</n> King Zedekiah. 


text:
By the ninth day of the fourth month the famine became so severe that there was no food for the people of the land. 


text:
The wall of <n>{The Heb. lacks The wall of}</n> the city was broken through, and all the soldiers fled, leaving the city at night through the gate between the two walls next to the king's garden, even though the Chaldeans were all around the city. They went in the direction of the Arabah. <n>{I.e. the Jordan Valley}</n> 


text:
The Chaldean army went after the king, overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho, and all his troops were scattered from him. 


text:
They captured the king and brought him to the king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, where the king of Babylon <n>{Lit. he}</n> passed judgment on him. 


text:
The king of Babylon killed Zedekiah's sons before his eyes, and he also killed all the Judean officials <n>{Or princes}</n> at Riblah. 


text:
He blinded Zedekiah and bound him in bronze shackles. Then the king of Babylon took him to Babylon and put him in prison until he died. 


text:
<n>{The Destruction of the Temple}</n> d In the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month it was the nineteenth year of the reign of <n>{The Heb. lacks the reign of}</n> King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard who served <n>{Lit. who stood before}</n> the king of Babylon, entered Jerusalem. 


text:
He burned the Lord's Temple, the king's house, and all the houses in Jerusalem. He also burned every public building <n>{Or He burned every large house}</n> with fire. 


text:
All the Chaldean troops who were with the captain of the guard tore down all the walls around Jerusalem. 


text:
Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried into exile some of the poorest of the people, the rest of the people left in the city, the deserters who had defected to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the craftsmen. 


text:
But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left some of the poorest people of the land to be vinedressers and farmers. <n>{Lit. tillers}</n> 


text:
The Chaldeans broke in pieces the bronze pillars that were in the Lord's Temple and the stands and the bronze sea that were in the Lord's Temple, and they carried all the <n>{Lit. their bronze}</n> bronze to Babylon. 


text:
They took away the pots, the shovels, the snuffers, the basins, the pans, and all the bronze utensils that were used in the temple service. 


text:
The captain of the guard took away the bowls, the fire pans, the basins, the pots, the lamp stands, the pans, and the bowls for libations, both those made of gold and those made of silver. 


text:
There was too much bronze to weigh in the two pillars, the one sea, the twelve bronze oxen that were under the sea, <n>{The Heb. lacks the sea}</n> and the stands which King Solomon had made for the Lord's Temple. 


text:
Each of the pillars was eighteen feet <n>{Lit. 12 cubits ; or about 5.5 meters}</n> high and its circumference eighteen feet. <n>{Lit. a line of 12 cubits would surround it}</n> It was hollow and about three inches <n>{Lit. four fingers}</n> thick. 


text:
On each pillar <n>{Lit. on it}</n> was a capital of bronze., ad the height of each capital was seven and a half feet. <n>{Lit. five cubits ; or about 2.29 meters}</n> Latticework and pomegranates, all of bronze, were all around the capital. And the second pillar was like this, including the pomegranates. 


text:
There were 96 pomegranates open to view. <n>{Or evenly spread}</n> In all, there were 100 pomegranates all around the latticework. 


text:
<n>{Executions and Deportations to Babylon}</n> d The captain of the guard arrested Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the next ranking priest, <n>{Lit. the number two priest}</n> and the three guards of the gate. <n>{Lit. of the threshold ; i.e. high Temple officials}</n> 


text:
From the city he arrested one of the officers who had been in charge of the troops, seven men from the king's personal advisors who were found in the city, the secretary of the commander of the army who mustered the people of the land, and 60 men of the people of the land who were found inside the city. 


text:
Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard arrested them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 


text:
The king of Babylon struck them down and killed them at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah went into exile from the land. 


text:
in Nebuchadnezzar's twenty-third year, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took 745 people from Judah into exile. All the people taken into exile <n>{The Heb. lacks taken into exile}</n> numbered 4,600. 


text:
<n>{Jehoiachin Released from Prison}</n> d In the first year of his reign, King Evil-merodach of Babylon, showed favor to King Jehoiachin of Judah by releasing him from prison on the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth month in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of King Jehoiachin of Judah. 


text:
He spoke kindly to him and gave him a seat above the seats of the other <n>{The Heb. lacks other}</n> kings who were in Babylon with him. 


text:
Jehoiachin <n>{Lit. He}</n> changed his prison clothes and regularly dined with the king <n>{Lit. ate food before him}</n> as long as he lived. 


text:
As for his allowance, a regular allowance was given him daily by the king of Babylon as long as he lived, <n>{Lit. all the days of his life}</n> until the day of his death. 


text:
<n>{ The Book of}</n> <n>{ Lamentations}</n> d <n>{The Sorrowful City}</n> <n>{This book is an acrostic successive verses begin with a consecutive letter of the Heb. alphabet except in chapter 3, where every three verses begin with the same consecutive Heb. letter.}</n> d How lonely she lies, the city that thronged with people! Like a widow she has become, this great one among nations! The princess among provinces has become a vassal. 


text:
Bitterly she cries in the night, as tears stream down <n>{The Heb. lacks stream down}</n> her cheeks. No one consoles her of all her friends. All her neighbors have betrayed her; they have become her enemies. 


text:
Judah has gone into exile to escape affliction and servitude. She that sat among the nations, has found no rest. All her pursuers overtook her amid narrow passes. 


text:
The roads that lead to Zion are in mourning, because no one travels to the festivals. All her gates are desolate; her priests are moaning. Her young women <n>{Lit. virgins}</n> are grieving, <n>{Or are led away .}</n> and she is bitter. 


text:
Her adversaries dominate her, her enemies prosper. For the Lord has made her suffer because of her many transgressions. Her children have gone away, taken into captivity in the presence of the enemy. 


text:
Fled from cherished <n>{Lit. from the daughter of}</n> Zion are all that were her splendor. Her princes have become like deer that cannot find their feeding grounds. They flee with strength exhausted from their pursuers. 


text:
Jerusalem remembers <n>{Or Remember, Lord , Jerusalem,}</n> her time of affliction and misery; all her valued belongings <n>{Or Perished are all her valued belongings}</n> of days gone by, when her people fell into enemy hands, with no one to help her, and her enemies stared at her, mocking her downfall. 


text:
Jerusalem sinned greatly, and she became unclean. <n>{Lit. has been removed ; i.e. due to ritual uncleanness}</n> All who honored her now despise her, because they saw her naked. She herself groans and turns her face away. 


text:
Uncleanness has soiled her skirts, and she gave no thought to what would follow. She fell in such a startling way, with no one to comfort her. Look, Lord , upon my affliction, because my enemy is boasting. 


text:
The adversary seized in his hands everything she valued. She watched the nations <n>{Or watched foreigners}</n> enter her sanctuary; those you forbade to enter your place of meeting. 


text:
All her people groaned as they searched for food. They traded their valuables in order to eat, to keep themselves alive. <n>{Lit. to eat to refresh the soul}</n> Look, Lord , and see how I have become dishonored. 


text:
May it not befall you, <n>{Lit. It is not for you}</n> all who pass along the road! Look and see: Is there any grief like my grief dealt out to me, by which the Lord afflicted me in the time of his fierce wrath? 


text:
He sent fire from on high, <n>{Lit. high into my bones}</n> making it penetrate my bones. <n>{Lit. overcoming her}</n> He stretched out a net at my feet, forcing me to turn back. He made me desolate; I'm fainting all day long. 


text:
The yoke of my sins was bound on, <n>{Lit. was heavy}</n> fastened together by his hand. They settled on my neck; he caused my strength to fail. The Lord placed me in the power of those I cannot resist. 


text:
He rejected all the valiant men the Lord , in my midst. He set a time to meet with me to crush my young warriors. The Lord has trampled, as in a winepress, the fair virgin that is <n>{Lit. the virgin daughter of}</n> Judah. 


text:
Because of all this, I weep; my eyes <n>{Lit. my eyes my eyes}</n> stream with tears because far from me is the comforter of my soul. My children are sorrowful, because the enemy has won. 


text:
Zion spreads out her hands; <n>{Or Zion rent her linen garments}</n> no one is there to comfort her. The Lord has issued an order against <n>{Or Lord kept watch over}</n> Jacob, that all who are around him are to be his enemies; Jerusalem has become unclean among them. 


text:
The Lord is in the right, but I rebelled against his commands. Listen, please, all you people, and look at my pain my young men and women <n>{Lit. virgins}</n> have gone into captivity. 


text:
I called out to my lovers, <n>{Or friends}</n> but they deceived me. My priests and my elders have died within the city while looking for something to eat to keep themselves alive. 


text:
Look, Lord , how distressed I am; all my insides are churning. My heart is troubled within me, because I vigorously rebelled. Outside the sword brings loss of life, while at home death rules. 


text:
People <n>{Lit. They}</n> heard how I groan, with no one to comfort me. All my adversaries have heard about my troubles; they rejoice that you have caused them. Bring on the day you have promised, so my adversaries <n>{Lit. so they}</n> will become like me. 


text:
May all of their wickedness come to your attention, and deal with them as you have done with me because of all my transgressions. For I am constantly groaning, and my heart is faint. 


text:
<n>{The Condition of Israel}</n> d How the Lord in his wrath shamed <n>{Or enveloped}</n> cherished <n>{Lit. the daughter of}</n> Zion! He cast down from heaven to earth the glory of Israel, He did not remember his footstool <n>{I.e. the Temple}</n> in the time of his anger. 


text:
The Lord swallowed up without pity all of Jacob's habitations. In his wrath he tore down the strongholds of fair Judah. <n>{Lit. of the daughter of Judah}</n> He cast to the ground in dishonor both her kingdom and its rulers. 


text:
In his fierce wrath he cut off all the strength <n>{Lit. every horn}</n> of Israel. He withdrew his protection <n>{Lit. his right hand}</n> as the enemy approached. <n>{Lit. in front of the enemy}</n> He burned Jacob like a blazing fire consumes everything around it. 


text:
He bent his bow against us <n>{The Heb. lacks against us}</n> as would an enemy, his right hand cocked as would an adversary. He has killed everyone in whom we took pride; in the tent of cherished <n>{Lit. of the daughter of}</n> Zion he poured out his anger like fire. 


text:
The Lord has become like an enemy he has devoured Israel. He has devoured all of her palaces, destroying her fortresses. He filled cherished Judah <n>{Lit. the daughters of Judah}</n> with mourning and lament. 


text:
He plowed under his Temple <n>{Lit. tent}</n> like a garden, spoiling his tent. The Lord abolished in Zion both festivals and Sabbaths. In his fierce wrath he despised both king and priest. 


text:
The Lord rejected his altar, disavowing his sanctuary. He gave up her palace walls to the control of the enemy. They shouted in the Lord's Temple, as though they were attending a day of celebration. 


text:
The Lord planned to destroy the walls of cherished <n>{Lit. of the daughter of}</n> Zion. He measured them with his line. He did not withhold his hand from destruction. He made both ramparts and defensive walls mourn; they languish together. 


text:
Jerusalem's <n>{Lit. Her}</n> gates collapsed to the ground; he destroyed and broke the bars of her gates. <n>{The Heb. lacks gates}</n> Both king and prince have gone into captivity. <n>{Lit. into the nations}</n> There is no instruction, <n>{Or Law ; or The priests do not give their guidance}</n> and the prophets receive no vision from the Lord . 


text:
The leaders of cherished <n>{Lit. of the daughter of}</n> Zion sit silently on the ground; they throw dust on their heads and dress in mourning clothes. The young women of Jerusalem bow their heads in sorrow. <n>{Lit. heads to the ground}</n> 


text:
My eyes are worn out from crying, my insides are churning, My emotions pour out in grief <n>{Lit. my liver empties upon the ground}</n> because my people are destroyed Children and infants faint in the streets of the city. 


text:
They ask their mothers, "Is there anything to eat or drink?" <n>{Lit. any grain and wine}</n> They faint in the streets of the city like wounded men. Their life ebbs away while they lie on their mother's bosom. 


text:
What can be said about you? To what should you be compared, fair <n>{Lit. daughter of}</n> Jerusalem? To what may I liken you, so I may comfort you, fair one <n>{Lit. virgin daughter}</n> of Zion? Indeed, your wound is as deep as the sea who can heal you? 


text:
Your prophets look on your behalf; they see false and deceptive visions. They did not expose your sins in order to restore what had been captured. <n>{Lit. restore your captivity}</n> Instead, they crafted oracles for you that are false and misleading. 


text:
Everyone who passes by on the road shake their fists <n>{Or road clap their hands}</n> at you. They hiss and shake their heads at cherished <n>{Lit. at the daughter}</n> Jerusalem: "Is this the city men used to call «The Perfection of Beauty,'and «The Joy of the Entire Earth»" ? 


text:
All of your enemies insult you with gaping mouths. They hiss and grind their teeth while saying, "We have devoured her completely. Yes, this is the day that we anticipated! We found it at last; <n>{The Heb. lacks at last}</n> we have seen it!" 


text:
The Lord did what he planned. He carried out his threat. Just as he commanded long ago, he has torn down without pity; He let the enemy boast about you and has exalted the power <n>{Lit. horn}</n> of your enemies. 


text:
Cry out from your heart to the Lord, wall of fair <n>{Lit. of the daughter of}</n> Zion! Let your tears run down like a river day and night. Allow yourself no rest, and don't stop crying. 


text:
Get up and cry aloud in the night, at the beginning of every hour. <n>{Lit. of the night watches}</n> Pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord! Lift up your hands toward him for the lives of your children, who are fainting away at every street corner. 


text:
Look, Lord , and take note: To whom have you done this? Should women eat their offspring, the children they have cuddled? Should priests and prophets be slain in the sanctuary of the Lord? 


text:
Young men and the aged lie on the ground in the streets; my young women and young men have fallen by the sword. You killed them in your anger, slaughtering them without pity. 


text:
You have invited those who terrorize me to come around, as if today were a festival. No one has escaped or survived the time of the Lord's anger. My enemy has finished off those whom I cuddled and raised. 


text:
<n>{The Lord's Purposes for Affliction}</n> d I am a man familiar with affliction under the rod of God's <n>{Lit. his}</n> anger. 


text:
You have removed peace from my life; I have forgotten what prosperity is. <n>{Lit. forgotten prosperity}</n> 


text:
"The Lord is all I have," <n>{Lit. is my portion}</n> says my soul, "Therefore I will trust in him." 


text:
It is good when a young man carries the yoke of discipline <n>{The Heb. lacks of discipline}</n> in his youth. 


text:
He is to sit apart and remain silent, because the Lord <n>{Lit. because he}</n> has laid it upon him. 


text:
My eyes run with rivers of tears over the destruction of my cherished <n>{Lit. of the daughter of}</n> people. 


text:
What I see <n>{Lit. My eye}</n> grieves my soul because of all the young women <n>{Lit. the daughters}</n> of my city. 


text:
They dumped me alive into a pit, sealing me in with stone. <n>{Lit. pit, casting a stone at me}</n> 


text:
I called on your name, Lord , from the depths of the Pit, <n>{I.e. the place of punishment in the afterlife}</n> 


text:
<n>{Zion's Punishment}</n> d How tarnished the gold has become, the finest gold debased! Sacred stones <n>{Or gems}</n> have been scattered at every street corner. 


text:
Though the precious people of Zion were like fine gold, how they are valued like clay vessels, the handiwork of a potter! 


text:
Even wild animals nurse, suckling their young; but the women of my people are cruel, like ostriches in the wilderness. 


text:
The nursing child's tongue cleaves to its palate from thirst. Young children beg for bread, but no one gives them any. 


text:
Those who enjoyed delicacies lie desolate in the streets. Those who were reared wearing purple scavenge in piles of trash. 


text:
The guilt of my cherished people surpasses the sin of Sodom, which was overthrown in a moment, without a hand to help her. 


text:
Her princes <n>{Or Nazirites}</n> were purer than snow, whiter than milk. Their bodies were more ruddy <n>{I.e. reddish brown skin color}</n> than rubies, their beards like the color of precious stones. 


text:
Now their faces are blacker than coal; they are unrecognized in the streets. Their skin clings to their bones; it has become dry like a stick. 


text:
Those who die by the sword are better off than those who die from starvation, who slowly waste away like those pierced through for lack of food from the fields. 


text:
With their own hands, compassionate women boil their own children they become their food when my beloved people were <n>{Lit. when the daughter of my people was}</n> destroyed. 


text:
The Lord has exhausted his wrath, pouring out his fierce anger. He kindled a fire in Zion, consuming its foundations. 


text:
None of the kings of the earth would have believed, nor the world's inhabitants, that the adversary and the enemy could have breached the gates of Jerusalem. 


text:
Due to the sins committed by her prophets, and the iniquities of her priests who shed in her midst, the blood of the righteous, 


text:
people stagger around in the streets like the blind, defiled by blood unclean so that no one is able to touch their clothing. 


text:
"Go away! Unclean!" they shouted at them. "Go away! Go away! Don't touch!" When they fled away and wandered, those among the nations decreed, "They cannot live here!" 


text:
The Lord himself separated them; he will do nothing more for them. They did not respect their own priests; they did not honor their elders. 


text:
Our eyes failed, searching in vain for hope; we kept watching and looking for a nation that would not help. 


text:
Our steps were closely stalked, so we couldn't travel on our own streets. Our end is near, our days are over; indeed, our end has come. 


text:
Our pursuers were swifter than soaring eagles; <n>{Lit. than eagles of the heavens}</n> they pursued us over the mountains, lying in wait for us in the wilderness. 


text:
The Lord's anointed, the breath of our life, was captured in their pits. About him we had said, "Under his protection we will survive among the nations." 


text:
Celebrate and rejoice, you women <n>{Lit. daughter}</n> of Edom, who live in the land of Uz. But to you the cup also will pass you will become drunk and stripped naked. 


text:
The punishment for your sin is complete, you women <n>{Lit. daughter}</n> of Zion, and God <n>{Lit. he}</n> will no longer exile you. He will punish your iniquity, you women <n>{Lit. daughter}</n> of Edom, and he will expose your sins. 


text:
<n>{A Prayer for Deliverance}</n> d Lord , remember what has happened to us. Pay attention, and look at our shame! 


text:
Our inheritance has <n>{Or possessions have}</n> been turned over to strangers, and our homes to foreigners. 


text:
Our pursuers breathe down <n>{Lit. pursuers are on}</n> our necks; we are weary, but there is no rest for us. 


text:
We made a deal with the Egyptians and the Assyrians for the price of food. <n>{Lit. Assyrians, being satisfied with bread}</n> 


text:
Princes they have hung by their hands; elders <n>{Lit. the faces of the elders}</n> they have disrespected. 


text:
Our <n>{The Heb. lacks Our}</n> young men must grind grain with a millstone; our <n>{The Heb. lacks our}</n> youths stumble under the weight of wood. 


text:
Our <n>{The Heb. lacks Our}</n> elders have ceased ruling <n>{The Heb. lacks ruling}</n> at the gate; our <n>{The Heb. lacks our}</n> young men have abandoned <n>{The Heb. lacks have abandoned}</n> their music. 


text:
<n>{ The Book of the Prophet}</n> <n>{ Ezekiel}</n> d <n>{An Introduction to Ezekiel's Visions}</n> d On the fifth day of the fourth month of the thirtieth year of the exile to Babylon, <n>{The Heb. lacks of the exile to Babylon}</n> while I was among the captives on the bank of <n>{The Heb. lacks the bank of}</n> the Chebar River, heaven opened up and I saw visions from God. 


text:
<n>{The Vision of the Fire Cloud}</n> d On the fifth day <n>{The Heb. lacks day}</n> of the month in the fifth year of King Jehoiachin's imprisonment in exile, 


text:
a message from <n>{Lit. the word of}</n> the Lord came directly to Buzi's son Ezekiel, <n>{The Heb. name Ezekiel means My strengthener is God}</n> the priest, by the Chebar River in the land of the Chaldeans. <n>{I.e. Aramaic speaking people of southern Mesopotamia; or magi-astrologers; and so throughout the book}</n> The hand of the Lord rested upon him there. 


text:
I was amazed to see a wind storm blow <n>{Lit. come}</n> in from the north, consisting of <n>{The Heb. lacks consisting of}</n> a massive cloud and fire that was flashing back and forth, surrounded by bright light. From deep within the cloud, <n>{Lit. within it}</n> something was shining that appeared to have a color like bronze that had been placed in fire until it glowed. 


text:
<n>{The Vision of the Four Beings}</n> d Deep inside it, the likenesses of four living beings were visible. Their appearances were similar to human forms, 


text:
From under their wings there were human hands on their four sides. Now as to their four faces and four pairs of wings, 


text:
their pairs of wings overlapped each other. They moved in straight directions without turning their faces around as they moved. 


text:
The form of their faces was human, but each of the four also had the face of a lion to the right, the face of an ox to the left, and the face of an eagle behind them. <n>{The Heb. lacks behind them}</n> 


text:
That's what their faces were like. Their wings spread out above and around them, one pair overlapping another, with one pair covering themselves. 


text:
Each moved in straight directions. Wherever they decided <n>{Lit. wherever their spirit was}</n> to go, they went without turning themselves. 


text:
Now, in the midst of the living beings there was something that <n>{So LXX; MT reads These living beings}</n> appeared to glow like coals kindled by a fire, <n>{Or appeared like glowing coals of fire}</n> like torches that moved back and forth between the living beings. The fire was dazzling, and lightning flashed from the fire. 


text:
<n>{The Vision of the Wheels}</n> d As I observed the living beings, I noticed one wheel on the earth beside each being that is, for the four of them. <n>{Lit. of their faces}</n> 


text:
Their wheels and their construction details looked like gold-colored beryl. <n>{Lit. like tarshish ; i.e. a semi-precious stone similar to beryl or yellow jasper}</n> Each wheel was identical in form to the others, <n>{Lit. the four wheels}</n> and they appeared to have been constructed and designed as if one wheel were within another. 


text:
Their wheel rims were ornate <n>{Lit. lofty ; or high}</n> and terrifying. They were full of eyes that surrounded the four of them. 


text:
Whenever the living beings moved, the wheels moved, too. Whenever the living beings rose from the earth, the wheels rose also. 


text:
Whatever direction these spirits went, the wheels would be lifted up along with them, because the wheels were alive. <n>{Lit. the spirit of the living beings resided in the wheels}</n> 


text:
They moved around whenever they wanted to move around, <n>{Lit. In their moving they moved}</n> and they stood still whenever they wanted to stand still; <n>{Lit. and in their standing they stood}</n> and whenever they rose from the earth, the wheels remained close beside them, because the wheels were also alive. <n>{Lit. the spirit of the living beings resided also in the wheels}</n> 


text:
<n>{The Vision of the Wings}</n> d There was spread out over the heads of the living beings what looked like a canopy, <n>{Or expanse}</n> in outward appearance resembling ice, 


text:
and underneath the canopy, their wings spread out straight over their heads toward each other. They each also had two wings with which they covered themselves, one wing covering its body on one side and one wing covering itself on the other side. 


text:
I also heard the sound of their wings, like the sound of roaring <n>{Or of an abundant amount of}</n> water, like the voice of the Almighty, or like a boisterous crowd within an army camp. Whenever they stopped flying, they lowered their wings. 


text:
A sound came from above the canopy that was spread out over their heads. Whenever they stood still, they lowered their wings. 


text:
From above the canopy that was spread out over their heads, there appeared to be something reminiscent of a throne, resembling sapphire <n>{Or of lapis lazuli}</n> in form. <n>{The Vision of the Glory of God}</n> d There was the likeness of the appearance of a human being seated on the likeness of the throne high above. 


text:
I noticed that from what appeared to look like his waist upward there was something that looked like metal that glowed as if it were immersed in fire. Below this there was something resembling fire, with a radiant light surrounding him. 


text:
The appearance of the radiant light resembled that of a rainbow shining in a cloud on a rainy day. This was what the appearance of the form of the glory of the Lord resembled. When I saw all of this, <n>{The Heb. lacks all of this}</n> I fell flat on my face. Then I heard a voice speaking. 


text:
<n>{Ezekiel's Commission to Prophesy}</n> d "Son of Man," the Lord said, <n>{The Heb. lacks the Lord said}</n> "get up on your feet. I want to talk to you." 


text:
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. 


text:
"Son of Man, I'm sending you to that rebellious people, the Israelis, who have rebelled against me the same way their ancestors did. And they're still rebels <n>{The Heb. lacks And they're still rebels}</n> to this very day! 


text:
They're stubborn <n>{Lit. They're children of hard faces}</n> and strong willed. I'm sending you to them to tell them what the Lord says. 


text:
Whether this rebellious group <n>{Lit. house}</n> listens to you or not, at least <n>{The Heb. lacks at least}</n> they'll realize that a prophet had appeared in their midst! 


text:
"Now as for you, Son of Man, never be afraid of them or of anything they have to say, because being with them will be like settling down to live among briers, thorn bushes, and scorpions! Don't be afraid of anything they have to say, and don't be awed by their appearance, since they are a rebellious group. <n>{Lit. house}</n> 


text:
You are to tell them whatever I have to say to them, whether they listen or not, since they are rebellious." 


text:
<n>{The Vision of the Edible Scroll}</n> d "Son of Man, you are to listen to what I tell you. You are never to be rebellious like they are: a rebellious group. <n>{Lit. house}</n> Now, open your mouth and eat what I'm giving you" 


text:
As I watched, all of a sudden there was a hand being stretched out in my direction! And there was a scroll 


text:
being unrolled right in front of me! Written on both sides were lamentations, mourning, and cries of grief. <n>{The Heb. lacks of grief}</n> 


text:
<n>{Ezekiel's Commission to Prophesy}</n> d Then he told me, "Son of Man, eat! Eat what you see <n>{Lit. find}</n> this scroll and then go talk to the house of Israel." 


text:
Then he told me, "Son of Man, fill your stomach and digest this scroll that I'm giving you." So I ate it, and it was like sweet honey in my mouth. 


text:
because you're not going to a people whose speech you cannot understand or whose language is difficult to speak. Instead, you're going to the house of Israel. 


text:
This isn't a large group of people whose speech is unintelligible to you or whose language is difficult for you to comprehend. Frankly, if I had sent you to that kind of people, <n>{Lit. to them}</n> they would certainly have listened to you! 


text:
But the house of Israel won't listen to you, since they weren't willing to listen to me. That's because the entire house of Israel is hard-headed and hard-hearted. 


text:
So pay attention! I'm going to make you just as obstinate <n>{Lit. making your face hard against their faces}</n> and unyielding as they are. <n>{ and your forehead as hard as their foreheads}</n> 


text:
I'm making you harder than flint like diamond! So you are not to fear them or be intimidated by how they look at you, <n>{The Heb. lacks at you}</n> since they're a rebellious group." 


text:
<n>{Ezekiel is Commissioned to Speak}</n> d Next, he told me, "Son of Man, take to heart every word that I'm telling you. Listen carefully, 


text:
then go immediately <n>{Lit. walk and go}</n> to the exiles; that is, to your people's descendants, and tell them, «This is what the Lord G od says'whether they listen or not." <n>{Lit. or fail}</n> 


text:
Then the Spirit lifted me up and I heard a great earthquake behind me and the glory of the Lord arose from his place, 


text:
accompanied by the sound of the wings of the living creatures gently touching each other and with the sound of the wheels emanating from the front, accompanied by a great earthquake. 


text:
<n>{Ezekiel Addresses the Israelis}</n> d Then the Spirit lifted me up and carried me away. I went bitterly with an angry attitude as the hand of the Lord rested on me. 


text:
I came to the exiles at Tel-abib by the Chebar River and sat down among them for seven days, appalled. 


text:
"Son of Man," he said, <n>{The Heb. lacks he said}</n> "I've appointed you to be a watchman <n>{cf. 2Sam 18:24; 2King 9:17}</n> over the house of Israel. Therefore when you hear a message that comes from me, you are to warn them for me. 


text:
"So when I say to a wicked person, «You're about to die,'if you don't warn or instruct that wicked person that his behavior <n>{Lit. ways}</n> is wicked so he can live, that wicked person will die in his sin, but I'll hold you responsible for his death. <n>{Lit. but I'll seek his blood from your hand}</n> 


text:
If you warn the wicked person, and he doesn't repent of his wickedness or of his wicked behavior, <n>{Lit. ways}</n> he'll die in his sin, but you will have saved your own life. 


text:
"When a righteous man abandons his righteousness to practice unrighteousness, I'll set a stumbling block before him. He'll die. If you don't warn him, he'll die in his sin and the righteous deeds that he had practiced won't be remembered, but you'll be held responsible for his death. <n>{Lit. but I'll seek his blood from your hand}</n> 


text:
If you warn the righteous person, so that he <n>{Lit. righteous person .}</n> doesn't commit sin, then he'll live, since he had been warned. And you will have saved your life." 


text:
<n>{Ezekiel Sees God in the Valley}</n> d The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he told me, "Get up! Go to the valley, and I'll speak with you there." 


text:
So I got up, went to the valley, and there was the glory of the Lord, standing there just like <n>{Lit. there like the glory of the Lord that}</n> I had seen at the Chebar River. So I fell on my face. 


text:
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. 


text:
Now pay attention! They're going to bind you with ropes, tying you up right in their midst, so you won't be able to circulate freely among them. 


text:
Meanwhile, I'll make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth so that you'll be mute and unable to reprove them, since they're a rebellious group. <n>{Lit. house}</n> 


text:
But when I speak with you, I'll open your mouth so you can say to them, «This is what the Lord G od says: "As for those who will listen, «Let them listen,'but as for those who refuse, «Let them refuse,'since they're a rebellious group."»" <n>{Lit. house}</n> 


text:
<n>{The Vision of the Brick}</n> d "And now Son of Man, you are to take a brick, <n>{Or tile}</n> set it in front of you, and inscribe on it the outline of <n>{The Heb. lacks the outline of}</n> the city that is, Jerusalem. <n>{I.e. a symbolic map of the city}</n> 


text:
You are to lay siege against it, build a rampart around it, set a bulwark against it, encircle it with a berm, set up camps against it, and place battering rams around it. 


