1 Then he brought me back to the entrance of the temple, and I saw that water was flowing out from under the threshold of the temple toward the east (the temple faced east). The water was flowing down from under the south side of the temple, south of the altar.
2 He brought me out through the north gate that led into the inner courtyard and led me around on the outside of the temple to the outer gateway on the east side, and I saw that water was trickling out from its south side. 3 As the man went out toward the east, he had a measuring line in his hand. He measured off a thousand cubits, [1] and then he led me through the water. The water was ankle-deep. 4 Then he measured off another thousand cubits and led me through the water. The water was knee-deep. He measured a thousand more and led me through water that was now waist-deep. 5 He measured a thousand more, but now it was a river that I was not able to cross, because the water had risen so much that one would have to swim across it. It was a river that could not be forded.
6 Then he asked me, “Have you noticed anything, son of man?” and he led me back to the bank of the river. 7 When I returned there, I noticed that on the banks of the river there were a large number of trees, on both sides.
8 Then he said to me, “These waters are flowing out to the eastern part of the land. They go down to the Arabah and go into the sea, [2] into the sea whose waters are unusable, [3] and then the waters of the sea are made fresh. [4]9 Every living creature that swarms can live wherever the stream flows. There will be a large number of fish because these waters have come there, and the waters of the sea have been made fresh, so every living creature can live everywhere the river goes. 10 There will be fishermen standing beside it from En Gedi to En Eglaim, and there will be places for them to spread their nets to dry. There will be all kinds of fish there, like the fish of the Great Sea [5]—so very many. 11 But its swamps and marshes will not be made fresh. They will be left to provide salt. 12 Beside the river, on both its banks, every kind of tree will grow for providing food. Their leaves will never wither, and their fruit will never fail. Every month they will bear fruit because their waters flow out from the sanctuary. Its fruit will provide food, and its leaves will be for healing.
Footnotes
Ezekiel 47:3 About 1,750 feet
Ezekiel 47:8 That is, the Dead Sea
Ezekiel 47:8 The meaning of the phrase translated into the sea whose waters are unusable is uncertain. The Hebrew seems to read to the sea [the waters] which had been brought out.
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Property for the Lord,
for the Priests, and for the Prince
Ezekiel 45
1 When you cast lots to divide the land as an inheritance, you are to devote a contribution to the Lord, a holy area of the land. Its length is to be twenty-five thousand cubits and its width twenty thousand cubits. [1] Its entire area will be holy.
2 Within this area, a square five hundred by five hundred cubits [2] is to be set aside for the sanctuary. There is also to be an open area of fifty cubits all around it.
3 From this measured area, you are to measure off a separate area which has a length of twenty-five thousand cubits and a width of ten thousand cubits. The sanctuary, the most holy place, will be in it. 4 It is to be a holy area of the land. [3] It will be for the priests, the ministers of the sanctuary, who draw near to serve the Lord. It will be a place for their houses, as well as a holy place for the sanctuary.
5 Also an area twenty-five thousand cubits long and ten thousand cubits wide will be set aside for the Levites, the servants of the temple, as their possession, to provide them with cities to live in. [4] [5]
6 As the city’s property, you are to assign an area five thousand cubits wide and twenty-five thousand cubits long [6] along one side of the holy contribution. [7] It will belong to the whole house of Israel.
7 For the prince, an area is to be set aside on both sides of the holy contribution and of the area for the city. It will run alongside the holy contribution and alongside the city’s property. On the west side of the city, it will extend west along the tribal boundaries to the western boundary of the land, and on the east side, it will extend eastward in the same way. 8 This land is to be the prince’s property in Israel, so that my princes will no longer oppress my people but will allot the land to the house of Israel according to their tribes.
9 This is what the Lord God says. You have done enough, you princes of Israel! Remove violence and mayhem, and practice justice and righteousness. Remove the burden from my people that you caused by evicting them from their land, declares the Lord God.
10 You must have honest scales, an honest ephah, and an honest bath. [8]11 The ephah and the bath are to follow one uniform standard. The bath will hold one tenth of a homer, and the ephah will hold one tenth of a homer. The standard is to be based on the homer. 12 The shekel is to be twenty gerahs. Twenty shekels, twenty-five shekels, and fifteen shekels will be the weight of your mina. [9]
Offerings and Festivals
13 This is the special contribution you should dedicate: Take one sixth of an ephah from each homer of wheat, and take one sixth of an ephah from each homer of barley. [10]14 The prescribed portion of oil (the bath is the standard measure for the oil) is one tenth of a bath from each kor. [11] Ten baths make a kor, and ten baths are a homer.
15 Furthermore, one sheep shall be given from every flock, that is, from every two hundred sheep that comprise a flock from the well-watered land of Israel. These are for the grain offerings, the burnt offerings, and the fellowship offerings, to make atonement for them, declares the Lord God. 16 All the people of the land are to contribute to this offering for the prince in Israel.
17 The prince then is responsible for the burnt offerings, the grain offerings, and the drink offerings on the festivals, on the New Moons, and on the Sabbaths, that is, on all the appointed festivals for the house of Israel. He himself will provide the sin offering, the grain offering, the burnt offering, and the fellowship offering, to make atonement on behalf of the house of Israel.
18 This is what the Lord God says. In the first month, on the first day of the month, you are to take a young bull without blemish and purify the sanctuary. 19 The priest is to take some of the blood of the sin offering and put it on the doorpost of the temple, on the four corners of the ledge of the altar, and on the post of the gate of the inner courtyard. 20 You are to do so also on the seventh day of the month, for the sake of anyone who sins inadvertently or in ignorance, and so you shall make atonement for the temple.
21 In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, you shall hold the Passover. During the festival, consisting of a week of seven days, unleavened bread must be eaten. 22 On that day the prince is to provide, on behalf of himself and all the people of the land, a bull for a sin offering. 23 On the seven days of the festival he is to provide a burnt offering for the Lord: seven bulls and seven rams without blemish for each day of the seven days, as well as a male goat for a sin offering for each day. 24 As a grain offering he is to provide an ephah for each bull and an ephah for each ram, and a hin of oil for each ephah.
25 In the seventh month, at the festival starting on the fifteenth day of the month, he is to provide for seven days according to these same instructions, in regard to the sin offering, the burnt offering, the grain offering, and the oil.
Other Festivals and the Prince
Ezekiel 46
1 This is what the Lord God says.
The gate into the inner courtyard which faces east must remain closed on the six work days, but on the Sabbath day it is to be opened, and on the day of the New Moon it is to be opened. 2 The prince is to enter through the vestibule of the gateway at the outer, eastern end of the gatehouse and stand by the gatepost, and the priests are to offer his burnt offering and fellowship offerings. He is to prostrate himself on the threshold of the gateway and then go out, but the gate will not be closed until evening. 3 The people of the land are to prostrate themselves before the Lord at the entrance to that gate on Sabbaths and New Moons.
4 The burnt offering that the prince is to offer to the Lord on the day of the Sabbath is to consist of six lambs without blemish and a ram without blemish. 5 The grain offering is to be an ephah for the ram, and for the lambs the grain offering is to be as much as he can afford, with a hin of oil per ephah. 6 On the day of the New Moon, he is to offer a young bull without blemish, six lambs, and a ram. They are to be without blemish. 7 He is to provide an ephah for the bull and an ephah for the ram as a grain offering, and for the lambs as much as he can afford, with a hin of oil per ephah.
8 When the prince enters, he is to come in through the vestibule of the gateway, and he is to go out by the same way. 9 When the people of the land come before the Lord at the appointed festivals, anyone who enters through the north gate in order to prostrate himself must go out through the south gate, and anyone who enters through the south gate must go out through the north gate. No one may return through the same gate through which he entered. He definitely must leave by going straight ahead to the opposite gate. 10 The prince is to be in their midst. When they enter, he shall enter, and when they leave, both he and they shall leave.
11 At the pilgrimage festivals and the appointed festivals, the grain offering is to be an ephah for a bull and an ephah for a ram, and for the lambs it is to be as much as he can afford, with a hin of oil per ephah. 12 When the prince makes a voluntary offering to the Lord, either as a burnt offering or fellowship offering, the gate facing east is to be opened for him. He is to offer his burnt offering or his fellowship offerings just as he does on the day of the Sabbath. When he goes out, the gate is to be closed after he leaves. 13 You are to provide a yearling lamb without blemish as a burnt offering to the Lord every day. Every morning you are to provide it. 14 You are to provide a grain offering with it every morning: one sixth of an ephah and one third of a hin of oil to moisten the fine flour. It is a grain offering for the Lord. These are lasting statutes to be performed daily. 15 In this way they will offer the lamb, the grain offering, and the oil every morning as a daily burnt offering.
Inheritance of the Prince’s Property
16 This is what the Lord God says.
If the prince gives a gift to any of his sons, it is the son’s inheritance and will also belong to his sons. It is to be their property by inheritance. 17 But if the prince gives a gift from his inheritance to one of his servants, it will belong to him only until the year of liberty, [12] when it must revert to the prince. It is his inheritance alone and must remain with his sons. 18 The prince may not take any of the inheritance of the people by evicting them from their property. From his own property he is to give an inheritance to his sons, so that my people will not be scattered—not a single man from his property.
The Kitchens for Sacrifices
19 Then he took me through the entrance into the holy rooms for the priests that were located on the north side of the temple, beside the north gatehouse. Looking toward the west, I saw that there was a special place at the back of the temple area. [13]20 He said to me, “This is the place where the priests are to boil the restitution offering and the sin offering, and where they will bake the grain offerings in order not to bring them out to the outer courtyard and transmit holiness to the people.”
21 Then he brought me out to the outer courtyard and led me past the four corners of the courtyard. I saw there was a court at each corner of the courtyard [14]— a court in each corner of the courtyard. [15]22 In the four corners of the courtyard were enclosed [16] courts, forty cubits long and thirty cubits wide [17]—the same measurement for each of the four of them. [18]23 A stone structure went all around the inside of all four of the rooms, and hearths for boiling were constructed beneath the structure all the way around. 24 Then he said to me, “These are the kitchens where those who minister in the temple are to boil the sacrifices of the people.”
Footnotes
Ezekiel 45:1 This area is somewhat more than eight miles by six miles. A Hebrew variant says that the district is 10,000 cubits wide. The Greek text says that it is 20,000 cubits wide. Which measurement is correct depends on whether the area being measured here is the whole district for both priests and Levites or only the portion for the priests. The context seems to refer to the whole district for the clergy, which was 20,000 cubits wide.
Ezekiel 45:2 About 875 feet by 875 feet—smaller than today’s Temple Mount
Ezekiel 45:4 This area is a band extending across the top 40% of the special area for the Lord.
Ezekiel 45:5 The translation follows the Greek text. The Hebrew reads they will have as their possession twenty rooms.
Ezekiel 45:5 This area covers the 40% of the special area that lies south of the area for the priests and the temple.
Ezekiel 45:6 About 1.6 miles by 8.3 miles
Ezekiel 45:6 Along the south side
Ezekiel 45:10 An ephah is a measure of volume used for solids. A bath is a measure of volume for liquids. In this section, since ancient measurements are compared to other ancient measurements, the ancient measurements are retained rather than converting to modern measurements, which is the EHV’s usual practice. The value of many of these measurements is uncertain. An ephah is equal to about 20 quarts or 2⁄3 of a bushel. A bath is about 6 gallons. A homer is 10 ephahs or 10 baths, that is, 6 bushels or 60 gallons. A hin is about 1⁄6 of a bath, that is, 1 gallon. A shekel is about 4⁄10 ounce. A mina is about 1½ pounds or 24 ounces.
Ezekiel 45:12 It is not apparent why such an unusual method is used to obtain the weight 60 shekels.
Ezekiel 45:13 About 1.6%
Ezekiel 45:14 About 1%
Ezekiel 46:17 That is, the jubilee year
Ezekiel 46:19 The meaning of this verse is uncertain. Apparently Ezekiel was led through or alongside feature Q so that he could see feature T on the diagram. For clarity, the translation provides some details that are not explicitly stated in the text.
Ezekiel 46:21 Feature U on the diagram
Ezekiel 46:21 Many translations omit the repetition of the final words. The double phrase is the equivalent of each and every.
Ezekiel 46:22 The meaning of this word is uncertain.
Ezekiel 46:22 About 70 feet by 52 feet
Ezekiel 46:22 The last word in the Hebrew text of verse 22 is marked for omission by delete marks written in the Hebrew text. The translation omits this word.
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13 These are the measurements of the altar in long cubits (a long cubit is an ordinary cubit plus a handbreadth). The gutter [1] at the base of the altar is one cubit deep and one cubit wide with a rim of one span [2] around its edge. The height of the altar is as follows: 14 From the gutter on the ground to the lower ledge is two cubits, and the width of the ledge is one cubit. From the lower ledge to the upper ledge is four cubits. The upper ledge has a width of one cubit. 15 The hearth is four cubits high, and four horns extend upward from the hearth. [3]16 The hearth is twelve cubits by twelve cubits, a square with four equal sides. 17 The upper ledge is fourteen cubits by fourteen cubits, with four equal sides. The ridge [4] around it is half a cubit, and it has a gutter of one cubit all around. [5] Its ramp [6] faces east.