text:
Then you are to take a flat, iron plate and set it up as an iron wall between you and the city. "Next, you are to turn toward it, oppose <n>{Lit. it, set your face against}</n> it, and place it under siege, because you are to lay siege to it. All of this will serve as a sign to the house of Israel. 


text:
"Now as for you, you are to sleep <n>{Lit. lay}</n> on your left side, symbolically <n>{The Heb. lacks symbolically}</n> bearing the punishment <n>{Or iniquity}</n> of the house of Israel while you're counting the days you'll be sleeping on your left side <n>{Lit. on it}</n> to bear symbolically <n>{The Heb. lacks symbolically}</n> the punishment for <n>{Or the iniquity of}</n> their sin. 


text:
I've assigned you to sleep this way for 390 days, representing the years they've been sinning, <n>{I.e. one year for each day}</n> as you bear symbolically <n>{The Heb. lacks symbolically}</n> the punishment of the house of Israel. 


text:
When you have completed this, you are to sleep <n>{Lit. lay}</n> on your right side, symbolically <n>{The Heb. lacks symbolically}</n> bearing the iniquity of Judah for 40 days. Each day that I've assigned to you represents one year. 


text:
After this, you are to turn toward the rampart of Jerusalem and oppose <n>{Lit. and to set your face against}</n> it with your bare arms, because I'm going to prophesy about it. 


text:
Look! I'll tie you up <n>{Lit. I'll set ropes on you .}</n> so that you're unable to turn from one side to the other until you've completed your siege." 


text:
<n>{Ezekiel's Menu}</n> d "Furthermore, you are to take some wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and spelt, and mix them together in one container. Then you are to make bread from these grains sufficient to supply you through the time during which you'll be sleeping on your side. You are to eat it for 390 days. 


text:
The food that you'll be eating is to consist of eight ounce portions <n>{Lit. portions weighing 20 shekels}</n> for each day, consumed at regular intervals. <n>{Lit. it from time to time}</n> 


text:
You are to measure a pint and a half <n>{Lit. a sixth part of a hin}</n> of water each time you drink it. 


text:
You are to eat it as barley cakes and bake it right in front of them, using dried human dung for cooking fuel." <n>{The Heb. lacks for cooking fuel}</n> 


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


text:
"Now, Lord G od ," I replied, "I've never been defiled, ever since I was young until now. I haven't eaten an animal that died on its own or was torn by beasts, and no unclean meat has ever entered my mouth!" 


text:
"Okay," he responded. "I'll allow you to substitute cow's dung for human dung. Cook your food <n>{Lit. bread}</n> over that." 


text:
He also told me, "Son of Man, look! I'm about to disrupt the source <n>{Lit. staff}</n> of bread in Jerusalem. As a result, they'll ration bread by weight while their terror continues to grow and they'll ration drinking water while their horror continues to mount! 


text:
Indeed, they'll need bread and water, but everyone will be panic-stricken as they waste away in their iniquity." 


text:
<n>{Ezekiel Shaves with a Sword}</n> d "Now as for you, Son of Man, you are to go find a sharp sword and use it like a barber's razor. You are to cut your hair and beard. Then you are to take a weighing scale and divide your shaved hair into three parts. <n>{The Heb. lacks your shaved hair into three parts}</n> 


text:
You are to burn a third of it in the middle of the city when you've finished your siege. Next, you are to take another third of it and beat it with your sword. Last, you are to scatter the remaining third to the wind, after which I'll unsheathe my sword and pursue them. 


text:
You are to preserve a few strands of hair and hide them in the folds <n>{Lit. wings}</n> of your garment. 


text:
Then you are to take a few strands, throw them in the fire, and incinerate them. A fire will proceed to the house of Israel from there." 


text:
<n>{Jerusalem's Desolation Predicted}</n> d "This is what the Lord G od says, «This is Jerusalem. I placed her in the center of nations, with many <n>{The Heb. lacks many}</n> nations surrounding her. 


text:
But she rebelled against my ordinances and my statutes. She practiced more evil than all the nations and territories around her. They rejected my ordinances and didn't live by <n>{Lit. didn't walk in}</n> my statutes.'


text:
"Therefore this is what the Lord G od says: «Because you're more disrespectful than the nations that surround you, you didn't follow my statutes or follow my ordinances. You didn't even follow the ordinances of the surrounding nations!'


text:
"Therefore this is what the Lord G od says: «Watch out! I that's right, even I am against you. I'll carry out my sentence among you right in front of the nations. 


text:
In fact, I'm going to do what I've never done before and what I'll never again do, because of all of your loathsome behavior: 


text:
Fathers will eat their children in your midst. After this, your sons will eat their fathers as I carry out my sentence against you and scatter your survivors to the winds!'


text:
"Therefore, as sure as I live," declares the Lord G od , "because you've defiled my sanctuary with every loathsome thing and every abomination, I'll restrain myself, and I'll show neither pity nor compassion. <n>{Lit. and my eyes won't show pity and I won't have compassion}</n> 


text:
A third of you will die by pestilence, starving because of the famine in your midst. Another third will die violently by the violence of war <n>{Lit. will fall by the sword}</n> around you. The final third I'll scatter to the wind as I unsheathe my sword to pursue them. 


text:
"Only then will I stop being angry my burning in anger. Then they'll know that I've spoken out in my arduous anger. Only then will my burning anger <n>{The Heb. lacks anger}</n> against them be exhausted. 


text:
I'm also going to turn you into a waste and an object of insult among the nations that surround you and in front of every person who passes by. 


text:
As a result, Jerusalem <n>{MT reads it ; DSS 11QEzek reads you}</n> will become an insult, an object of taunt, an example of chastisement, and a useless waste to all the nations that surround you when I carry out my sentence against you in my anger, my burning rage, and my burning rebukes. I, the Lord, have spoken it. 


text:
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. <n>{Lit. your staff of bread}</n> 


text:
"I'll send famine and wild beasts against you that will rob you of your children. <n>{Lit. will make you childless}</n> Pestilence and bloodshed will devastate you when <n>{Lit. because}</n> I'll declare war on <n>{Lit. I'll bring the sword against}</n> you. I, the Lord , have spoken." 


text:
"Son of Man," he said, "turn your face to oppose the mountains of Israel and prophesy against them. 


text:
Tell the mountains of Israel to listen as the Lord G od speaks. This is what the Lord G od has to say to the mountains, hills, streams, and the valleys: «Look! I'm about to bring my sword against you. I'm going to destroy your high places. 


text:
Your altars will become desolate and your sun pillars will be shattered. I'll throw your slain down right in front of your idols. 


text:
I'll place the corpses of the Israelis in front of their idols. I'll scatter your bones around your altar. 


text:
In all the places where you live, the cities will be desolate. The high places will also be desolate so that your altars will be laid waste, bearing the punishment appropriate to them. <n>{The Heb. lacks appropriate to them}</n> Your idols will be shattered, your sun pillars will be hewn down, and your works will be obliterated. 


text:
I'll leave a remnant among you those who will escape the sword when I'll have scattered you throughout the earth. 


text:
Your survivors will remember me among the nations where they'll be taken captives. I've been crushed by their unfaithful <n>{Lit. whoring}</n> hearts that have turned against me. 


text:
Then they'll know that I am the Lord . I didn't declare this evil that's intended for them <n>{ evil to do to them}</n> without a reason.»" 


text:
This is what the Lord G od 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. 


text:
The one who lives far away will die by pestilence and the one who is near will die violently. <n>{Lit. will fall by the sword}</n> The survivors and their surveillance details will die by famine as I exhaust my rage against them. 


text:
"You'll learn <n>{Or know}</n> that I am the Lord, when the fatally wounded will be among their idols, around their altars, on every hill, on top of the mountains, under every luxuriant tree, and under all the full-grown <n>{Lit. under every high}</n> foliage every place where they've offered fragrant aromas to all their idols. 


text:
I'll stretch out my hands to strike <n>{Lit. hands against}</n> them and send devastation to the land, from the wilderness of Diblah, throughout all their dwelling places. Then they'll know that I am the Lord ." 


text:
"Son of Man, this is what Lord G od says to the land of Israel: «It's over! All four corners of the land are out of time! 


text:
Your time is up! I'm sending my anger against you to judge you according to how you live your lives, <n>{Lit. to your ways}</n> and I'm going to pay you back with the consequences of all your detestable practices. 


text:
I won't be showing pity on you and I won't be showing compassion. I'm going to turn your own lifestyles against you while your detestable practices remain among you. Then you'll learn <n>{Or know}</n> that I am the Lord .»" 


text:
<n>{One Bad Thing after Another}</n> d "This is what the Lord G od says: «It's one evil event after another! «Look out! It's coming! 


text:
«The end is coming! «The end is here! «And it's looking in your direction! <n>{Lit. looking for you}</n> «Look out! It's arrived! 


text:
«Your doom has come to you, you who live in the land. The time has arrived, and the day of confusion is near. There will be no shouts of joy on the mountains. 


text:
Very soon now, I'll pour out my burning anger on you. I'll complete expressing my anger at you, judge you according to your behavior, and repay you for all your detestable practices. 


text:
I won't be showing pity or compassion. I'll repay you according to your behavior while your detestable practices remain among you. And you'll know that I, the Lord , have been attacking you.»" <n>{The Heb. lacks you}</n> 


text:
<n>{The Harvest Approaches}</n> d "Look out! The day! "Look out! It's coming! "Doom has blossomed. "Arrogance has sprouted! 


text:
"Violence has matured into a branch that is wicked. No one will survive from that vast crowd, from their wealthy people, or from the famous among them. 


text:
"The time has come! "The day has arrived. <n>{Lit. reached}</n> Don't let the buyer rejoice, nor the seller lament, because wrath is coming to attack the entire multitude. 


text:
The seller won't regain what he has sold while the crowd remains <n>{Lit. while they're}</n> alive, because the vision concerning the entire multitude won't be annulled. No person will be able to survive because of the sin in his life. 


text:
"They've sounded the alarm, <n>{Lit. They've blown the trumpet}</n> and everyone is prepared, but no one is marching for battle, since I'm angry at the entire multitude. 


text:
The sword lurks outside, but pestilence and famine are on the prowl inside the house. Whoever is in the field will die by violence, <n>{Lit. by the sword}</n> while famine and pestilence will devour those in the city. 


text:
Fugitives will escape to the mountains like doves fleeing through the valleys, all of them moaning because of their own iniquity. 


text:
<n>{The Coming Terror}</n> d "They'll clothe themselves with sackcloth, terror will overcome them, shame will cover their faces, and baldness will spread over their entire heads. 


text:
They'll fling their silver into the streets, and their gold will be cast away as impure. Their silver and gold won't be able to deliver them during the time <n>{Lit. day}</n> of the Lord's wrath. They won't be able to satisfy their appetites or fill their stomachs, because their iniquity has tripped them up." 


text:
<n>{The Temple Defiled}</n> d "As for his beautiful ornament, <n>{I.e. the temple in Jerusalem}</n> he set it up in majesty, but they made detestable images and loathsome idols. Therefore, I'll give them something loathsome 


text:
I'll give it as plunder into the control of strangers and as the spoils of war to the wicked who will invade the land to profane it. 


text:
I'll turn my face away from them so that they'll defile my treasured place. Robbers will enter and profane it! 


text:
Therefore, I'm bringing the worst of the nations, who will take possession of their houses. I'll cause the pride of the mighty to cease, and their sanctuaries will be profaned. 


text:
Disaster upon disaster will come, followed by rumor after rumor. They'll seek an oracle from the prophet, but the Law will be gone from the priests, and counsel from the elders. 


text:
"The king will mourn, the prince will be clothed with desolation, <n>{Or with torn garments}</n> and the hands of the people of the land will tremble. I'll deal with them according to their behavior and I will judge them by how they've judged. Then they'll learn <n>{Or know}</n> that I am the Lord ." 


text:
<n>{The Vision of Jerusalem}</n> d In the sixth year, on the fifth day of the sixth month, I had just sat down in my house, with the elders of Judah seated in front of me. All of a sudden, the hand of the Lord G od touched me 


text:
and I saw a likeness comparable to the appearance of a man. From his thighs downward there was the appearance of fire, and from his waist upward, there was the appearance of brightness that looked like brass. 


text:
The form of a hand reached out and took me by the hair of my head. Then the Spirit lifted me up between the earth and sky, brought me toward Jerusalem, and in visions that came from God took me through the doors of the inner gate that faced north, where an image that provoked God's jealous anger had been erected. 


text:
All of a sudden, the glory of the God of Israel was there! It looked like what I had seen back in the valley. 


text:
Then he told me, "Son of Man, look up toward the north." So I looked off toward the north. Suddenly, off toward the north, facing the gate that led to the altar, the image that provoked God's jealousy was standing near the entrance. 


text:
Then the Spirit <n>{Lit. Then he}</n> told me, "Son of Man, don't you see what they're doing? The house of Israel practices awful, detestable things here, so I'm going far away from my sanctuary. But you're about to see things even more detestable than these." 


text:
<n>{Idol Worship in the Temple}</n> d Then the Spirit <n>{Lit. Then he}</n> brought me to the entrance of the court. As I watched, all of a sudden, there was a <n>{Lit. one}</n> hole in the wall! 


text:
Then he told me, "Son of Man, dig through the wall!" So I dug into the wall. That's when I uncovered an entrance! 


text:
Then he told me, "Go on through that entrance, so you may see the wicked, detestable things that they're committing here." 


text:
So I entered, looked around, and there was every form of crawling thing, loathsome animals, and all kinds of idols from the house of Israel carved all around the wall. 


text:
I saw 70 men from the elders of the house of Israel standing among them, including Shaphan's son Jaazaniah. Each man held a censer in his hand. As the scent of the cloud of incense ascended, 


text:
the Spirit <n>{Lit. he}</n> asked me, "Do you see, Son of Man, what the elders of Israel's house are doing in secret, each in the chamber of his own carved idol? They keep saying, «God doesn't see us. The Lord has abandoned the land.»" 


text:
Then the Spirit <n>{Lit. Then he}</n> told me, "You're about to see even more detestable practices that they're doing!" 


text:
<n>{Women Weeping for Tammuz}</n> d Then he brought me to the entrance of the gate to the Lord's Temple, which faced the north. That's where I saw women seated, weeping for Tammuz. 


text:
Then he asked me, "Do you see this, Son of Man? You're about to see even more detestable practices than these." 


text:
<n>{Sun Worship in the Temple}</n> d Then he brought me to the inner court of the Lord's Temple. There, at the entrance to the Lord's Temple, between the porch and the altar, were 25 men, with their backs toward the Lord's Temple and facing the east, prostrating themselves to the sun. 


text:
"Do you see this, Son of Man?" he asked me. "Is it an insignificant thing for Judah's house to commit the detestable things that they're doing here? They've filled the land with violence and turned away from me, causing me to become angry again. Look how they're sniffing with their noses! <n>{So MT; i.e. using flora to create or sustain an altered state during idolatrous worship; LXX reads with contempt}</n> 


text:
I'm going to deal with them in rage and anger. I'll show neither pity nor compassion. They'll cry loudly directly in my ears, but I won't listen to them." 


text:
<n>{The Vision of the Executioners}</n> d Then the Spirit <n>{Lit. Then he}</n> shouted right in my ears with a loud voice! "Come forward," he said, "you executioners of the city, and bring your weapon of destruction in your <n>{Lit. his}</n> hand!" 


text:
All of a sudden, I noticed six men approaching from the direction of the upper gate, which faces north. Each of them held a destructive weapon in his hand. Among them there was one man, clothed in linen, who was equipped with a writing set <n>{I.e., a case containing ink and writing implements}</n> at his side. They went in and presented themselves beside the bronze altar. 


text:
Then the glory that is Israel's God arose from the cherubim on which he had been seated and settled on the threshold of the Temple. He called out to the man dressed in linen who wore the writing case at his side. 


text:
The Lord told him, "Go throughout the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of everyone who sighs and moans over all of the loathsome things that are happening in it." 


text:
As I continued to listen, he also told the others, "Follow him through the city and start killing. Don't spare anyone you see, and don't show pity of any kind. 


text:
You are to execute old men, young men, young women, little children, and women. But don't touch anyone who has been marked. Begin at my Holy Place!" And so they started with the elders who were in standing in front of the Temple. 


text:
"Desecrate my Temple," he told them, "and fill its courtyard with the dead!" So they went out and began striking down people throughout the city. 


text:
<n>{Ezekiel Intercedes for Israel}</n> d While they were out carrying out the executions, I was left alone. So I fell on my face and cried out, "O Lord God, are you going to destroy all of the survivors of Israel when you pour out your anger on Jerusalem?" 


text:
"The house of Israel and Judah is guilty and theirs is a stubborn guilt, at that!" he replied to me. "The land is filled with blood, and the city overflows with injustice, because they keep saying, «The Lord has abandoned the land,'and «The Lord isn't watching.'


text:
So as for me, I'm not going to show pity, and I won't look in their direction with mercy. I'm repaying them for what they have done." 


text:
Then I noticed the man dressed in linen who wore the writing case by his side as he brought back this message: "I've done as you have commanded me." 


text:
<n>{The Vision of God's Throne}</n> d As I continued to watch, there on the expanse above the heads of the cherubim was a massive <n>{The Heb. lacks massive}</n> sapphire stone that resembled a throne in form and appearance. 


text:
The Lord <n>{Lit. He}</n> spoke to the man who was clothed in white linen, telling him, "Go between the whirling wheels, under the cherubim, and fill your hands with burning coals from among the cherubim. Then scatter them <n>{The Heb. lacks them}</n> over the city." So he entered as I watched. <n>{Lit. entered in my sight}</n> 


text:
Now the cherubim were standing on the south <n>{Lit. right side}</n> side of the entrance to the Temple, when the man entered and a cloud filled the inner court. 


text:
The glory of the Lord rose above the cherub and moved to the threshold of the Temple. A cloud filled the Temple and the court was filled with the brilliance of the Lord's glory. 


text:
The sound of the wings of the cherubim, reminiscent of the voice of the Sovereign God when he speaks, could be heard as far as the outer court. 


text:
He issued this order to the man who was clothed in white linen: "Take fire from within the whirling wheels, among the cherubim." So he went and stood beside the wheels. 


text:
<n>{Ezekiel's Vision of the Cherubim}</n> d Then a cherub stretched out his hand to the fire, which was among the cherubim, took some of the fire, and placed it in the hands of the one clothed in white linen, who took it and left. 


text:
As I continued to watch, I observed four wheels beside the cherubim, one wheel beside each cherub. <n>{Lit. cherub and another wheel beside another cherub.}</n> The wheels resembled beryl stone. 


text:
Whenever they moved, they proceeded without turning around as they moved, but they followed in the direction where their head was facing, without looking around as they moved. 


text:
Their entire bodies, backs, hands, and wings were filled with eyes around, including each of their four wheels. 


text:
Each had four faces. The first one was the face of a cherub, the second the face of a man, the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle. 


text:
When the cherubim moved, the wheels went alongside them. But when the cherubim started to ascend, beating their wings to rise above the earth, the wheels beside them didn't turn. 


text:
When they stood still, the wheels stood still. When they rose up, the wheels rose up, too, because they were alive. <n>{Lit. because the spirit of the living beings resided in the wheels}</n> 


text:
Then the glory of the Lord moved away from the threshold of the Temple and stood over the cherubim. 


text:
The cherubim lifted their wings and rose above the earth while I watched. They went out, along with their wheels, and stood at the entrance to the east gate of the Lord's Temple as the glory of Israel's God remained above, covering them. 


text:
These were the living beings that I had seen under the God of Israel on the bank of the Chebar River. I knew that they were cherubim. 


text:
Each one had four faces. Each one had four wings, and the form of human hands could be seen under their wings. 


text:
As to the likeness of their faces, they were like what I had seen on the bank of the Chebar River. They each moved straight ahead. 


text:
<n>{The Vision of the Eastern Gate}</n> d The Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the east facing gate of the Lord's Temple. At the entrance of the gate I saw 25 men. Included among them were Azzur's son Jaazaniah and Benaiah's son Pelatiah, who were princes of the people. 


text:
Then he told me, "Son of Man, these men are plotting evil and are giving wicked advice in this city. 


text:
They keep saying, «The right time to build families <n>{Lit. houses}</n> hasn't yet arrived. The city is the pot and we are the meat.'


text:
<n>{God Rebukes those who Plot Evil}</n> d Just then the Spirit of the Lord took control of <n>{Lit. Lord fell on}</n> me and told me, "You are to say, «This is what the Lord says: "You've said, O house of Israel, that I know what goes through your mind. <n>{Or spirit}</n> 


text:
You've increased the number of fatally wounded in this city and you've filled your streets with the dead." 


text:
«Therefore this is what the Lord G od says, "The corpses that you've laid out in your midst are the meat, and this city is the cooking pot. But you'll be taken out from the middle of it. 


text:
You've feared the sword, <n>{I.e. execution during military invasion; and so throughout the chapter}</n> but I'm bringing violent death in your direction," <n>{Lit. bringing the sword against you}</n> declares the Lord G od . 


text:
"I'm bringing you out from the middle of it and I'm going to deliver you into the hands of strangers, because I'm going to carry out my sentence against you. 


text:
You're going to die violently, <n>{Lit. to fall by the sword}</n> and I'll judge you as far as the borders of Israel. Then you'll learn <n>{Or know}</n> that I am the Lord . 


text:
This city won't be your cooking pot and neither will you be the meat in it, because I'm going to judge you as far as the borders of Israel. 


text:
Then you'll learn <n>{Or know}</n> that I am the Lord , because you didn't live by my statues or obey my ordinances. Instead, you obeyed the ordinances of the nations around you."»" 


text:
<n>{Ezekiel Reacts to Pelatiah's Death}</n> d While I was prophesying, Benaiah's son Pelatiah died, so I fell on my face and cried out with a loud voice. "Ah, Lord G od ," I said, "are you going to put an end to the survivors within Israel?" 


text:
"Son of Man, your brothers, your other relatives, your fellow exiles, <n>{So LXX and Syr; MT reads your redeemers}</n> and the entire house of Israel are the people to whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, «They've abandoned the Lord . This land was given to us for an inheritance.»" 


text:
<n>{The Future Hope of Israel}</n> d "Therefore you are to say, «This is what the Lord G od says, "Although I've removed them far away to live among the nations, and although I've scattered them throughout the earth, yet I've continued to be their sanctuary, even for the short time that they will be living in the lands to which they've gone."'


text:
"Therefore you are to say, «This is what the Lord G od says, "I'm going to gather you from among the nations, assembling you from the lands among which you have been dispersed. I'll give you the land of Israel. 


text:
then I'll give them a united heart, placing a new spirit within them. <n>{So LXX, Syriac, Targums, and Vulgate; MT reads you (pl)}</n> I'll remove their stubborn heart <n>{Lit. heart from their flesh}</n> and give them a heart that's sensitive to me. <n>{Lit. heart of flesh}</n> 


text:
When they live by my statutes and keep my ordinances by observing them, then they'll be my people and I will be their God. 


text:
But to those whose hearts delight in loathsome things and detestable practices, I'll bring the consequences of their behavior crashing down on their own heads," declares the Lord G od .»" 


text:
<n>{The Cherubim Leave}</n> d Then the cherubim arose, with their wheels alongside, and the glory of Israel's God remained above and over them. 


text:
The glory of the Lord went up from the middle of the city and stood on the mountain, east of the city. 


text:
Then in a vision from the Spirit of God, the Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the exiles in Chaldea. At that point, the vision that I had been observing ended. 


text:
"Son of Man, you live in a rebellious house that has eyes to see, but they can't see, and ears to hear, but they can't hear, since they're a rebellious house. 


text:
"So now, Son of Man, you are to prepare your luggage for a trip into exile, and then you are to leave during the daytime so they see you leaving. Leave from your place to another while they're watching. Then perhaps they'll realize that they're a rebellious house. 


text:
"Bring out your luggage, like you're packing to go into exile, and do this during the daytime while they're watching you. <n>{Lit. before their eyes ; and so through v. 7}</n> Later that evening, leave while they're watching you like someone heading into exile. 


text:
"While they're watching, carry your luggage <n>{Lit. carry it}</n> on your shoulder and go out in total <n>{Lit. thick}</n> darkness. Cover your face so that you won't see the land, because I'm using you as a sign to Israel's house." 


text:
I did just as I was commanded. I brought out the luggage as if it were luggage for exile. I did this during the day. Then in the evening I dug a hole in the wall with my hand and brought the luggage out in total <n>{Lit. thick}</n> darkness and carried it out on my shoulder while they were watching. 


text:
Answer them, «This is what the Lord G od says, "This oracle concerns the prince of Jerusalem and the whole of Israel's house that is in their midst. 


text:
Tell them, «I'm a sign for you. Just as I enacted it, <n>{Lit. did}</n> it's going to happen to them. They'll go into exile and captivity. 


text:
Then the prince, who will be one of them, will carry his luggage <n>{The Heb. lacks his luggage}</n> on his shoulder in the dark and will go out. They'll dig a hole in the wall for him to go through. His face will be covered so that he won't be able to see the land with his eyes. 


text:
But I'll throw my net over him. As a result, he'll be captured with my net, and with it I'll bring him to Babel, the land of the Chaldeans. He won't see it, though he'll die there. 


text:
I'll scatter every attendant who surrounds him, along with his entire army, to every wind. When I unsheathe my sword to pursue them, 


text:
they'll learn <n>{Or know}</n> that I am the Lord, when I've dispersed them among the nations and scattered them throughout the earth."»" 


text:
<n>{The Purpose of the Surviving Remnant}</n> d "But I'll preserve <n>{Or retain}</n> a few people out of the violent death, <n>{Lit. the sword}</n> famine, and pestilence, so they can recount their detestable practices among the nations when they'll go there. Then they'll know that I am the Lord ." 


text:
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. 


text:
The towns that are inhabited will lie in ruins, because the land will be devastated. Then they'll learn <n>{Or know}</n> that I am the Lord ."»" 


text:
"Son of Man, what's this proverb you have concerning Israel's land that says, «The days pass slowly and every vision ends in nothing.'? <n>{Lit. vision is destroyed}</n> 


text:
Therefore you are to tell them, «This is what the Lord G od says, "I'm about to put an end to use of this proverb in Israel. It will never be used again as a proverb in Israel. Instead, tell them that the days are drawing near when every vision will be fulfilled. 


text:
There will no longer be worthless visions and flattering divinations in the midst of Israel's house. 


text:
Because I am the Lord , I'll speak and the message that I communicate will be accomplished without delay. While you continue to be a rebellious house, I'll speak the message and then fulfill it," declares the Lord G od .»" 


text:
"Son of Man, pay attention! The house of Israel keeps on saying, «The vision that he's talking about concerns the distant future. He's prophesying concerning times that are far in the future!'


text:
Therefore tell them, «This is what the Lord G od says, "None of my messages will be delayed any longer. Any message that I speak will be fulfilled," declares the Lord G od .»" 


text:
"Son of Man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel, who even now are prophesying, and tell those prophets that keep on prophesying according to what they wish would happen, <n>{Lit. prophesying from their heart}</n> «Listen to what the Lord says.»" 


text:
"This is what the Lord G od says, «How terrible it will be for the false prophets who walk according to their own wrong inclinations <n>{Lit. spirit}</n> and see nothing. 


text:
You didn't go up to repair <n>{The Heb. lacks repair}</n> the breaches in the walls and you didn't build the walls so Israel's house would be able to endure battle on the Day of the Lord . 


text:
Instead, they crafted <n>{Lit. they have seen}</n> false prophecies and divination. «They say, declares the Lord," even though the Lord didn't send them. And they hope for the fulfillment of their message. 


text:
You've crafted <n>{Lit. seen}</n> a false prophesy and spoken deceptive divination, haven't you? But then you say, declares the Lord ," although I haven't spoken a single word. 


text:
«Therefore this is what the Lord G od says, "Because you've spoken falsehood and deceptions, I am therefore opposing <n>{Lit. against}</n> you," declares the Lord G od . 


text:
My hand will oppose the prophets who see false visions and speak deceptive divinations. They won't be included with the council of my people, nor will they be entered into the registry of Israel's house or enter Israel's land. Then you'll know that I am the Lord G od , 


text:
because they've truly caused my people to stray saying, "Peace," but there's no peace.»" <n>{Metaphor of the Whitewashed Wall}</n> d"When someone builds a wall, they coat it with whitewash. 


text:
Tell those who coat it with whitewash that it will fall. It will be washed off by the rain. Great hailstones will fall and a stormy wind will strip it off. <n>{Lit. rip it open}</n> 


text:
Look! When the wall collapses, won't it be said of you, «Where's the coat of paint that you spread all over the wall? '


text:
"Therefore this is what the Lord G od says, «In my burning anger, I'll rip it open with a windstorm. In my anger, I'll rinse it off with rain, and put an end to it with a hailstorm in my destructive rage. 


text:
I'll tear down the wall that you've smeared with whitewash, level it to the ground, and tear out its foundation. Then it will collapse and you'll perish with it! Then you'll know that I am the Lord . 


text:
«That's how I'll vent my anger on the wall and on the ones who coated it with whitewash. And I'll say to you, "The wall is gone and so are those who coated it." <n>{Lit. Those who coated it are not.}</n> 


text:
The prophets of Israel prophesied about Jerusalem and saw visions of peace concerning her, yet there's no peace,»" declares the Lord G od . 


text:
<n>{A Rebuke to Israel's Women}</n> d "And now, Son of Man, turn toward and oppose <n>{Lit. Man, set your face against}</n> the women <n>{Lit. daughters}</n> of your people who prophesy according to their own wrong inclinations <n>{Lit. spirit}</n> and prophesy against them. 


text:
Tell them, «This is what the Lord G od says, "How terrible it will be for those women who sew magical bracelets on all their wrists and make one-size-fits all headbands, <n>{Or veils}</n> in order to entrap their souls. Will you hunt for the souls of my people and remain alive? 


text:
You've profaned me among my people for a handful of barley and a morsel of bread. You're causing people to die who shouldn't have to die, and you're causing people to live who shouldn't survive, when you deceive my people who tend to listen to lies." 


text:
«Therefore, this is what the Lord G od says, "Watch out! I'm opposing your amulets with which you hunt souls as one would swat at a flying insect. <n>{Lit. flying thing}</n> I'll tear them off your arms and then deliver those people, whom you've hunted like birds. 


text:
I'll also tear off your headbands <n>{Or veils}</n> and deliver my people from your grip so that they won't be under your control anymore. Then you'll know that I am the Lord . 


text:
"Because you've dismayed the heart of the righteous whom I never intended to dismay with lies, and because you've encouraged <n>{Lit. you've strengthened the hand of}</n> the wicked so that he wouldn't abandon his evil behavior and by doing so live, 


text:
you'll no longer see false visions or again practice divination, because I'm going to deliver my people from your power. Then you'll know that I am the Lord ."»" 


text:
<n>{A Prophecy against Idolatry}</n> d Later, some men from the elders of Israel came to visit me. After they had sat down in my presence, 


text:
"Son of Man, these men have taken idols into their hearts. They've placed the stumbling block that is their own iniquity right in front of their faces. Should I be consulted by them at all? 


text:
Therefore, speak up and tell them, «This is what the Lord G od says, "Every person from Israel's house who follows his idols and sets the stumbling block that is his own sin in front of his face, and then consults a prophet, I the Lord will answer him according to how many idols he embraces. 


text:
I'll do this in order to capture the hearts of Israel's house who have become alienated from me due to all of their idols."»" 


text:
<n>{An Exhortation to Turn Away}</n> d "Therefore you are to tell Israel's house, «This is what the Lord G od says, "Turn away! Turn away from your idols, and abandon your detestable practices! 


text:
For when a native Israeli or a resident alien abandons me to set up idols in his heart behind my back, and then places the stumbling block of his iniquity right in front of his own face, then approaches a prophet to inquire of me on behalf of his own self-interest, I, the Lord will answer him myself. 


text:
I'm determined to oppose that person <n>{Lit. man}</n> and make him an example. Proverbs will be written about him <n>{The Heb. lacks will be written abut him}</n> when I eliminate him from my people. Then you'll know that I am the Lord ."»" 


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<n>{On False Prophets}</n> d "Now as to the prophet, if through deceit he delivers a message, I the Lord have deceived that prophet! I'll reach out in opposition to him and exterminate him from among my people Israel. 


text:
They'll bear the consequences of their guilt, and the prophet will be just as guilty as the one who seeks that prophet's guidance. 


text:
Then Israel's house won't wander away from me again, nor will they defile themselves again with all their transgressions. They'll become my people and I'll be their God," declares the Lord G od . 


text:
"Son of Man, when a nation <n>{Lit. land}</n> sins against me by a treacherous act, <n>{Lit. nation acts treacherously by a treacherous act}</n> I'll reach out to oppose it, destroying its source of food, <n>{Lit. will break in pieces its staff of bread.}</n> by sending famine against it, and by destroying both people and beast within it. 


text:
Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, <n>{cf. Eze 28:3}</n> and Job lived in that land, they would only save their own lives on account of their righteousness," declares the Lord G od . 


text:
"If I were to make wild animals pass throughout the land, so that they kill its residents <n>{Lit. children}</n> and it were to become desolate because no one will travel through it due to those wild animals, <n>{Lit. in the face of living beings}</n> 


text:
then even though these three men were in it, as I live," says the Lord G od , "they wouldn't be able to deliver even their sons or daughters. They would only save themselves, but the land would become desolate. 


text:
"Or if I were to bring war to <n>{Lit. bring a sword against}</n> that land and say, «Hey, sword! Pass throughout the land so I can destroy both man and beasts in it,'


text:
though these three men lived there, as I live," declares the Lord G od , "they couldn't deliver their own sons and daughters. They would only save themselves. 


text:
"Or if I were to send a pestilence against that land and pour out my anger in it with bloodshed, destroying both man and beast in it, 


text:
even though Noah, Daniel, and Job were among them, as I live" says the Lord G od , "they couldn't save their own sons or daughters. They would only save their own souls due to their own righteousness." 


text:
This is what the Lord G od says, "I'm sending four of my most destructive judgments military invasion, <n>{Lit. judgments the sword}</n> famine, wild animals, and pestilence into Jerusalem to destroy both human beings and livestock in it. 


text:
But look! There will be a remnant who escapes, a few sons and daughters to be brought out. Look! They'll come out to you and you'll see how they've lived and what they've done, and you'll be comforted concerning the catastrophe that I brought on Jerusalem, including everything that I brought against her. 


text:
They'll comfort you when you see how they've lived and what they've done, because you'll know for certain that I haven't done anything that I've done against them without any reason," <n>{Or cause}</n> declares the Lord G od . 


text:
"Son of Man, how does wood from a vine compare to a branch taken from any of the trees in the forest? 


text:
Is wood ever taken from it to make anything practical? Can it even be made into a peg to hang something on? 


text:
After all, it's useful only for kindling a fire, isn't it? And once you've burnt up the ends and charred through the middle of it, is it useful for anything else? 


text:
If it was useless before it was burned, now that it's been burned and charred through, it's even more useless! 


text:
Therefore this is what the Lord God says: "Just as the wood from a grape vine is removed from the forest and used for kindling fires, I'm giving the inhabitants of Jerusalem over 


text:
to punishment. They may have escaped one fire, but the coming fire will burn them up completely, and they will know that I am the Lord, when I set myself in opposition to <n>{Lit. set my face against}</n> them 


text:
You are to declare, «This is what the Lord G od says to Jerusalem: "Your birth place <n>{Lit. Your origin and birth}</n> was the territory that belonged to the Canaanites. Your father was an Ammonite and your mother was a Hittite. 


text:
Now as to your birth, on the day you were born your umbilical cord wasn't cut. You weren't washed with water to clean you, and nobody rubbed you with salt. And it's certain that you weren't wrapped in strips of cloth. 


text:
Nobody pitied you to do any of these things for you, and nobody showed you any compassion. You were tossed outside on the ground, because you <n>{Lit. your soul}</n> were detested from the day you were born. 


text:
"When I passed by you, I saw you kicking around, covered in your own blood. That's when I told you, «Live!» while you were wallowing in your blood. I commanded you to live, even as you lay there in your own blood. 


text:
I made you increase like sprouting grain <n>{Lit. like that which sprouts}</n> in the field. As a result, you multiplied greatly. Eventually, you reached the age when young women start wearing jewelry. Your breasts were formed, your hair had grown, but you were still bare and naked."»" 


text:
<n>{God's Betrothal to Jerusalem}</n> d "When I passed by you again, I looked at you, and noticed that it was your proper time for love. I spread my cloak <n>{Lit. wings}</n> over you to cover your nakedness. I made a solemn promise to you and entered into a covenant with you," declares the Lord G od. "You belong to me. 


text:
Then I covered you with embroidered clothing, clothed your feet with leather sandals, wrapped <n>{Lit. bound}</n> you with fine linen, and dressed you in silk. 


text:
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. 


text:
Your fame <n>{Lit. name}</n> spread throughout the nations because of your beauty. You were perfectly beautiful due to my splendor with which I endowed you," declares the Lord G od . 


text:
<n>{Jerusalem's Arrogant Unfaithfulness}</n> d "But you trusted in your beauty. You did what whores do, as a result of your fame. You passed out your sexual favors <n>{Lit. adulteries}</n> to anyone who passed by, giving yourself to anyone. 


text:
You took some of your clothes and made gaily-colored high places and prostituted yourself all around them something which had never happened before nor will ever happen again. 


text:
"You also took your fine jewelry including my gold and my silver that I had given you. Then you made for yourself male images and had sex with them! 


text:
You took your embroidered gowns and made clothes to cover them. Then you offered my olive oil and incense to them. 


text:
"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 <n>{Or set}</n> them to those gods <n>{The Heb. lacks to those gods}</n> in order to appease them. <n>{Lit. gods as a pleasing aroma}</n> That's exactly what happened," says the Lord G od . 


text:
"Then you took your sons and daughters whom you bore for me and sacrificed them for your idols to eat. As though your prostitutions were an insignificant thing, 


text:
you also slaughtered my sons and offered them to idols, incinerating them in fire. <n>{The Heb. lacks in fire}</n> 


text:
Throughout all of your detestable practices and immorality, you never did remember your earlier life when you were bare, naked, and wallowing in your own blood." 


text:
<n>{The Unfaithfulness of God's People}</n> d "How terrible! How terrible it will be for all of your wickedness!" declares the Lord G od . 


text:
At every street corner you made your beauty abhorrent when you made yourself available for sex to <n>{Lit. you parted your legs for}</n> anyone who was passing by. By doing this, you kept on committing more and more immorality. 


text:
Then you committed immorality with your neighbors, the Egyptians, <n>{Lit. sons of Egypt}</n> with perverted lust, <n>{Lit. with great flesh}</n> and by doing so you fornicated even more, provoking me to anger. 


text:
"Therefore, look out! I've reached out to oppose you. I withdrew your rations and delivered you <n>{Lit . soul}</n> to those Philistine women who hate you. Even they were embarrassed at your wicked ways! 


text:
You committed immorality with the Assyrians, <n>{Lit. sons of Assyria}</n> because you still weren't satisfied. You committed immorality with them, but you still weren't satisfied. 


text:
You committed even more immorality with that land of the merchants, the Chaldeans. But you weren't satisfied even with these! 


text:
"How weak is your heart," declares the Lord G od , "when you committed all of these deeds, the acts of an imperious whore! 


text:
When you built your mound on every street corner and constructed your high place at every plaza, you weren't like a common prostitute, in that you've insulted the wages of a prostitute 


text:
"All prostitutes receive gifts, but you give your gifts to all your lovers, then you bribe them to come to you from everywhere to get your sexual favors! <n>{Lit. your fornications}</n> 


text:
You're different from other women when you commit immorality no one can match you in that! <n>{Lit. in how you commit immorality}</n> After all, you pay fees, but no fee is given to you. You're certainly different!" 


text:
This is what the Lord G od says: «Because your lust has been poured out and your nakedness has been uncovered by your acts of fornication with your lovers, and because of all your detestable idols and the blood of your sons, whom you offered to them, 


text:
therefore, watch out! I'm about to gather all your lovers from whom you've received your pleasure, everyone whom you've loved, and those whom you've hated. I'll gather them together to oppose you from every side, and they'll uncover your nakedness in their presence. Then they'll see you completely naked. 


text:
I'll judge you with the same standards by which I issue verdicts against a woman who commits adultery and murder. <n>{Lit. and one who sheds blood}</n> I'll avenge the blood you've shed with impassioned wrath. <n>{Lit. wrath and passion}</n> 


text:
"I'll also deliver you into their control, and they'll break down your mounds, tear down your high places, strip off your clothes, remove your fine jewels, and then they'll leave you stark naked! 


text:
They'll bring a mob against you to stone you to death <n>{Lit. death with stones}</n> and cut you into pieces with their swords. 


text:
Then they'll burn your houses and carry out my sentence <n>{Lit. and execute judgment}</n> against you in the sight of many women. "That's how I'll make you stop your prostitution so you won't pay any prostitute's fees anymore. 


text:
I'll stop being angry with you, and I'll cease being jealous. <n>{Lit. I'll turn aside my jealousy from you}</n> I'll be calm and not be indignant anymore. 


text:
Because you didn't remember the time when you were young, but instead you provoked me to anger because of all these things, watch out! I'm going to bring your behavior back to haunt <n>{The Heb. lacks haunt}</n> you!" declares the Lord G od. "Didn't you do this wicked thing, in addition to all your other <n>{The Heb. lacks other}</n> detestable practices?" 


text:
<n>{Like Mother, Like Daughter}</n> d "Now, everyone who likes proverbs will quote this proverb about you, «Like mother, like daughter.'


text:
You're the daughter of your mother, who loathed her husband and children. You're the sister of your sisters, who loathed their husbands and children. "Your mother was a Hittite and your father was an Amorite. 


text:
Your elder sister was Samaria. She and her daughters lived in the north, <n>{Lit. lived on your left}</n> while your younger sister who lived in the south <n>{Lit. lived on your right}</n> with her daughters was Sodom. 


text:
It wasn't just that you lived like they did and committed their detestable practices, but in just a little while your behavior led you to become more corrupt than they were!" 


text:
<n>{Sins of Sodom}</n> d "As I live," declares the Lord G od , "your sister Sodom and her daughters didn't do what you and your daughters have done. 


text:
Look! This was the sin of your sister Sodom and her daughters: Pride, too much food, undisturbed peace, and failure to help <n>{Lit. to strengthen the hand of}</n> the poor and needy. 


text:
In their arrogance, they committed detestable practices in my presence, so when I saw it, I removed them. 


text:
Samaria didn't commit half of your sins you practiced more detestable deeds than they did! You've caused your sister to be more righteous than you, because of the detestable practices that you've committed. 


text:
So now, bear your own shame as you mediate for your sisters. The sins that you've committed are more detestable than theirs. That makes them more righteous than you. Indeed, be ashamed and bear your reproach, because you've made your sisters to be more righteous than you." 


text:
<n>{A Change in Circumstances}</n> d "I'll bring them back from their captivity that is, from the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, along with the captivity of Samaria and her daughters and the captivity of your captives among them. 


text:
But you'll continue to bear your own reproach and be humiliated for everything that you've done. You'll be a comfort to them. 


text:
Your sister Sodom and her daughters will be restored to their former status. Samaria and her daughters will be restored to their former status. Then you and your daughters will be restored to your former status. 


text:
before your wickedness was revealed. Now you've become an object of derision to the inhabitants <n>{Lit. daughters}</n> of Aram and its neighbors, including the Philistines <n>{Lit. the daughters of the}</n> all those around you who despise you. 


text:
"since the Lord G od says, «I'll deal with you according to what you've done, when you despised your oath by breaking the covenant. 


text:
«Meanwhile, as for me, I'll remember my covenant with you from when you were young, because I'll establish an eternal covenant with you. 


text:
Then you'll remember your behavior and be ashamed when you greet your sisters your elder sister and your younger sister. I'll give them to you as daughters, but not on account of my covenant with you. 


text:
Then you will remember, be ashamed, and you won't open your mouth anymore due to humiliation when I will have made atonement for you for everything that you've done,'declares the Lord G od ." 


text:
Tell them, «This is what the Lord G od says, "A massive eagle with gigantic wings, long pinions, and full, multi-colored plumage came to Lebanon and took away the top of the cedar. 


text:
He plucked off the top of its shoot, brought it to a land of merchants, and set it down in a city full of traders. 


text:
Then the eagle took a seed from the land and planted it in fertile ground. He planted it like a willow tree next to abundant waters. 


text:
It flourished and became a low, spreading vine. Its branches turned toward him, and its roots spread under him to become a vine that put out shoots and spread out its branches. 


text:
"All of a sudden, there was another eagle with gigantic wings and thick plumage. The vine stretched its roots hungrily toward him and spread its branches out to him in order to be watered on the terraces where it was planted. 


text:
It was transplanted into good soil <n>{Or ground}</n> near abundant water, and it produced branches and bore fruit, becoming a magnificent vine."'


text:
"Tell them, «This is what the Lord G od says, "Will it prosper? Won't he pull up its roots, and strip it bare so all its fresh foliage dries up? It won't be by great strength or by a great army that it will be uprooted. 


text:
Look! Because it's a transplanted vine, won't it wither when the east wind hits it? It will surely wither in the terraces where it had started to sprout."»" 


text:
"Tell my <n>{Lit. the}</n> rebellious house, «Don't you know what these things mean? Look! The king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, captured her king and princes, and took them with him to Babylon. 


text:
Then he took one of the royal descendants, made a covenant with him, and put him under an oath of loyalty, taking the leaders of the land captive 


text:
in order to humiliate the kingdom so it wouldn't be able to return to power, but would still be able to continue as long as he keeps his covenant. 


text:
But he rebelled against the king of Babylon <n>{Lit. against him}</n> by sending his messengers to Egypt to obtain horses and a large army. Will he succeed? Or will the one who did this escape? Will he break the covenant, but still be delivered?»" 


text:
<n>{God will Punish the King}</n> d "As long as I live," declares the Lord G od , "in Babylon, that place where the king has enthroned him, whose oath he despised so as to break his covenant, he'll die with him. 


text:
Pharaoh, with his massive army and large battalions won't protect him when mounds and siege walls are built to destroy many people. <n>{Lit. souls}</n> 


text:
He despised the oath he had made and broke the covenant. Look! Because he willingly submitted, <n>{Lit. He has given his hand}</n> yet he has done all these things, he won't escape. 


text:
Therefore, this is what the Lord G od says, "As long as I live, because he despised my oath and broke my covenant, he's going to suffer the consequences. <n>{Lit. covenant, I'll bring it upon his head}</n> 


text:
I'll spread my net over him so that he'll be caught in my snare. I'll bring him to Babylon and carry out my sentence there because of his treachery toward me. 


text:
The fugitives of his troops will die by the sword, and the survivors will be scattered to the four <n>{Lit. to all the}</n> winds. Then you'll know that I, the Lord, have spoken." 


text:
<n>{The Transplanted Vine}</n> d This is what the Lord G od says, "I'm also going to take a shoot from the top of a cedar and plant it. I'll pluck off its delicate twigs and transplant it on a high and lofty mountain. 


text:
I'll transplant it on Israel's land, and it will grow branches, bear fruit, and become a majestic cedar. All sorts <n>{Lit. wing}</n> of birds will rest under it, and they'll settle down in the shade of its branches. 


text:
Then all the trees of the fields will know that I, the Lord, bring down the lofty tree and exalt the lowly tree. I dry up the green <n>{Or fresh}</n> tree and cause the dry tree to bud. I the Lord have spoken this, and I will fulfill it." 


text:
"Why do you cite this proverb when you talk about Israel's land: «The fathers eat sour grapes but it's their children's teeth that have become numb.'


text:
Look! Every living soul belongs to me the father's as well as the son's. <n>{Lit. As the soul of the father, so the soul of the son belongs to me .}</n> So pay attention! The person who keeps on sinning is going to die." 


text:
<n>{Standards of Righteous Behavior}</n> d "If a person is righteous, and practices what's lawful and right, 


text:
if he doesn't eat at mountain shrines, and doesn't look to the idols that have been erected in Israel's house, if he doesn't defile his neighbor's wife or approach a woman during her time of menstrual separation, 


text:
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, 


text:
if he doesn't lend with usury or exact interest, but instead refuses to participate in <n>{Lit. instead withdraws his hand from}</n> what is unjust, if he administers true justice between people, <n>{Lit. between man and man}</n> 


text:
if he lives his life <n>{Lit. he walks}</n> consistent with my statutes and keeps my ordinances by practicing what's true, then he's righteous and will certainly live," declares the Lord G od . 


text:
<n>{Standards of Unrighteous Behavior}</n> d "Now suppose that person produces a son who's violent, a murderer, and practices any of these things, 


text:
even though the father <n>{Lit. though he}</n> hasn't done any of these things. The son who eats at mountain shrines, defiles his neighbor's wife, 


text:
oppresses the afflicted and the poor, robs others, doesn't return security for a debt, looks to idols, does detestable things, 


text:
loans with usury, and exacts interest; will he live? He certainly will not! He has done all these detestable practices. He will certainly die, and his guilt will be his own fault." <n>{Lit. his blood will be on him}</n> 


text:
<n>{Personal Accountability for Sin}</n> d "Now suppose that he produced a son who practiced all of his father's sins, but then that son <n>{The Heb. lacks that son}</n> began to fear me and stopped doing all of these things. 


text:
That is, suppose he doesn't eat at the mountain shrines, doesn't look to the idols of Israel's house, doesn't defile his neighbor's wife, 


text:
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, 


text:
doesn't refuse to help the afflicted, or refuses to loan with usury or exact interest, but instead follows my ordinances and lives his life consistent with my statutes. He won't die because of his father's sin, will he? No! He'll certainly live. 


text:
As for his father, watch out! If he wrongfully oppressed or robbed his brother and did what wasn't good among his people, he'll die because of <n>{Lit. die in}</n> his own sin." 


text:
<n>{The Person who Sins will Die}</n> d "Yet you keep asking, «Why wouldn't the son bear the punishment of his father's sin? 'Because the son has done what was lawful and right, and has kept all my statutes and obeyed them, he's certainly going to live. 


text:
The soul who sins dies. The son won't bear the punishment of his father's sin and the father won't bear the punishment of his son's sin. The righteous deeds of that righteous person will be attributed to him, while the wicked deeds of the wicked person will be charged against him. 


text:
But if the wicked person turns from all his sins, which he did and keeps my statutes, then he'll live. He won't die. 


text:
None of the transgressions that he had committed will be held <n>{Lit. remembered}</n> against him. Because of the righteous deeds that he had done, he'll live. 


text:
"I don't take delight in the death of the wicked, do I?" asks the Lord G od. "Shouldn't I rather delight <n>{The Heb. lacks shouldn't I rather delight}</n> when he turns from his wicked ways and lives? 


text:
But when the righteous person abandons his righteous deeds and commits evil, detestable practices, as wicked people do, he won't live, will he? None of the righteous acts that he had done will be remembered. He'll die in his treacherous unfaithfulness and sins that he had committed." 


text:
<n>{Accusing God of Unrighteousness}</n> d "Yet you keep saying, «The Lord isn't being consistent with his standards.'Pay attention, you house of Israel: Is my behavior really inconsistent with my standards? Isn't it your behavior that isn't just? 


text:
"When a righteous person turns from his righteous deeds and does evil, he'll die because of that evil. He'll die because of his unrighteous acts that he committed. 


text:
When a wicked person quits <n>{Or abandons}</n> his wicked behavior <n>{Lit. ways that he had committed}</n> and does what's just and right, he'll be enabled to live. <n>{Lit. he makes his soul come alive}</n> 


text:
Because he reconsidered his transgression and turned away from everything that he had been doing, he'll certainly live and not die. 


text:
Yet Israel's house keeps saying, «The Lord isn't being consistent with his standards.'Is it my behavior that's inconsistent with my standards? <n>{The Heb. has adjusted to the standard}</n> Is it not your behavior that's inconsistent with my standards?" <n>{The Heb. has adjusted to the standard}</n> 


text:
<n>{A Command to Repent}</n> d "Therefore, Israel, I'm going to judge you according to the behavior of each and every one of you," declares the Lord G od . "So repent and turn from all your sins so that sin won't keep on being a stumbling block for you. 


text:
Stop your transgressing the deeds by which you've rebelled and then make for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. Why should you die, you house of Israel? 


text:
I don't take pleasure in the death of anyone who dies," declares the Lord. "So repent, so you may live!" 


text:
<n>{A Prophecy against Israel's Nobles}</n> d "Now as for you, publish <n>{Lit. sound forth}</n> this mourning psalm about Israel's leaders. 


text:
Tell them: «What a lioness your mother was among lions! She reared her cubs in the midst of fierce young males. 


text:
She raised one cub in particular, teaching that fierce lion to become a hunter-prowler to eat human beings. 


text:
The nations heard about him. He had become caught in their trap. <n>{Lit. pit}</n> They brought him with hooks to the land of Egypt. 


text:
When she learned that her plans had been frustrated and that her hopes were dashed, she took another of her cubs and turned him into a fierce lion. 


text:
He prowled around among the lions, became a strong, young lion, and learned to become a hunter-prowler to eat human beings. 


text:
He raped <n>{Lit. knew}</n> the women, devastating their towns. The land was made desolate, and all the while the land was filled with the sound of his roaring. 


text:
The surrounding nations attacked. They tossed their net over him, and he was caught in their trap. <n>{Lit. pit}</n> 


text:
They imprisoned him in a cage with hooks and brought him to the king of Babel. Then they placed him in their dungeon where his voice would no longer be heard on the mountains of Israel. 


text:
«Your mother was like a vine entwining a pomegranate, <n>{So LXX; MT reads in your blood , misreading the Heb. a pomegranate}</n> planted by water, full of fruit, and full of branches because it had been watered generously. 


text:
Strong were its boughs, suitable for use in the scepter of a ruler. It reached to the clouds, noticeable because of its height and its abundant branches. 


text:
Yet in anger it was uprooted and cast down to the earth. An east wind desiccated its fruit; its strong branches broke off and withered, and a fire consumed them. 


text:
Fire had burned through its branches, consuming its shoots and fruits. No strong branches remain in it, and there is no scepter to rule! '"This is a lamentation, and it is to be used in mourning." 


text:
<n>{A Prophecy against Israel's Elders}</n> d On the seventh year, on the tenth day <n>{The Heb. lacks day}</n> of the fifth month, men came from the elders of Israel to seek the Lord . They sat down in front of me. 


text:
"Tell the elders of Israel, «This is what the Lord G od asks, "Did you come to inquire of me? As long as I live, I won't let myself be sought by you," declares the Lord G od.» 


text:
"Will you judge them? Son of Man, will you indeed judge them? Teach them about the detestable things that their ancestors did. 


text:
Tell them, «This is what the Lord G od says, "The day I chose Israel, when I made my commitment <n>{Lit. When I lifted my hand , and so throughout.}</n> to the descendants of Jacob's house, I revealed myself to them in the land of Egypt and I made my promise to them with the words, «I am the Lord your God.'


text:
That day I promised to bring them out of the land of Egypt to the land that I had explored for them a land flowing with milk and honey. It's the most beautiful of all lands. 


text:
Then I told them, «Each of you are to abandon your detestable practices. <n>{Lit. practices before your eyes}</n> You are not to defile yourselves with Egypt's idols. I am the Lord your God.»"»" 


text:
<n>{A Brief History of Israel's Rebellion}</n> d "But they rebelled against me and weren't willing to obey me. None of them abandoned their detestable practices <n>{Lit. practices before their eyes}</n> or their Egyptian idols. So I said, «I'll pour out my anger on them, extending my fury in the middle of the land of Egypt.'


text:
I did this so my reputation <n>{Lit. name}</n> might not be tarnished among the nations where they were living, among whom I made myself known in their presence when I brought them out of the land of Egypt. 


text:
where I gave them my statutes and revealed my ordinances to them, which if a person <n>{Lit. man}</n> observes, he'll live by them. 


text:
Also, I instituted <n>{20: 12 Lit. gave}</n> my Sabbath for them as a sign between me and them, so they would know that I am the Lord , who has set them apart." 


text:
<n>{Israel Rebels in the Wilderness}</n> d "But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness. They didn't live by <n>{Lit. walk in}</n> my statutes. They despised my ordinances, which if a person observes, he'll live by them. They greatly profaned my Sabbaths. So I said I would pour out my anger on them and bring them to an end in the wilderness. 


text:
I did this so my reputation wouldn't be tarnished among the nations in whose presence I had brought them out. 


text:
"Moreover, I solemnly swore to them in the wilderness that I wouldn't bring them to the land that I had given them a land flowing with milk and honey, the most beautiful of all lands 


text:
because they kept on rejecting my ordinances. They didn't live life consistent with my statutes, they profaned my Sabbaths, and their hearts followed <n>{Lit. walked}</n> their idols. 


text:
Even then, I <n>{Lit. my eyes}</n> looked on them with compassion and didn't completely destroy them in the wilderness. 


text:
I told their children in the wilderness, «You are not to follow the statutes of your ancestors, observe their ordinances, or be defiled by their idols. 


text:
You are to make my Sabbaths holy, and you are to let them serve as a sign between you and me, so that you may know that I am the Lord your God.»" 


text:
<n>{More of Israel's Rebellion}</n> d "But they rebelled against me. They didn't live according to my statutes, observe my ordinances, or practice them, by which a person will live. They also kept profaning my Sabbaths. So I said that I was going to pour out my anger on them and in my anger I'm going to bring about a complete end to them in the wilderness. 


text:
But I withdrew my decision <n>{Lit. hand}</n> so my reputation wouldn't be tarnished among the nations before whose eyes I brought them out. 


text:
"Futhermore, I solemnly swore in the wilderness to disperse them among the nations and scatter them to other <n>{The Heb. lacks other}</n> lands 


text:
because they didn't observe my ordinances. Instead, they rejected my statutes, profaned my Sabbaths, and worshipped <n>{Lit. Their eyes went after}</n> their ancestors'idols. 