18 Then he said to me, “Son of man, this is what the Lord God says. These are the ceremonial requirements for the altar on the day when it is erected, to present burnt offerings on it and to splash blood on it. 19 You are to provide a young bull for a sin offering. Provide it to the levitical priests who are from the descendants of Zadok, who draw near to me to serve me, declares the Lord God. 20 You are to take some of its blood and put it on the altar’s four horns, on the four corners of the ledge, and on the ridge all around, and so you are to purify [7] it and make atonement for it. 21 Then you are to take the bull that is the sin offering, and the priest is to burn it at the appointed place in the temple area, outside the sanctuary.
22 “On the second day you are to offer a male goat without blemish as a sin offering, and the altar is to be purified as it was purified with the bull. 23 When you have finished purifying it, you are to offer a young bull without blemish and a ram without blemish. 24 You are to present them before the Lord, and the priests are to throw salt on them and offer them up as a burnt offering to the Lord. 25 For seven days you are to offer a goat for a sin offering each day, as well as a young bull and a ram from the flock. They must all be without blemish. 26 For seven days they are to make atonement for the altar, cleanse it, and, in this way, consecrate it. 27 When they have fulfilled those days, on the eighth day and thereafter, the priests are to offer on the altar your whole burnt offerings and your fellowship offerings, and I will accept you, declares the Lord God.”
The Prince
Ezekiel 44
1 Then he brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary that faces east, but it was closed. 2 The Lord said to me, “This gate must remain closed and not be opened. No man may enter through it, because the Lord, the God of Israel, has entered through it. Therefore, it is to remain closed. 3 The prince, because he is the prince, may sit in it to eat food in the presence of the Lord. He must enter through the vestibule of the gateway, and he must go out the same way.”
The Purity of the Temple
4 Next, he brought me through the north gate to the front of the temple. I looked, and the Glory of the Lord had filled the temple of the Lord, and I fell on my face. 5 The Lord said this to me.
Son of man, pay attention. Watch carefully and listen carefully [8] to what I am telling you regarding all the regulations of the temple of the Lord and all the instructions concerning it. Pay attention to the entrance of the temple and to all the exits of the sanctuary.
6 Say this to the rebellion, that is, to the house of Israel. This is what the Lord God says. There has been more than enough of all your abominations, O house of Israel. 7 You even brought foreigners, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, into my sanctuary to desecrate it—into my own house!—even while you were offering my food, namely, the fat and the blood. In this way they broke my covenant in addition to all your abominations.
8 You have not faithfully guarded my holy things. Instead, you appointed others to be guards at my sanctuary in your place. 9 This is what the Lord God says. No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, may enter my sanctuary—no foreigner at all from those who are among the people of Israel.
The Purity of the Priests and Levites
10 What’s more, the Levites who went far from me when Israel strayed away, those who wandered away from me to follow their filthy idols, they must bear the consequences of their guilt. 11 Nevertheless, the Levites shall be in my sanctuary serving as guards over the gates of the temple and ministering in the temple. They shall slaughter the burnt offerings and the other sacrifices for the people. They shall stand before the people to serve them. 12 But because they formerly served them in front of their filthy idols and became a stumbling block that made the house of Israel guilty, therefore I have raised my hand in an oath against them, declares the Lord God, and they must bear the consequences of their guilt. 13 They may not approach me to serve as priests for me, nor may they approach any of my holy things or the most holy offerings. They must bear their shame and the consequences of the abominations that they committed. 14 Yet I will make them guardians of the ministry of the temple, in charge of all the duties of the temple and of everything that has to be done in it.
15 But the levitical priests who are the sons of Zadok, those who faithfully performed the duty of guarding the ministry of my sanctuary when the sons of Israel strayed away from me, they may approach me to serve me, and they may stand before me to offer the fat and the blood to me, declares the Lord God. 16 They alone may enter my sanctuary. They alone may approach my table to minister to me, and they shall perform the duty of guarding the ministry of the temple for me.
17 When they enter the gates of the inner court, they must wear linen clothing. No wool should be on them while they minister in the gates of the inner courtyard or inside the temple. 18 They are to have linen turbans on their heads and linen shorts on their hips. They should wear nothing that causes sweat. 19 When they go out into the outer courtyard [9] to the people, they must take off their vestments in which they have been ministering and leave them in the holy rooms. Then they must put on other clothing so that they do not transmit holiness to the people by their vestments.
20 They must not shave their heads or let their hair grow long and unkempt. They must keep the hair on their heads neatly trimmed. 21 No priest is to drink wine when he enters the inner courtyard. 22 The priests must not take a widow or a divorced woman for themselves as a wife, but only virgins who are seed from the house of Israel. But priests may marry a widow who is a widow of a priest. 23 They are to teach my people the difference between the holy and the common, and make them knowledgeable in distinguishing the unclean from the clean.
24 In case of a dispute, they are to officiate as judges, and they must render their judgment concerning that case on the basis of the precedents in my judgments. They must observe my instructions and my regulations regarding all my appointed festivals, and they must keep my Sabbaths holy.
25 They must not go near a dead person and make themselves ceremonially unclean by doing so. Only in the case of father or mother, son or daughter, brother or unmarried sister may they make themselves unclean. 26 After a priest has been purified, seven days must be counted off for him. 27 On the day he enters into the sanctuary, into the inner courtyard to minister in the sanctuary, he must offer a sin offering for himself, declares the Lord God.
28 This will be their inheritance: I am their inheritance. You must not give them property in Israel. I am their property. 29 They may eat the grain offerings, the sin offerings, and the restitution offerings, and every devoted thing in Israel will belong to them. 30 The first from all firstfruits of all kinds and every special contribution of any kind from all your contributions will belong to the priests. The first of your ground grain [10] you must give to the priest in order that a blessing may rest on your house. 31 No animal that died naturally or was torn by wild animals, whether a bird or an animal, may be eaten by the priests.
Footnotes
Ezekiel 43:13 Or trench
Ezekiel 43:13 A span is nine inches.
Ezekiel 43:15 The altar is about 18 feet tall. Its width is about 25 feet.
Ezekiel 43:17 Or rim
Ezekiel 43:17 Without the gutter or the horns, the altar is 10 cubits high (2+4+4). Its width at the base without the gutter is 16 cubits (1+1+12+1+1).
Ezekiel 43:17 The Hebrew word may also mean steps, but Exodus 20:26 seems to forbid steps up to the altar.
Ezekiel 43:20 The Hebrew is de-sin.
Ezekiel 44:5 Literally set your heart on, look with your eyes, and hear with your ears
Ezekiel 44:19 The Hebrew text has the words into the outer courtyard two times.
Ezekiel 44:30 The meaning of this term is uncertain.
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1 Then he led me out into the outer courtyard which was north of the temple building, and he brought me to a set of rooms which bordered on the south side of the restricted area and was north of the structure of the temple building. [1]2 This building north of the temple, which had doors facing north, was one hundred cubits long and fifty cubits wide. [2]
3 On each side of the north courtyard, across from the twenty cubits that belonged to the inner courtyard on the south side and across from the pavement that belonged to the outer courtyard on the north side, two sets of balconies faced each other. [3] Each was three stories high. [4]4 In front of the rooms on the inside of the courtyard was a walkway [5] ten cubits wide and one hundred cubits long. [6] The entrances of the rooms faced north. [7]
5 The upper rooms were narrower, because the balconies took more space away from them than from the building’s bottom and middle floors. 6 These rooms were arranged in three stories and had no pillars like the pillars in the courtyards, so as you went up from ground level, the upper story had to be set back more than the lower and middle ones. [8]
7 There was a wall in the outer courtyard, which ran parallel to the rooms on the east side. [9] It was fifty cubits long. 8 The length of the set of rooms on the east side of the building facing toward the outer courtyard was fifty cubits, but the length of those on the north side was one hundred cubits long. [10]9 On the bottom floor of these rooms on the east end of the building, there was an entrance, through which one could enter them from the outer courtyard. [11]
The Same Rooms on the South Side
10 At the head of the wall of the courtyard, [12] on the south [13] side of the temple, opposite the restricted area and opposite the building, there were rooms. 11 They also had a passageway in front of them. They looked just like the rooms on the north. They were the same length and also the same width, and they were the same in regard to all their exits, their designs, and their entrances. 12 Also identical were the entrances to the rooms on the south, at the head of the passageway, that is, the passageway opposite the corresponding wall, as one enters them from the east.
13 Then he said to me, “The northern and southern rooms in front of the restricted area are holy rooms where the priests who approach the Lord will eat the most holy offerings. There they will deposit the most holy offerings, the grain offering, the sin offering, and the restitution offering, for the place is holy. 14 When the priests go to enter these rooms, they must not go out from the holy place into the outer courtyard until they have put away their vestments in which they have ministered there, because the vestments are holy. They must put on other clothing before they approach the area that is for the people.”
15 In this way the man finished the measurements of the interior of the temple complex. Then he led me out through the gate on the east side of the temple complex and measured the temple area all the way around. 16 He measured the east side using the measuring rod. It measured five hundred cubits, [14] using canes, that is, the measuring rod. 17 Then he turned and measured the north side. It was five hundred cubits, using canes, that is, the measuring rod. 18 Then he turned and measured the south side. It was five hundred cubits, using canes, that is, the measuring rod. 19 He turned to the west side and measured again. It also was five hundred cubits, using canes, that is, the measuring rod. 20 Thus he measured the temple area on all four sides. It had a wall all the way around it. It was five hundred cubits long and five hundred cubits wide, in order to separate the holy from the common.
The Return of the Glory of the Lord
Ezekiel 43
1 Then he led me to the gate, the gate that faces east. 2 Suddenly I saw that the Glory of the God of Israel was coming from the east. His voice sounded like the roar of rushing water, and the earth was shining with his glory. 3 The appearance of the vision that I saw was like the vision I saw when he [15] came to destroy the city—visions like the vision I saw by the Kebar Canal, and I fell on my face. 4 The Glory of the Lord entered the temple through the gate facing east. 5 Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the inner court, and the Glory of the Lord filled the temple.
6 I heard someone speaking to me from the temple while the man was standing beside me. 7 The voice said to me:
Son of man, this is the place of my throne, and this is the place for the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the people of Israel forever. Never again will the house of Israel profane my holy name, neither they nor their kings, neither by their prostitution nor by the memorials [16] to their dead kings at their high places. 8 Whenever they placed their threshold next to my threshold and their doorpost beside my doorpost with only a wall between me and them, they would defile my holy name by their abominations that they did, so I exterminated them in my anger. 9 Now let them remove their prostitution and the memorials of their dead kings from my presence, and I will dwell among them forever.
10 But you, son of man, are to describe the temple to the house of Israel, so that they may be ashamed of their sins. Let them measure its perfect pattern. 11 If they are ashamed of everything they have done, teach them the design of the temple and its layout, its exits and its entrances, all its designs and all its ordinances, all its designs and all its regulations. Write them down in their sight so that they may keep its whole plan and all its ordinances and carry them out. 12 This is the law for the temple. On the top of the mountain, the whole territory of the temple and all the area surrounding its perimeter will be most holy. This is indeed the law for the temple.
Footnotes
Ezekiel 42:1 The interpretation of verses 1 and 2 is very difficult. It seems best to understand them as a reference to feature Q on the diagram, as the translation above does. This fits well with the measurements given in verse 2. Some, however, interpret these verses as a reference to feature C on the diagram and translate then he led me out into the outer courtyard north of the temple, and he brought me to a set of rooms on the other side of the restricted area, across from the temple along the north wall of the temple compound.
Ezekiel 42:2 About 175 feet by 90 feet
Ezekiel 42:3 Verse 3 is very difficult. It seems to refer to balconies on features Q and E on the diagram.
Ezekiel 42:3 Or on the third floor
Ezekiel 42:4 Feature R on the diagram
Ezekiel 42:4 One hundred cubits is the reading of the Greek and Syriac. The Hebrew reads one cubit.
Ezekiel 42:4 This apparently refers to the rooms on the south side of the northern courtyard.
Ezekiel 42:6 The meaning of this verse is uncertain.
Ezekiel 42:7 Feature S on the diagram
Ezekiel 42:8 This seems to refer to rooms on the short and long sides of building Q.
Ezekiel 42:9 The meaning of this verse is uncertain.
Ezekiel 42:10 The translation follows the Greek. The Hebrew reads in the thickness of the wall.
Ezekiel 42:10 The translation follows the Greek. The Hebrew reads on the east.
Ezekiel 42:16 About 875 feet. The reading five hundred is from the margin of the Hebrew text. The in-text reading is five. There is also a textual question whether the dimensions of the area are 500 cubits or 500 rods.
Ezekiel 43:3 The translation follows a variant found in some Hebrew manuscripts and ancient versions. Most Hebrew manuscripts read I. The reading I is possible if it refers to the fact that Ezekiel foretold the destruction.
Ezekiel 43:7 The word most often means corpses or lifeless idols. There is no evidence for kings being buried at high places, so the reference is probably to lifeless idols or to ceremonies for the spirits of the dead kings.