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I made them unclean because of their offerings, so they made all their firstborn <n>{Lit. their first to open the womb}</n> to pass through the fire, so that I could make them astonished. Then they'll know that I am the Lord ." 


text:
<n>{The Blasphemy of Israel's Ancestors}</n> d "Therefore, Son of Man, you are to speak to the children of Israel and tell them, «This is what the Lord G od says: "Your ancestors also blasphemed me in their treacherous behavior against me. 


text:
I brought them to the land that I had promised to give them. But whenever they saw any high hill and or any leafy tree, they slaughtered their sacrifices there and presented their offerings that provoked my anger. There they presented their pleasing aromas and poured out their drink offering. 


text:
So I asked them, «What is the high place to which you're going? 'That's why the name of the place has been called Bamah <n>{The Heb. name Bamah means What is?}</n> to this day."'


text:
"Therefore you are to say to Israel's house, «This is what the Lord G od says: "Will you defile yourselves like your ancestors did by acting as a prostitute, consistent with their horrible deeds? 


text:
When you present your gifts and make your sons pass through the fire, you continue to defile yourselves with your idols to this day. Should I be inquired of by you, you house of Israel? As I live," declares the Lord , "I certainly won't be inquired of by you." 


text:
The thing that you're imagining <n>{Lit. that is coming upon your spirits}</n> is never going to happen, since you're thinking, "We'll be like the nations, like the clans of other <n>{The Heb. lacks other}</n> lands who serve gods made from wood and stone."»" 


text:
<n>{The Coming Discipline of Israel}</n> d "As I live," declares the Lord G od , "with my powerful hand and outstretched arm, along with my wrath poured out, I'll reign as king over you. 


text:
I'll bring you out from the peoples and gather you from the lands where you were scattered. With a powerful hand, with an outstretched arm, and with wrath poured out, 


text:
Just as I judged your ancestors in the wilderness in the land of Egypt, so I'll judge you," declares the Lord . 


text:
I'll eliminate the rebels among you, along with those who are transgressing against me. I'll bring them out of the land where you've lived, but they won't be able to enter the land of Israel. Then you'll know that I am the Lord ." 


text:
<n>{The Coming Regathering of Israel}</n> d And now, you house of Israel, this is what the Lord G od says, "Go ahead and serve your idols, both now and later, but later you'll listen to me, and you won't profane my sacred name again by your offerings and idols. 


text:
For on my holy mountain, on Israel's high mountains," declares the Lord G od , "the whole of Israel's house all of it will serve me there in the land. I'll accept them there. And there I'll demand your offerings, the first fruits of your portions of all your sacred things. 


text:
"When I will have brought you from among the people and have gathered you from the lands where you were scattered, I'll accept you as a pleasing aroma. I'll reveal my holiness among you, and the entire world will see it. 


text:
Then you'll know that I, the Lord, brought you to the land of Israel, to the land that I promised to give to your ancestors. 


text:
You'll remember all your practices and evil actions by which you've become defiled. You'll loathe yourselves <n>{Lit. your souls in your own sight}</n> because of all the evil things you've done. 


text:
Then you'll know that I am the Lord, when I will have dealt with you for the benefit of my own reputation and not according to your evil attitudes or corrupt practices, you house of Israel," declares the Lord G od . 


text:
<n>{Coming Judgment on the South}</n> d <n>{This v. is 21:1 1 n MT}</n> This message came to me from the Lord: 


text:
Prophesy against the forest of the Negev, <n>{I.e. southern regions of the Sinai peninsula; cf. Josh 10:40}</n> «Listen to this message from the Lord . This is what the Lord G od says: "Look out! I'm about to ignite a fire and set it against you. It will devour every tree whether green or dry that lives in you. This powerful flame will not be extinguishable, and the entire surface from south to north will be scorched by it. 


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Then everyone <n>{Lit. Then all flesh}</n> will see that I, the Lord , have kindled it, because it won't be extinguished."»" 


text:
<n>{Ezekiel's Complaint to God}</n> d Then I said, "O Lord God ! They're saying about me, «Isn't he one to propound parables?»" 


text:
<n>{A Prophecy against Jerusalem}</n> d <n>{This v. is 21:6 in MT}</n> This message came to me from the Lord: 


text:
"Son of Man, look toward Jerusalem, preach <n>{Lit. Drop a word}</n> against its sanctuaries, and prophesy against Israel's land. 


text:
Declare to Israel, «This is what the Lord says: "Watch out! I'm against you! I'm going to unsheathe my sword to kill both the righteous and the wicked among you. 


text:
Since I'm going to kill both the righteous and the wicked among you, I'll be unsheathing my sword against everyone from south to north. 


text:
Then everyone will know that I am the Lord, who unsheathed my sword, and who won't have to unsheathe it again."'


text:
"And now, Son of Man, you are to start groaning until you're sick to your stomach. <n>{Lit. until your loins break}</n> You are to groan bitterly right in front of them. <n>{Lit. bitterly before their eyes}</n> 


text:
When they'll ask you, «Why are you groaning? 'you are to say, «Because of the news that just arrived. Every heart will melt with fear, every hand will grow limp, every spirit will grow faint, and every knee will glisten with sweat.'Look! It has come and it will be fulfilled," declares the Lord G od . 


text:
"Son of Man, prophesy and say, «This is what the Lord G od says: «A sword! A sword is being sharpened. It's also being polished. 


text:
It's being sharpened for slaughter, and being polished to gleam like lightning. '"We shouldn't be rejoicing, should we, while my Son's scepter, the sword, is despising <n>{The verb despising requires the Heb. antecedent the sword , which The Heb. lacks}</n> every tree? <n>{I.e. every living human being in Israel}</n> 


text:
It's intended to be polished so it can be grasped in the hand. The sword is sharpened. It's polished for placement into the hand of the executioner." 


text:
«Cry and wail, you Son of Man! It's headed against my people. It's also against all the princes of Israel, who have been tossed to the sword, along with my people. So it's time to grieve like you mean it, <n>{Lit. So strike your thigh}</n> 


text:
because testing is sure to come. «In putting the sword to the test along with the scepter, it won't keep on rejecting, will it? 'declares the Lord God ." 


text:
<n>{A Double and Triple Judgment}</n> d "Now, Son of Man, prophesy as you strike your hands together. Let the sword that fatally wounds be doubled and tripled. That great, slaughtering sword closes in on them. I've set in place a slaughtering sword at the entrance to all their gates, 


text:
so that their hearts melt and the number of those who stumble increase. I've set in place a slaughtering sword at the entrance to all their gates. Oh, no! It's made like lightning. It's drawn to slaughter. 


text:
Be sharp! Attack on the right, or parry to your left, wherever you point your sword. <n>{Lit. face}</n> 


text:
I will also clap my hands; then my anger will subside. <n>{Lit. rest}</n> I, the Lord have spoken it." 


text:
"Now, Son of Man, demarcate two pathways by which the sword of Babylon's king will arrive in the land. Both pathways will lead from a single land. "Make a sign, <n>{Lit. hand}</n> carving it out and installing it at the junction on the way to the city. 


text:
Set it to point one way for bringing the sword against Rabbah, the descendants of Ammon, and the other way against Judah and fortified Jerusalem. 


text:
"Meanwhile, Babylon's king is standing at the fork of the road, <n>{Lit. at the point of departure}</n> where he can head in either of two directions, and that's where he is practicing divination. Shaking his arrows, he's asking questions of his teraphim while he examines livers. 


text:
On his right hand he is divining against Jerusalem, preparing to set up battering rams, preparing <n>{Lit. rams, to open the mouth}</n> for the slaughter, getting ready to sound the alarm for battle, <n>{Lit. to shout}</n> setting the battering rams in place at the gates, building siege mounds, and erecting a siege wall. 


text:
In their view, it will seem to be a false prophecy, but because they swore allegiance, he'll make them remember their guilt as he takes them captive." 


text:
<n>{Imminent Invasion}</n> d Therefore this is what the Lord G od says: "Because you remembered your sins when your transgressions were uncovered, your sins are visibly evident in everything you've done. And since you've remembered them, you'll be taken captive. 


text:
"So now, you dishonored and wicked prince of Israel, whose day has come in this time of final punishment, 


text:
This is what the Lord G od says: «Remove your turban! Take off your crown! Things aren't going to remain as they used to be. What is lowly will be exalted, and what is lofty will be brought low. 


text:
A ruin! A ruin! I'm bringing about ruin!'But this also will not happen until he who has authority over it arrives, because I'll give it to him." 


text:
<n>{A Rebuke to Ammon}</n> d And now Son of Man, prophesy to the Ammonites that this is what the Lord G od says to the Ammonites about their approaching humiliation: "A sword! A sword is being drawn for slaughter. It's polished to flash like lightning. 


text:
When they see empty visions about you while they're divining lies for you, to lay you on the necks of the wicked, who are fatally wounded, whose days have come, their time for punishment. 


text:
Return it to its scabbard. "At the place where you were formed, in the land of your origin, there is where I'll judge you. 


text:
I'm going to pour out my indignation all over you. I'll blow my fierce wrath against you and deliver you into the control of brutal men who are skilled at destruction. 


text:
You'll be fuel <n>{Lit. food}</n> for the conflagration. Your blood will be spilled <n>{The Heb. lacks spilled}</n> throughout the land. You won't be remembered anymore, now that I, the Lord, have spoken." 


text:
"Now, Son of Man, will you truly judge that blood-stained city? Then make her aware of all of her detestable practices. 


text:
"You are to say, «This is what the Lord G od says: "The city keeps on shedding blood within her, hastening her time to be judged. She crafts idols that defile her. 


text:
"You're guilty because of the blood that you've shed. You were defiled by the idols that you've made. You've caused your judgment day to draw near and have even come to the end of <n>{The Heb. lacks the end of}</n> your life. Therefore, I've made you an object of derision among the nations and to other <n>{The Heb. lacks other}</n> lands. 


text:
Those who are both near and far away from you will scoff at you, because your reputation will be infamous and full of turmoil. 


text:
They've treated mothers and fathers among you with contempt. They've oppressed the foreigner among you. They've maltreated the orphan and the widow among you. 


text:
Slanderous men live among you, intent on shedding blood. They've eaten at the top of mountain shrines. They've crafted plans to do evil things among you. 


text:
They've revealed the nakedness of their father in your midst. They've humiliated those among you who were unclean due to their impurity. 


text:
One of you commits detestable practices with his neighbor's wife. Another sexually defiles his daughter-in-law. Another humiliates his sister, his own father's daughter. 


text:
They take bribes among you to shed blood. You've taken usury and exacted interest. You've gained control over your neighbor through extortion. And you've forgotten me," declares the Lord G od . 


text:
"Watch out! I'm vehemently angry about <n>{Lit. I'm going to strike my hands}</n> the unjust gains that you've earned, and about the blood that has been shed among you. 


text:
Can your heart stand up to this? Can your hands remain strong when I deal with you? I, the Lord, have spoken and will fulfill this. 


text:
I'm going to disperse you among the nations and scatter you to other lands. I'm going to put an end to your uncleanness. 


text:
"Son of Man, Israel has become like dross to me. All of them are like remnants of bronze, tin, iron, and lead in a furnace the dross left over from smelting silver. 


text:
Therefore this is what the Lord G od says, «Because all of you have become dross, watch out! I'm going to gather all of you at the center of Jerusalem, 


text:
just like a smelter gathers all the silver, bronze, lead, and tin to the center of a furnace and injects fire in order to melt it, I'm going to gather you in my anger and rage, make you settle down and then I'm going to melt you down. 


text:
Indeed, I'm going to gather you together and exhale the fire of my fury, and then you'll be melted from the inside out 


text:
like melting silver at the center of a furnace. When you've been melted from the center out, then you'll know that I am the Lord . I'll pour out my anger on you.»" 


text:
"Son of Man, tell her, <n>{I.e. Israel personified as a woman}</n> «You're a land that hasn't been purified, one that hasn't been rained on in the day of indignation. 


text:
There's a conspiracy of prophets within her, and like a roaring lion tearing its prey, they've devoured people, and confiscated treasures, and taken precious things. They've added to the population of widows within her. 


text:
Her priests have violated my Law and profaned my sacred things. They didn't differentiate between what's sacred and what's common. They didn't instruct others to discern clean from unclean things. They refused to keep <n>{Lit. refused their eyes from}</n> my Sabbaths. «I'm constantly being profaned among them. 


text:
Her princes within her are like wolves tearing their prey apart. They shed blood, destroying souls, and make unjust gain. 


text:
«Her prophets whitewashed all of these things through false visions and lying divinations. They kept on saying, "This is what the Lord G od says" , when the Lord has not spoken. 


text:
The people of the land were vigorously oppressive and took possession of plunder by violence. They've afflicted the poor and the needy and unjustly treated the foreigner. 


text:
I sought for a man among them to build the wall and stand in the breach in my presence on behalf of the land so that it won't be destroyed, but I found no one, 


text:
so I poured my indignation over them. With my fierce anger, I've consumed them. I brought the consequences of <n>{The Heb. lacks the consequences of}</n> their behavior upon them,'<n>{Lit. upon their heads}</n> declares the Lord G od ." 


text:
They committed sexual immorality in Egypt. They did this <n>{Lit. They committed sexual immorality}</n> in their youth. There, their breasts were caressed. Their virgin breasts were fondled. 


text:
The older one was named Oholah <n>{The Heb. name Oholah means she worships at a tent shrine}</n> and her sister was named Oholibah. <n>{The Heb. name Oholibah means she is a tent shrine}</n> They belonged to me and gave birth to sons and daughters. Now as to their real identities, Oholah refers to Samaria and Oholibah to Jerusalem." 


text:
<n>{The Sins of Samaria}</n> d "Oholah committed sexual immorality while she belonged to me. She lusted for Assyria's warriors, 


text:
who were clothed in blue including governors and commanders. All of them were desirable young men horsemen mounted on horses. 


text:
She bestowed her sexual favors <n>{Lit. her sexual immorality}</n> on them all of them, the best of the Assyrians and with whomever she lusted for. "She defiled herself with all their idols. 


text:
She never abandoned the immorality that she practiced in Egypt during her youth, where they laid down with her and fondled her virgin breasts, lavishing her with all kinds of favors. 


text:
Therefore, I turned her over to the control <n>{Lit. hands}</n> of her lovers, that is, into the control <n>{Lit. hands}</n> of the Assyrians for whom she lusted. 


text:
They stripped her naked, took away her sons and daughters, and executed her with a sword. She became an object of ridicule <n>{Lit. became a name}</n> among other nations <n>{Lit. among the women}</n> when they punished her." 


text:
<n>{The Sins of Jerusalem}</n> d "Her sister Oholibah saw this, but she was more corrupt in her lust and sexual immorality than her sister had been in her own sexual immorality. 


text:
She lusted after the Assyrians governors, commanders, warriors clothed in gorgeous attire, cavalry mounted on their horses all of them desirable young men. 


text:
"She became even more sexually immoral when she saw the images of the Chaldean men who had been carved in red on their walls. 


text:
Girded with waistbands around their loins, with flowing turbans on their heads, all of them looked like chariot officers, similar to the Babylonians from Chaldea, where they had been born. 


text:
The Babylonians came to her love nest <n>{Lit. best}</n> and defiled her with their sexual immorality. As a result, she was defiled by them. Even so, she turned away from them in disgust. 


text:
She displayed her immorality publicly and stripped herself naked, so I turned away in disgust from her, just as I had turned away in disgust from her sister. 


text:
"Nevertheless, she became even more sexually immoral, even reminiscing about when she was young, when she kept on practicing sexual immorality in the land of Egypt. 


text:
She lusted after her paramours, whose genitals are <n>{Lit. whose flesh is}</n> like those of donkeys, and whose emissions are like those of horses. 


text:
Think about the wickedness that you practiced when you were young, when the Egyptians fondled your breasts, the breasts of your youth." 


text:
<n>{God's Rebuke to Jerusalem}</n> d "Therefore, Oholibah, this is what the Lord G od says: «Look! I'm about to stir up your lovers against you, the ones from whom you've turned away in disgust. I'm going to bring them against you from every direction 


text:
the Babylonians, all the Chaldeans, Pekod, Shoa, Koa, and all of the Assyrians with them. They're all desirable young men, governors, commanders, chariot officers, and famous men, all of them mounted on horses. 


text:
«They'll invade you with weapons, chariots, wagons, and a vast army. They'll set themselves in place to attack you from every direction with large shields, small shields, and helmets. I'll turn over judgment to them, and they'll punish you according to their own standards. <n>{Lit. punishment}</n> 


text:
I'll expend my jealousy on you so they'll deal with you in anger. They'll cut off your noses and your ears. Your survivors will die violently. <n>{Lit. die by the sword}</n> They'll take your sons and daughters away from you, but your survivors will be incinerated. 


text:
That's how I'll put an end to your obscene conduct and sexual immorality that you kept on practicing since the day you left <n>{Lit. practicing from}</n> the land of Egypt so that you won't look in Egypt's direction or even remember it anymore.'


text:
"This is what the Lord G od says, «I'm about to turn you over to the control <n>{Lit. hands}</n> of those you hate, to the control of those from whom you turned away in disgust. 


text:
They'll deal with you with hatred. They'll take away your productivity, leaving you naked and defenseless, so that the nakedness of your sexual immorality will be uncovered your licentious sexual immorality. 


text:
These things will happen to you because of your sexual immorality that was patterned after what the nations do. You've been defiled by their idols. 


text:
"This is what the Lord G od says: «You'll drink from your sister's cup, which is both large and deep. You'll become a laughing stock and an object of derision, since the cup is so full! 


text:
You'll be filled with drunkenness and grief. The cup that belongs to your sister Samaria is filled with horror and devastation, 


text:
but you'll drink from it and drain it completely. As for the vessel, you'll break it to pieces and you'll tear at your breasts, for I've spoken,'declares the Lord G od. 


text:
"Therefore this is what the Lord G od says: «Because you abandoned me and threw me behind your back, you will bear the consequences of your obscene conduct and sexual immorality.»" 


text:
<n>{What Israel and Samaria Did}</n> d Then the Lord spoke to me. "Son of Man, speak out in judgment of both Oholah and Oholibah. Make their detestable practices widely known, 


text:
because they've committed adultery, and blood covers their hands. They've also committed adultery with their idols, making their sons born to me to pass through the fire <n>{The Heb. lacks fire}</n> as an offering to <n>{Lit. as food for}</n> them. 


text:
"They've also done this to me: They defiled my sanctuary and profaned my Sabbaths, all at the same time! <n>{The Heb. has day}</n> 


text:
When they killed their sons as offerings to <n>{Lit. sons for}</n> their idols, they brought them to my sanctuary and defiled it. <n>{I.e. with their corpses}</n> Look what they've done with my Temple! 


text:
"In addition, they sent messengers for men to come from afar. When they arrived, you bathed yourself for them, painted your eyes, adorned yourself with jewelry, 


text:
then sat down on an elegant bed. A table was arranged in front of it, on which you set out my incense and oil. 


text:
The sound of a carefree multitude accompanied her. Men from a multitude of peoples were coming including Sabeans <n>{Or drunkards}</n> from the wilderness, adorned <n>{Lit. they put}</n> with bracelets on their hands and beautiful crowns on their heads. 


text:
"After she had worn herself out by her adulterous behavior, I asked her, «Will they continue with their sexual immorality and with their prostitution? '


text:
They've gone to her, like men do, to have sex with a prostitute. They <n>{Lit. He}</n> had sex with Oholah and Oholibah, those licentious women. 


text:
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." 


text:
<n>{The Coming Invasion}</n> d This is what the Lord G od says: "Bring an army <n>{Lit. company}</n> against them and deliver them over to terror and plunder. 


text:
Then the army will stone them with stones and cut them to pieces with their swords. They'll kill their sons and daughters and incinerate their houses. 


text:
I'll cause obscene conduct to stop throughout the land, because all the women will be admonished not to practice their obscene conduct. 


text:
You'll receive the consequences for your obscene conduct and bear the punishment for your sins of idolatry. Then you'll know that I am the Lord G od." 


text:
<n>{God Brews His Judgment}</n> d In the ninth year, in the tenth month, and on the tenth day of the month, this message came to me from the Lord: 


text:
"Son of Man, write down the name of this day, this very day. The king of Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem on this very day. 


text:
So compose a parable for the rebellious house. Tell them, «This is what the Lord God says: "Prepare your pot for boiling! Set it in place. Fill it up with water, too. 


text:
Gather together the best pieces of meat on it including the thighs and the shoulders and fill it with the choicest bones. 


text:
Take the best bones from the flock, pile wood <n>{The Heb. lacks wood}</n> under the pot <n>{Lit. under it}</n> for the bones, bring it to a boil, and then cook the bones in it."»" 


text:
<n>{Woe to Jerusalem}</n> d "This is what the Lord G od says: «How terrible it is for that blood-filled city, to the pot whose rust remains in it, whose rust won't come off. Empty it one piece at a time. Don't let a lot fall on it. 


text:
Her blood was in it. She poured it out onto bare rock. She didn't pour it out on the ground, intending to cover it with dirt. 


text:
In order to stir up my anger and in order to take vengeance, I set the blood on a bare rock so that it cannot be covered.'


text:
"Therefore this is what the Lord God says: «How terrible it is for that blood-filled city I'm also going to add to my <n>{The Heb. lacks my}</n> pile of kindling. 


text:
Pile up the wood! Make the fire burn hot. Boil the meat! Mix the seasonings. Burn those bones to a crisp! 


text:
Make the pot stand empty on the coals until its bronze glows red, <n>{Lit. its copper burns hot}</n> its rust can be scoured off, <n>{Or is poured out}</n> and its dross completely removed. 


text:
The pot <n>{Lit. She}</n> wearies me, <n>{The Heb. lacks me}</n> but its thick <n>{Lit. great}</n> rust won't come off, even with fire. 


text:
There is wickedness in your obscene conduct. Even though I've cleansed you, you uncleanness cannot be washed away. You cannot be cleansed again until my rage against you has subsided.'


text:
«I, the Lord have spoken. It will happen, because I'm going to do it. I won't hold back, have compassion, or change my mind. <n>{Or repent}</n> They'll judge you according to your ways and deeds,'declares the Lord G od ." 


text:
"Son of Man, pay attention! I'm about to take away your most precious treasure <n>{Lit. away the desire of your eyes}</n> with a single, fatal stroke, but you are not to mourn, weep, nor even let tears well up in your eyes. <n>{Or tears come}</n> 


text:
You are to weep in silence, but you are not to participate in mourning rituals. <n>{Lit. to mourn the dead}</n> You are to keep your turban on your head and your sandals on your feet. You are not to cover your mouth <n>{Lit. moustache}</n> or eat what your comforters bring to you." <n>{Lit. eat the food of men}</n> 


text:
So I spoke to the people in the morning, and my wife died that evening. The next <n>{The Heb. lacks next}</n> morning, I did as I had been commanded. 


text:
Then the people told me, "Are you going to explain what these things that you're doing should mean to us?" 


text:
«Tell the house of Israel that this is what the Lord G od says: "Look! I'm about to profane my sanctuary, the source of your proud strength, the desire of your eyes, and the object of your affection. Your sons and daughters, whom you've left behind, will die by the sword. 


text:
That's why you will soon be doing what I've just done. You are not to cover your mouth <n>{Lit. moustache}</n> or eat what your comforters bring to you. <n>{Lit. eat the food of men}</n> 


text:
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. 


text:
That's how Ezekiel will be an example for you. You'll be doing exactly what he has done. When it happens, then you'll know that I am the Lord G od."» 


text:
"And now, Son of Man, on the day that I take their strength, joy, and glory from them, those whom they love to watch, the focus of their affection their sons and daughters 


text:
at that time, <n>{Lit. day}</n> a fugitive will come to you and will bring you the news. <n>{Lit. will make ears hear}</n> 


text:
Your mouth will freely speak to the fugitive. You won't be silent any longer. You'll be a sign to them. Then they'll know that I am the Lord." 


text:
"Son of Man, turn your attention <n>{Lit. face}</n> to the descendants of Ammon and rebuke <n>{Lit. and prophesy against}</n> them. 


text:
Tell the Ammonites: «Listen to a message from <n>{Lit. to the word of}</n> the Lord God! This is what the Lord God says: "Because you have said, «Aha!'<n>{I.e. an expression of delight upon hearing that disaster has befallen another}</n> about my sanctuary when it was desecrated, about the land of Israel when it became desolate, and about the households of Judah when they went into exile, 


text:
therefore you'd better look out! I'm going to turn you over to men <n>{Lit. to children}</n> from the East, who will dominate you. You will become their property. They will set up military encampments and permanent places <n>{Lit. tents}</n> in which to live among you, and then they'll eat your fruit and drink your milk. 


text:
I will turn Rabbah <n>{I.e. the capital city of the Ammonites, located east of the Jordan River}</n> into a pasture for camels, and Ammon will become a resting place for flocks of sheep. That's how they'll learn that I am the Lord ."»" 


text:
<n>{Why God Condemned Ammon}</n> d "This is what the Lord God says: «Because you've applauded, stamped your feet, and rejoiced with all sorts of malice in your heart <n>{I.e. expressions of delight upon hearing that disaster has befallen another}</n> against the land of Israel, 


text:
therefore you'd better <n>{The Heb. lacks you'd better}</n> watch out! I'm raising a clenched fist <n>{Lit. I'm stretching out my hand}</n> in your direction! I'm about to feed you to the surrounding <n>{The Heb. lacks surrounding}</n> 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 <n>{The Heb. lacks other}</n> countries. I'm going to destroy you, and that's how you'll learn that I am the Lord .»" 


text:
<n>{A Message Rebuking Moab and Seir}</n> d "This is what the Lord God says: «Because Moab and Seir are claiming, "Judah's citizens are <n>{Lit. Judah's household is}</n> just like every other <n>{The Heb. lacks other}</n> nation," 


text:
therefore you'd better watch out! I'm going to tear open Moab's flanks, starting with its frontier cities the very glory of the nation! including Beth-jeshimoth, <n>{This city was originally intended to be owned by the tribe of Reuben. Cf. Num 33:49; Josh 12:3; 13:20. The name means House of Destruction .}</n> Baal-meon, <n>{This city was originally intended to be owned by the tribe of Reuben. Cf. Num 33:38; 1Chron 5:8. The name means Lord of the Habitation .}</n> and Kiriathaim. <n>{This city was originally intended to be owned by the tribe of Reuben. Cf. Num 32:37; Josh 13:19. The name means Twin Cities .}</n> 


text:
I'm going to turn these cities <n>{Lit. give it}</n> over to men <n>{Lit. to children}</n> from the East, who will dominate you. You will become their property. As a result, Ammon will be forgotten as a nation. 


text:
<n>{The Coming Destruction of Edom}</n> d "This is what the Lord God says: «Because Edom has made it their practice to seek extraordinary vengeance against Judah's citizens, <n>{Lit. household}</n> and by doing so has incurred extraordinary guilt by taking revenge against them,'


text:
therefore this is what the Lord God says: «I'm going to raise my clenched fist <n>{Lit. to stretch out my hand}</n> in Edom's direction and eliminate every single human being and animal from Edom! I'm going to turn everything into a wasteland, starting with Teman, and Dedan will fall by violence! <n>{Lit. by the sword}</n> 


text:
I'm going to inundate Edom with <n>{Lit. give Edom}</n> my retribution, using my people Israel to carry it out! They'll deliver my anger, acting as an agent of my fury. Edom will come to know my vengeance,'declares the Lord God.»" 


text:
<n>{A Message Condemning Philistia}</n> d "This is what the Lord God says: «Because Philistia has made it their practice to carry out retribution, accompanied by extraordinary malice in their personal vendettas vendettas that spring from their everlasting hostility 


text:
this is what the Lord God says: "Look out! I'm raising my clenched fist <n>{Lit. to stretch out my hand}</n> in Philistia's direction. I'm going to execute <n>{Lit. cut off ; the Heb. verb is the root upon which the Heb. term Cherethites is based.}</n> the Cherethites <n>{Lit. executioners ; i.e. Philistines who originally served as bodyguards for King David, but by the date of this writing had become rogue mercenaries who harassed the territory of ancient Israel.}</n> and destroy what's left of the coastline of the Mediterranean <n>{The Heb. lacks Mediterranean}</n> Sea. 


text:
I'll take vengeance on them, punishing them severely in my anger. They'll know that I am the Lord when I take my vengeance on them."»" 


text:
<n>{A Message Condemning Tyre}</n> d During the eleventh year, on the first day of the month of our captivity <n>{The Heb. lacks of our captivity}</n> , this message came to me from the Lord : 


text:
"Son of Man, because Tyre has been saying about Jerusalem, «The international gateway is broken down! It's wide open to me! I will be replenished, now that it lies in ruins!'


text:
"Therefore this is what the Lord God says: «Watch out! I'm coming to get <n>{Lit. coming against}</n> you, Tyre! I'm about to bring many nations to attack you. They'll come in wave after wave, like the advancing tide, <n>{Lit. come like the sea brings waves}</n> 


text:
and will destroy the city walls of Tyre. After they break down her fortified towers, I'll scrape away the city's debris, right down to the bare bedrock, 


text:
and it will become a place where nets will be spread out right in the middle of the Mediterranean <n>{The Heb. lacks Mediterranean}</n> Sea. Because I have declared this to happen,'declares the Lord God, «Tyre will be treated as the spoils of war by the invading <n>{The Heb. lacks invading}</n> nations. 


text:
Furthermore, her citizens <n>{Lit. daughters}</n> who live on the mainland will be executed with swords. That's how they'll learn that I am the Lord.»" 


text:
<n>{Nebuchadnezzar's Invasion}</n> d "This is what the Lord God says: «Watch out! I'm about to bring from the north King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, that king of kings. He'll come with horses, chariots, cavalry, and a vast army. 


text:
He'll execute your citizens who live on the mainland with swords. He'll build siege engines to attack you. Then he'll construct siege ramps against you and build huge shields to protect themselves <n>{The Heb. lacks to protect themselves}</n> against you. 


text:
«He'll direct the blows of his battering rams against your walls and will breach your fortified towers with axes. <n>{Or swords}</n> 


text:
There will be so many horses that the dust raised by them will cover you completely. The walls of your city will tremble from the noise of Nebuchadnezzar's <n>{Lit. their}</n> cavalry, wagons, and chariots when they enter through the gates of your city, as men enter a city that has been breached. 


text:
«Their horses will trample all the public places as he executes your inhabitants with swords. The most fortified of your pillars will be torn to the ground. 


text:
They will plunder your riches and loot your businesses. They'll tear down your walls and demolish your luxurious homes. They'll grab the stones, wood, and rubble from the destruction and dump it all into the Mediterranean <n>{The Heb. lacks Mediterranean}</n> Sea. 


text:
I'll turn you into bare rock, and your city will become a place to spread nets. You will never be built again, because I the Lord have decreed this,'declares the Lord God." 