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48 Next he brought me to the vestibule of the temple building. [1] He measured each doorpost of the vestibule: five cubits [2] on either side. The width of the gate was ⎣fourteen cubits. [3] The sides of the gate were⎦ three cubits [4] on either side. [5]49 The length of the vestibule was twenty cubits, and its width was eleven cubits. [6] One entered it by ten [7] steps, and there were pillars by the doorposts, one on either side.
The Rooms of the Temple
Ezekiel 41
1 Then he brought me to the outer room of the sanctuary [8] and measured the doorposts, six cubits [9] wide on either side. This was the width of the Tent. [10]2 The width of the entrance was ten cubits, [11] and the side walls of the entrance were five cubits [12] on either side. Then he measured the outer room’s length, forty cubits, and its width was twenty cubits. [13]
3 Then he entered the inner room of the sanctuary [14] and measured the doorposts of its entrance, two cubits, and the width of the entrance was six cubits, and the side walls of the entrance were seven cubits on either side. [15]4 He measured its length, twenty cubits, and its width was twenty cubits, [16] the same as the width of the outer room. Then he said to me, “This is the Holy of Holies.”
5 Next he measured the wall of the temple building. It was six cubits thick, and the width of each side room was four cubits. The side rooms [17] ran all around the temple. 6 The side rooms were stacked on top of one another, in three stories, with thirty rooms in each story. The floors of the side rooms rested on ledges attached to the wall of the temple all the way around, so that the supports for the rooms would not cut into the temple wall itself. 7 The side rooms all around the temple became wider as one went up from story to story, because their supporting ledges in the wall of the temple ascended like steps. Therefore, the width of the interior of the attached structure increased as one went up from the lowest story to the highest by way of the middle story. [18]
The Platform and Courtyard
8 I saw a raised platform all around the temple that served as a foundation for the side rooms. The terrace built on this foundation, measured by a full rod, was six long cubits tall. [19]9 The thickness of the outer wall of the side rooms was five cubits. The open area [20] between the side rooms attached to the temple 10 and the other rooms on the other side of the inner courtyard was twenty cubits wide [21] all around the temple. 11 There were entrances into the side rooms from the open area, one entrance on the north side, one on the south. The width of the terrace [22] bordering the open area was five cubits all around. [23]
12 The building [24] on the far side of the restricted area [25] on the western side of the temple was seventy cubits wide. [26] The wall of the building was five cubits thick all around, and its length was ninety cubits. [27]
13 Then he measured the temple building. Its length was one hundred cubits. [28] The restricted area and the building with its walls also had a length of one hundred cubits. 14 The width of the area in front of the temple, including the restricted areas east of the temple, was one hundred cubits as well. 15 He also measured the length of the building facing the restricted area at the rear of the temple, along with its balconies on either side. It was one hundred cubits.
The Interior Decoration
The outer and inner rooms of the sanctuary, [29] the vestibules of the courtyard, 16 the thresholds, and the windows with slanting frames, as well as the balconies around the three sides, opposite the threshold, were paneled with wood all the way around, from the floor to the upper windows, and the windows were covered with lattices. [30]17 The paneling extended up to the space above the entrance, both in the inner and outer sanctuary. On all the walls all around, in both the inner and outer sanctuary, there were geometric patterns, [31]18 carved cherubim, and decorations like palms. There was a palm decoration between each cherub and its neighbor. Each cherub had two faces: 19 the face of a man turned toward the palm on one side and the face of a lion turned toward the palm on the other side. They were carved all around the whole temple. 20 From the floor up to the space above the entrance, cherubim and palms were carved, even on the walls of the outer room of the sanctuary. [32]21 As for the outer room of the sanctuary, its doorposts were square, and the front of the Holy of Holies had the same design.
The Altar in the Temple
22 The altar was made of wood, three cubits high. Its length was two cubits, and its width was two cubits. [33] Its corners, its base, [34] and its sides were also of wood. He said to me, “This is the table that is before the Lord.”
23 Both the outer room of the sanctuary and the Holy of Holies had double doors. 24 The doors had two leaves apiece, two folding leaves—two for one door and two leaves for the other door. 25 Carved on the doors of the outer room there were cherubim and palm decorations, like those carved on the walls. Outside there was a wooden canopy in front of the vestibule. 26 There were also windows narrowing toward the inside and palm decorations on both side walls of the vestibule. The side rooms of the temple also had canopies.
Footnotes
Ezekiel 40:48 Feature K on the diagram. The Hebrew text consistently calls the temple ha-bayit, the House. To avoid confusion, in this account the EHV regularly translates this term temple, rather than house, and it distinguishes the temple building from the temple complex or temple compound when necessary.
Ezekiel 40:48 About 9 feet
Ezekiel 40:48 About 25 feet
Ezekiel 40:48 About 5 feet
Ezekiel 40:48 The words in half-brackets are present in the Greek text but not in the Hebrew text. An omission from the Hebrew text may have occurred as the Hebrew scribe’s eye skipped from one occurrence of gate to another.
Ezekiel 40:49 About 35 feet by 20 feet
Ezekiel 40:49 The number ten is present in the Greek text. The Hebrew text has no number.
Ezekiel 41:1 Feature L on the diagram. The Hebrew term is hekal. This room is also called the Holy Place.
Ezekiel 41:1 About 10 feet. It is difficult to fit this number into the description in verse 2.
Ezekiel 41:1 It is unclear whether this statement should be connected with verse 1 or verse 2. The standard Hebrew text reads the width of the tent, and there is support for this reading in the ancient versions. Many English translations omit the statement on the basis of limited manuscript evidence. The statement seems to be a comparison to the tent shrine built by Moses.
Ezekiel 41:2 About 18 feet
Ezekiel 41:2 About 9 feet
Ezekiel 41:2 About 70 feet by 35 feet
Ezekiel 41:3 Feature M on the diagram
Ezekiel 41:3 About 3½ feet, 10½ feet, and 12¼ feet, respectively
Ezekiel 41:4 About 35 feet by 35 feet
Ezekiel 41:5 Inside the wall next to feature O on the diagram
Ezekiel 41:7 The verse is very difficult, and the translation, especially in the middle of the verse, is uncertain. Compare it with the parallel section in 1 Kings 6.
Ezekiel 41:8 The Hebrew of this verse is difficult.
Ezekiel 41:9 Feature N on the diagram
Ezekiel 41:10 About 35 feet
Ezekiel 41:11 Or paved area. Literally the place.
Ezekiel 41:11 Feature O on the diagram
Ezekiel 41:12 This building is feature P on the diagram.
Ezekiel 41:12 The meaning of this term is uncertain.
Ezekiel 41:12 About 122 feet
Ezekiel 41:12 About 188 feet
Ezekiel 41:13 The temple building was about 175 feet by 90 feet.
Ezekiel 41:15 Or the inside of the outer room of the sanctuary. The meaning of the expression is uncertain. See verse 17.
Ezekiel 41:16 The division into sentences and verses and the translation throughout this section are uncertain.
Ezekiel 41:17 The meaning of this term is uncertain. It may refer to a measured pattern.
Ezekiel 41:20 Some manuscripts omit of the outer room of the sanctuary.
Ezekiel 41:22 The altar was about 5 feet high and 3½ feet square.
Ezekiel 41:22 Base is the reading of the Greek text. The Hebrew reads its length.
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1 In the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, [2] on the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after the city was struck down, on that very day, the hand of the Lord came upon me, and he brought me there. 2 In visions of God, he brought me to the land of Israel and set me down on a very high mountain. On the south side there was a structure that resembled a city. 3 When he brought me there, I saw a man who looked as if he were made of bronze. In his hand he had a linen cord and a measuring rod. He was standing by the gatehouse.
4 The man said to me, “Son of man, watch carefully, listen carefully, and pay attention to [3] everything that I am about to show you, because you were brought here so that I could show it to you. Report everything you see to the house of Israel.”
The Wall and Outer Gates
The Wall
5 I saw a wall [4] all the way around the temple compound. In the man’s hand was the measuring rod, six cubits long (using the long cubit). [5] When he measured the thickness of the structure, it was one rod thick, and its height was one rod.
The East Gatehouse
6 Then he approached the gatehouse [6] that was on the east side of the temple compound and went up its steps. He measured the threshold of the gate. It was one rod deep. [7]7 Each guardroom [8] was one rod wide and one rod deep. Between the guardrooms, the walls were five cubits thick, [9] and the threshold of the gate of the vestibule [10] on the inner side of the gatehouse was one rod deep. 8 ⎣He measured the vestibule on the inner side of the gatehouse. It was one rod.⎦ [11]
9 He measured the vestibule of the gatehouse, which was eight cubits, [12] and its gateposts were two cubits. The vestibule of the gatehouse was located at the inner end of the gateway. 10 Inside the east gatehouse, there were three guardrooms on either side of the entry. All three were the same size, and the gateposts on either side were also the same size. 11 Then he measured the width of the entry into the gateway. It was ten cubits, and the length of the gateway was thirteen cubits. [13]12 There was a barrier in front of the guardrooms, one cubit wide, on both sides of the passage. Each guardroom was six cubits square. [14]
13 Next he measured the passageway through the gatehouse, from the outside edge of the ceiling of one guardroom to the outside edge of the ceiling opposite it. The total width was twenty-five cubits. [15] The doorways to the guardrooms were facing each other on each side of the passageway. 14 He determined that the measurement of the gateposts was sixty cubits, [16] and the courtyard all around the gateway reached to the gateposts. [17]15 From the front of the outer entrance of the gateway to the outside edge of the vestibule on the inner side of the gateway was fifty cubits. [18]16 The guardrooms and their doorposts had openings on all sides. The openings were slits that were narrower toward the inside of the gate, and likewise, the vestibule had openings that narrowed toward the inside all the way around. [19] The doorposts had decorations like palm trees.
The Outer Courtyard
17 Then he brought me into the outer courtyard. There were rooms and a pavement constructed all the way around the courtyard. Thirty rooms faced the pavement. [20]18 The pavement ran along the sides of the gates. The pavement was as wide as the length of the gatehouse. This was the lower pavement. 19 He measured the width of the pavement from the inside edge of the outer gatehouse to the outside edge of the inner courtyard. It measured one hundred cubits [21] on the east and on the north sides of the temple.
The North Gatehouse
20 There was a gateway leading into the outer courtyard on the north side. The man measured its length and its width. 21 Its guardrooms, three on each side, its gateposts, and its vestibule had the same measurements as the first gatehouse, fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide. 22 The entry, the vestibule, and its palm decorations also had the same measurements as those of the gatehouse facing east. From outside the temple compound one could enter the gate by seven steps, and the vestibule of the gateway was straight ahead at the inner end of the gateway.
23 A gateway into the inner courtyard was opposite the outer gatehouse (the same as on the east side), and he measured from the outer gate to the inner one opposite it. The distance was one hundred cubits. [22]
The South Gatehouse
24 Next, he led me toward the south, and there also was a gatehouse on the south side of the temple compound. He measured its gateposts and its vestibule, and the measurements were like the others. 25 It and its vestibule had openings all around like the openings of the others. Its length was fifty cubits and its width was twenty-five cubits. 26 It had seven steps going up to it, and its vestibule was straight ahead of them at the opposite end of the gateway, and it had palm decorations on either side on its gateposts. 27 The inner courtyard also had a gateway facing south. He measured from one gate to the other toward the south. It was one hundred cubits.
The Gates to the Inner Courtyard
28 Then he brought me into the inner courtyard through its south gate. [23] He measured this gatehouse on the south side of the inner courtyard. Its measurements were like those of the previous gatehouses. 29 Its guardrooms, gateposts, and vestibule had the same measurements as the others. Both the gatehouse and the vestibule had openings all around. It was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide.
30 There were vestibules on each side of the inner courtyard. They were twenty-five cubits long and five cubits wide. [24]31 The vestibule of the inner gatehouse faced the outer courtyard. There were palm decorations on its gateposts, and its stairway had eight steps.
32 Next he brought me into the inner courtyard through the gate facing east. He measured the gatehouse, and its dimensions were the same as the others. 33 Its guardrooms, gateposts, and vestibule were the same size as the others. It and its vestibule had openings all around. It was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide. 34 Its vestibule faced the outer court, and there were palm decorations on its gateposts on either side. Its stairs had eight steps.
35 Then he brought me to the north gatehouse and measured it. It had the same measurements as the others. 36 This was also true of its guardrooms, its gateposts, and its vestibule. It had openings all around. It was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide. 37 Its vestibule faced the outer courtyard, and there were palm decorations on its gateposts on either side. Its stairway had eight steps.
Rooms of the Inner Courtyard
38 There was a room with a door, next to the gateposts at each of the inner gateways, [25] where they washed the burnt offering. [26]
39 Inside the vestibule of the gateway, on each side, there were two tables upon which to slaughter the whole burnt offering, the sin offering, and the restitution offering. 40 Next to the outside wall of the vestibule, as one goes toward the entrance of the north gateway, there were two more tables. Next to the other outside wall of the vestibule of the gateway were two more tables. 41 That is, there were four tables on one side and four on the other side of the gateway—eight tables on which they were to slaughter the sacrifices.
42 Four more tables for the burnt offering were made of hewn stone. They were one and a half cubits long, one and a half cubits wide, and one cubit high. On them they placed the instruments with which they slaughtered the burnt offering and the other sacrifices. 43 Double-pronged hooks, each a handbreadth [27] long, were fastened to the building all around, but the meat for the sacrifice was placed on the tables.
44 Just outside of the inner gateway, in the inner courtyard, were two rooms, [28] one beside the north gate, which faced south, and the other beside the south [29] gate, which faced north. 45 He said to me, “This room that faces south is for the priests who guard the temple, 46 and the room that faces north is for the priests who guard the altar. They are descendants of Zadok, the only Levites who may approach the Lord to minister to him.”
The Inner Courtyard
47 Then he measured the courtyard. [30] It was one hundred cubits long and one hundred cubits wide [31]—a square. The altar was in front of the temple.
Footnotes
Ezekiel 40:1 The translation of many of the architectural features of the temple is very difficult. The footnotes will not attempt to list all the many options that have been suggested for some of the difficult words and phrases.
There are also numerous textual variants in this section of Ezekiel. Not all of them will be reported in the footnotes.
This temple plan was never implemented, even though the temple in Jerusalem was rebuilt within the same century in which Ezekiel received this plan. This description was not written to provide an architectural blueprint. Instead, it was designed for its symbolic meaning and emotional impact. The descriptions in Ezekiel 38–48 are parallel to the visions in Revelation 19–22.
Ezekiel 40:1 Spring 573 bc
Ezekiel 40:4 Literally look with your eyes, hear with your ears, and set your heart on
Ezekiel 40:5 Feature A on the diagram of the temple
Ezekiel 40:5 A long cubit is about 21 inches long instead of the standard 18 inches. A long cubit consists of the regular cubit (18 inches) plus a handbreadth (3 inches). The measuring rod is therefore about 10½ feet long. Because some of the numbers in the descriptions of the land and the temple have symbolic value, the translation (contrary to our normal practice) will retain the measurements in cubits. Footnotes converting some of the measurements to feet will help readers visualize the size of the temple and its objects. All conversions are rounded off.
Ezekiel 40:6 The “gates” (Hebrew sha’ar) in the temple compound are not simply doored entryways. They are complex structures. The EHV generally uses gatehouse as the name for the structure and gateway for the passageway through the gatehouse, but it is not always possible to identify such distinctions with certainty. This gatehouse is structure B on the diagram.
Ezekiel 40:6 The Hebrew reads measured the threshold of the gate, one rod deep, ⎣and one threshold, one rod deep.⎦ The words marked here by half-brackets are not included in the Greek text, and they do not appear in the translation above.
Ezekiel 40:7 Or alcove
Ezekiel 40:7 Almost 9 feet
Ezekiel 40:7 Or porch or portico or antechamber. The presence of slits in the walls of the “porches” indicates that they were enclosed rooms.
Ezekiel 40:8 Some manuscripts and versions omit the words marked by half-brackets in verse 8. These words seem to disagree with the measurement of the vestibule given in verse 9. There may have been some accidental duplication in the Hebrew text, but the two statements may be giving measurements of different parts of the vestibule and gatehouse. If the words in half-brackets, which are not included in the Greek text, are omitted, the text still reads smoothly.
Ezekiel 40:9 About 14 feet
Ezekiel 40:11 The passageway through the gatehouse was thus about 18 feet wide and 23 feet long.
Ezekiel 40:12 About 10 feet
Ezekiel 40:13 About 44 feet. The verse is difficult. It appears that this measurement is the total width of the gatehouse, including the passageway and the guardrooms on each side of it.
Ezekiel 40:14 More than 100 feet
Ezekiel 40:14 The meaning of this verse is uncertain, and translations vary widely. Some believe the measurement is the height of the gatehouse, but the measurement seems too large for that. Some translations therefore change the number from sixty to twenty cubits. Others believe the measurement is the perimeter of the gatehouse, but the measurement seems too small for that. In light of the uncertainty, the EHV retains a fairly literal translation, which does not alter the text.
Ezekiel 40:15 About 90 feet
Ezekiel 40:16 These were slots through which the defenders could shoot. They also let light into the gatehouse.
Ezekiel 40:17 Features E and C on the diagram
Ezekiel 40:19 About 175 feet
Ezekiel 40:23 About 175 feet
Ezekiel 40:28 Feature F on the diagram
Ezekiel 40:30 About 44 feet by 9 feet
Ezekiel 40:38 Feature G on the diagram
Ezekiel 40:38 This sentence is difficult and interpretations vary.
Ezekiel 40:43 About 3 inches
Ezekiel 40:44 Feature I on the diagram
Ezekiel 40:44 The Hebrew reads east gate, but the context requires south gate, which is the reading supported by the Greek text.
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The Lord Will Defeat Gog and
Pour Out His Spirit on His People
1 Now you, son of man, prophesy against Gog and say this.
This is what the Lord says to you. I am against you, Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshek, and Tubal. 2 I will turn you around. I will show you the way. I will lead you up from the remotest regions of the north, and I will bring you against the mountains of Israel. 3 But there I will knock your bow out of your left hand, and I will make your arrows fall from your right hand. 4 On the mountains of Israel you will fall—you, all your troops, and the peoples who are with you. I will give you as food to scavenging birds of every kind and to the wild animals. 5 In the open country you will fall, for I have spoken, declares the Lord God. 6 I will also send fire on Magog and on those who live in security on the coastlands. Then they will know that I am the Lord.
7 I will make my holy name known among my people Israel. I will not let my holy name be profaned anymore, and the nations will know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel. 8 It is coming! It will surely take place, declares the Lord God. This is the day of which I have spoken. 9 Then those who live in the cities of Israel will go out and set the weapons on fire and burn the small shields and large shields, bows and arrows, clubs and spears. They will use them as firewood for seven years. 10 They will not take wood from the open country or gather it from the forests because they will use the weapons as firewood. They will loot those who looted them and plunder those who plundered them, declares the Lord God.
11 On that day I will give Gog a burial place there in Israel, in the valley used by those who travel east toward the sea, [1] and it will block the way for travelers. There they will bury Gog and all his horde and call it the Valley of Gog’s Horde. 12 The house of Israel will spend seven months burying them in order to cleanse the land. 13 All the people of the land of Israel will join in burying them, and it will bring honor to them on that day when I display my glory, declares the Lord God. 14 In addition, they will assign men to work full-time, passing through the land together with others, to bury those who are left on the surface of the ground in order to cleanse it. At the end of seven months, they will still be searching. 15 Whenever those who pass through the land see a human bone, they will set up a marker beside it until the burial squad has buried it in the Valley of Gog’s Horde. 16 So the name of a city there will be Hamonah. [2] In this way they will cleanse the land.
17 This is what the Lord God says to you, son of man. Speak to the birds, to every winged creature, and to all the wild animals. Tell them this.
Assemble yourselves and come. From all around gather yourselves to my sacrificial meal, which I am preparing for you as a sacrificial meal on the mountains of Israel. You will eat meat and drink blood. 18 You will eat the meat of warriors and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, like rams and lambs, goats and bulls, all of them fattened animals from Bashan. 19 You will eat fat until you are full and drink blood until you are drunk from my sacrificial meal, which I have prepared for you. 20 At my table you will be filled with horses and charioteers, with warriors and soldiers of every kind, declares the Lord God.
21 In this way I will establish my glory among the nations, and all the nations will see my justice which I have carried out and my hand which I have laid upon them. 22 The house of Israel will know from that day forward that I am the Lord, their God. 23 Then the nations will know that the house of Israel went into exile because of their guilt, because they were unfaithful to me. So I hid my face from them and delivered them into the hand of their adversaries, and they all fell by the sword. 24 I dealt with them according to their uncleanness and their rebellion, and I hid my face from them.
25 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says. Now I will bring about the restoration of Jacob. I will have mercy on the whole house of Israel, and I will be zealous for my holy name. 26 They will bear their shame and all the unfaithfulness that they displayed toward me, even when they lived securely in their own land with no one to make them afraid. 27 When I bring them back from the nations and gather them from the lands of their enemies, I will show myself to be holy among them in the sight of many nations. 28 They will know that I am the Lord their God, because, even though I sent them into captivity among the nations, I also gathered them again to their own land, and I will never again leave any of them there in captivity. 29 Nor will I ever hide my face from them again, because I will have poured out my Spirit on the house of Israel, declares the Lord God.
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In the Latter Days, Gog Will Attack Israel but
Will Be Defeated by the Lord
1 The word of the Lord came to me.
2 Son of man, set your face against Gog from the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, [1] Meshek, and Tubal, and prophesy against him 3 and say this.
This is what the Lord God says. I am against you, Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshek, and Tubal. [2]4 I will turn you around. I will put hooks in your jaws, and I will bring you out with your entire army, horses and horsemen, all of them magnificently arrayed, a vast horde [3] armed with body shields and hand shields, all of them wielding swords. 5 Persia, Cush, and Libya [4] are with them, all of them with hand shields and helmets, 6 also Gomer and all its troops, Beth Togarmah from the remotest regions of the north and all its troops—many peoples will be with you. 7 Ready yourself. Prepare yourself, you and your whole horde that is gathered around you, and keep watch over them. 8 After many days you will be summoned to come together. In the latter years you will invade a land that was restored from the ravages of the sword, whose population had been gathered from among many peoples, back to the mountains of Israel, which had been lying in ruins for a long time. Its population had been brought out from among the peoples, and all of them were now living securely. 9 You will come up like a devastating storm. You will come up like a cloud to cover the land, you and all your troops and many peoples with you.
10 This is what the Lord God says. On that day plans will come into your mind, and you will plot an evil scheme. 11 You will say, “I will go up against a land of unwalled villages. I will attack the peaceful people who live in security, all of them living without walls, with neither bars nor gates. 12 I will attack in order to seize spoils and carry off plunder, to assault resettled ruins and to attack people returned from the nations, people who are acquiring livestock and other property, people who live at the center [5] of the earth.”
13 Sheba, Dedan, the merchants of Tarshish, and all its leaders [6] will say to you, “Have you come to seize spoils? Have you gathered your horde to carry off plunder, to carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and other property, to seize a large amount of spoils?”
14 Therefore prophesy, son of man, and say this to Gog. This is what the Lord God says. On that day, when my people Israel are dwelling securely, you will be aware of that, won’t you? 15 So you will come from your place, from the remotest regions of the north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great horde, a mighty army. 16 You will come up against my people Israel like a cloud covering the land. In the latter days this will happen. I will bring you against my land so that the nations will know me when I use you to reveal myself as holy in front of their eyes, O Gog.
17 This is what the Lord God says. Are you the one I spoke about in earlier days through my servants, the prophets of Israel? In those days didn’t they prophesy for many years that I would bring you against Israel? 18 On that day when Gog comes against the land of Israel, says the Lord God, my wrath will be evident on my face. 19 In my zeal and the fire of my fury, I have spoken. I swear that there will be a great earthquake in the land of Israel on that day. 20 All of these will quake in my presence: the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the animals in the open country, every creeping thing that creeps on the ground, and every human being on the face of the earth. The mountains will be overthrown. The hillside terraces will collapse, and every wall will fall to the ground. 21 I will summon against Gog a sword upon all my mountains, declares the Lord God. Every man’s sword will be against his brother. 22 I will judge him with plague and with bloodshed. I will rain down torrential rain, hailstones, and burning sulfur on him and on his troops and on the many peoples who are with him. 23 In this way I will show myself to be great, and I will show myself to be holy, and I will make myself known in the sight of many nations. Then they will know that I am the Lord.
Footnotes
Ezekiel 38:2 Or the chief prince
Ezekiel 38:3 Places far to the north, in present-day Ukraine and Russia
Ezekiel 38:4 The biblical accounts regularly use the Hebrew term hamon to refer to hostile, heathen armies. This term refers to a noisy, disorderly crowd. In reference to a barbarian army, horde is an appropriate rendering.
Ezekiel 38:5 Hebrew Paras, Cush, and Put. These are the most distant places Israel was familiar with in North Africa and Asia.
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1 The hand of the Lord was upon me. He brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of a valley, which was full of bones. 2 He had me pass through them and go all over among them. There were very many on the valley floor, and they were very dry.
3 He said to me, “Son of man, can these dry bones live?” [1] I answered, “Lord God, you know.” 4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.’”
5 This is what the Lord God says to these bones.
I am about to make breath [2] enter you so that you will live. 6 I will attach tendons to you. I will put flesh back on you. I will cover you with skin and put breath in you, and you will live. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
7 So I prophesied as I had been commanded, and as I was prophesying there was a noise, a rattling, as the bones came together, one bone connecting to another. 8 As I watched, tendons were attached to them, then flesh grew over them, and skin covered them. But there was no breath in them.
9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the wind. [3] Prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind that this is what the Lord God says. From the four winds, come, O wind, and breathe into these slain so that they may live.”
10 So I prophesied as he commanded me. Breath entered them, and they came back to life. They stood on their feet, a very, very large army.
11 Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They are saying, ‘Our bones are dried up. Our hope is lost. We have been completely cut off.’ 12 Therefore, prophesy and say to them that this is what the Lord God says. My people, I am going to open your graves and raise you up from your graves and bring you back to the soil of Israel. 13 Then you will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and raise you up from your graves, O my people. 14 I will put my Spirit in you, and you will live. I will settle you on your own land, and you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.”