text:
<n>{Terror at Tyre's Destruction}</n> d "T his is what the Lord God says to Tyre: «When your wounded citizens groan while the slaughter takes place among you, the people who live in the coastlands will tremble in terror as they hear about your fall, will they not? 


text:
That's when all the kings of the seafaring nations will abandon their thrones, strip off their fancy clothes, and collapse trembling on the ground. They'll be so frightened as they observe what has happened to you that they'll be unable to stop trembling. They will be utterly appalled at you! 


text:
They'll sing this mourning song for you: "How lost you are, you inhabited city, that was built in the middle of the sea! How famous you were! How strong on the sea! She and her inhabitants inflicted <n>{Lit. inhabitants who inflicted}</n> terror to everyone who lived within her." 


text:
«Now the coastland inhabitants will tremble on the day that you fall. The coastland inhabitants, who make their living from <n>{Lit. who are by}</n> the sea, will be terrified when you pass away!'


text:
"This is what the Lord God says: «When I turn your city into a ghost town, when I flood you with deep water that covers you completely, 


text:
I'll make sure that you go straight to the Pit, <n>{I.e. the place of punishment in the afterlife}</n> into the lowest part of the earth, where you'll be with people who lived in ancient times. You'll keep company there with the dead, who have gone into the Pit. <n>{I.e. the place of punishment in the afterlife}</n> As a result, your city <n>{Lit. result, you}</n> won't be inhabited. Meanwhile, I will display my glory in the land of the living. 


text:
I'm going to send terrifying calamity in your direction, and you won't exist any longer. You might be sought after, but you'll never be found again,'declares the Lord God." 


text:
Tell Tyre, who lives at the gateway to the Mediterranean <n>{The Heb. lacks Mediterranean}</n> Sea, who serves as the international merchant to many coastal districts: «This is what the Lord God says: "Tyre, you've been claiming, "I am beauty perfected.'


text:
You've set your national boundary in international waters. Your builders made you downright beautiful!"»" <n>{Or you perfectly beautiful}</n> 


text:
<n>{Tyre's Luxurious Sailing Vessels}</n> d «They brought in a ship made with pine planking from Senir, configured with a mast carved from a cedar from Lebanon, 


text:
equipped with oars made from oaks from Bashan, with ivory-inlaid cypress wood <n>{Lit. daughter of Assyria}</n> decking imported from the coastlands of Cypress, 


text:
with sails made with embroidered Egyptian linen, festooned with blue banners, and with your sun shades made with purple cloth from Cypress. 


text:
The wise men and elders from Gebal accompanied you, serving as ship's carpenters. All the maritime navies and their seaman also accompanied you to assist you in doing business internationally." 


text:
<n>{Tyre's International Makeup}</n> d "Soldiers from Persia, <n>{I.e. modern Iran}</n> Lud, <n>{I.e., fourth son of Shem, progenitor of the Lydians. The Heb. name Lud means strife.}</n> and Libya, <n>{Lit. Put; i.e. the third son of Ham (cf. Gen 10:6); the Heb. name means bow}</n> served in your army. They were your mighty soldiers. Their helmets and shields adorned your barracks walls, and they won battle decorations for you. 


text:
Mercenaries from Arvad and Helech stood guard duty on your walls, while brave men manned your towers. They hung their shields all around your walls just the right touch to perfect your interior decorating!" <n>{Lit. your beauty}</n> 


text:
<n>{Tyre's Trading Partners}</n> d «Tarshish was your business partner because of your phenomenal wealth. They traded silver, iron, tin, and lead for your merchandise. 


text:
Greece, Tubal, <n>{I.e. a son of Noah's son Japheth; this people resided in what is now modern eastern Turkey}</n> and Meshech <n>{I.e. a son of Noah's son Japheth; this people resided in what is now modern Armenia}</n> bartered with you, exchanging slaves and bronze vessels for your wares. 


text:
Men from the low country south of Edom <n>{Lit. The descendants of Dedan ; i.e., a son of Cush (cf. Gen 10:7) or a grandson of Abraham through Keturah (Gen 25:3)}</n> and many of the coastlands were your markets for ivory tusks and ebony that they brought to trade with you. 


text:
"Aram was one of your customers because you had so much merchandise. They paid by trading turquoise, purple yarn, embroidered goods, Egyptian linen, <n>{Lit. byssus ; i.e. a white cotton cloth}</n> coral, and rubies. 


text:
The territories of Judah and Israel were your clients, too. They traded wheat from their distribution centers, <n>{Lit. from Minnith ; perhaps a site in Ammon, east of the Jordan River}</n> baked goods, honey, oil, and ointments for your merchandise. 


text:
"Because you have so much to sell and are so rich, Damascus has been your trading partner, exchanging wine from Helbon, unbleached wool, 


text:
and casks of wine from Izal <n>{Or Uzal , i.e., a city located in a wine growing region between Haran and the Tigris River}</n> for your wrought iron, cassia wood, and aromatic reeds. 


text:
Traders from Sheba and Raamah paid for the best of what you had to offer with all types of spices, precious stones, and gold. 


text:
Haran, Canneh, Eden, <n>{These cities are thought to have been located in ancient Mesopotamia}</n> merchants from Sheba, Asshur, and Chilmad did business with you, 


text:
trading garments made into the finest blue and embroidered mantels, and also multi-colored carpets, ropes, and other merchandise. 


text:
Ocean-going fleets <n>{Lit. Ships of Tarshish ; i.e., a class of vessel capable of travelling the oceans}</n> carried your merchandise." <n>{Tyre's Coming Storm}</n> d"How filled you were! How glorious you were, at home in the heart of the sea! 


text:
But your rowers have brought you into dangerous waters. The east wind has broken you in the heart of the ocean! 


text:
Your wealth, your products, your merchandise your sailors, your pilots, your tailors, your salesmen, all your mercenaries with you your entire company with you will fall into the midst of the sea on the day when you're overthrown! 


text:
and they will cry so loud you won't be able to make yourself heard! How bitterly they'll cry! They'll throw dust on their heads and wallow in ashes. 


text:
They'll shave their heads bald because of you. They'll dress themselves in sackcloth and weep for you with deep bitterness of heart, with the most pitiful of mourning. 


text:
In the depth of their despair they'll compose a lament for you. This is what they'll say: «Who is like Tyre? Who is so silent in the midst of the sea? '


text:
Your merchandise went out over the oceans to satisfy many nations; with the abundance of your wealth you enriched the kings of the earth. 


text:
"But now it's your time to be wrecked at the bottom of the sea! Your products and your workers have sunk, and so have you! 


text:
Everyone who lives by the sea is appalled at your destruction. Their leaders are terrified their faces reflect their fears! 


text:
Traders circulate among the people, hissing at you. What a horror you've become! Now you will cease to exist forever and ever!" 


text:
"Son of Man, tell Tyre's Commander-in-Chief, <n>{Lit. Nagid ; i.e. a senior officer entrusted with dual roles of operational oversight and administrative authority}</n> «This is what the Lord God says: "Because your heart is arrogant, <n>{Lit. tall}</n> and because you keep saying, «I have taken my seat, I am a god, seated in God's seat right in the middle <n>{Lit. heart}</n> of the sea,'<n>{I.e., an allusion to Tyre's location on an island off the coast of Lebanon}</n> and because you're a man, and not a god, even though you pretend that you have a god-like heart 


text:
Your wisdom and understanding brought you phenomenal wealth. You've brought gold and silver into your treasuries. 


text:
By your great wisdom, by your skills in trading you have amassed wealth for yourself and your heart has become arrogant because of your wealth." 


text:
Therefore, look! I'm bringing foreigners in your direction, the most terrifying of nations! They will direct their violence <n>{Lit. swords}</n> against the grandeur that you've created by your wisdom. 


text:
They'll send you down to the Pit, <n>{I.e. the place of punishment in the afterlife}</n> and you'll die defiled in the depths of the sea. 


text:
Is that when you'll say, «I'm God'to the face of those who will be killing you? After all, you're a man, and have never been a god, especially when you're under the control <n>{Lit. you're in the hand}</n> of those who will defile you! 


text:
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 ." 


text:
<n>{A Rebuke for Tyre's King}</n> d Another message came to me from the Lord , and this is what it said: 


text:
"Son of Man, start singing this lamentation for the king of Tyre. Tell him, «This is what the Lord God says: "You served as my <n>{The Heb. lacks my}</n> model, my example of complete wisdom and perfect beauty. 


text:
You used to be in Eden God's paradise! You wore precious stones for clothing: ruby, <n>{Lit. red}</n> topaz, diamond, <n>{Or emerald}</n> beryl, <n>{Lit. Tarshish ; i.e. a yellow stone}</n> onyx, jasper, sapphire, <n>{Or lapis lazuli ; a bright blue stone}</n> turquoise, and carbuncle. Your settings were crafted in gold, along with your engravings. On the day of your creation they had been prepared! 


text:
"You were the anointed cherub; having been set in place on the holy mountain of God, you walked in the midst of fiery stones. 


text:
You were blameless in your behavior <n>{Lit. ways}</n> from the day you were created until wickedness was discovered in you. 


text:
Since your vast business dealings filled you with violent intent <n>{Lit. with violence}</n> from top to bottom, <n>{Lit. in your midst}</n> you sinned, so I cast you away as defiled from the mountain of God. I destroyed you, you guardian cherub, from the midst of the fiery stones. 


text:
Your heart grew arrogant because of your beauty; you annihilated your own wisdom because of your splendor. Then I threw you to the ground in the presence of kings, giving them a good look at you! 


text:
By all of your iniquity and unrighteous businesses you defiled your sanctuaries, so I'm going to bring out fire from within you and burn you to ashes on the earth before the whole watching world! 


text:
Everyone who knows you throughout all the nations will be appalled at your calamity and you will no longer exist forever."»" 


text:
"Son of Man, turn your attention <n>{Lit. face}</n> to Sidon and prophesy against her. <n>{I.e., the city personified as a woman}</n> 


text:
Tell her: «Pay attention to me, Sidon! I'm against you, and I'm going to glorify myself right in your midst.'They'll learn that I am the Lord when I carry out these punishments and manifest my holiness in her midst. 


text:
I'm going to send disease into that city <n>{Lit. disease into her}</n> and blood into her streets. People will drop dead in her midst from the violence done to <n>{Lit. the sword brought against}</n> her from every side. Then they'll learn that I am the Lord God ." 


text:
<n>{The Future Regathering of Israel}</n> d "The house of Israel will never again suffer from painful briers and sharp thorn bushes that surround them on every side, and they will learn that I am the Lord. 


text:
This is what the Lord God says: «When I gather the house of Israel from the nations to which I've scattered them, I will show them my holiness before the watching world, and they will live on the land that I gave to my servant Jacob. 


text:
They will live in safety in the land, <n>{Lit. in her}</n> building houses and planting vineyards. They'll live in safety while I judge everyone who maligns them among those who surround them. At that time they'll learn that I am the Lord their God.»" 


text:
<n>{Prophecy against Egypt}</n> d In the tenth year, on the twelfth day of the tenth month, a message came to me from the Lord , who had this to say: 


text:
"Son of Man, turn your attention to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and prophesy against him and the entire nation of Egypt. 


text:
Tell him that this is what the Lord God says: «Watch out! I'm coming to get <n>{Lit. I'm against}</n> you, Pharaoh, king of Egypt! You big monster! You lay in wait in the middle of your waterways <n>{Or Nile ; i.e. the Nile River, and so throughout the chapter}</n> and say, "My waterways belong to me! I made them for myself!" 


text:
«So I'm going to plant a hook in your jaw and make the fish in your waterways grab hold of your scales. I'll bring you up out of the middle of your waterways, along with all of the fish from your waterways that cling to your scales, 


text:
Then I'll fling you out into the desert, you and all those fish in your waterways. You'll fall out in the open fields; you'll never be reunited. I'm giving you to the wild beasts of the earth and to the birds of the sky, and they will dine on you! 


text:
«Then everyone living in Egypt will know that I am the Lord , because they have been an unreliable ally <n>{Lit. been a staff made of reeds}</n> to the house of Israel. 


text:
When they reached out to you for support, you tore their hands and dislocated all of their shoulders. When they tried to lean on you, they couldn't control their own bowels.'<n>{Lit. all of their loins became unstable ; so LXX; i.e. an involuntary physiological response from terror in the aftermath of their military defeat}</n> 


text:
"Therefore this is what the Lord God says: «Look out! I'm bringing violent death <n>{Lit. bringing a sword}</n> in your direction! I'm going to kill every person and animal, 


text:
and the land of Egypt will be turned into a desolate ruin. Then you will know that I am the Lord. Because Egypt said, "The Nile is mine. I made it!" 


text:
therefore watch out! I'm coming to get <n>{Lit. I'm against}</n> you! I'm going to attack your waterways, and then I'm going to make the land of Egypt a total wasteland from the Aswan <n>{Lit. Syene , an Egyptian frontier town near the southern border with Ethiopia}</n> fortress to the border of Ethiopia! <n>{Lit. Cush ; the Heb. name means black}</n> 


text:
I'll see to it that Egypt becomes a devastated land in the midst of devastated lands. Her cities deep inside her territories will be laid waste and desolate for 40 years. I will scatter Egypt among the nations and disperse them throughout the land.»" 


text:
<n>{Restoration of Egypt after Judgment}</n> d "Because this is what the Lord says: «At the end of 40 years I'll gather the Egyptians from the people among whom they have been scattered. 


text:
I'll restore the economy <n>{Lit. fortunes}</n> of Egypt and return them to the land of Pathros, <n>{I.e. southern Egypt}</n> from which they originated, and there they will remain an insignificant kingdom, 


text:
the least significant of kingdoms. It will never again dominate other nations. I will make them so small that they will never again rule any nation. 


text:
Egypt will never again be a source of confidence to the nation <n>{Lit. house}</n> of Israel. Instead, Egypt will serve as a reminder of when they sinned by turning to Egypt for help. Then they'll know that I am the Lord God.»" 


text:
<n>{Egypt Given to Nebuchadnezzar}</n> d On the first day of the first month of the twenty-seventh year of our captivity, <n>{The Heb. lacks of our captivity}</n> a message came to me from the Lord , who had this to say: 


text:
"Son of Man, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon made his army work very hard to attack Tyre. They tore their hair out and rubbed their shoulders raw! Despite all of that work trying to capture Tyre, neither he nor his army got paid from Tyre for all that! 


text:
Therefore this is what the Lord God says: «I'm going to give the land of Egypt to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. He's going to carry off her wealth, confiscate her war implements, and use it all to pay wages for his army! 


text:
«When that day comes about, I'll strengthen Israel's military might, and I will give you an audience in their midst. Then they will know that I am the Lord .»" 


text:
"Son of Man, here's what you are to prophesy and announce, «This is what the Lord God says: "Wail out loud! Oh no! The day! 


text:
For comes now the day comes now the Day of the Lord , the day of clouds! The time of the gentiles <n>{Or nations}</n> is fulfilled! <n>{Or gentiles shall come to pass ; or It shall be the time of judgment for the gentiles}</n> 


text:
War <n>{Lit. The sword}</n> will come to Egypt, and Ethiopia will be in anguish when the slain fall in Egypt, when her wealth is carried off, and her foundations are demolished. 


text:
"Ethiopia, <n>{Lit. Cush ; the Heb. name means black}</n> Libya, <n>{Lit. Put ; the Heb. name means bow}</n> descendants of <n>{The Heb. lacks descendants of}</n> Lud, <n>{I.e., the fourth son of Shem, progenitor of the Lydians. The Heb. name Lud means strife.}</n> all those who have mixed themselves, <n>{So LXX; cf. Dan 2:43; MT reads all the twilight}</n> and Libya <n>{Lit. Chub ; the Heb. means horde}</n> along with everyone in the land of Israel who is in league <n>{Or who have joined in a covenant}</n> with them will die violently."»" <n>{Lit. will fall by the sword}</n> 


text:
<n>{Continued Judgment on Egypt}</n> d "This is what the Lord says: «Those who are supporting Egypt will fall; her majestic strength that she brought <n>{The Heb. lacks that she brought}</n> from the Aswan <n>{Lit. Syene , an Egyptian frontier town near the southern border with Ethiopia}</n> fortress will collapse by the sword that invades her,'declares the Lord God. 


text:
They'll remain desolate among desolate lands, their cities will be named among those that are ruined. 


text:
«When that happens, couriers will go out in ships to terrify Ethiopia <n>{Lit. Cush ; the Heb. name means black}</n> in its complacency. Anguish will visit them as it will visit Egypt. Watch out! It's coming!»" 


text:
<n>{Foreigners will Invade Egypt}</n> d "This is what the Lord says: «I'm putting an end to that gang from Egypt, and I'm going to use King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, to do it! 


text:
He and his ruthless army with him will be brought to destroy the land. They'll draw their swords and attack <n>{Lit. swords against}</n> Egypt, filling the land with the dead! 


text:
I'll dry up their waterways, and evil men will sell off the land. I'm going to make that land desolate, along with everything that's in it, and I'm going to use foreigners to do it. I, the Lord have spoken!»" 


text:
<n>{Destruction of Egypt's Gods}</n> d "This is what the Lord God says: «I will destroy the idols and put an end to the images that come from Memphis. There will no longer be a prince from the land of Egypt, and I will terrify the land of Egypt. 


text:
I'm going to turn Pathros into a desolation, set fire to Zoan, <n>{I.e. the residence city of Egypt's Pharaoh at the time of the exodus (c. 1440 BCE)}</n> and judge Thebes. <n>{Lit. No ; i.e. the ancient capital of Egypt}</n> 


text:
I'll pour out my anger on Sin, <n>{So MT; LXX reads Sain ; i.e. Pelusium, a fortified city on Egypt's northeastern border}</n> Egypt's strong fortress, and I'll eliminate the gangs in Thebes. 


text:
I'll set fire to Egypt, and Aswan <n>{LXX reads Syene , an Egyptian frontier town near the southern border with Ethiopia; MT reads Sin}</n> will writhe in agony. Thebes will be demolished, and Memphis will face daily distress. 


text:
The young men of On and Pi-beseth will die violently, <n>{Lit. will fall by the sword}</n> and their cities will be taken captive. 


text:
It will be a dark day for Tahpanhes when I break the yokes of Egypt. That's when her arrogant power will come to an end. She'll be covered by a cloud, and her citizens <n>{Lit. daughters}</n> will go into captivity. 


text:
<n>{Babylon's Victory}</n> d On the seventh day of the first month of the eleventh year of our captivity, <n>{The Heb. lacks of our captivity}</n> a message came to me from the Lord . It had this to say: 


text:
"Son of Man, I've broken the arm of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Look! It hasn't been set in a splint for healing or wrapped with a bandage so it could be strong enough to hold a sword! 


text:
Therefore this is what the Lord God says: «I'm coming to attack Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and I'm going to break both of his arms, the strong one and the wounded one. That will make him drop his sword. 


text:
I'm going to scatter Egypt throughout the surrounding <n>{The Heb. lacks surrounding}</n> nations and disperse them throughout the world. 


text:
I'm going to strengthen the military might <n>{Lit. the arm}</n> of the king of Babylon, put my own sword in his hand, and break Pharaoh's strength. <n>{Lit. arms}</n> Then Pharaoh <n>{Lit. he}</n> will groan like a dying man right in front of the king of Babylon. <n>{Lit. of him}</n> 


text:
When I strengthen the military might of Babylon, the military might of Pharaoh will fail, and then they will learn that I am the Lord when I place my own sword in the hand of the king of Babylon. He will attack the land of Egypt. 


text:
When I scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the world, they will learn that I am the Lord .»" 


text:
<n>{Egypt Learns from Assyria's Demise}</n> d On the first day of the third month of the eleventh year of our captivity, <n>{The Heb. lacks of our captivity}</n> this message came to me from the Lord : 


text:
"Son of Man, tell this to Pharaoh, king of Egypt and his gangs: «Who do you think you are? What makes you so great? 


text:
Think about Assyria, <n>{Lit. Asshur}</n> that cedar of Lebanon, beautiful with its branches, like a shady forest, with an awesome height, its summit touches the clouds. 


text:
Abundant water made it great, Subterranean rivers made it grow. Rivers surrounded the area where it had been planted, and water channels nourished all the trees in the fields. 


text:
That's why it grew taller than any of the trees in the fields. Its boughs flourished. Its branches grew luxurious because all the water made it spread out well. 


text:
The birds in the sky made nests in its boughs; all the beasts of the field gave birth under its branches. All the great nations rested in its shade. 


text:
«Beautiful because it was so great, with its long branches, it was rooted in many bodies of water. <n>{Lit. many waters}</n> 


text:
The cedars in God's garden could not compare to it; Fir trees could not match its boughs. The plane tree <n>{i.e. a species of trees that could readily be stripped of their bark; cf. Gen 30:37}</n> never grew branches like it, and no tree in God's garden compares to its beauty. 


text:
I made it beautiful, including all of its branches; all the trees in God's garden of Eden envied it!»" 


text:
<n>{Assyria's Fall Due to Arrogance}</n> d "Therefore this is what the Lord God says: «Because of its towering height, with its summit reaching into the clouds, and because it was haughty in its position, <n>{Lit. heart}</n> 


text:
I turned it over to the leader of those <n>{Lit. to the hand of the leader of the}</n> nations, who dealt with it thoroughly. I have driven it away because of its wickedness. 


text:
Foreign dictators have trimmed it down to size and abandoned it. Its branches have fallen off on mountains and in all the valleys. Its boughs have broken off in all the ravines of the land. All the nations of the earth have moved out of its shade and abandoned it. 


text:
All the birds in the sky will live among its ruins, and the wild animals <n>{Lit. the animals of the field}</n> will forage among its branches. 


text:
As a result, none of its watered trees will grow tall, their tops will never reach to the clouds, and they'll never grow so high again, because all of them have been appointed <n>{Lit. given}</n> to death in the world beneath where human beings go, that is, down to the Pit.»" <n>{I.e. the realm of eternal punishment in the afterlife}</n> 


text:
<n>{Fear at Assyria's Fall}</n> d "This is what the Lord God says: «On the day that it descended into Sheol, <n>{I.e. the realm of the afterlife}</n> I shut down its water supplies, covered over its deep water, and shut down its rivers. As a result its abundant water sources dried up, and I caused Lebanon to mourn for it. All the trees of the field wilted because of it. 


text:
I made the nations tremble when they heard that Assyria <n>{Lit. he}</n> was falling, descending into Sheol <n>{I.e. the realm of the afterlife}</n> to join those who go down into the Pit. <n>{I.e. the realm of punishment in the afterlife}</n> Then all of the trees of Eden in the world below were comforted, including the choicest and best of Lebanon, all of whom were well-watered. 


text:
They also went down with it into Sheol, <n>{I.e. the realm of the afterlife}</n> to those who had been killed violently <n>{Lit. killed by the sword}</n> and to those who had trusted in its strength by living in its shadow among the nations. 


text:
So tell me now, which of the trees of Eden compares to you in glory or greatness? Nevertheless, you'll be brought down, along with those trees of Eden, to the earth below. You'll lie in the middle of the uncircumcised, with those who have been killed in war. <n>{Lit. killed by the sword}</n> Pharaoh and all his gang will be just like this!'declares the Lord God." 


text:
<n>{Another Prophecy about Egypt}</n> d On the first day of the twelfth month of the twelfth year of our captivity, <n>{The Heb. lacks of our captivity}</n> a message came to me from the Lord , who had this to say: 


text:
"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.'


text:
"This is what the Lord God says: «I'm coming fishing for you! Right in the sight of many nations they'll haul you up in my dragnet. 


text:
I'll fling you up onto the land; I'll haul you into the field, I'll make every carrion-eating bird come to dine on you, and I'll make all the scavenging animals gorge themselves on you. 


text:
I'll cover the mountains with your flesh and fill their valleys with your rotting carcass. <n>{So MT; the Syr. Peshittas read your maggots}</n> 


text:
I'll drench the land with your blood, right up to the mountains, and the ravines will overflow with blood that comes from you! 


text:
When I extinguish your lights, I'll cover the heavens and darken their stars. I'll cover the sun with a cloud and the moon won't reflect its light. 


text:
I'll darken the bright lights in the sky above you and bring darkness to your territory,'declares the Lord God. 


text:
«I'll bring distress to the hearts of many nations when I destroy you among nations whose territories you have not known. 


text:
I'll make many nations be appalled at you, and their kings will be terrified because of you when I brandish my sword right in their face. They will all tremble from fear for their own safety <n>{Lit. soul}</n> on the day that you fall!'


text:
"This is what the Lord God says: «The army <n>{Lit. sword}</n> of the king of Babylon will attack you. 


text:
I'm going to make your gangs die using the weapons of valiant warriors, all of whom are ruthless people. «They will devastate the majesty of Egypt, destroying all of its hordes. 


text:
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. 


text:
That's when I'll make their waterways flow smoothly, and their rivers flow like olive oil,'<n>{I.e. the rivers will be undisturbed by human activity}</n> declares the Lord God." 


text:
«When I turn the land of Egypt into a desolation, and the land is emptied of everything that used to fill it, when I strike everyone who lives there, they will learn that I am the Lord .'


text:
"This has been a lamentation. They will chant it, and the citizens <n>{Lit. daughters}</n> of the nations will chant it, too. They'll chant it about Egypt and about all of its hordes." 


text:
<n>{Babylon's Invasion of Egypt}</n> d On the fifteenth day of the first <n>{The Heb. lacks the first}</n> month of the twelfth year of our captivity, <n>{The Heb. lacks of our captivity}</n> a message from the Lord came to me, and this is what it said: 


text:
"Son of Man, mourn about the hordes of Egypt. Bring them down that is, her and the citizens <n>{Lit. daughters}</n> of those majestic <n>{Or powerful}</n> nations whose destiny is the deep part of the Pit. <n>{I.e. the realm of punishment in the afterlife}</n> 


text:
"So who's more beautiful than you? You'll be buried with the uncircumcised. <n>{I.e. as one who does not honor God, and so throughout the chapter}</n> 


text:
"They'll die along with others who are killed violently. <n>{Lit. killed with the sword , and so throughout the chapter}</n> Egypt has been given over to violence, <n>{Lit. to the sword , and so throughout the chapter}</n> which will carry off both it and its hordes." 


text:
<n>{Egypt Condemned by the Dead}</n> d "Mighty leaders will address them and those who assist them right out of the middle of Sheol: <n>{I.e. the realm of the afterlife}</n> «They've come down and will lie still, these uncircumcised people who have died violently.'<n>{Lit. by the sword , and so throughout the chapter}</n> 


text:
Assyria will be there, along with all of those who keep company with her, <n>{I.e. the nation personified as a woman}</n> all of them killed violently. 


text:
Her grave will be set in the remotest part of the Pit, <n>{I.e. the realm of punishment in the afterlife}</n> surrounded by those who accompanied her. All of them will have been killed, executed violently, who spread terror throughout the land of the living. 


text:
"Elam will be there. Its hordes will surround Elam's <n>{Lit. its}</n> grave. All of them have been killed. They died <n>{Lit. fell}</n> violently, and they have descended uncircumcised into the world below after having spread terror throughout the land of the living. They will bear the shame of those who descend to the Pit. <n>{I.e. the realm of punishment in the afterlife}</n> 


text:
They have prepared a bed for her and for her hordes that surround her graves. All of them are uncircumcised, having been killed violently, because they had spread terror throughout the land of the living. They will bear the shame of those who descend to the Pit <n>{I.e. the realm of punishment in the afterlife}</n> and will take their place among the dead. 


text:
"Meshech and Tubal will be there, along with all of the hordes that surround her grave. Every one of them is uncircumcised, killed violently, because they spread terror throughout the land of the living. 


text:
They won't be buried with dead warriors from ancient times, who went straight to Sheol, <n>{I.e. the realm of the afterlife}</n> buried with their war weapons, with their swords placed under their heads and their shields laid on top of their bones, since they spread terror throughout the land of the living. 


text:
"Edom will be there, along with its kings and princes who despite all their power have been killed violently. They, too, are lying dead, along with the uncircumcised; that is, with those who descend into the Pit. <n>{I.e. the realm of punishment in the afterlife}</n> 


text:
"All of the princes from the North are there, along with the Sidonians, who have gone down in shame to join those who have been killed because of all the terror they caused by their military might. They lie dead, uncircumcised, with those who have been killed violently. They will bear their shame, along with those who descend into the Pit. <n>{I.e. the realm of punishment in the afterlife}</n> 


text:
"When Pharaoh sees them, he will take comfort in his hordes. Pharaoh and all his army will die violently," says the Lord God, 


text:
"because he spread terror throughout the land of the living. Therefore he'll be laid to rest among the uncircumcised, who have been killed violently; that is, Pharaoh and all of his hordes," declares the Lord God. 


text:
"Son of Man, speak to your nation's children and tell them: «If I bring war <n>{Lit. bring a sword}</n> to a land, and the people of that land appoint one of their conscripted men <n>{Or of the men from their border}</n> to serve as a sentinel, 


text:
and if he notices that violence <n>{Lit. that a sword}</n> is approaching and sounds an alarm to warn the people, 


text:
then if anyone who hears the sound of the alarm does not heed the warning, when the sword arrives and destroys him, his shed blood will remain his own responsibility. <n>{Lit. will be on him}</n> 


text:
After all, he heard the alarm sounding, but did not heed the warning, so his shed blood will remain his own responsibility. <n>{Lit. will be on him}</n> If he had heeded the warning, he would have saved himself. <n>{Lit. have rescued his soul}</n> 


text:
If that sentinel notices that violence is approaching, but does not sound an alarm, then because the nation does not take warning and the sword arrives and destroys their lives because of their guilt, I'll seek retribution for their shed blood from the <n>{Lit. from the hand of the ; i.e. as if the sentinel were responsible for the death}</n> one who was acting as sentinel.»" 


text:
<n>{Warning for Ezekiel}</n> d "Now as for you, Son of Man, I've established you as a sentinel for the house of Israel. So whenever you hear a message from me, <n>{Lit. from my mouth}</n> you are to warn the people <n>{Lit. warn them}</n> from me. 


text:
If I should say to a certain wicked person, «You wicked man, you're certainly about to die,'but you don't warn him to turn from his wicked behavior, <n>{Lit. ways}</n> he'll die in his guilt, but I'll seek retribution for his bloodshed from you. <n>{Lit. from your hand ; i.e. as if the sentinel were responsible for the death}</n> 


text:
However, if you warn the wicked to turn from his behavior <n>{Lit. way}</n> and he does not do so, he will die in his guilt, and you will have saved yourself." <n>{Lit. have rescued your soul}</n> 


text:
<n>{God Hates the Death of the Wicked}</n> d «Now, Son of Man, tell this to the house of Israel: «You keep saying, "Our crimes and sins burden us so much that we're rotting away, so how can we keep on living?"'


text:
"Tell them, «As certainly as I'm alive and living,'declares the Lord God, «I receive no pleasure in the death of the wicked. Instead, my pleasure is that the wicked repent from their behavior <n>{Lit. way}</n> and live. Turn back! Turn back, all of you, from your wicked behavior! Why do you have to die, you house of Israel?»" 


text:
<n>{Human Effort is Useless in Sustaining Righteousness}</n> d "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 <n>{Lit. from stumbling}</n> when they're turning from their wickedness, and no righteous person will keep on living by their righteousness when they sin.'


text:
"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. 