One People United Under the New David
15 The word of the Lord came to me.
16 Now you, son of man, take one piece of wood and write on it: “Belonging to Judah and belonging to the people of Israel associated with him.” Then take another piece of wood and write on it: “Belonging to Joseph, Ephraim’s piece of wood, and the whole house of Israel associated with him.” 17 Then hold one piece of wood close to the other to make a single board for yourself, so that they are one in your hand.
18 When your countrymen say to you, “Won’t you tell us what you mean by these things?” 19 you tell them, “This is what the Lord God says. I am going to take the piece of wood which is in the hand of Ephraim, which is for Joseph and for the tribes of Israel associated with him, and I will attach it to the piece of wood for Judah. In this way I will make them one board, so that they will be one in my hand.” 20 The boards on which you will write should be in your hand in front of their eyes.
21 Then say this to them. This is what the Lord God says. I am going to take the people of Israel from among the nations where they have gone, and I will gather them from all around, and I will bring them to their own land. 22 I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel, and one king will be king for all of them. Never again will they be two nations, and never again will they be divided into two kingdoms. 23 Never again will they defile themselves with their filthy idols, with their disgusting practices, and with all their rebellious actions. I will save them from all their backsliding by which they have sinned, [4] and I will cleanse them. They will be my people, and I will be their God.
24 My servant David will be King over them, and they will all have one Shepherd. They will follow my ordinances and be conscientious about keeping my statutes. 25 They will live on the land I gave my servant Jacob, where your fathers lived. They will live there permanently—they, their children, and their grandchildren—and my servant David will be their prince forever. 26 I will make a covenant of peace with them. It will be an everlasting covenant with them. I will establish them, and I will multiply them and set my sanctuary in their midst forever. 27 My Dwelling Place will be over them. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 28 Then the nations will know that I, the Lord, make Israel holy when my holy place is in their midst forever.
Footnotes
Ezekiel 37:3 Or come back to life
Ezekiel 37:5 The Hebrew word for breath also means spirit.
Ezekiel 37:9 The same Hebrew word means wind, breath, and spirit.
Ezekiel 37:23 A Hebrew variant reads I will save them from all the dwellings in which they sinned.
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17 Son of man, when the house of Israel was living on their own soil, they defiled it by their conduct and by their actions. To me their conduct was as unclean as the blood of a woman’s period. 18 So I poured out my wrath on them because of the blood they had poured on the ground and because of the filthy idols [1] with which they had defiled it, 19 and I scattered them among the nations so that they were dispersed among the countries. On the basis of their conduct and their actions I judged them. 20 Then when they came to the various nations, they profaned my holy name when people said about them, “These are the people of the Lord, but they had to leave his land.” 21 So I was concerned about my holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the various nations to which they had come.
22 Therefore, say this to the house of Israel. This is what the Lord God says. I am about to act, O house of Israel, not for your sake, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you have gone. 23 I will sanctify my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Lord God, when I reveal myself as holy in front of their eyes through you. 24 I will take you from among the nations. I will gather you from all the lands, and I will bring you to your own soil. 25 I will sprinkle purifying water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurity and from all your filthy idols.
The Lord Will Give His People a New Heart
26 Then I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit inside you. I will remove the heart of stone from your body and give you a heart of flesh. 27 I will put my Spirit within you and will cause you to walk in my statutes, and you will carefully observe my ordinances. 28 Then you will live in the land I gave your fathers. You will be my people, and I will be your God. 29 I will save you from all your impurity. I will summon the grain and make it plentiful. I will not bring famine upon you. 30 I will increase the fruit on the trees and the produce in the fields, so that you will never again suffer disgrace among the nations because of famine. 31 Then you will remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves on account of your guilty deeds and your abominations. 32 It is not for your sake that I am about to act, declares the Lord God. Let this be known to you! Be ashamed and embarrassed because of your ways, O house of Israel.
33 This is what the Lord God says. On the day that I cleanse you from all your guilty deeds, I will resettle your cities, and the ruins will be rebuilt. 34 The desolate land will be cultivated instead of remaining desolate in the sight of every passerby. 35 People will say, “This land that was devastated has become like the Garden of Eden, and the cities that were ruined, desolate, and destroyed are now fortified and inhabited.” 36 Then the nations that remain around you will know that I, the Lord, have rebuilt the places that were destroyed and have replanted what was desolate. I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will do it.
37 This is what the Lord God says. I will also allow the house of Israel to ask me to do this for them. I will multiply them so their people are like flocks. 38 Like flocks consecrated for sacrifice, like the flocks of Jerusalem on its festival days, so the ruined cities will be filled with flocks of people. Then they will know that I am the Lord.
Footnotes
Ezekiel 36:18 Or the manure gods. See the note at 6:4.
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1 The word of the Lord came to me. 2 Son of man, set your face against Mount Seir and prophesy against it. 3 Say this to it.
This is what the Lord God says. I am against you, Mount Seir. I will stretch out my hand against you and make you a desolate wasteland. 4 I will make your cities ruins, and you will be desolate. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
5 Because you cherished an ancient hatred and turned the Israelites over to the sword at the time of their disaster, at the time of their final punishment, 6 therefore, as I live, declares the Lord God, I will subject you to bloodshed, and bloodshed will pursue you. Because you did not hate bloodshed, bloodshed will pursue you. 7 I will make Mount Seir a desolate wasteland and cut off from it all those who flee from it and want to return. [1]8 I will fill its mountains with its slain. On your hills and in your valleys and in all your streambeds, those who have been run through by the sword will fall. 9 I will make you desolate forever, and your cities will not be re-inhabited. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
10 Because you said, “These two nations and these two lands will be mine, and we will possess them, even though the Lord was there,” 11 therefore, as I live, declares the Lord God, I will treat you as you deserve for your anger and for your jealousy which you held against these two nations in your hostility, and I will make myself known among them when I judge you. 12 Then you will know that I, the Lord, have heard all the contemptuous statements that you uttered against the mountains of Israel: “They have been devastated and given to us for food.” 13 With your mouth you made proud boasts against me and heaped up arrogant words against me. I have heard it myself. 14 This is what the Lord God says. While the whole world celebrates, I will make you a desolation. 15 Because you celebrated when you took possession of the house of Israel because it was desolate, so will I deal with you. Mount Seir, you will be desolate, along with all of Edom. Then they will know that I am the Lord.
Prophesy Against the Mountains
Ezekiel 36
1 Now you, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel and say this.
Mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord.
2 This is what the Lord God says.
Because the enemy said about you, “Aha! At last! The ancient heights have become our possession,” 3 you are to prophesy and say, “This is what the Lord God says.”
Because they have devastated and crushed you from all sides, so that you would become the possession of the rest of the nations and a subject of people’s gossip and slander, 4 therefore, you mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God. This is what the Lord God says to the mountains, hills, valleys, ravines, desolate ruins, and abandoned cities, which have become a source of plunder and are subjected to ridicule by the rest of the nations all around.
5 So, this is what the Lord God says. Without fail, in my fiery zeal I am speaking against the rest of the nations and against all of Edom, because they took my land as their own with whole-hearted glee and deep-seated contempt, and they occupied its pastureland. 6 Therefore, prophesy about the land of Israel and say to the mountains, hills, valleys, and ravines: This is what the Lord God says. In my zeal and wrath I am speaking because you have endured the taunts of the nations.
7 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says. I swear with an uplifted hand that the nations all around you will endure taunts against them. 8 But you, O mountains of Israel, will shoot forth your branches and bear your fruit for my people Israel, because they will soon come back. 9 Yes, I am on your side. I will look on you with favor, and your land will be cultivated and planted. 10 I will multiply people for you, for the whole house of Israel, all of it. The cities will be resettled and the ruins rebuilt. 11 I will multiply both people and animals on you. They will multiply and be fruitful. I will resettle you as you were in earlier times and do more good for you than I did when you began. Then you will know that I am the Lord. 12 I will cause people, my people Israel, to walk over you. They will take possession of you. You will become their inheritance, and never again will you deprive them of their children.
13 This is what the Lord God says. Because some people say to you, “You devour your people and keep on depriving your nations [2] of their children,” 14 therefore, you will no longer devour your people or deprive your nations of their children, declares the Lord God. 15 No longer will I let you hear the taunts of the nations or endure the scorn of the peoples. Never again will you deprive your nations of their children, declares the Lord God.
Footnotes
Ezekiel 35:7 Literally to cross and turn
Ezekiel 36:13 That is, Israel and Judah. A variant is the singular nation.
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2 Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to those shepherds that this is what the Lord God says.
Woe to you, shepherds of Israel, who have been shepherding for themselves. Aren’t shepherds supposed to shepherd for the benefit of the sheep? 3 You eat the fat. [1] You wear the wool. You slaughter the fattened ones—but you do not shepherd the flock. 4 You have not strengthened the weak. You have not healed the sick. You have not bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays, and you have not searched for the lost. Instead you have abused them with force and with violence. 5 So they scattered, because there was no shepherd, and they became food for all the wild animals. My sheep scattered and 6 wandered all over the mountains and on every high hill. Over the face of the whole earth, my flock was scattered, with no one looking for them and no one searching for them.
7 Therefore, shepherds, hear the word of the Lord. 8 As surely as I live, declares the Lord God, because my flock has become plunder, and because my flock has become food for all the wild animals, because they have no shepherd and my shepherds did not concern themselves about my flock, but the shepherds took care of themselves instead of taking care of my flock, 9 therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord.
10 This is what the Lord God says. I am against the shepherds. Watch! I will remove my flock from their hand. I will remove them from taking care of the sheep, and no longer will those shepherds take care of themselves. I will rescue my flock from their mouths, so that they will no longer be food for them.
11 For this is what the Lord God says. Here I am. I myself will seek the welfare of my flock and carefully search for them. 12 As a shepherd searches for his flock when his sheep that were with him have been scattered, so I will search for my flock and rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. 13 I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries and bring them to their own soil. I will shepherd them on the mountains of Israel, in the valleys, and in all the settlements of the land. 14 I will lead them into good pasture, and their grazing land will be on the high mountains of Israel. There they will lie down in good grazing land, and they will pasture on rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. 15 I myself will shepherd my flock. I myself will let them lie down, declares the Lord God. 16 I will seek the lost. I will bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured. I will strengthen the weak. I will destroy the fat and the strong, and I will shepherd them with justice.
17 What about you, my flock? This is what the Lord God says. I am going to judge between one sheep and another, between the rams and the male goats. 18 Isn’t it enough for you that you feed on the good pasture? Must you trample the rest of your pastures with your feet? Isn’t it enough that you drink the clear water? Must you muddy the rest with your feet? 19 Then my flock has to feed on what your feet have trampled and drink what your feet have muddied. 20 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says to them. I myself am going to judge between the fat sheep and the thin sheep. 21 Because you have shoved them with your side and shoulder and butted all the weak ones with your horns, until you scattered them abroad, 22 I will save my flock so that they will not become plunder anymore. In this way I will judge between one sheep and another.
23 Then I will raise up over them one shepherd, and he will tend them. My servant David will tend them, and he will be their shepherd. 24 I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David will be the prince among them. I, the Lord, have spoken. 25 Then I will establish a covenant of peace with them, and I will rid the land of wild animals, so they may live securely in the wilderness and sleep in the forests.
26 I will make them and the area around my hill a blessing. I will send the rain showers down in their season. They will be showers of blessing. 27 The trees in the field will yield their fruit, and the earth will yield its produce. They will be secure on their own land and know that I am the Lord, when I break the bars of their yoke and rescue them from the hand of those who enslaved them. 28 No more will they be plundered by the nations, nor will wild animals devour them. They will live in security, with no one to make them afraid. 29 I will establish for them farmland famous for its crops, so that they will no longer be carried off by famine that is taking place in the land. They will no longer bear the scorn of the nations. 30 They will know that I, the Lord their God, am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, declares the Lord God. 31 You are my flock of sheep, the sheep of my pasture, and you are my people, and I am your God, declares the Lord God.
Footnotes
Ezekiel 34:3 This may refer to the fat of dairy products like cheese. The ancient versions read milk.
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1 The word of the Lord came to me. 2 Son of man, speak to your countrymen and say this to them.
When I bring a sword against a land, and the people of the land appoint one man from their midst as their watchman, 3 and that man sees the sword coming upon the land and blows the ram’s horn to warn the people, 4 then if anyone who hears the sound of the ram’s horn does not heed the warning, and as a result the sword comes and takes him away, his blood will be on his own head. 5 He heard the sound of the ram’s horn, but he did not take warning, so his own blood is on him. If he had heeded the warning, he would have saved his life.
6 But if the watchman sees the sword coming but does not blow the ram’s horn, and as a result the people are not warned, then if the sword comes and takes one of them away, that man has been taken away because of his own guilt, but I will also hold the watchman responsible for his blood.
7 But I have appointed you, son of man, to be a watchman for the house of Israel. So whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you are to warn them from me. 8 When I say to a wicked man, “Wicked man, you shall surely die,” if you do not speak to warn the wicked man against his way, that wicked man will die because of his guilt, but I will also hold you responsible for his blood. 9 But if you do warn the wicked man to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, he will die because of his guilt, but you will have saved your life.