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


text:
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. 


text:
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. 


text:
"Nevertheless, your people's children keep saying, «Living life the Lord's way <n>{Lit. saying, «The way of}</n> isn't right,'when all the while it is their way of living <n>{The Heb. lacks of living}</n> that isn't right. 


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


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


text:
"And yet you keep saying, «Living life <n>{Lit. saying, «The way of}</n> 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!" 


text:
<n>{False Reliance on Abraham's Heritage}</n> d On the fifth day of the tenth month of the twelfth year of our captivity, a fugitive who had escaped from Jerusalem came and informed me, "The city has been destroyed." 


text:
Now the hand of the Lord had been touching me the evening before that fugitive arrived, so the Lord had given me something to say by the time the messenger <n>{Lit. time he}</n> arrived the next morning. He opened my mouth and I no longer had nothing to say to him. <n>{The Heb. lacks to him}</n> 


text:
"Son of Man, those who are living among these ruins of the land of Israel keep saying, «Abraham was only one man, but he was able to possess the land! As for us, we're a multitude, and the land has been given to us as an inheritance.'


text:
So tell them, «This is what the Lord God says: "You keep eating flesh along with its blood, you keep looking to your idols, and you keep shedding blood, and you're going to take possession of the land? 


text:
You keep trusting in your weapons, you continue to commit loathsome deeds, men keep defiling their neighbors'wives, and you're going to take possession of the land? '


text:
"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, <n>{Lit. die by the sword}</n> 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. 


text:
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." 


text:
«Then they'll learn that I am the Lord , when I've turned their land into a desolate wasteland because of all of the loathsome deeds that they've committed.»" 


text:
<n>{The Disobedient Exiles of Babylon}</n> d "Now as for you, Son of Man, your nation's children keep gathering together to talk about you beside the walls and at the doorway to their houses. Everyone tells one another, «Please come! Let's go hear what the Lord has to say!'


text:
Then they come to you as a group, sit down right in front of you as if they were my people, hear your words and then they don't do what you say <n>{The Heb. lacks what you say}</n> because they're seeking only their own desires, <n>{Lit. because their lust is in their mouths}</n> they pursue ill-gotten profits, and they keep following their own self-interests. 


text:
As far as they are concerned, you sing romantic songs with a beautiful voice and play a musical instrument well. They'll listen to what you have to say, but they won't put it into practice! 


text:
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." 


text:
"Son of Man, prophesy against Israel's shepherds. Tell those shepherds, «This is what the Lord God says: "Woe to you shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves and not the sheep. Shouldn't shepherds feed the sheep? 


text:
You're eating the best parts, <n>{Lit. the fat}</n> clothing yourselves with the wool, and slaughtering the home-grown sheep without having fed the sheep! 


text:
You haven't strengthened the weak, treated the sick, set broken bones, regathered the scattered, or looked for the lost. Instead, you've dominated them with brutal force and ruthlessness. 


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


text:
My sheep have gone wandering on all of the mountains, on all of the hills, and throughout every high place in the whole world, with no one to look for them or go out in search of them. 


text:
«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!'


text:
«This is what the Lord God says: "Watch out, I'm coming after you shepherds! I'm going to demand my sheep back from them <n>{Lit. from their hand}</n> and fire them as shepherds. The shepherds won't be shepherds anymore when I snatch my flock right out of their mouths so they can't be eaten by them anymore."»" 


text:
<n>{The Coming True Shepherd}</n> d "This is what the Lord says: «Watch me! I'm going to search for my flock. I'll watch over them myself. 


text:
Just as a shepherd looks after his flock during the day time while he is with them, so also I'm going to watch over my sheep, delivering them from every place where they've been scattered during the times of gloom and doom. <n>{Lit. cloud}</n> 


text:
I'm going to bring them out from foreign <n>{Lit. the}</n> 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. 


text:
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! 


text:
«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.»" 


text:
<n>{God's Message to His Sheep}</n> d "Now as for you, my flock, this is what the Lord God says: «Watch out! I'm going to judge between one sheep and another, and between the rams and the goats. 


text:
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? 


text:
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!'


text:
"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, 


text:
since you've been bumping aside all the weaker sheep with your backsides and shoulders, butting them with your horns until they're scattered around outside. 


text:
That's how I'll save my sheep so they won't be plundered any longer. I'm going to judge between one sheep and another.»" 


text:
<n>{God's Shepherd: His Servant David}</n> d «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. 


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


text:
"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. 


text:
I'm going to make <n>{Lit. give}</n> them and everything that surrounds my hill <n>{I.e. Mount Zion}</n> a blessing. I'll send down the rain! At the appropriate time there will be a rainstorm of blessing! 


text:
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. 


text:
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. 


text:
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. 


text:
That's when they'll learn that I, the Lord their God, am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my people,'declares the Lord God. 


text:
«And as for you, my sheep, the flock that I'm pasturing, you are mankind, and I am your God,'declares the Lord God." 


text:
"Son of Man, turn your attention <n>{Lit. face}</n> toward Mount Seir <n>{This mountain, the modern Jebel esh-sher, is located in the mountain range that extends south of the Dead Sea toward the Gulf of Aqaba, and is bordered by the Arabah Valley to the west.}</n> and begin to prophesy against it. 


text:
Tell them, <n>{Lit. him ; i.e. the city personified as a single person}</n> «This is what the Lord God says: "Watch out! I'm coming to get you, Mount Seir! I'm stretching out my hand to strike you, and I'm going to turn you into a desolate wasteland. 


text:
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 . 


text:
"Because of your undying hatred, you kept on making the Israelis experience abuse <n>{Lit. to the hand of the sword}</n> during the time of their calamity, even when they were in their final stages <n>{Lit. time}</n> of punishment, 


text:
therefore as I'm alive and living," declares the Lord God, "I'm turning you over to bloodshed, <n>{The Heb. word blood sounds like Edom , the territory south of the Dead Sea in which Mt. Seir, the modern Jebel esh-sher, is located}</n> and bloodshed will certainly overtake you, since you never have hated shedding blood. That's why bloodshed will certainly pursue you. 


text:
I'm turning Mount Seir over to ruin and desolation. I'm going to eliminate everyone who comes and goes, 


text:
and I'll fill that <n>{Lit. his}</n> mountain with the dead. Those who die by violence <n>{Lit. by the sword}</n> will cover your hills, and fill your valleys and all your ravines! 


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


text:
"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,'


text:
therefore as I'm alive and living" declares the Lord God, "I'm going to deal with you as your anger deserves. When I judge you, I'll treat you like you did the Israelis <n>{Lit. did them}</n> that is, with the same kind of envy that motivated your constant hatred of them. 


text:
That's how you'll know that I, the Lord , have heard every loathsome, reviling thing that you've had to say against the mountains of Israel, such as, «They're desolate, and we'll eat them for dinner!'


text:
"So this is what the Lord God says: «Just as the earth rejoices, I'm going to turn you into a desolate wasteland. 


text:
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 ." 


text:
<n>{Prophecy to Israel's Mountains}</n> d "Now as for you, Son of Man, prophesy to Israel's mountains and tell them, «Listen to this message from the Lord , you mountains of Israel: 


text:
"This is what the Lord God says: «The enemy has been saying about you, "Good! The ancient heights are back in our possession!"»"'


text:
"Therefore this is what you are to prophesy: «Here's what the Lord God says, "You've been turned into a desolate wasteland and crushed by everyone who surrounds you for a very, very good reason. You've become the property of all the other nations and you've become the object of gossip and whispering campaigns of the nations."»" 


text:
"Therefore listen to what the Lord God has to say, you mountains of Israel: «This is what the Lord God says to the mountains, to the hills, to the waterways, to the valleys, to the desolate wastelands, and to the abandoned cities that have become an object of derision to the mountains that surround you: 


text:
«Because this is what the Lord God says: "Motivated by my burning zealousness, I have spoken against the rest of the surrounding nations, including Edom, who confiscated my land, taking possession of it with joyful enthusiasm and with animal-like malice, in order to plunder Israel's <n>{Lit. her}</n> pastures.'


text:
"Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel and speak to its mountains, hills, ravines, and valleys. Tell them, «This is what the Lord God says: "Pay attention! In my zealous anger I'm speaking because you've had to endure the mockery of the world's nations."»" 


text:
"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! 


text:
But you mountains of Israel are going to sprout branches and bear fruit for my people Israel, because they'll be coming soon.»" 


text:
<n>{The Future of Israel's Mountains}</n> d "Watch me! I'm on your side! I'll be turning in your direction, and you mountains <n>{The Heb. lacks mountains}</n> will be plowed and planted. 


text:
I'm going to make the entire house of Israel grow every single member <n>{Lit. every human being}</n> and their cities will be inhabited with all the ruins rebuilt. 


text:
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 . 


text:
"I'll lead my people, my nation of Israel, across you mountains, <n>{The Heb. lacks mountains}</n> 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. 


text:
"This is what the Lord God says: «Because some have been saying to you, "You mountains <n>{The Heb. lacks mountains}</n> have been devouring human beings and leaving people childless," 


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


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


text:
"Son of Man, when the house of Israel was living on their own land, they defiled it with their lifestyles <n>{Lit. ways}</n> and behavior; they were as disqualified to be with me as a menstruating woman is to you. <n>{The Heb. lacks is to you}</n> 


text:
So I poured out my anger on them because of all the bloodshed throughout the land and because they had defiled it with their idolatry. 


text:
Then I scattered them among the nations, dispersing them to other lands, just as their lifestyles and behavior deserved. That's how I judged them. 


text:
Nevertheless, when they arrived in those nations, they continued to profane my holy name. It was said about them, «These are the Lord's people, even though they've left his land.'


text:
I've been concerned about my holy reputation, <n>{Lit. name ; and so throughout the chapter}</n> which the house of Israel has been defiling throughout all of the nations where they've gone." 


text:
<n>{The Coming Renewal of Israel}</n> d "Therefore tell the house of Israel, «This is what the Lord God says: "I'm not about to act for your sake, you house of Israel, but for the sake of my holy reputation, which you have been defiling throughout all of the nations where you've gone. 


text:
I'm going to affirm <n>{Or consecrate}</n> 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. 


text:
I'm going to remove you from the nations, gather you from all of the territories, and bring you all back to your own land. 


text:
I'll sprinkle pure water on you all, and you'll be cleansed from your impurity and from all of your idols." 


text:
"I'm going to give you a new heart, and I'm going to give you a new spirit within all of your deepest parts. I'll remove that rock-hard heart of yours <n>{Lit. heart from your flesh}</n> and replace it with one that's sensitive to me. <n>{Lit. with a heart of flesh}</n> 


text:
I'll place my spirit within you, empowering you to live according to <n>{Lit. to walk in}</n> my regulations and to keep my just decrees. 


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


text:
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. 


text:
I'll increase the yields of your fruit trees and crops so that you'll never again experience the disgrace of famine that occurs in other nations. 


text:
Then you'll remember your lifestyles and practices that were not good. You'll hate yourselves as you look at your own iniquities and loathsome practices. 


text:
I won't be doing any of this for your sake," declares the Lord God, "so keep that in mind. Be ashamed and frustrated because of your behavior, you house of Israel!"»" 


text:
<n>{The Restoration of Israel's Cities}</n> d "This is what the Lord God says: «At the same time <n>{Lit. On the day}</n> that I cleanse you from all of your guilt, I'll make your cities become inhabited again and the desolate wastelands will be rebuilt. 


text:
The desolate fields will be cultivated, replacing the former wasteland that everyone who passed by in times past <n>{The Heb. lacks in times past}</n> had noticed. 


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


text:
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!'


text:
"This is what the Lord God has to say: «I'm going to allow the house of Israel to ask anything they want from me, including this: I'm going to increase their population as a shepherd increases his flock. 


text:
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 .»" 


text:
<n>{The Vision of the Valley of Bones}</n> d The Lord laid his hand on me and brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord to the middle of a valley that was filled with bones. 


text:
He led me here and there throughout <n>{Lit. me over them all around all around}</n> the valley, and I was amazed to see that the surface of the entire valley was covered with myriads of very dry bones! 


text:
The Lord <n>{Lit. He}</n> asked me, "Son of Man, will these bones ever live?" "Lord God," I replied, "you know the answer to that!" <n>{The Heb. lacks the answer to that}</n> 


text:
Then the Lord told me, "Prophesy to these bones. Tell them: «You dry bones, listen to the message from the Lord : "


text:
This is what the Lord God says to you <n>{Lit. these}</n> dry bones! «Pay attention! I'm bringing my Spirit into you right now, and you're going to live! 


text:
I'm going to grow tendons on you, regenerate your flesh, cover you with skin, and make you breathe again so that you can come back to life and learn that I am the Lord .»"»" 


text:
<n>{The Bones are Raised to Life}</n> d So I prophesied, just as I had been ordered to do so. Immediately there was a noise and a rattling and then all of a sudden the bones came together by themselves! Each bone came together, all of them attached together! <n>{Lit. together, one to another}</n> 


text:
As I continued to watch, I saw tendons growing on the bones, <n>{Lit. on them}</n> and muscles growing and covering them, and then skin covered the flesh from above. But the bodies weren't breathing. 


text:
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."»" 


text:
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. 


text:
<n>{The Vision is Interpreted for Ezekiel}</n> d "These bones represent the entire house of Israel," the Lord <n>{Lit. Israel," he}</n> explained to me. "Look how they keep saying, «Our bones are dried up, and our future is lost. We've been completely eliminated!'


text:
"Therefore prophesy to them, and tell them, «Watch me! I'm going to open your graves, lift you out of those graves, and bring my people back into the land of Israel. 


text:
Then you'll learn that I am the Lord , when I've opened your graves and caused you to come up out of them, my people. 


text:
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 .»" 


text:
<n>{The Future Union of Israel and Judah}</n> d A message came to me from the Lord , and this is what it was: 


text:
"Now as for you, Son of Man, grab a stick of wood for yourself and write on it these words: «For Judah and the Israelis, his companions» "Then grab another stick and write on it: «For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and all the house of Israel, his companions» 


text:
When the descendants of your people ask you, «Would you please explain to us what you mean by this? '


text:
you are to tell them, «This is what the Lord says: "Watch me! I'm taking the baton that represents Joseph, which Ephraim is holding in his hand, along with his companions the tribes of Israel, and I'm going to join them with the baton that represents Judah. I'm making them a single baton, that is, a complete baton in my hand." 


text:
Then tell them, «This is what the Lord God says: "Watch me take the Israelis out of the nations where they've gone and return them from every direction. I'm going to bring them back into their own land. 


text:
I'm going to make them a united people in the land, on the mountains of Israel, and I'll set a single king to rule over them. They'll never again be two separate people. They'll never again be divided into two kingdoms. 


text:
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."»" 


text:
<n>{David's Rule as King}</n> d "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. 


text:
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. 


text:
I'll make a secure covenant <n>{Or a covenant of peace}</n> with them, one that will last forever. I will establish them, make them increase in population, <n>{The Heb. lacks in population}</n> and will place my sanctuary in their midst forever. 


text:
and the nations will learn that I, the Lord , am the sanctifier of Israel when I place my sanctuary in their midst forever."»" 


text:
"Son of Man, turn your attention toward Gog, <n>{I.e. a mountain tribe north of Assyria, and so through chapter 39}</n> from the land of Magog, <n>{I.e. a son of Noah's son Japheth; the area includes what is now modern eastern Turkey}</n> leader of the head <n>{Or of Rosh,}</n> of Meshech, <n>{I.e. a son of Noah's son Japheth; this people resided in what is now modern Armenia}</n> and of Tubal. <n>{I.e. a son of Noah's son Japheth; the area includes what is now modern eastern Turkey}</n> Prophesy this against him: 


text:
«This is what the Lord God says: "Watch out! I'm coming after you, Gog, leader of the head <n>{Or of Rosh,}</n> of Meshech, <n>{I.e. a son of Noah's son Japheth; this people resided in what is now modern Armenia}</n> and of Tubal. <n>{I.e. a son of Noah's son Japheth; this people resided in what is now modern eastern Turkey}</n> 


text:
I'm going to turn you around, put hooks into your jaws, and bring you out you and your whole army along with your horses and cavalry riders, all of them richly attired, a magnificent company replete with buckler and shield, and all of them wielding battle swords. 


text:
Persia, <n>{I.e. the area includes what is now modern Iran}</n> Cush, <n>{I.e. this area includes what is now modern Ethiopia and Somalia}</n> and Libya <n>{Lit. Put ; the Heb. name means bow}</n> will be accompanying them, all of them equipped with shields and helmets. 


text:
Gomer <n>{I.e. a son of Noah's son Jepheth; the area encompasses what is now modern Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, and Iraq.}</n> with all its troops, and the household of Togarmah <n>{I.e. named after Gomer, the region encompasses what is now Armenia}</n> from the remotest parts of the north with all its troops many people will accompany you. 


text:
Be prepared. Yes, prepare yourself you and all of your many battalions that have gathered together around you to protect you. 


text:
"Many days from now in the latter years you will be summoned to a land that has been restored from violence. <n>{Lit. from the sword}</n> You will be gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel, which formerly had been a continual waste, but which will be populated with people who have been brought back from the nations. All of them will be living there securely. 


text:
You'll arise suddenly, like a tornado, coming like a windstorm <n>{Or cloud}</n> to cover the land, you and all your soldiers with you, along with many nations."»" 


text:
<n>{The Invasion Strategy}</n> d "This is what the Lord God says: «This is what's going to happen on the very day that you begin your invasion: You'll be thinking, <n>{Lit. thinking in your heart}</n> making evil plans, 


text:
and boasting, "I'm going to invade a land comprised of open country <n>{I.e. territory characterized by a lack of military fortifications}</n> that is at rest, its people <n>{The Heb. lacks its people}</n> living confidently, all of whose inhabitants will be living securely, with neither fortification nor bars on their doors. 


text:
I'm going to confiscate anything I can put my hands on. I'll attack the restored ruins and the people who have been gathered together from the nations, who are acquiring livestock and other goods, and who live at the center of the world's attention." <n>{The Heb. lacks «s attention}</n> 


text:
«Businessmen based in Sheba, <n>{I.e. what is now southwest Saudi Arabia}</n> Dedan, <n>{I.e. what is now southern Saudi Arabia}</n> Tarshish, <n>{I.e. a city accessible from the Red Sea to which ships based on the Elanitic Gulf could sail}</n> 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?"»" 


text:
<n>{God's Rebuke to Gog}</n> d "Therefore, Son of Man, prophesy to Gog and tell him, «This is what the Lord God says: "When the day comes when my people are living securely, won't you be aware of it? 


text:
You'll come in from your home <n>{Lit. place}</n> in the remotest parts of the north. You'll come with many nations, all of them riding along on horses. You'll be a huge, combined army. 


text:
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."»" 


text:
<n>{A Prediction for the Distant Future}</n> d "This is what the Lord God says: «Surely you're the one about whom I spoke years ago in the writings <n>{Lit. ago by the hand}</n> of my servants, Israel's prophets, aren't you? They predicted back then that I would bring you up after many years, didn't they? 


text:
So it will be that on that day, when Gog <n>{I.e. a mountain tribe north of Assyria}</n> invades the land of Israel,'declares the Lord God, «my zeal will ignite my anger. 


text:
Because of my zeal and burning anger, at that time <n>{Lit. day}</n> there will be a massive earthquake throughout the land of Israel. 


text:
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. 


text:
Then I'll call for war against Gog <n>{I.e. a mountain tribe north of Assyria}</n> on top of every mountain,'declares the Lord God, «and every weapon of war will be turned against their fellow soldier. 


text:
I'll judge them with disease and bloodshed. I'll shower him, his soldiers, and the vast army that accompanies him with a torrential flood, hailstones, fire, and sulfur. 


text:
I will exalt myself and demonstrate my holiness, making myself known to many people, who will learn that I am the Lord .»" 


text:
<n>{The Destruction of Gog}</n> d "Now as for you, Son of Man, prophesy against Gog <n>{I.e. a mountain tribe north of Assyria}</n> and tell him, «This is what the Lord God has to say: "Watch out, Gog, you leader of the head <n>{Or of Rosh,}</n> of Meshech and of Tubal! 


text:
I'm going to turn you around, drag you along to your destruction, <n>{So LXX; MT reads around, lead you}</n> and bring you up from the farthest parts of the north, and carry you to the mountains of Israel. 


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


text:
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, <n>{Or carrion feeders}</n> and wild animals will feed on you. 


text:
You will fall dead in the open fields, because I have ordered this to happen,'declares the Lord God. 


text:
«I'm also going to incinerate Magog, along with those who are settled down and at home in the islands. That's when they'll learn that I am the Lord . 


text:
I'll make my holiness and reputation <n>{Lit. name}</n> 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. 


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


text:
<n>{The Aftermath of the Battle}</n> d "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. 


text:
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. 


text:
"When all of this happens, I'm going to set aside a grave site for Gog in Israel's Traveler's Valley, <n>{Lit. in the Crossover Valley ; or Israel, the valley where people cross}</n> near the approach <n>{I.e. to the north, as one travels from Jerusalem}</n> to the Dead Sea. She <n>{MT does not identify the woman}</n> will block off everyone who tries to bypass it. There they will bury Gog, and rename the area «Valley of Gog's Gang'. <n>{Lit. Gog's Crowd'and so in v. 15}</n> 


text:
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. 


text:
"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 <n>{The Heb. lacks from the battle}</n> on the surface of the ground, so that the land may be sterilized. 


text:
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. 


text:
They'll also name the city that is there «Hamonah,'<n>{The Heb. name means The Crowds}</n> as they purify the land." 


text:
<n>{An Invitation to Dine on Human Flesh}</n> d "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. 


text:
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! 


text:
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. 


text:
You'll be fully satiated at my table, dining on <n>{The Heb. lacks dining on}</n> horse flesh, horsemen, elite soldiers, and every kind of warrior," declares the Lord God. 


text:
«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. 


text:
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. <n>{Lit. they fell by the sword}</n> 


text:
It was because of their defilement and transgression that I treated them this way by hiding my presence from them.»" 


text:
<n>{The Final Restoration of Israel}</n> d "Therefore this is what the Lord God has to say: «I'm going to restore the resources of Jacob and show mercy to the entire house of Israel. I'll be zealous for my own reputation <n>{Lit. name}</n> and for my holiness. 


text:
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. 


text:
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, <n>{Lit. of many peoples}</n> 


text:
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. 


text:
I'll no longer hide my presence from them again when I pour out my Spirit on the house of Israel,'declares the Lord God." 


text:
<n>{The Vision of Jerusalem}</n> d At the beginning of year 25 of our captivity, on the tenth day of the fourteenth year after the destruction of Jerusalem <n>{Lit. of the city}</n> on that very day the Lord grabbed me in his hand and took me there. 


text:
God brought me in a series of visions to the land of Israel and placed me on top of a very high mountain, where to the south there was something that looked like the outline of a city. 


text:
That's where he took me. All of a sudden, there was a man whose appearance resembled glowing <n>{The Heb. lacks glowing}</n> bronze! He had a measuring rod and line in his hand as he stood in the city gate. 


text:
This is what the man told me: "Son of Man, watch carefully, <n>{Lit. watch with your own eyes}</n> listen closely, <n>{Lit. listen with your own ears}</n> and remember <n>{Lit. and put in your heart}</n> everything I'm going to be showing you, because you've been brought here to be shown what you're about to see. Be sure that you tell the house of Israel everything that you observe." 


text:
<n>{Measuring the Temple Grounds}</n> d All of a sudden, we were at the exterior wall that completely surrounded the Temple. The man whom I had observed held a measuring rod that was ten and a half feet <n>{Lit. six cubits ; i.e. about 3.15 meters}</n> long as measured in cubits that were a cubit and a handbreadth <n>{I.e. the royal cubit, which measured about 21 inches; i.e. about 0.53 meters}</n> long. As he measured the thickness of the wall, he measured out one rod. Its height was also one rod. 


text:
Then he went over to the gate that faced toward the east, ascended its steps, and measured its thresholds. One threshold measured one rod and the other one measured one rod. 


text:
Each guardhouse <n>{Or alcove ; and so throughout the chapter}</n> measured one rod long and one rod wide, and the distance <n>{The Heb. lacks the distance}</n> between each guardhouse was five cubits. The threshold of the gate near the vestibule facing away from the Temple entrance <n>{The Heb. lacks entrance}</n> measured one rod. 


text:
He measured the vestibule of the gate inside at eight cubits and the doorjambs at two cubits. (The vestibule at the gate faced away from the Temple.) 


text:
Gate guardhouses stood facing east, numbering three on each side, <n>{Lit. three from here and there}</n> each of them of equal size <n>{Lit. from here one measurement}</n> to the door jamb; that is, having the same <n>{The Heb. lacks that is, having the same}</n> measurement on each side. <n>{Lit. measurement from here and from here}</n> 


text:
The retaining <n>{Lit. border ; or barrier}</n> wall in front of the guardhouses measured one cubit wide. It stood one cubit from the wall to the guardhouses, which were six cubits square. <n>{Lit. were six cubits from here and six cubits from here.}</n> 


text:
He measured the gate from the roof of the guardhouses to the roof of another <n>{The Heb. lacks of another}</n> at 25 cubits from doorway to opposite doorway. 


text:
Then he measured <n>{Lit. made}</n> the open air porch <n>{So LXX; MT reads the jamb}</n> at 60 cubits from the doorjamb of the courtyard that encompassed the gate. 


text:
Latticed windows faced the guardhouses, their side pillars within the gate all around, and also for the porches. Windows were placed all around inside, and the side pillars were engraved with palm trees. 


text:
<n>{The Outer Court}</n> d Next, he brought me into the outer court, where chambers and a paved area had been constructed all around the courtyard, with 30 chambers facing the pavement. 


text:
The pavement to the side <n>{Or The lower pavement}</n> of the gates corresponded to the length of the gates. 


text:
He also measured the width from the front lower gate to the front of the exterior inner court at 100 cubits to the east and to the north. 


text:
<n>{The North Facing Outer Court}</n> d Next, he measured the length and width of the outer north-facing gate to the courtyard. 


text:
It was equipped <n>{The Heb. lacks was equipped}</n> with three guardhouses on each side. Its side pillars and porches had measurements identical to the first gate: 50 cubits long and 25 cubits wide. 


text:
Its windows, porches, and palm tree ornaments had measurements identical to the east-facing gate. Reached by seven ascending <n>{The Heb. lacks ascending}</n> steps, its porch lay <n>{The Heb. lacks lay}</n> to the front of the steps. 


text:
From a gate that stood opposite the northern gate he measured 100 cubits, as well as from the eastern gate. 


text:
<n>{The South Facing Gate}</n> d Then he led me toward the south, where there was a gate with side pillar and porch measurements identical to the others. 


text:
The gate and its porches contained windows all around, identical to the other windows. The length of the porch <n>{The Heb. lacks of the porch}</n> was 50 cubits and its width was 25 cubits. 


text:
Seven steps led up to it, with a porch in front of them. Palm tree ornaments were engraved on its side pillars, one on each side. 


text:
The inner court contained a south-facing gate measuring 100 cubits from gate to gate toward the south. 


text:
<n>{The Inner Southern Court}</n> d Next, he brought me to the inner courtyard by way of the south-facing gate. He measured the south-facing gate as having measurements identical to the others. 


text:
The measurements of its guardhouses, its side pillars, and its porches were identical to the others. The gate and its porches contained windows all around. The length of the porch <n>{The Heb. lacks of the porch}</n> was 50 cubits and its width was 25 cubits. 


text:
leading to the outer courtyard. Palm tree ornaments were engraved on its side pillars. The stairway leading to it contained eight steps. 


text:
<n>{The Inner Eastern Court}</n> d Then he brought me into the inner east-facing courtyard, where he measured the gate, identical to the others. 


text:
The measurement of its guardhouses, side pillars, and porches was identical to the others. The gate and its porches contained windows all around. The length of the porch <n>{The Heb. lacks of the porch}</n> was 50 cubits and its width was 25 cubits, 


text:
<n>{The North Facing Gate}</n> d Next, he brought me to the north-facing gate, where he measured the gate, identical to the others. 


text:
There was a chamber with a doorway by the side pillars next to the gate where they prepare <n>{Lit. rinse}</n> the burnt offerings. 