10 So you, son of man, say the following to the house of Israel.
This is what you people are saying: “Certainly our rebellion and our sins weigh us down, and because of them we are rotting away. How then can we live?” 11 Say to them, “As I live, declares the Lord God, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from their way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why should you die, O house of Israel?”
12 So you, son of man, also say this to your countrymen.
The righteousness of a righteous man will not save him on the day that he rebels, and the wickedness of a wicked man will not cause him to stumble on the day that he turns away from his wickedness. Likewise, a righteous man will not be able to live by his righteousness on the day that he sins.
13 When I say about the righteous man, “He will surely live,” but he then trusts in his own righteousness and does unrighteous things, all of his righteous acts will no longer be remembered, and he will die because of [1] the unrighteous things he does.
14 Or when I say to the wicked man, “You will surely die,” and he turns from his sin and practices justice and righteousness— 15 if that wicked man returns the collateral paid to him for a loan, returns what he has stolen, walks in the laws that lead to life, and so avoids doing unrighteous things—he will surely live. He will not die. 16 All of the evil acts he committed will not be remembered against him. Since he has practiced justice and righteousness, he will certainly live.
17 Yet, your countrymen are saying, “The Lord’s way is not fair,” although it is actually their way that is not fair. 18 When a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and does unrighteous things, he will die in them. 19 But when a wicked man turns away from his wickedness and practices justice and righteousness, he will live through them. 20 So, even though you say, “The Lord’s way is not fair,” I will judge each one of you according to his own ways, O house of Israel.
The Fall of Jerusalem
21 In the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth month, [2] on the fifth day of the month, a refugee from Jerusalem came to me and said, “The city has fallen.” 22 Now the hand of the Lord had been upon me the evening before the survivor came, and the Lord had opened my mouth, so by the time the refugee came to me in the morning, my mouth was opened, and I was no longer unable to speak.
23 The word of the Lord came to me.
24 Son of man, the inhabitants of these ruins in the land of Israel are saying, “Abraham was only one man, and he took possession of the land. We are many, and certainly the land has been given to us as a possession.”
25 Therefore, say this to them. This is what the Lord God says. You eat meat with the blood still in it. You raise your eyes to your filthy idols. You shed blood, and still you think you will possess the land? 26 You depend on your sword. You commit abominations. Each of you defiles his neighbor’s wife, and still you think you will possess the land?
27 This is what you are to say to them. This is what the Lord God says. As I live, those who are in the ruins will fall by the sword, and I will give anyone in the open country to the wild animals to eat, and those in strongholds and caves will die by the plague. 28 I will make the land a desolate wasteland. Its arrogant strength will cease, and the mountains of Israel will be so desolate that no one will travel through them. 29 Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I make the land a desolate wasteland because of all the abominable things they have committed.
30 What about you, son of man? Your countrymen, who are talking with each other about you beside the walls and in the doorways of the houses, say to one another, each one to a neighbor, “Come now and hear what the word is that is coming from the Lord.” 31 They come to you as a group on behalf of the people, [3] and they sit in front of you as if they were my people. They listen to your words but refuse to act on them, because they prefer to use their mouths for obscene talk, and their hearts pursue their wrongful gain. 32 You see, to them you are like someone who sings erotic songs with a beautiful voice, who is an excellent musician. So they listen to your words, but they are not obeying them. 33 But when this comes—and come it will—they will know that a prophet has been among them.
Footnotes
Ezekiel 33:13 Or in
Ezekiel 33:21 In the winter of 586/585 bc
Ezekiel 33:31 Literally like the coming of a people
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38 But you have rejected, you have cast off, you have been very angry with your anointed one, 39 and you have renounced the covenant with your servant, and you have thrown his crown on the ground. 40 You have broken down all his walls and reduced his fortresses to rubble. 41 All who pass by on the road have plundered him. He is despised by his neighbors. 42 You have raised up the right hand of his foes. You have made all his enemies happy. 43 Indeed, you have deflected the edge of his sword, and you have not let him stand up in battle. 44 You have put an end to his majesty, and you have hurled his throne to the ground. 45 You have cut short the days of his youth. Interlude You have clothed him with shame. 46 How long, O Lord? Will you hide yourself forever? Will your wrath burn like fire? 47 Remember me! What is my life! For you have created such futility for all the children of Adam! 48 Can anyone live and not see death, Interlude or save his life from the power of the grave? 49 Where are your former mercies, O Lord, which you swore to David in your faithfulness? 50 Remember, Lord, the scorn your servants have [1] endured. (I carry on my heart all the many peoples!) [2] 51 Remember the scorn with which your enemies have been scornful, O Lord, with which they have scorned the steps of your Anointed One.
Closing Doxology
52 Blessed be the Lord forever!
Amen and Amen.
Footnotes
Psalm 89:50 A Hebrew variant is servant has.
Psalm 89:50 An emendation suggested by some translators is all the attacks of the peoples.
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1 I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever. With my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations. 2 Yes, I have said, “Your mercy is built to last forever. In the heavens you establish your faithfulness.”
The Statement of the Covenant
3 The Lord said, [1] “I have made a covenant with my chosen one. I have sworn to David my servant. 4 I will establish your seed [2] forever, Interlude and I will build your throne through all generations.”
God’s Power Upholds the Covenant
5 The heavens praise your wonders, O Lord, also your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones. 6 For who in the skies can compare with the Lord? Who is like the Lord among the sons of God? 7 God is revered in the council of the holy ones. He is to be feared more than all who surround him. 8 O Lord God of Armies, who is like you? You are mighty, O Lord, [3] and your faithfulness surrounds you. 9 You rule over the majestic sea. When its waves rise up, you quiet them. 10 You crushed Rahab [4] like one of the slain. With your strong arm you scattered your enemies. 11 The heavens are yours, and yours also is the earth. You founded the world and everything that fills it. 12 You created the north and the south. Tabor and Hermon shout for joy at your name. 13 Your arm works for you with power. Your hand is strong. Your right hand is raised high. 14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne. Mercy and truth are right in front of you.
The Security of God’s People
15 How blessed are the people who know the joyful cry. Lord, they walk in the light from your face. 16 In your name they celebrate all day long. In your righteousness they are lifted up. 17 For you are the beauty of their strength, and by your favor you exalt our Horn. [5] 18 Indeed, our Shield belongs to the Lord, our King to the Holy One of Israel.
The Promise to David
19 Once you spoke in a vision to your favored ones. You said: I have granted help to a warrior. I have raised up a young man from among the people. 20 I found David my servant. With my holy oil I have anointed him. 21 He is the one whom my hand will sustain. Surely my arm will strengthen him. 22 No enemy will subject him to tribute. No violent man will oppress him. 23 I will crush his foes before him and strike down those who hate him. 24 My faithfulness and mercy will be with him, and through my name his horn [6] will be exalted. 25 I will set his hand over the sea, his right hand over the rivers. 26 He will call out to me, “You are my Father, my God and the Rock that saves me.” 27 I will also make him the Firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth. 28 I will keep my mercy for him forever, and my covenant with him will stand firm. 29 I will establish his seed forever. His throne will endure like the days of the heavens.
The Terms of the Covenant
30 If his sons forsake my law, and they do not walk according to my judgments, 31 if they violate my statutes and do not keep my commands, 32 I will punish their rebellion with the rod, their guilt with whipping. 33 But I will not break off my mercy from him. I will not let my truth become false. 34 I will not violate my covenant. I will not alter what comes out of my lips. 35 Once and for all, I have sworn by my holiness— surely I will not lie to David— 36 that his seed will continue forever, and his throne will endure before me like the sun. 37 It will be established forever like the moon. Interlude This witness in the sky is faithful.
Footnotes
Psalm 89:3 The words The Lord said are added to clarify who is speaking.
Psalm 89:4 Retention of the literal term seed makes it clear that this refers to the Messianic line from the seed of Eve, through the seed of Abraham and the seed of David, to Christ the Messiah.
Psalm 89:8 Yah, the short form of the divine name, is used instead of the full form, Yahweh.
Psalm 89:10 The name Rahab here is a personification of the sea as a monster.
Psalm 89:17 The Horn and the Shield here are names for the King descended from David.
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The Headings
A song. A psalm. By the Sons of Korah.
For the choir director. According to mahalath leannoth. [1]
A maskil [2] of Heman the Ezrahite.
Opening Plea
1 O Lord, the God who saves me, by day I cry out. At night I cry before you. 2 May my prayer come before you. Turn your ear to my cry.
The Problem
3 Indeed, my soul has had its fill of troubles, and my life has arrived at the grave. 4 I am treated like those who go down to the pit. I am like someone without strength. 5 I am turned loose with the dead. I am like the slain who lie in the grave, like the ones you do not remember anymore, like those who are cut off from your hand. 6 You have put me in the lowest pit, in dark places, in the depths. 7 Your wrath presses against me. Interlude You have battered me with all your breakers. 8 You have distanced my acquaintances from me. You have made me repulsive to them. I am shut in and I cannot get out. 9 My eyesight grows dim from affliction.
I call to you, O Lord, every day. I spread out my hands to you.
The Darkness of Death
10 Is it for the dead that you do a miracle? Interlude Do the spirits of the dead rise up and praise you? 11 Is your mercy declared in the tomb, your faithfulness in decay? 12 Is your wonderful work known in the darkness? Is your righteousness known in the land of forgetfulness? 13 But I cry to you, O Lord, and in the morning my prayer comes before you. 14 Why, O Lord, do you reject my soul? Why do you hide your face from me? 15 I have been afflicted and I have been close to death since my youth. I have endured your terrors. I am in despair. 16 Your rage has swept over me. Your terrors have destroyed me. 17 All day long they surround me like water. They have battered me completely. 18 You have distanced my loved one and friend from me. My only friend is darkness.
Footnotes
Psalm 88:1 Probably the name of the tune, “Suffering of Affliction”
Psalm 88:1 A maskil is a type of hymn. It means a song that makes one wise or a skillful song.
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1 Turn your ear, O Lord. Answer me, for I am poor and needy. 2 Guard my life, for I am favored by you. [1] You are my God. Save your servant, who trusts in you. 3 Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I call to you all day long. 4 Bring joy to the soul of your servant, for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
God’s Grace
5 Indeed, you, Lord, are good and forgiving and abounding in mercy to all who call to you. 6 Give ear to my prayer, O Lord. Pay attention to the sound of my cries for mercy.
God’s Ruling Power
7 In the day of my distress I will call to you, because you will answer me. 8 There is no one like you among the gods, O Lord. There are no deeds like your deeds. 9 All the nations you have made will come. They will bow before you, O Lord, and they will give glory to your name, 10 because you are great and do marvelous deeds. You alone are God.
God’s Praise
11 Teach me your way, O Lord. I will walk in your truth. Give me wholehearted commitment to fear your name. 12 I will thank you, O Lord my God, with all my heart, and I will glorify your name forever. 13 For great is your mercy toward me, and you have delivered my soul from “the lowest hell.” [2]
The Plea Repeated
14 God, the arrogant rise against me. A mob of ruthless men seeks my life. They pay no attention to you. 15 But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in mercy and faithfulness. 16 Turn to me and have mercy on me. Give your strength to your servant. Save the son of your maidservant. 17 Give a sign of your goodness for me. Then those who hate me will see it and be put to shame, because you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.
Psalm 87
The Glorious City
Heading
By the Sons of Korah. A psalm. A song.
The Holy City
1 The city he founded is on the holy mountains. 2 The Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the other dwellings of Jacob. Interlude 3 Glorious things are spoken about you, O City of God.
Its Citizens
4 I will register Rahab [3] and Babylon among those who know me. Look! Philistia and Tyre are there, along with Cush! Of them I say, “This one was born there in Zion.” [4] 5 And about Zion it will be said, “This one and that one were born in her, and the Most High himself will establish her.” 6 When he registers the peoples, the Lord will write: Interlude “This one was born there.” 7 Then the singers, as they dance, will sing, “All my springs are in you.”
Footnotes
Psalm 86:2 Or I am loyal to you
Psalm 86:13 Or have delivered my life from the depths of the grave
Psalm 87:4 Rahab here is a name for Egypt, which is pictured as a sea monster.
Psalm 87:4 The words of them I say and in Zion are added to clarify the antecedents.
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Heading
For the choir director. By the Sons of Korah. A psalm.
Past Goodness
1 You showed favor to your land, O Lord. You restored Jacob. 2 You removed the guilt of your people. Interlude You covered all their sin. 3 You put away all your wrath. You turned from your burning anger.
Present Distress
4 Restore us, O God who saves us. Put an end to your indignation with us. 5 Will you be angry with us forever? Will you extend your anger through all generations? 6 Will you not turn and revive us, so that your people may rejoice in you?
Hope for the Future
7 Show us your mercy, O Lord, and give us your salvation. 8 I will hear what the true God, the Lord, will say. He indeed speaks peace to his people, to his favored ones, but do not let them turn to foolish ways. 9 Surely his salvation is near for those who fear him, so that glory may dwell in our land. 10 Mercy and truth meet together. Righteousness and peace kiss each other. 11 Truth springs up from the earth, and righteousness looks down from heaven. 12 The Lord will indeed give good things, and our land will yield its harvest. 13 Righteousness walks in front of him. It prepares the way for his footsteps.
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For the choir director. According to gittith. [1] By the Sons of Korah. [2]
A psalm.
How Loved Is Your Dwelling Place
1 How I love your dwelling place, O Lord of Armies. 2 My soul grows weak and even wastes away, as I long for the courtyards of the Lord. My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. 3 Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow has found a nest for herself, where she may place her young near your altars, O Lord of Armies, my King and my God.
The Blessings of Being There
4 How blessed are those who live in your house. Interlude They are always praising you. 5 How blessed is everyone whose strength is found in you. The highways to Jerusalem [3] are in their hearts. 6 As they pass through the Valley of Baca, [4] it becomes full of springs. [5] The autumn rain also covers it with pools. [6] 7 They go from strength to strength. Each one will appear before God in Zion.
Prayer
8 O Lord, God of Armies, hear my prayer. Interlude Give ear, O God of Jacob. 9 Look upon our Shield, O God. Look with favor on the face of your Anointed One. [7]
The Blessings of Being There
10 Yes, one day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather wait at the doorway of the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked. 11 For the Lord is a sun and shield. God gives grace and glory. The Lord does not withhold any good thing from those who walk with integrity. 12 O Lord of Armies, how blessed is everyone who trusts in you.
Footnotes
Psalm 84:1 Gittith means in the style of Gath or perhaps it is a tune, “Winepress.”
Psalm 84:1 The Sons of Korah were a group of Levitical musicians, who apparently were descendants of the Korah who rebelled against Moses. In this section of Psalms, Psalms 84, 85, 87, and 88 were written by them.
Psalm 84:5 The words to Jerusalem are added for clarity.
Psalm 84:6 In Hebrew Valley of Baca sounds like Valley of Weeping.
Psalm 84:6 The main Hebrew reading is they make it a place of springs. The words they make it function as an impersonal passive equal to It is made a place of springs. Some manuscripts read He [God] makes it a place of springs.
Psalm 84:6 The translation pools follows an alternate reading of the Hebrew. The main Hebrew reading is blessings. Pools and blessings are a pun in Hebrew. The autumn rain is also called the early rain.
Psalm 84:9 Shield and Anointed One are references to Israel’s king.
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For the choir director. According to gittith. [1] By Asaph.
Invitation to Worship
1 Sing a loud song to God, our strength. Shout to the God of Jacob! 2 Begin the music, and play the hand drum. Play the sweet-sounding lyre along with the harp. 3 Sound the ram’s horn at the new moon and at the full moon for our festival day. 4 Yes, this is an order for Israel, a regulation from the God of Jacob. 5 God established it as a testimony for Joseph when he went out against the land of Egypt. There I heard a language I did not know. [2]
A Warning From the Lord
6 The Lord says: I relieved Israel’s shoulders from the burden. His hands were set free from carrying buckets. 7 In distress you called and I rescued you. I answered you from the hiding place of thunder. Interlude I tested you at the waters of Meribah. 8 Listen, my people, and I will warn you. If only you would listen to me, Israel! 9 There shall be no foreign god among you! You shall not bow down to a strange god. 10 I am the Lord your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it. 11 But my people would not listen to my voice, and Israel was not willing to obey me. 12 So I sent them off in the stubbornness of their hearts. They walked according to their own plans.
13 If only my people would listen to me, if only Israel would walk in my ways, 14 I would subdue their enemies quickly. I would turn my hand against their foes. 15 Those who hate the Lord would cower before him, and their time of punishment would last forever. 16 But he would feed Israel with the best wheat. With honey from the rock I would satisfy you.
Psalm 82
Woe to Corrupt Rulers
Heading
A psalm by Asaph.
Judgment on Corrupt Rulers
1 God is standing in the assembly of God. In the midst of the gods [3] he renders judgment.
God’s Verdict
2 How long will you judge unjustly Interlude and show favoritism to the wicked? 3 Judge in favor of the weak and the fatherless. Acquit the oppressed and the poor. 4 Rescue the weak and the needy. Deliver them from the hand of the wicked. 5 They do not know. They do not understand. They walk around in darkness. All the foundations of the earth are shaken. 6 I myself said, “You are ‘gods,’ and you are all ‘sons of the Most High.’ 7 But you will die like men. You will fall like any other ruler.”
Prayer
8 Rise up, O God. Judge the earth, for you will take possession of all the nations.
Psalm 83
Surrounded by Enemies
Heading
A song. A psalm by Asaph.
Opening Plea
1 God, do not keep silent. Do not be deaf. Do not be quiet, God.
A Catalog of Enemies
2 Look! Your enemies are in an uproar, and those who hate you have raised their head. 3 Against your people they devise deceptive schemes, and they plot together against the people you treasure. 4 They say, “Come, let us wipe them out as a nation, so the name of Israel will not be remembered anymore.” 5 Indeed, with one mind they plot together. They form an alliance against you— 6 the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, Moab and the Hagrites, 7 Gebal [4] and Ammon and Amalek, Philistia, with the inhabitants of Tyre. 8 Even Ashshur has joined with them. Interlude They have become the arm of the sons of Lot. [5]
Prayer for Destruction of the Enemies
9 Do to them as you did to Midian, as you did to Sisera and Jabin at the stream Kishon. 10 They perished at Endor. They became like manure for the ground. 11 Make their nobles like Oreb and like Zeeb, all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna, 12 who said, “Let us take possession of God’s pastures for ourselves.” 13 My God, make them like tumbleweed, like chaff before the wind. 14 As fire burns the forest, or as a flame sets the mountains on fire, 15 so pursue them with your violent wind, and terrify them with your storm. 16 Fill their faces with shame so that they will seek your name, O Lord. 17 May they be ashamed and terrified forever. May they be disgraced and perish. 18 Let them know that you, whose name is the Lord, you alone are the Most High over all the earth.
Footnotes
Psalm 81:1 Gittith means in the style of Gath. It may refer to music associated with one of the cities of that name or with a winepress.
Psalm 81:5 Or I heard a voice I did not know. This would refer to the voice of God, who speaks in the next section. In verse 6 the identification of the speaker, the Lord says, has been added for clarity.
Psalm 82:1 The term gods, which in Hebrew refers to mighty ones, may refer to heathen gods (which really are demons) or occasionally to angels or to rulers, who act as God’s representatives. Verses 6 and 7 suggest that in this psalm it is the last of these options. Jesus makes use of this interpretation of this psalm in John 10:34.
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1 God, the nations have invaded your possession. They have profaned your holy temple. They have reduced Jerusalem to a heap of ruins. 2 They have left the corpses of your servants as food for the birds of the sky. They have given the flesh of your favored ones to the wild animals. 3 They have poured out their blood like water all over Jerusalem, and there is no one to bury them. 4 We are subjected to contempt by our neighbors, to mockery and ridicule by those around us.
The Prayer for Justice
5 How long, O Lord? Will you stay angry forever? How long will your jealous anger burn like fire? 6 Pour out your wrath on the nations that do not acknowledge you, on the kingdoms that do not call on your name, 7 because they have devoured Jacob, and they have destroyed his pastureland. [1] 8 Do not charge the guilt of our fathers against us. Hurry, let your compassion come to meet us, for we are very weak. 9 God, who saves us, help us for the glory of your name. Deliver us and make atonement for our sins for your name’s sake. 10 Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?” Before our very eyes, display to the nations vengeance for the poured-out blood of your servants. 11 May the groaning of the prisoner come before you. According to the great strength of your arm preserve those doomed to death. 12 Pay back into the laps of our neighbors seven times as much scorn as the scorn that they directed at you, Lord. 13 Then we your people, the flock of your pasture, will praise you forever. From generation to generation we will recount your praise.
Psalm 80
Hear, O Shepherd of Israel
Heading
For the choir director. To “Lilies.” [2] A Testimony. [3] By Asaph. A psalm.
Opening Plea
1 O Shepherd of Israel, give ear, you who lead Joseph like a flock. You who are seated above the cherubim, shine forth. 2 Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh, stir up your might. Come with salvation for us.
Refrain
3 God, restore us, and make your face shine, so we will be saved.
The Problem
4 Lord God of Armies, how long will your anger smoke against the prayer of your people? 5 You make them eat bread with tears, and you make them drink tears by the quart. [4] 6 You create strife between us and our neighbors, so our enemies join together in mocking us.
Refrain
7 God of Armies, restore us, and make your face shine, so we will be saved.
Past Blessing
8 You brought a vine out from Egypt. You drove out the nations, and you planted it. 9 You cleared a place for it, and it took root and filled the land. 10 The mountains were covered by its shade, the cedars of God with its branches. 11 It sent out its boughs to the Sea, [5] its shoots as far as the River. [6]
Present Judgment
12 Why have you broken down its walls so that all who pass by pick its fruit? 13 A wild boar from the forest tears it up, and the wild animals [7] feed on it.
Prayer for the King
14 God of Armies, return now! Look down from heaven and see, and take care of this vine, 15 the shoot that your right hand has planted, the son that you made strong for yourself. 16 It is burned with fire like garbage. [8] Because of the rebuke from your face they perish. 17 Let your hand rest on the man at your right hand, on the son of man whom you have made strong for yourself. [9] 18 Then we will not turn away from you. Cause us to live, and we will call on your name.
Refrain
19 Lord God of Armies, restore us, and make your face shine, so we will be saved.
Footnotes
Psalm 79:7 Pastureland here is figurative for their homeland.
Psalm 80:1 This may be the name of the tune.
Psalm 80:1 Or “Lilies of the Testimony”
Psalm 80:5 Literally by a third [of a bath?]
Psalm 80:11 Very likely, the Mediterranean
Psalm 80:11 The Euphrates
Psalm 80:13 Or insects
Psalm 80:16 The Hebrew word translated like garbage is emended by some translations into a verb meaning they cut it down, but this seems unlikely because it would place the cutting down after the burning.
Psalm 80:17 Though this psalm has a concern for the northern kingdom of Israel, this verse seems to refer to the Davidic king. Faithful northerners still looked for the Messiah, who would come from Judah.
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40 How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness! How often they grieved him in the wasteland! 41 They repeatedly put God to the test. They provoked [1] the Holy One of Israel.
God’s Power Displayed in Egypt (Exodus 5–14)
42 They did not remember the power of his hand— the day when he redeemed them from the foe, 43 when he displayed his signs in Egypt and his wonders in the region of Zoan, 44 when he turned their rivers to blood, so they could not drink from their streams. 45 He sent against them a swarm of flies that bit them. Then he sent frogs that destroyed them. 46 Then he gave their crops to the grasshopper. He gave what they worked for to the locust. 47 He killed their grapevines with hail, and their sycamore fig trees with sleet. 48 Then he turned over their cattle to hail, and their livestock to lightning bolts. 49 He sent against them his burning anger, his wrath and indignation and distress by sending destroying angels. [2] 50 He prepared a path for his anger. He did not spare their lives from death, but he delivered their lives to the plague. 51 Then he struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, the firstfruit of their virility in the tents of Ham. 52 But he led his people out like sheep. He led them like a flock through the wilderness. 53 Then he guided them safely, so they were not afraid, but the sea covered their enemies.
God’s Power Displayed in Canaan (Joshua)
54 Then he brought them to the border of his holy land, to this mountain which his right hand had taken. 55 He drove out nations before them. He marked the boundaries of their inheritance, and he settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.
Rebellion in the Land (Judges)
56 But they tested him. They rebelled against God Most High, and they did not keep his testimonies. 57 Yes, they turned aside and were treacherous like their fathers. They were as undependable as a crooked bow. 58 Then they angered him with their high places, and they made him jealous with their idols.
Judgment in the Land
59 God heard, and he showed his anger. He completely rejected Israel. 60 So he abandoned his dwelling in Shiloh, the tent where he dwelled among people. 61 So he sent the symbol of his strength [3] away into captivity. He gave his splendor into the hand of the foe. 62 He also handed over his people to the sword, and he showed his anger against his possession. 63 Fire consumed their best young men, so their virgins were not praised in wedding songs. 64 Their priests fell by the sword, and their widows did not weep.
Mercy in the Land
65 Then the Lord awoke like someone who has been sleeping, like a warrior overcome by wine. 66 Then he drove back his foes. He gave them everlasting shame. 67 Then he rejected the tent of Joseph, and he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim. 68 But he chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion, which he loved. 69 Then he built up his sanctuary like the heights, like the world that he established for all time. 70 Then he chose David his servant and took him from the sheep pens. 71 He brought him from following the mother sheep to shepherd his people Jacob and his possession Israel. 72 So he shepherded them with a sincere heart, and with skillful hands he led them.
Footnotes
Psalm 78:41 Or caused pain to. The word occurs only once in the Old Testament. God does not, of course, feel literal physical pain, but this is a dramatic way of describing his sorrow over the consequences of human sin.
Psalm 78:49 Literally a delegation of messengers of evils. This could refer to angels like the angel of death in the tenth plague, or perhaps the plagues themselves were “evil messengers.”