text:
In the porch leading in front of the gate there were two tables on either side for slaughtering burnt offerings, sin offerings, and guilt offerings, 


text:
and on the outer side, approaching the northern gateway, there were two tables, as well as two tables on the opposite side of the porch in front of the gate. 


text:
In that way, there were four tables on each side in front of the gate, for a total of eight tables for use in slaughtering the offerings. <n>{The Heb. lacks the offerings}</n> 


text:
There were four tables carved from stone for the burnt offering, each one and a half cubits long, one and a half cubits wide, and one cubit high, on which the instruments are laid for slaughtering burnt offerings and sacrifices. 


text:
Double hooks, a single handbreadth in length, were installed all around in this portion of <n>{The Heb. lacks this portion of}</n> the temple area. 


text:
<n>{The Inner Gate}</n> d From outside leading into the inner gate there were chambers for the choir. One was beside the north gate facing the south, and another was at the south gate facing the north. 


text:
The angel <n>{Lit. He}</n> told me, "This south-facing chamber is for the priests who maintain the Temple, 


text:
and the north-facing chamber is for the priests who maintain the altar. These are Zadok's descendants, who, as descendants of Levi approach the Lord to minister directly to him." 


text:
He measured the court in the form of a square at 100 cubits long and 100 cubits wide. The altar stood in front of the Temple. 


text:
<n>{The Temple Porch}</n> d Next, he brought me to the Temple porch and measured the side pillars at five cubits on each side. The width of the gate measured three cubits on each side. 


text:
The porch was 20 cubits long and eleven cubits wide. The stairway by which it was ascended was equipped with columns attached to its side pillars, one on each side. 


text:
<n>{The Vision of the Temple}</n> d Next he brought me to the Temple and measured its door jambs at six cubits wide on each side of the structure. <n>{Lit. tent}</n> 


text:
The entrance was ten cubits wide and its door jambs were five cubits wide on each side. He measured the length of the nave at 40 cubits and its width at 20 cubits. 


text:
Then he went inside and measured the door jambs at two cubits wide and the doorway at six cubits high. The doorway was seven cubits wide. 


text:
He measured its length at 20 cubits, its width at 20 cubits in front of the structure, <n>{I.e. the separation between the Holy Place and the most holy area}</n> and then he told me, "This is the most holy area." 


text:
Next, he measured the Temple walls at six cubits high and the width of the side chambers at four cubits around all four sides of the Temple. 


text:
The side chambers consisted of three stories, each above the other, with 30 chambers in each story. The side chambers extended out from the wall that faced the inside of the chambers where the chambers were fastened together, but the chamber walls were not fastened directly into the Temple walls themselves. 


text:
The side chambers surrounding the Temple were wider at each successive story, because the surrounding structure ascended by proportional increments as it rose, ascending to the highest story by going up successively from the lowest. 


text:
I observed a raised platform that surrounded the Temple, and the foundations of the side chambers were a full six cubits deep. 


text:
The outer wall of the side chambers was five cubits thick, and there was an empty space between the Temple's side chambers 


text:
The side chamber doorway facing the free space contained a single north-facing doorway and a second south-facing doorway. The width of the free space was five cubits all around the perimeter. <n>{The Heb. lacks the perimeter}</n> 


text:
The building that faced the west side of the courtyard was 70 cubits wide, and the building's wall was five cubits thick all around. It was 90 cubits long. 


text:
<n>{The Temple}</n> d Then he measured the Temple. It was 100 cubits long, and the courtyard, its building, and its walls were 100 cubits long. 


text:
The front of the Temple and its east-facing courtyard were each <n>{The Heb. lacks each}</n> 100 cubits long. 


text:
Next, he measured 100 cubits as the length of the structure toward the front of the courtyard that stood behind it, where it housed a gallery on each side of it. Then he measured the Temple and the inner porticos <n>{Or porches}</n> of the courtyard, 


text:
the thresholds, the shielded <n>{Or latticed}</n> windows, and the surrounding three-storied galleries that stood opposite. From the ground to the shielded <n>{Or latticed}</n> windows, they were paneled with wood all around, 


text:
including up to the doorway, up to the Temple (both within and without) and all around both sides of the inner wall, according to his measurement. 


text:
There were carved cherubim and palm trees, alternating with a palm tree between a cherub, and each cherub had two faces, 


text:
with a human face looking <n>{The Heb. lacks looking}</n> toward the palm tree on one side and a young lion's face looking <n>{The Heb. lacks looking}</n> toward the palm tree on the other side. These carvings extended all the way around the Temple, 


text:
The door posts of the main sanctuary were square. Each door post was identical in appearance to the others. 


text:
The altar was made of wood, three cubits high and two cubits long. Its corners, base, and sides were of wood. He told me, "This table stands in the Lord's presence." 


text:
Each door had two sections mounted on hinges, <n>{Lit. two swinging sections}</n> for a total of two sections for one door and two sections for the other. 


text:
The doors of the nave had carvings engraved on them, consisting of cherubim and palm trees identical to those on the walls. The front of the exterior porch was equipped with a wooden threshold. 


text:
Shielded windows and palm trees were visible <n>{The Heb. lacks visible}</n> on both sides; that is, on the sides of the porch, the side chambers of the Temple, and on its thresholds. 


text:
<n>{The Vision of the Outer Court}</n> d Then he brought me to the outer, north-facing courtyard into the chamber that stood opposite the structure that was facing north. 


text:
Opposite the 20 cubits wide inner court, and opposite the paved area that comprised the outer court, there were three stories of galleries that faced each other. 


text:
In front of the chambers there was an inner walkway ten cubits wide and 100 cubits <n>{So with LXX Syr; MT reads and one cubit}</n> wide, the openings to which were on the <n>{Or which faced}</n> north. 


text:
The upper chambers were narrower, since the galleries required more space than did the lower and middle portions of the building. 


text:
The three part structure had no columns, unlike the courts, which is why the upper chambers were offset from the ground upward, more so than the lower and middle chambers. 


text:
The outer wall by the side of the chambers toward the outer court and facing the chambers was 50 cubits long. 


text:
While the chambers in the outer court were 50 cubits in length, the chambers facing the Temple were 100 cubits long. 


text:
There were chambers built into the thick part of the wall of the court facing the east; that is, facing the separate area toward the front of the building, 


text:
with a passageway in front of them, similar in appearance to the chambers that were on the north, proportional to their length and width, with all of their exits according to their arrangements and doorways. 


text:
Corresponding to the chamber doorways facing the south was an opening at the beginning of the passage; that is, the passage in front of the corresponding part of the wall facing east as one might enter. 


text:
<n>{The Place for Holy Things}</n> d 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. 


text:
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." 


text:
After he had finished measuring the inner temple, he brought me out through the east-facing gate and measured it all around. 


text:
He measured the east side at 500 reeds, <n>{I.e. 875 feet (262.5 meters); and so through verse 19}</n> according to the length of the measuring stick, 


text:
He measured a wall that encompassed all four sides, 500 hundred long and 500 wide, dividing between the sacred and common areas. 


text:
and the glory of the God of Israel was coming from the east. His voice sounded like roaring <n>{Lit. many}</n> water, and the land shimmered from his glory. 


text:
His appearance in the vision that I was having was similar to what I observed in the vision where he had come to destroy the city, and also like the visions that I saw by the Chebar River. I fell flat on my face 


text:
Just then, the Spirit lifted me up and carried me into the inner courtyard, where the glory of the Lord was filling the Temple! 


text:
<n>{God to Live among His People}</n> d "Son of Man," the Lord God told <n>{Lit. he told}</n> 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 <n>{Lit. the corpses}</n> of their kings on their funeral mounds, <n>{Or their high places}</n> 


text:
by their setting up their threshold too close to my threshold and their door post too close to my door post, with a wall between me and them. After all, they have defiled my holy name by the loathsome things that they did, so I devoured them in my anger. 


text:
But now let them send their unfaithfulness that is, the lifeless idols <n>{Lit. the corpses}</n> of their kings far away from me, and I will live among them forever." 


text:
<n>{Ezekiel Describes the Temple}</n> d "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. 


text:
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. 


text:
This is to be the regulation for the Temple: the entire area on top of the mountain is to be considered wholly consecrated. This is to be the law of the Temple." 


text:
<n>{The Altar}</n> d "Here are the measurements of the altar in cubits that were a cubit and a handbreadth long: <n>{I.e. the royal cubit, which measured about 21 inches; i.e. about 0.53 meters}</n> its base is a cubit long and a cubit wide, and its border around the edge at one handbreadth is to be the height of the altar. 


text:
From the base on the ground to its lower edge is to be two cubits, with its width to be one cubit. From the lesser ledge to the larger edge is to be four cubits. Its width is to be one cubit. 


text:
The hearth is to be four cubits high, <n>{The Heb. lacks high}</n> and four horns are to extend upwards from the hearth. 


text:
The hearth is to be twelve cubits <n>{The Heb. lacks cubits}</n> long and twelve cubits <n>{The Heb. lacks cubits}</n> wide; that is, it will be a four-sided square. 


text:
It is to have a ledge fourteen cubits <n>{The Heb. lacks cubits}</n> long by fourteen cubits <n>{The Heb. lacks cubits}</n> wide around the four sides. Its border is to be half a cubit and its base is to be a cubit all around, with its steps facing east." 


text:
<n>{The Offerings}</n> d Then he told me, "This is what the Lord God says: «These are the regulations for the altar, starting the day that it is constructed for presenting burnt offerings and sprinkling blood. 


text:
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 . 


text:
You are to take some of its blood and put it on the four horns of the altar, <n>{The Heb. lacks of the altar}</n> on the four corners of its ledge, and on the border that surrounds it, thus cleansing it and making an atonement for it. 


text:
You are also to present a bull for a sin offering, incinerating it in the appointed place at the Temple, outside the sanctuary. 


text:
«The second day following commencement of offerings, <n>{The Heb. lacks following commencement of offerings}</n> you are to offer a male goat without defect for a sin offering to cleanse the altar the same way they cleansed it with the bull. 


text:
After you've finished the cleansing, you are to present a young bull without defect and a ram from the flock without defect. 


text:
You are to present them in the Lord's presence, and the priests are to throw salt on them and then present them as a burnt offering to the Lord . 


text:
«Every day for a week, you are to prepare a goat for a sin offering, a young bull, and a ram from the flock, each <n>{The Heb. lacks each}</n> without defect. 


text:
When they will have completed this period, <n>{Lit. completed these days}</n> starting the next day, <n>{Lit. period, from the eighth day following,}</n> 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." 


text:
<n>{The Vision of the Outer Gates}</n> d Then the Lord God <n>{Lit. Then he}</n> brought me back through the east-facing outer gate of the sanctuary. But it was shut. 


text:
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. 


text:
The Regent <n>{The Heb. lacks Regent ; and so through chapter 48}</n> Prince <n>{I.e. a ruler who will govern with a king's authority in the name of one holding higher supremacy; and so through chapter 48}</n> will be seated there, <n>{Lit. will sit in it}</n> as Regent Prince, and will dine in the Lord's presence, entering through the portico of the gate and exiting through it also." 


text:
<n>{The Front of the Temple}</n> d Then he brought me through the north-facing gate to the front of the Temple. As I looked, the glory of the Lord filled the Lord's Temple, and I fell flat on my face! 


text:
Then the Lord told me, "Son of Man, watch carefully, <n>{Lit. watch with your own eyes}</n> listen closely, <n>{Lit. listen with your own ears}</n> and remember <n>{Lit. and put in your heart}</n> everything I'm going to be telling you about all the statutes pertaining to the Lord's Temple and all of its laws. Pay careful attention to the entrance to the Temple, along with all of the exits to the sanctuary." 


text:
<n>{A Rebuke to the Rebellious}</n> d "You are to tell the Resistance that is, the house of Israel, «This is what the Lord God says: "I've had enough of all of your loathsome behavior, you house of Israel! 


text:
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. <n>{The Heb. lacks you've done}</n> 


text:
Furthermore, you haven't paid attention to the requirements for my holy things. Instead, you placed foreigners in charge of my sanctuary."'


text:
"This is what the Lord God says, «No foreigner who is both uncircumcised in heart and flesh, of all the foreigners who are among the Israelis is to enter my sanctuary. 


text:
But the descendants of Levi, who went far away from me when Israel abandoned me, who left me to follow their idols, are to bear the punishment of their iniquity. 


text:
Nevertheless, they are to serve in my sanctuary, overseeing the gates of the Temple, taking care of the Temple, slaughtering the burnt offerings and the sacrifices presented for the people, standing in the presence of the people, and ministering to them. 


text:
Because they kept serving them in the presence of their idols, becoming a sin-filled stumbling block to the house of Israel,'declares the Lord God . «I have sworn to them that they are to bear the consequences of their iniquity. 


text:
They are not to come near me to serve me as a priest, nor approach any of my holy things, including the most holy things. Instead, they are to bear the shame of the loathsome things that they have done. 


text:
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.»" 


text:
<n>{Levitical Ordinances}</n> d "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 . 


text:
"They are to enter my sanctuary, approach my table to minister to me, and carry out my requirements. 


text:
Whenever they enter at the gates of the inner court, they are to be clothed with linen garments. They are not to wear wool when they are ministering within the gates of the inner courtyard or in the Temple. 


text:
Linen turbans are to be on their heads, and they are to wear linen undergarments. Also, they are not to clothe themselves with anything that makes them perspire. 


text:
"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 <n>{Or transmit}</n> holiness to the people through their garments. 


text:
Also, they are not to shave their heads nor let their hair grow long. Instead, they are certainly to trim the hair on <n>{The Heb. lacks the hair on}</n> their heads. 


text:
They are not to marry <n>{Lit. take}</n> a widow or a divorced woman. Instead, they are to marry <n>{Lit. take}</n> virgins from the descendants of the house of Israel, or a widow who is the widow of a priest." 


text:
<n>{Duties of Ministry}</n> d "They are to teach my people how to discern <n>{The Heb. lacks how to discern}</n> what is holy in contrast to what is common, showing them how to discern between what is unclean and clean. 


text:
When disputes arise, they are to serve as a judge, adjudicating matters according to my ordinances. They are to enforce my laws, my statutes, all of my appointed festivals, and they are to sanctify my Sabbaths. 


text:
They are not to come in contact with a dead body, so they don't defile themselves, except in the case of their father, mother, son, daughter, brother, or for an unmarried sister, on whose behalf they may defile themselves. 


text:
After he is cleansed from that contact, <n>{The Heb. lacks from that contact}</n> he is to not to minister for seven days. 


text:
On the day that he returns to the sanctuary's inner court to minister, he is to offer his own sin offering," declares the Lord God . 


text:
<n>{Ministerial Inheritances}</n> d "Now with respect to the priests'<n>{Lit. to their}</n> inheritances, I am to be their inheritance, and you are to give them no possession in Israel, since I am their possession. 


text:
They are to eat the grain offerings, sin offering, and guilt offering. Everything consecrated in Israel is to belong to them. 


text:
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. 


text:
However, the priests are not to eat any bird or animal that has died a natural death or that has been torn apart." 


text:
<n>{Israel's Future Temple Park}</n> d "When you divide the land for an inheritance, you are to present a Terumah <n>{Lit. Gift ; i.e. a special section of Israel's land to be dedicated to the Lord as a national temple park; cf. Eze 48:8ff}</n> to the Lord, a consecrated portion of the land 25,000 cubits <n>{The Heb. lacks cubit ; if the unit of measurement is royal cubits, the length is about 8.29 miles.}</n> long and 20,000 <n>{So LXX; MT reads 10,000}</n> cubits <n>{LXX and MT lack cubit ; if the unit of measurement is 20,000 royal cubits, the length is about 6.6 miles.}</n> wide. Everything within this area is to be treated as holy. 


text:
A Holy Place is to be dedicated from this area in the form of a square measuring 500 by 500 cubits, <n>{The Heb. lacks cubits}</n> with a 50 cubit buffer zone <n>{Lit. cubit open space}</n> surrounding it. 


text:
From this area a measure is to be made 25,000 cubits <n>{The Heb. lacks cubits}</n> long and 10,000 cubits <n>{The Heb. lacks cubits}</n> wide, which is to contain the sanctuary, the holiest of holy objects. 


text:
It is to be a holy portion of the land, set aside <n>{The Heb. lacks set aside}</n> for the priests who serve the sanctuary, who approach the Lord to serve him. It is to be a place for their houses, as well as the Holy Place of the sanctuary. 


text:
An area 25,000 cubits long by 10,000 cubits wide is to be set aside <n>{The Heb. lacks to be set aside}</n> for use by the Levite <n>{I.e. the ministry formerly held by the descendnts of Levi}</n> servants of the Temple, 20 parcels <n>{Or chambers ; so with MT; LXX reads temple, cities}</n> for their residential properties. 


text:
The land allocation for the city is to be set at 5,000 cubits wide and 25,000 cubits long, adjacent to the sanctuary district, reserved for the entire house of Israel." 


text:
<n>{The Portion for the Regent Prince}</n> d "The Regent Prince is to have a portion <n>{The Heb. lacks a portion}</n> on both sides of the consecrated allotment for the sanctuary and the city's land allotment, adjacent to both on the west <n>{Lit. the sea side facing the sea}</n> and the east sides, comparable in length to one of the portions from the west <n>{Lit. the sea side}</n> border to the east border. 


text:
This property in Israel is to belong to the Regent Prince, <n>{Lit. to him}</n> 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." 


text:
<n>{An Exhortation to Honest Business}</n> d "This is what the Lord God says, «Enough of you, you regent princes of Israel! Abandon your violence and destruction. Practice what is just and right instead! Stop confiscating property from my people!'declares the Lord God . 


text:
«You're to use an honest scale, an honest dry measure, <n>{Lit. honest ephah}</n> and an honest liquid measure! <n>{Lit. bath}</n> 


text:
The ephah and the bath are to be of equal volume; that is, the bath is to contain one tenth of a homer and the ephah one tenth of a homer. The homer is to be the standard on which their volume measurement is to be based. 


text:
The shekel is to weigh 20 gerahs. The mina <n>{Or maneh ; the Babylonian standard was equivalent to 1/60 th of a talent}</n> is to be comprised of three coins weighing <n>{The Heb. lacks comprised of three coins weighing}</n> 20, 25, and fifteen shekels, respectively.»" 


text:
<n>{Weight Standards for Offerings}</n> d "Here are the standards for presenting offerings: a sixth of an ephah that is based on the standard homer of wheat, and a sixth of an ephah based on the standard homer of barley. 


text:
The olive oil quota is to be based on the bath, measured at ten baths to each homer, which is equal to one kor. 


text:
The sheep quota is to be one from each flock of 200 taken from the pastures of Israel. From all of these you are to present grain offerings, burnt offerings, and peace offerings, to make atonement for them," declares the Lord God . 


text:
The Regent Prince is to provide the burnt offerings, grain offerings, and drink offerings at the festivals, on the New Moons and Sabbaths, and at all of the prescribed festivals of the house of Israel. He is to provide the grain offerings, burnt offerings, and peace offerings in order to make atonement for the house of Israel." 


text:
"This is what the Lord God says, «On the first day of the first month, you are to present a young bull without defect in order to cleanse the sanctuary. 


text:
The priest is to place some of the blood from the sin offering on the door posts of the Temple, on the four corners of the ledge around the altar, and on the posts of the gate leading to the inner court. 


text:
You are also to do this on the seventh day of the month, to make atonement for any person who wanders away or who sins through ignorance in order to make atonement for the Temple. 


text:
«On the fourteenth day of the first month, you are to observe the Passover as a festival for seven days. Unleavened bread is to be eaten. 


text:
On that day, the Regent Prince is to provide, both for himself and for all the people who live in the land, a bull for a sin offering. 


text:
Each day during the seven days of the festival, he is to provide a burnt offering to the Lord, consisting of seven bulls and seven rams without defect, offered each day throughout the seven days, along with a male goat offered each day as a sin offering. 


text:
«The Regent Prince <n>{Lit. He}</n> is also to present a grain offering consisting of an ephah with each bull and an ephah with each ram, along with a hin of olive oil mixed with an ephah of grain. 


text:
On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, during a seven day festival, the Regent Prince <n>{Lit. festival, he}</n> is to present these as daily sin offerings, burnt offerings, and grain offerings mixed with oil.»" 


text:
<n>{Regulations for the Inner Court}</n> d "This is what the Lord G od says: «The inner, east-facing courtyard is to remain shut during the six working days of the week, <n>{The Heb. lacks of the week}</n> but on the Sabbath day it is to be opened, as well as on the day of the New Moon. 


text:
The Regent Prince is to enter through the portico of the gate from outside and is to stand at the doorframe of the gate where the priests are to present the Regent Prince's <n>{Lit. his}</n> burnt offerings and peace <n>{Or fellowship ; and so throughout the chapter}</n> offerings. Then the Regent Prince <n>{Lit. Then he}</n> is to worship at the threshold of the gate and go out. The gate is not to be closed until evening. 


text:
The people who live <n>{The Heb. lacks who live}</n> in the land are to worship at the doorway of the gate on the Sabbaths and New Moons in the Lord's presence.»" 


text:
<n>{Sabbath Offerings by the Regent Prince}</n> d «The burnt offering that the Regent Prince is to present to the Lord on the Sabbath day is to consist of six lambs without defect, a ram without defect, 


text:
a grain offering with the ram consisting of an ephah, a grain offering with the lambs consisting of whatever amount he brings with him, and a hin of oil with each ephah of grain. <n>{The Heb. lacks of grain}</n> 


text:
Furthermore, each New Moon there is to be a young bull presented without defect, six male lambs, and a ram without defect. 


text:
The Regent Prince <n>{Lit. He}</n> is to present an ephah of grain <n>{The Heb. lacks of grain}</n> along with the bull, an ephah of grain <n>{The Heb. lacks of grain}</n> along with the ram, a grain offering consisting of as much <n>{The Heb. lacks a grain offering consisting of as much}</n> as he is able to give and a hin of olive oil with each ephah of grain. <n>{The Heb. lacks of grain}</n> 


text:
«The Regent Prince is to enter through the portico of the gate and is to leave the same way he came in. 


text:
When the people who live <n>{The Heb. lacks who live}</n> in the land come into the Lord's presence during the festivals, whoever enters through the northern gate is to leave through the southern gate, and whoever enters through the southern gate is to leave through the northern gate. No one is to leave by the same route that he enters, but instead is to go straight out. 


text:
<n>{Daily Offerings by the Regent Prince}</n> d «The grain offering for the festivals and appointed festivals is to include an ephah with a bull, an ephah with a ram, and as much grain with the lambs as the Regent Prince <n>{Lit. as he}</n> brings with him, along with a hin of oil with each ephah. 


text:
Whenever the Regent Prince presents a voluntary offering, burnt offering, or peace offering, he is to present it voluntarily to the Lord , and the east-facing gate is to be opened for him. He is to provide his burnt offering and peace offering as he does on the Sabbath. When he leaves, the gate is to be shut behind him. 


text:
He is to present a one year old lamb without defect for a burnt offering to the Lord in the morning every day. 


text:
In addition, he is to present a grain offering with it every morning, consisting of a sixth of an ephah mixed with one third of a hin of oil. This grain offering is to be offered to the Lord as a permanent ordinance. 


text:
They are to present the lamb offering, the grain offering, and the oil every morning as an ongoing <n>{Or perpetual}</n> burnt offering.»" 


text:
<n>{Gifts by the Regent Prince}</n> d "This is what the Lord G od says: «If the Regent Prince gives a gift to someone, <n>{Lit. to a man among his sons}</n> it is to remain with the man's descendants as their own inheritance. 


text:
But if he gives a gift to any of his servants, it is to belong to the servant <n>{Lit. to him}</n> until the Year of Release, at which time it is to be returned to the Regent Prince. His inheritance is to belong only to his sons. 


text:
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.»" 


text:
<n>{The Place Where Offerings are Boiled}</n> d Then the angel <n>{Lit. Then he}</n> brought me in through an entrance beside the gate into the north-facing chambers dedicated to the priests. As I looked toward the rear <n>{Lit. north}</n> of the far western end, I saw a place 


text:
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." <n>{Or thus transmitting holiness to the people}</n> 


text:
Then he brought me out to the exterior courtyard and led me across to each of the four corners of the courtyard. There in each corner was an enclosed area set aside, 


text:
all of them the same size; that is, each was 40 cubits <n>{I.e. about 60 feet (about 18.3 meters)}</n> long and 30 cubits <n>{I.e. about 45 feet (about 13.7 meters)}</n> wide. 


text:
A low wall <n>{Lit. A row}</n> built of masonry surrounded each courtyard, with boiling places set in rows in the wall. 


text:
He told me, "This is where <n>{Lit. is the house}</n> the ministers of the Temple will be preparing <n>{Lit. boiling}</n> the sacrifices that will be presented by the people. 


text:
<n>{The Vision of the Temple River}</n> d After this, he brought me back to the doorway to the Temple. To my amazement, there was water flowing out toward the east from beneath the threshold of the Temple! (The Temple faced eastward.) The water flowed down from beneath the right side of the Temple, <n>{I.e. the right side as one inside the temple faced toward the east.}</n> that is, from the south-facing side where the altar was located. 


text:
Then he brought me out through the north gateway and around to the one outside that faces toward the east. To my amazement, water was trickling out from that part of <n>{The Heb. lacks that part of}</n> the south side, too! 


text:
As the man went out toward the east, he carried a measuring line in his hand. He measured out 1,500 feet <n>{Lit. 1,000 cubits}</n> as he led me through water that was ankle-deep. 


text:
Then he measured out another 1,500 feet, <n>{The Heb. lacks feet ; i.e. 1,000 cubits}</n> where he led me through water that was knee-deep. And then he measured out another 1,500 feet, <n>{The Heb. lacks feet ; i.e. 1,000 cubits}</n> where the water was waist-deep. 


text:
When he had measured out another 1,500 feet, <n>{The Heb. lacks feet ; i.e. 1,000 cubits}</n> the water had become deep enough that I wasn't able to ford it. Instead, I would have had to swim through it. 


text:
Then, as he was bringing me back along the river bank, he asked me, "Son of Man, did you see all of this?" 


text:
As we were coming back, I was amazed to see that there were many, many trees lining both banks of the river. 


text:
He told me, "This river flows toward the eastern territories all the way down into the Arabah, <n>{I.e. Israel's southern desert areas including from the Sea of Galilee to the Red Sea through the Dead Sea}</n> and from there its water flows toward the Dead <n>{The Heb. lacks Dead}</n> Sea, where the sea water turns fresh. 


text:
It will support all kinds of living creatures that will thrive abundantly wherever the river flows. There will be a great many fish, because this water will flow there and turn the salt water fresh. As a result, everything will live wherever the river flows. 


text:
A day will come when fishermen will line its banks from En-gedi to En-eglaim <n>{I.e. a city probably located on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea, not far from En-gedi, perhaps modern «Ain Feshka}</n> there will be plenty of room to spread out nets. There will be all sorts of species of fish, as abundant as the fish that live in the Mediterranean <n>{Lit. Great}</n> Sea. There will be lots of them! 


text:
"The river delta <n>{The Heb. lacks delta}</n> will consist of swamps and marshes that will remain a salt water wetland preserve. 


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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." 


text:
<n>{Israel's Future Borders Delineated}</n> d This is what the Lord God says: "This is to be the territorial border by which you apportion the land for an inheritance among the twelve tribes of Israel, with Joseph double-portioned. 


text:
Apportion it for their inheritances, distributing everything equally as if you were distributing things to your own <n>{The Heb. lacks own}</n> brother, which is how I promised to give it to your ancestors. This way, the land will fall to you as an inheritance. 


text:
"This is to be the <n>{The Heb. lacks is to be the}</n> border for the land: on the north side, from the Mediterranean <n>{Lit. Great}</n> Sea by the Hethlon Road to the entrance of Zedad, 


text:
Hamath, Berothah, Sibraim (which lies between the border of Damascus and the border of Hamath), and Hazer-hatticon, which is on the border of Hauran. 


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The border is to proceed from the Mediterranean <n>{The Heb. lacks Mediterranean}</n> Sea to Hazer-enan (a border of Damascus), and on the north facing north is to be the border of Hamath. This is to be the north side. 


text:
"The eastern extremity is to proceed from between Hauran and <n>{Lit. Hauran and then between}</n> Damascus, then between Gilead, and then through the land of Israel the Jordan River. <n>{The Heb. lacks River}</n> You are to measure from the northern border to the Dead <n>{Lit. Eastern}</n> Sea. This is to be the eastern perimeter. 


text:
"You are to determine the southern extremity running from Tamar as far as the waters of Meribath-kadesh, then from there proceeding to the Wadi, <n>{I.e. the Wadi of Egypt, a seasonal stream or river that channels water during rain seasons but is dry at other times; ancient Israel's southwestern-most border}</n> and then to the Mediterranean <n>{Lit. Great}</n> Sea. This is to be the southern <n>{Or Negev}</n> perimeter. 


text:
"The western <n>{Lit. sea ; i.e. the border running along the Mediterranean Sea}</n> perimeter is to be the Mediterranean <n>{Lit. Great}</n> Sea, from the southernmost border to a location opposite the entrance to Hamath. This is to be the western <n>{Lit. sea ; i.e. the border running along the Mediterranean Sea}</n> perimeter. 


text:
dividing it by lottery among yourselves and among the foreigners who live among you and bear children among you. You are to treat them like native-born Israelis. Among you they, <n>{Or Israelis among you. They}</n> too, are to be allotted an inheritance with the tribes of Israel. 


text:
Furthermore, you are to provide the foreigner's inheritance there in the tribe within which he remains," declares the Lord God . 


text:
<n>{Regulations for Israel's Northern Land Divisions}</n> d "These are the names of the tribes from the northernmost extremity westward <n>{Lit. to the sea ; i.e. in the direction of the Mediterranean Sea}</n> along the road from Hethlon to the entrance of Hamath, <n>{Or to Lebo-hamath}</n> Hazar-enan (a border of Damascus) northward to the coast <n>{Lit. to the sea ; i.e. in the direction of the Mediterranean Sea}</n> of Hamath. The perimeter is to run <n>{The Heb. lacks is to run}</n> east-to-west; <n>{Lit. from east to the Sea ; and so throughout the chapter}</n> the tribe of <n>{The Heb. lacks The tribe of ; and so throughout the chapter}</n> Dan with one portion; <n>{The Heb. lacks portion ; and so throughout the list}</n> 


text:
running along the border of the tribe of Dan from the eastern perimeter to the western perimeter, the tribe of Asher with one portion; 


text:
running along the border of the tribe of Asher from the eastern perimeter to the western perimeter, the tribe of Naphtali with one portion; 


text:
running along the border of the tribe of Naphtali from the eastern perimeter to the western perimeter, the tribe of Manasseh with one portion; 


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running along the border of the tribe of Manasseh from the eastern perimeter to the western perimeter, the tribe of Ephraim with one portion; 


text:
running along the border of the tribe of Ephraim from the eastern perimeter to the western perimeter, the tribe of Reuben with one portion; 


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and running along the border of the tribe of Reuben from the eastern perimeter to the western perimeter, the tribe of Judah with one portion." 


text:
<n>{Israel's National Temple Allotment}</n> d "Running along the border of the tribe of Judah from the eastern perimeter to the western perimeter you are to set apart the Terumah, <n>{Lit. Gift ; i.e. a special section of Israel's land to be dedicated to the Lord as a national temple park, and so throughout the chapter; cf. Eze 45:1-7}</n> 25,000 units <n>{The Heb. lacks units ; i.e. the measuring unit is unspecified throughout the chapter}</n> wide, with its east-west length equal to one of the other apportionments, from the eastern perimeter to the western perimeter, with the Temple in the middle of it. 


text:
The Terumah that you are to give to the Lord is to be 25,000 units wide." <n>{The Heb. lacks wide}</n> 


text:
<n>{Allotments for the Priests}</n> d "The holy Terumah is to be reserved for these, the priests: Toward the north, 25,000 units in length; <n>{The Heb. lacks in length}</n> toward the west, 10,000 units in width; toward the east, 10,000 units in width; and toward the south, 25,000 units in length. The Lord's sanctuary is to be in its midst. 


text:
It is to be for use by <n>{The Heb. lacks It is to be for use by}</n> priests from the descendants of Zadok, who have observed the things with which I charged them and who did not wander astray when the Israelis went astray, just as the descendants of Levi wandered astray. 


text:
It is to be a Terumah for them from the allotment of the land, a Most Holy Place, adjoining the border of the descendants of Levi." 


text:
"Alongside the border of the priests, the descendants of Levi are to be allotted 25,000 units in length and 10,000 units in width. The entire length is to be 25,000 units and its width 10,000 units. 


text:
Furthermore, they are not to sell or exchange any part of it, nor transfer these first fruits <n>{Or this choice portion}</n> of the land, because it is holy to the Lord . 


text:
"The rest, 5,000 units wide and 25,000 units along its front, will serve as a common portion for use by the city for housing and open spaces, since the city is to be in its midst. 


text:
These are to be its dimensions: the north side, 4,500 units; the south side, 4,500 units; the east side, 4,500 units; and the west side 4,500 units. 


text:
The city is to have urban areas set aside: on the north 250 units; on the south, 250 units, on the east, 250 units; and on the west, 250 units. 


text:
"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. 


text:
The entire Terumah is to be <n>{The Heb. lacks is to be}</n> 25,000 units by 25,000 units you are to reserve it as a holy Terumah in the form of a square within the city limits." 


text:
<n>{The Allotment for the Regent Prince}</n> d "Now the remainder of the allotment <n>{The Heb. lacks of the allotment}</n> on either side of the holy Terumah is to be for the Regent Prince and for city property <n>{I.e. public property}</n> adjoining the 25,000 units along the eastern border and adjoining the 25,000 units along the western border, and parallel to the allotments. These are to be for the Regent Prince. The holy Terumah and the sanctuary of the Temple is to stand in the middle of it. 


text:
Except for what belongs to the descendants of Levi and the city property, which will stand in the middle of what belongs to the Regent Prince, whatever is between the border of Judah and the border of Benjamin is to belong to the Regent Prince." 


text:
<n>{The Allotment for the Tribes}</n> d "Now as to the rest of the tribes: from the east side to the west side, Benjamin is to retain one portion. <n>{Lit. Benjamin, one ; and so through v 27}</n> 


text:
Adjacent to the border of Gad to the south and extending toward the south, the border is to proceed from Tamar to the waters of Meribath-kadesh, then to the Wadi <n>{I.e. a seasonal stream or river that channels water during rain seasons but is dry at other times; ancient Israel's southwestern-most border}</n> of Egypt, <n>{I.e. ancient Israel's southwestern-most border}</n> and from there to the Mediterranean <n>{Lit. Great}</n> Sea. 


text:
This is the land that you are to allocate by lottery to the tribes of Israel as their inheritance, and these are their respective divisions," declares the Lord God . 


text:
<n>{The Gates of the City}</n> d "These are the exits to the city: On the north side, 4,500 units by measurement, 


text:
are to be the gates of the city. Named after the tribes of Israel, three gates are to serve the north site: one named the Reuben Gate, one named the Judah Gate, and one named the Levi Gate. 


text:
On the east side, 4,500 units by measurement, <n>{The Heb. lacks by measurement}</n> there are to be three gates: one named the Joseph Gate, one named the Benjamin Gate, and one named the Dan Gate. 


text:
On the south side, 4,500 units by measurement, there are to be three gates: one named the Simeon Gate, one named the Issachar Gate, and one named the Zebulun Gate. 


text:
On the west side, 4,500 units by measurement, <n>{The Heb. lacks by measurement}</n> there are to be three gates: one named the Gad Gate, one named the Asher Gate, and one named the Naphtali Gate. 


text:
A perimeter is to measure 18,000 units, and the name of the city from that time on is to be: «The Lord is There.»" 


text:
<n>{ The Book of}</n> <n>{ Daniel}</n> d <n>{Hostages of the Babylonian Captivity}</n> d In the third year of the reign of King Jehoiakim of Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to Jerusalem and laid siege to it. 


text:
Within a week, the Lord handed King Jehoiakim of Judah over to him, along with valuable objects from the house of God. Nebuchadnezzar <n>{Lit. He}</n> brought them to the temple of his god in the land of Shinar <n>{I.e. Babylon}</n> and stored them <n>{Lit. the valuable objects}</n> in its treasure house. <n>{Lit. in the treasure house of his god}</n> 


text:
The king ordered Ashpenaz, his chief officer, <n>{Lit. eunuch ; i.e. an overseer in the king's court; and so throughout the chapter}</n> to bring in some Israelis of royal and noble descent. 


text:
They were to be young men without physical defect, handsome in appearance, skilled in all wisdom, quick to learn, prudent in how they used knowledge, and capable of serving in the king's palace. They were to learn the literature and language of the Chaldeans. <n>{I.e. Aramaic speaking wise men from Mesopotamia; or magi-astrologers; and so throughout the book; cf. Matt 2:1}</n> 


text:
The king assigned them fine food and choice wine on a daily basis, ordering them to be trained for three years, at the end of which time they would enter the king's service. <n>{Lit. would stand before the king}</n> 


text:
Included among the people of Judah were Daniel, <n>{The Heb. name Daniel means God is my judge}</n> Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. 


text:
The chief officer assigned the name "Belteshazzar" to Daniel, the name "Shadrach" to Hananiah, the name "Meshach" to Mishael, and the name "Abednego" to Azariah. 


text:
<n>{Daniel Chooses God's Standard}</n> d Daniel determined within himself not to become defiled by the king's menu of rich foods or by the king's wine, so he requested permission <n>{The Heb. lacks permission}</n> from the chief officer not to defile himself. 


text:
The chief officer told Daniel, "I fear his majesty the king, who has determined what you eat and drink. If he notices that your faces are more pale than the other <n>{The Heb. lacks other}</n> young men in your group, I will forfeit my head to the king." 


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But Daniel told the guard whom the chief officer had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, 


text:
Then compare how we <n>{Lit. they}</n> look with the young men who ate the king's rich food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you observe." 


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So he listened to what Daniel said <n>{Lit. listened according to this word}</n> and tested them for ten days. 


text:
At the end of ten days their appearance was better and their faces were well-nourished <n>{Lit. were fatter of flesh}</n> compared to the young men who ate the king's rich food. 


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So the guard took away their rich food and wine, <n>{Lit. wine of their drinks}</n> giving them vegetables. 


text:
As for these four young men, God gave them knowledge, aptitude for learning, and wisdom. Daniel also could understand all kinds of visions and dreams. 


text:
Then at the end of the training period <n>{Lit. the days}</n> that the king had established, the chief officer brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. 


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When the king spoke to them, none of them compared to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, or Azariah as they stood before the king. 


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In every matter of wisdom or understanding that the king discussed with <n>{Lit. king sought from}</n> them, he found them ten times superior to all the astrologers and enchanters <n>{Or occult practitioners}</n> in his entire palace. 


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So Daniel remained there in service <n>{The Heb. lacks in service}</n> until the first year of King Cyrus. 


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<n>{King Nebuchadnezzar's Dream}</n> d Now during the second year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams that troubled him. <n>{Lit. troubled his spirit}</n> As a result, he couldn't sleep. <n>{Lit. result, sleep departed from him}</n> 


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So the king gave orders to summon the diviners, the enchanters, <n>{Or conjurers and so throughout the book}</n> sorcerers, and Chaldeans to reveal to the king what he had dreamed. When they came and stood before him, <n>{Lit. before the king}</n> 


text:
the king told them, "I have dreamed a dream and I <n>{Lit. and my spirit}</n> will remain troubled until I can understand it." <n>{Lit. understand the dream}</n> 


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The Chaldeans responded to the king in Aramaic: <n>{At this point the text changes from Heb. to Aram. until the end of ch. 7.}</n> "May the king live forever. Tell the dream to your servants, and we'll reveal its meaning." 


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In reply the king told the Chaldeans, "Here is what I have commanded: If you don't tell me both the dream and its meaning, you'll be destroyed and your houses will be reduced to rubble. 


text:
But if you do relate the dream to me as well as its meaning, you'll receive gifts, rewards, and great honor from me. Therefore reveal the dream to me, along with its meaning." 


text:
The king responded, <n>{Lit. responded and said}</n> "I'm convinced that you're stalling for time because you're aware of what I've commanded. 


text:
So if you don't disclose the dream to me, there will be only one sentence for all of you. You have conspired together to present lies and corrupt interpretations until the situation changes. Now tell me the dream and I'll know that you can reveal its true <n>{The Aram. lacks true}</n> meaning." 


text:
The Chaldeans answered the king directly, "There's not a single man on earth who can do <n>{Lit. reveal}</n> what the king has commanded. No king, lord, or ruler has ever asked such a thing from any diviner, enchanter, <n>{Or occult practitioner}</n> or Chaldean. 


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Furthermore, what the king is asking is so difficult that no one can reveal it except the gods and they don't live with human beings." 


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At this point, the king flew into a rage <n>{Lit. king was furious and very angry}</n> and issued an order to destroy all the advisors <n>{Lit. the wise men}</n> of Babylon. 


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When the order went out to kill the advisors, <n>{Lit. the wise men}</n> they searched for Daniel and his friends to kill them, too. <n>{The Aram. lacks too}</n> 


text:
<n>{Daniel Requests Time to Answer the King}</n> d Daniel responded with wisdom and discretion to Arioch, the king's executioner, who had gone out to execute the advisors <n>{Lit. the wise men}</n> of Babylon. 


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He asked <n>{Lit. answered and said}</n> him, <n>{Lit. asked Arioch, the king's executioner}</n> "Why such a harsh decree from the king?" Then Arioch informed Daniel, 


text:
so Daniel went to ask Nebuchadnezzar <n>{Lit. the king}</n> for an appointment to see him <n>{Lit. for time}</n> , and it was granted him so that he could reveal the meaning to the king. 


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Then Daniel went home and told his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah about the king's <n>{The Aram. lacks king's}</n> command. 


text:
Daniel <n>{Lit. He}</n> was seeking mercy, in order to ask about this mystery in the presence of the God of heaven, so that Daniel and his friends might not be executed along with the rest of the advisors <n>{Lit. the wise men}</n> of Babylon. 


text:
<n>{The King's Dream is Revealed to Daniel}</n> d When the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision later that night, Daniel blessed the God of heaven 


text:
It is God <n>{Lit. he}</n> who alters the times and seasons, and he removes kings and promotes kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. 


text:
To you, God of my ancestors, I give thanks and praise, because you have given me wisdom and power; you have now revealed to me what we asked of you by making known to us what the king commanded." 


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After this, <n>{Lit. All on account of that}</n> Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to execute the advisors <n>{Lit. the wise men}</n> of Babylon. He told him, "Don't destroy the advisors <n>{Lit. the wise men}</n> of Babylon. Bring me before the king and I'll explain the meaning to him." <n>{Lit. the king}</n> 


text:
Then Arioch quickly brought Daniel into the king's presence and informed him: "I've found a man from the Judean captives who will make known the meaning to the king." 


text:
<n>{Daniel Reveals the Meaning of the Dream}</n> d King Nebuchadnezzar <n>{Lit. The king}</n> replied by saying to Daniel (whose Babylonian <n>{The Aram. lacks Babylonian}</n> name is Belteshazzar), "Are you able to tell me about the dream <n>{Lit. dream I saw}</n> and its meaning?" 


text:
By way of answer, Daniel addressed the king: <n>{Lit. answered and said before the king}</n> "None of the advisors, <n>{Lit. the wise men}</n> enchanters, <n>{Or occult practitioners}</n> diviners, or astrologers <n>{Or those who gaze at entrails}</n> can explain the secret that the king has requested to be made known. <n>{The Aram. lacks to be made known}</n> 


text:
But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and he is making known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in the latter days. "While you were in bed, the dream and the visions that came to your head were as follows: 


text:
Your majesty, <n>{Lit. O King , and so throughout the book}</n> when you were in bed, thoughts came to your mind <n>{The Aram. lacks to your mind}</n> about what would happen in the future, and the Revealer of Secrets has made known to you what will take place. 


text:
As for me, this secret was made known to me, not because my own wisdom is greater than anyone else alive, but in order that the meaning may be made known to the king, and that you might understand the thoughts of your heart. 


text:
"Your majesty, while you were watching, you observed an enormous statue. This magnificent statue stood before you with extraordinary brilliance. Its appearance was terrifying. 


text:
That statue had a head made <n>{The Aram. lacks made}</n> of pure gold, with its chest and arms made <n>{The Aram. lacks made}</n> of silver, its abdomen and thighs made <n>{The Aram. lacks made}</n> of bronze, 


text:
its legs made <n>{The Aram. lacks made}</n> of iron, and its feet made <n>{The Aram. lacks made}</n> partly of iron and partly of clay. 


text:
"As you were watching, a rock was quarried but not with human hands and it struck the iron and clay feet of the statue, breaking them to pieces. 


text:
Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were broken in pieces together and became like chaff from a summer threshing floor that the breeze carries away without leaving a trace. <n>{Lit. trace of them}</n> Then the rock that struck the statue grew into <n>{Lit. became}</n> a huge mountain and filled the entire earth. 


text:
You, your majesty, king of kings to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, the strength, and the glory, 


text:
so that wherever people, <n>{Lit. sons of mankind}</n> wild animals, or birds of the sky live, he has placed them under your control, giving you dominion over them all you're that head of gold. 


text:
"After you, another kingdom will arise that is inferior to <n>{Or lower than}</n> yours, and then a third kingdom of bronze will arise to rule all the earth. 


text:
Then there will be a fourth kingdom, as strong as iron. Just as all things are broken to pieces and shattered by iron, so it will shatter and crush everything. 


text:
"The feet and toes that you saw, made partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, represent <n>{The Aram. lacks represent}</n> a divided kingdom. It will still have the strength of iron, in that you saw iron mixed with clay. 


text:
Just as their toes and feet are part iron and part clay, so will the kingdom be both strong and brittle. 


text:
Just as you saw iron mixed with clay, so they will mix themselves with human offspring. <n>{Lit. seed}</n> Furthermore, <n>{Or will develop alliances through intermarriages, and}</n> they won't remain together, just as iron doesn't mix with clay. 


text:
"During the reigns of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor its sovereignty <n>{Or kingdom}</n> left in the hands of another people. It will shatter and crush all of these kingdoms, and it will stand forever. 


text:
Now, just as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without human hands and that it crushed the iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold to pieces so also the great God has revealed to the king what will take place after this. Your dream will come true, and its meaning will prove trustworthy." 


text:
<n>{Nebuchadnezzar Promotes Daniel and His Friends}</n> d Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face before Daniel, paid honor to him, and commanded that an offering and incense be presented on his behalf. 


text:
The king told Daniel, "Truly your God is the God of gods, the Lord of kings, and the Revealer of Secrets, because you were able to reveal this mystery." 


text:
Then the king promoted Daniel to a high position and lavished many great gifts on him, including making him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and chief administrator over the advisors <n>{Lit. the wise men}</n> of Babylon. 


text:
Moreover, Daniel requested that the king appoint Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego administrators over the province of Babylon, while Daniel himself remained in the royal court. 


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<n>{Dedicating the Image to Nebuchadnezzar}</n> d Some time later, king Nebuchadnezzar built a golden statue, making it ninety feet <n>{Lit. sixty cubits ; or about 27.4 meters}</n> high and nine feet <n>{Lit. six cubits ; or about 2.74 meters}</n> wide. He set it up in the Dura Valley <n>{Or Plain}</n> within the province of Babylon. 


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Then King Nebuchadnezzar summoned the regional authorities, <n>{Or satraps}</n> governors, deputy governors, advisors, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all of the other <n>{The Aram. lacks other}</n> administrators of the provinces, ordering them to come to the dedication of the statue that he <n>{Lit. Nebuchadnezzar}</n> had erected. 


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So the regional authorities, <n>{Or satraps}</n> governors, deputy governors, advisors, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all of the other <n>{The Aram. lacks other}</n> administrators of the provinces assembled to dedicate the statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had erected. They took their places in front of the statue that he <n>{Lit. Nebuchadnezzar}</n> had erected. 


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Then a herald proclaimed aloud: "People of all <n>{The Aram. lacks of all}</n> nations, and languages are commanded: 


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Whenever you hear the sound of the trumpet, the flute, the lyre, the four-stringed lyre, and the harp, playing together along with various instruments, you are to fall down and worship the golden statue that was set up by King Nebuchadnezzar. 


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Anyone who does not fall down and worship is immediately to be thrown into the blazing fire furnace." 


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Therefore, when all of the people "heard the sound of the trumpet, the flute, the lyre, the four-stringed lyre, and the harp, playing together along with various other <n>{The Aram. lacks other}</n> instruments," all the "people, nations, and languages" began to fall down and worship the golden statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. 


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<n>{Daniel's Friends are Accused}</n> d Just then, certain influential Chaldeans took this opportunity to come forward and denounce the Jews. 


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You, your majesty, issued this decree: «Every man who hears the sound of the trumpet, the flute, the lyre, the four-stringed lyre, and the harp, playing together along with various other <n>{The Aram. lacks other}</n> instruments is to fall down and worship the golden statue. 


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"Certain influential Jewish men whom you appointed to manage the city of Babylon Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego have neither paid attention to you, your majesty, nor served your gods. And they won't worship the golden statue that you set up." 


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<n>{The Threat of the Fire Furnace}</n> d Nebuchadnezzar flew into a rage and furiously ordered that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought before him. <n>{Lit. before the king}</n> 


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Nebuchadnezzar asked them, "Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you don't worship my gods and that you don't worship the golden statue that has been set up? 


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Now, if you are ready at this very moment to obey «the sound of the trumpet, the flute, the lyre, the four-stringed lyre, and the harp,'and worship the image that I have made If you do not so worship, you will immediately have cast yourselves into the middle of the blazing fire, and what god is there who can deliver you from my power?" <n>{Lit. hands}</n> 


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<n>{Daniel's Friends Answer King Nebuchadnezzar}</n> d Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered King Nebuchadnezzar, "It's not necessary for us to respond in this matter. 


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Your majesty, if it be his will, <n>{The Aram. lacks his will}</n> our God whom we serve can deliver us from the blazing fire furnace, and he will deliver us from you. <n>{Lit. from your hand}</n> 


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But if not, rest assured, your majesty, that we won't serve your gods, and we won't worship the golden statue that you have set up." 


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<n>{The King Orders an Execution}</n> d Out of control with rage, Nebuchadnezzar's facial expression changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and he ordered <n>{Lit. answered and ordered}</n> that the furnace be heated seven times hotter than usual. 


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Then he issued orders to his elite guard to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego with ropes <n>{The Aram. lacks with ropes ; and so through vs. 24}</n> and throw them into the blazing fire furnace. 


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So the elite guard tied them up fully clothed, still wearing their robes, tunics, and turbans, and threw them into the blazing fire furnace, 


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because the king's command was so drastic. Since the furnace was blazing hot, its flames killed those who threw Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego into the blazing fire. 


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Bound firmly with ropes, these three men Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego fell into the blazing fire furnace. 


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<n>{The Fourth Man in the Furnace}</n> d Astonished, King Nebuchadnezzar stood up in terror, and asked his advisers, "Didn't we throw three men into the fire, bound firmly with ropes?" In reply they told the king, "Yes, your majesty." 


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"Look!" he told them, <n>{Lit. answered and said}</n> "I see four men walking untied and unharmed in the middle of the fire, and the appearance of the fourth resembles a divine being." <n>{Lit. a son of the gods}</n> 


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Then Nebuchadnezzar approached the opening of the blazing fire furnace. He shouted out, "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out and come here!" So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out of the fire. 


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The regional authorities, <n>{Or satraps}</n> viceroys, governors, and royal advisors gazed at those men and saw that the fire had no effect on their bodies not a hair on their head was singed, their clothes were not burned, and they did not smell of fire. 


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Nebuchadnezzar spoke up and announced: "Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego! He sent his angel to deliver his servants who trusted in him. They disobeyed the king's command and were willing to risk their lives in order not to serve or worship any god except their own God. 


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So I decree that people from any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego will be destroyed and their house reduced to rubble, because there is no other god who can save like this." 


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<n>{Nebuchadnezzar's Testimonial}</n> d <n>{This v. is 3:31 in MT, and so through v. 3 .}</n> An Official Statement <n>{The Aram. lacks An Official Statement}</n> from Nebuchadnezzar the King To the people of all nations and languages who live on earth. Peace and prosperity to you! 


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It gives me great pleasure to tell about the signs and wonders that the Most High God has done for me. 


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How great are his signs! How powerful are his wonders! His kingdom is an eternal kingdom, and his dominion lasts from generation to generation. 


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<n>{Nebuchadnezzar's Dream}</n> d <n>{This v. is 4:1 in MT, and so throughout the chapter.}</n> I, Nebuchadnezzar, was resting in my home and prospering in my palace. 


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I had a dream that made me afraid. The thoughts that went through my mind while in bed and the visions in my head terrified me. 


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So I gave an order to bring in all of the advisors <n>{Lit. the wise men}</n> of Babylon so they would tell me the interpretation of the dream. 


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Then the diviners, enchanters, <n>{Or occult practitioners}</n> Chaldeans, and astrologers <n>{Or those who gaze at entrails}</n> came in, and I told them the dream. But they could not reveal its interpretation to me. 


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Eventually, Daniel appeared before me. (He is called Belteshazzar, in accordance with the name of my god, and the spirit of the holy gods is within him.) I told him my dream: 


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"Belteshazzar, chief of the diviners, since I know that the spirit of the holy gods is within you, and no mystery too difficult for you, explain to me the vision of my dream that I saw, along with its interpretation. 


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This is what I saw in the visions of my head while I was in bed: I was looking and listen carefully! I saw a tree in the middle of the earth, the height of which was very great. 


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The tree grew large, became strong, and its top reached the sky. It could be seen to the ends of the earth. 


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Its foliage was beautiful, its fruit bountiful, and its food sufficient for everyone. The animals of the field found shade under it, the birds of the sky lived in its branches, and every creature was fed from it. 


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"Then I saw in the visions of my head while I was in bed and take careful notice! I saw a holy observer descend from heaven. 


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He called out aloud: «Cut down the tree and cut off its branches. Strip off its foliage and scatter its fruit. Let the animals get out from under it, and let the birds leave <n>{The Aram. lacks leave}</n> its branches. 


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Nevertheless, leave the stump and its roots in the ground, but bind it with iron and bronze in the field grass. Let him be drenched with dew from the sky, and let him graze with the animals in the grass of the earth. 


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Let his mind be changed from that of a man, and let him be given the mind of an animal until seven seasons of time pass by for him. 


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This order is announced by the observers, and the holy ones declare the verdict, so that the living may know that the Most High is sovereign over human kingdoms and grants them to whomever he desires, and he places the least important of men over them.'


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"This is the dream that I, King Nebuchadnezzar, saw. Belteshazzar, tell me its meaning, since none of the advisors <n>{Lit. the wise men}</n> in my kingdom can tell me its interpretation. But you are able to do so <n>{The Aram. lacks to do so}</n> because the spirit of the holy gods is in you." 


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<n>{Daniel's Interpretation}</n> d Then Daniel (also known as Belteshazzar) was greatly troubled for a while and was terrified by his thoughts. The king said, "Belteshazzar, don't let the dream or its meaning terrify you." Belteshazzar responded, "Your majesty, if only <n>{The Aram. lacks if only}</n> the dream were about your enemies and its meaning about those who oppose you! 


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The tree that you saw, which grew large and strong until its top reached the sky and became visible to the whole earth 


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with beautiful leaves and abundant fruit enough food for everyone and under which wild animals of the field found shelter and the birds of the air had nests in its branches 


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it's you, your majesty! You've become great and strong, your greatness has grown to the heavens, and your dominion reaches to the distant parts of the earth. 


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"Your majesty saw a holy observer descending from heaven and saying, «Cut down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump in the ground, along with its roots, bound with iron and bronze in the field grass. Let him be soaked with the dew of the sky and live with the wild animals of the field until seven seasons pass over him.'


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"This is the meaning, your majesty, and this is the decree that the Most High has issued against his majesty, the king: 


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You'll be driven from people, and you'll live among wild animals of the field. You'll eat grass like cattle and be soaked with the dew of the sky while seven years pass you by <n>{Lit. seven seasons pass over you}</n> until you realize that the Most High is sovereign over human kingdoms and grants them to whomever he desires. 


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Just as it was ordered for you to leave the stump of the tree in the ground <n>{The Aram. lacks in the ground}</n> along with its roots, so your kingdom will be restored to you when you realize that Heaven rules over everything. <n>{The Aram. lacks everything}</n> 


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Therefore, your majesty, may my advice be acceptable to you: Stop your sinning, do what's right, and put a stop to your wickedness by showing kindness to the oppressed. Perhaps your tranquility will continue." 


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About a year later, <n>{Lit. At the end of 12 months}</n> as the king was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, 


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he <n>{Lit. the king}</n> commented to himself, <n>{Lit. commented and said}</n> "Isn't Babylon great? I've built a royal palace in it by my own might and power, for the sake <n>{Lit. glory}</n> of my majesty." 


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As these words were being spoken by the king, a voice came out of heaven: "King Nebuchadnezzar, this is declared to you: «The kingdom has been taken <n>{Or has departed}</n> from you! 


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You're to be driven away from people. You're to live with the wild animals of the field. You are to be made to eat grass like cattle, and seven years will pass you by <n>{Lit. seven seasons will pass over you}</n> until you realize that the Most High is sovereign over human kingdoms and grants them to whomever he desires.»" 


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The decree was fulfilled against Nebuchadnezzar immediately. He was driven away from people to eat grass like cattle, and his body was drenched with dew from the sky, until his hair grew like eagles'feathers and his nails like birds'claws." 


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<n>{The King's Sanity Returns}</n> d "When that period of time was over, I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven and my sanity returned to me. I blessed the Most High, praising and honoring /the one who lives forever: For his sovereignty is eternal, and his kingdom continues from generation to generation. 


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All who live on the earth are nothing compared to him. He does what he wishes with the heavenly armies and with those who live on earth. No one can hold back his power or say to him, «What did you do? '


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At that moment I recovered my sanity, and my honor and majesty returned to me, for the sake <n>{Lit. glory}</n> of my kingdom. My advisors and officials sought me out, my throne was restored, and even more greatness than I had before was added to me. 


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In conclusion, I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt, and give glory to the King of heaven: For everything he does is true, his ways are just, and he is able to humble those who walk in pride." 


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<n>{Belshazzar's Festival}</n> d King Belshazzar put on a great festival for a thousand of his officials. He joined all <n>{The Aram. lacks all}</n> one thousand of them in getting drunk. 


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Under the influence of wine, Belshazzar ordered that the gold and silver vessels his grandfather Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the Temple in Jerusalem be brought in so the king, his officials, his wives, and his mistresses <n>{Or concubines ; i.e. secondary wives}</n> could drink from them. 


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As ordered, they brought in the gold vessels that had been taken from the sanctuary of God's Temple in Jerusalem, and the king, his officials, his wives, and mistresses <n>{Or concubines ; i.e. secondary wives}</n> drank from them. 


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<n>{The Handwriting on the Wall}</n> d At that moment, humanlike fingers of a hand appeared near the lamp stand of the royal palace and wrote on the plaster of the wall. 


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While the king watched the back of the hand as it was writing, his facial expression changed. Utterly frightened, he lost control of his own bowels <n>{Lit. frightened, the joints of his loins were loosened ; i.e. an involuntary physiological response from terror}</n> and his knees knocked together. 