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1 Give ear, O my people, to my instruction. Turn your ear to the words of my mouth. 2 I will open my mouth to share a lesson. I will speak about puzzling problems from long ago, 3 things we have heard and known, things our fathers have told us. 4 We will not hide them from their descendants. We will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the wonders that he has done. 5 He set up testimony for Jacob. In Israel he established the law. He commanded our fathers to make it known to their children. 6 Then the next generation would know it, even the children not yet born. They would rise up and tell their children. 7 Then they would put their confidence in God, and they would not forget the deeds of God, but they would keep his commands. 8 Then they would not be like their fathers, a stubborn, rebellious generation, a generation that did not keep their hearts steadfast, whose spirits were not faithful to God.
The Rebellion
9 The tribe of Ephraim, equipped and armed with bows, deserted on the day of battle. 10 They did not keep God’s covenant, and they refused to walk in his law. 11 They forgot his deeds, the wonders he had shown to them.
God’s Goodness in the Wilderness
12 In the presence of their fathers he had performed a wonder, in the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan. 13 He split the sea and let them cross through it. He made the water stand like a wall. 14 He led them with the cloud by day and all through the night with light from the fire. 15 He split the rocks in the wilderness, and he let them drink water as plentiful as the deep sea. 16 He brought streams out of the rocky cliff. He made water flow down like rivers.
Israel’s Rebellion in the Wilderness
17 But they continued to sin against him even more, by rebelling against the Most High in the desert. 18 They tested God in their hearts by demanding food for their cravings. 19 Then they spoke against God. They said, “Is God able to set a table in the wilderness? 20 Sure, he struck the rock and water flowed out, and stream beds overflowed, but can he really give us bread? Can he really supply meat for his people?”
God’s Judgment in the Wilderness
21 Then the Lord heard, and he showed his anger. Fire broke out against Jacob, and his anger rose against Israel, 22 because they did not believe in God, and they did not trust in his salvation.
God’s Mercy in the Wilderness
23 Nevertheless, he gave a command to the skies above, and he opened the doors of the heavens. 24 He rained down manna for them to eat, and he gave them the grain of heaven. 25 Each of them ate the bread of the mighty ones. He sent them all the food they could eat. 26 He sent out the east wind from the heavens, and he led out the south wind by his power. 27 Then he rained meat down on them like dust, and flying birds like sand on the seashore. 28 He made the birds fall down inside their camp, all around their dwellings. 29 Then they ate until they had more than enough, for he had brought them what they craved. 30 They had not yet turned away from what they craved. Their food was still in their mouths. 31 Then God’s anger rose up against them. He killed the strongest among them. He cut down the best young men of Israel. 32 In spite of all this, they kept sinning, and they did not believe in his wonders. 33 So he ended their days in frustration [1] and their years in terror. 34 Whenever he struck them down, they would seek him. Then they turned and sought God. 35 Then they remembered that God was their Rock, that God Most High was their Redeemer. 36 But then they would deceive him with their mouths, and with their tongues they would lie to him. 37 Their hearts were not committed to him, and they were not faithful to his covenant. 38 Yet he was compassionate. He atoned for their guilt and did not destroy them. Many times he restrained his anger, and he did not stir up his full wrath. 39 He still remembered that they were only flesh, like a wind that goes by and does not return.
Footnotes
Psalm 78:33 Or he made their days vanish like vapor
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For the choir director. According to Jeduthun. [1] By Asaph. A psalm.
The Question
1 With my voice to God— with my voice I cried out to God, and he listened to me. 2 In the day when I was distressed I sought the Lord. At night my hand was stretched out, and it never grew tired, but my soul refused to be comforted. 3 God, I remembered and I groaned. Interlude I pondered, and my spirit became weak. 4 You propped my eyelids open. I was troubled but did not speak. 5 I thought about the days of long ago, the years long past. 6 During the night I remembered my music. With my heart I pondered, and my spirit asked, 7 “Will the Lord reject forever? Will he never again show favor? 8 Has his mercy vanished to the end? Has what he said failed for all generations? 9 Has God forgotten to be gracious? Interlude Has he really shut up his compassion in anger?”
The Answer
10 Then I said, “This is what hurts me: the change of the right hand of the Most High.” [2] 11 I will remember the deeds of the Lord. [3] Yes, I will remember your wonderful work from long ago. 12 I will meditate on all your work, and I will ponder all your deeds. 13 O God, your way is carried out in holiness. What god is as great as God? 14 You are the God who performs a wonderful deed. You made known your power among the peoples. 15 With your arm you redeemed your people, the descendants of Jacob and Joseph. Interlude 16 The waters saw you, O God. The waters saw you and swirled. Even the depths were turbulent. 17 The clouds poured down water. The skies echoed with thunder. Indeed, your arrows shot back and forth. 18 The sound of your thunder was heard in the tornado. Lightning lit up the world. The earth trembled and quaked. 19 Your route led through the sea. Your trail went through the mighty waters, but your footprints were not detected. 20 You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
Footnotes
Psalm 77:1 This may refer to a tune or musical style associated with Jeduthun, a musician who was a contemporary of David.
Psalm 77:10 The meaning of this line is cryptic. The Hebrew seems to say: This is my wounding, the changing (or the years) of the right hand of the Most High.
Psalm 77:11 Yah, the short form of the divine name, is used instead of the full form, Yahweh.
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Heading
For the choir director. “Do Not Destroy.” [1] A psalm by Asaph. A song.
Opening Praise
1 We give thanks to you, O God, we give thanks. Your wonderful deeds reveal that your name is near.
God’s Declaration
2 Yes, I choose the appointed time. I am the one who judges rightly. 3 The earth and all its inhabitants are shaking. I am the one who holds its pillars firm. Interlude 4 I say to the boasters, “Do not boast,” and to the wicked, “Do not raise a horn. [2] 5 Do not raise your horns to the heights. Do not speak insolently with an outstretched neck.”
His People’s Response
6 Indeed, power to promote someone does not come from the east or from the west or from the wilderness. 7 No, it is God who makes the decision. He brings down one. He raises up another. 8 Indeed, a cup is in the hand of the Lord. The wine foams. It is fully mixed. He pours this out. Yes, they drain its dregs. All the wicked of the earth drink.
Closing Praise
9 As for me, I will proclaim this forever. I will make music for the God of Jacob. 10 I will cut off all the horns of the wicked. The horns of the righteous will be lifted up.
Psalm 76
The God of Victory
Heading
For the choir director. With stringed instruments. A psalm by Asaph. A song.
God’s Fame
1 God is known in Judah. In Israel his name is great. 2 His shelter is in Salem. His dwelling place is in Zion.
God’s Victory
3 There he broke the flaming arrows, Interlude the shield and the sword, and the weapons for battle. 4 You shine brightly as the Mighty One from the mountains full of prey. 5 The strong-hearted are plundered. They have fallen into their final sleep. Not one of the strong men can lift his hands. 6 At your rebuke, [3] O God of Jacob, both chariot and horses sleep. 7 You are to be feared, yes, you. Who can stand before you at the time of your wrath? 8 From heaven you announced judgment. The earth feared and was quiet 9 when you rose up to judge, O God, Interlude and to save all the afflicted of the earth.
God’s Fame
10 Even the wrath of mankind [4] will bring you praise. You wear what remains of your wrath like a belt. 11 Make vows to the Lord your God and fulfill them. Let all who are around him bring tribute to the one who is fearsome. 12 He restrains the spirit of nobles. He is fearsome against the kings of the earth.
Footnotes
Psalm 75:1 This may be the name of the melody.
Psalm 75:4 The word used here is not the word for a musical horn (shofar) but the horn which is the weapon of an animal (qeren).
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1 Why do you stay angry to the end, O God? Why does your anger smoke against the flock in your pasture? 2 Remember your community that you purchased long ago, the tribe that you redeemed to be your possession. Remember Mount Zion where you dwell. 3 March toward the perpetual ruins. March against all the evil done by the enemy in the sanctuary.
The Destruction
4 Your foes roared in the middle of your appointed place. They set up their battle standards as signs. 5 They looked like men swinging axes in a thicket of trees. 6 Yes, they even chopped up all the carved paneling with their hatchets and hammers. 7 They delivered your sanctuary to the fire. They defiled the dwelling place for your Name by throwing it to the ground. 8 They said in their hearts, “We will crush them completely!” They burned all the appointed places of God in the land.
Deserted?
9 We do not see any signs to guide us. There is no longer a prophet, and none of us knows how long this will go on. 10 How long will the foe scoff, O God? Will the enemy insult your name forever? 11 Why do you hold back your hand, even your right hand? Take it out of your pocket [2] and finish them off!
God’s Past Goodness
12 But you, O God, are my king from long ago, the one who works salvation right here on earth. 13 It was you who shattered the sea by your power. You broke the heads of the great sea monsters. 14 It was you who crushed the heads of Leviathan. [3] You gave him as food to the people who live in the desert. 15 It was you who opened up a spring and a seasonal stream. You dried up the rivers that flow year-round. 16 The day belongs to you, and the night is also yours. You set the moon and sun in place. 17 It was you who laid out all the boundaries of the earth. Summer and winter—you shaped them.
Plea for Relief
18 Remember this—the enemy scoffs, Lord, and a foolish people has insulted your name. 19 Do not surrender the life of your turtledove to a wild animal. Do not forget the life of your afflicted ones forever. 20 Pay attention to the covenant, because dens of violence fill the dark places in the land. 21 Do not let the oppressed turn back in disgrace. Let the poor and needy praise your name. 22 Rise up, O God, and prosecute your case. Remember how the fools mocked you all day long. 23 Do not forget the sound of your foes, the uproar of those who rise against you, which goes up continually.
Footnotes
Psalm 74:1 A maskil is perhaps a skillful psalm, a psalm for teaching, or a psalm which gives understanding.
Psalm 74:11 Literally the folds of your garment
Psalm 74:14 Leviathan is a sea monster with many heads. Here it seems to be a symbol of the power of the sea.
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1 Surely God is good to Israel, to the pure in heart. 2 But as for me, my feet almost slipped out from under me. I almost lost my footing. [2] 3 I even envied the arrogant when I observed the peace of the wicked.
The Prosperity of the Wicked
4 For there are no struggles at their death. Their bodies are sturdy. 5 They do not have the trouble common to people. They are not plagued along with the rest of mankind. 6 Therefore pride is their necklace. They wear violence like clothing. 7 Their eyes bulge out of their fat. [3] The schemes of their hearts step over boundaries. 8 They mock. They speak maliciously. From a high perch they threaten oppression. 9 They set their mouths against the heavens. Their tongues strut around on earth. 10 Therefore God’s people turn to them, and they drink it all in. [4] 11 They say, “How can God know? Does the Most High have knowledge?” 12 See, this is what the wicked are like— secure forever, they increase in strength.
The Turning Point
13 Have I really kept my heart pure for nothing? Have I kept my hands clean in vain? 14 I have been plagued all day. My punishment comes every morning. 15 If I had said, “I will speak like this,” I would certainly have betrayed the circle of your children. 16 When I tried to understand this, it was very troubling to me, 17 until I went to the sanctuary of God. Then I understood their end.
The Solution
18 Surely you place them on slippery places. You cause them to fall into destruction. 19 How quickly they come to ruin, completely destroyed by terrors! 20 They are like a dream when someone wakes up. So when you arise, O Lord, you will despise them like an illusion. 21 Yes, my heart was bitter, and I was torn up inside. 22 I was unthinking and ignorant. I was a dumb animal before you. 23 Yet I am always with you. You hold me by my right hand. 24 With your guidance you lead me, and afterward, you will take me to glory. 25 Who else is there for me in heaven? And besides you, I desire no one else on earth. 26 My flesh and my heart fail, but God is the rock of my heart and my portion forever. 27 No doubt about it! Those who are far from you will perish. You destroy all who commit adultery against you. 28 As for me, God’s nearness is good for me. I have made the Lord God my refuge, so that I can tell about all your works.
Footnotes
Psalm 73:1 Asaph was a temple musician associated with David. Psalms 73–83 are a collection by Asaph.
Psalm 73:2 Literally the verse reads I, almost my feet were stretched out, my steps were nearly poured out.
Psalm 73:7 The translation is a literal rendering of the Hebrew. The Greek reads guilt flows from their fat hearts.
Psalm 73:10 The meaning of this verse is not certain. Literally the Hebrew reads therefore his people turn to them, and they guzzle down waters in abundance.
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1 In the eleventh year, [1] in the third month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me.
2 Son of man, say this to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and to his horde.
To whom can you be compared in your greatness?
3 Consider Assyria. It was a cedar in Lebanon. It had beautiful branches, which gave shade to the woodland. It was very tall, and its top reached to the clouds. [2]4 The waters made it grow. The deep springs made it tall, sending out rivers which flowed around the spot where it was planted, and they sent smaller ditches out to all the other trees in the countryside. [3]5 So the cedar was taller than all the other trees in the countryside. It produced many branches, and its boughs grew long, because of the plentiful water when it sent out shoots. [4]6 All the birds in the sky nested in its boughs. All the wild animals in the countryside gave birth under its branches, and all the mighty nations lived in its shade. 7 It was beautiful in its grandeur and in the length of its branches, because its roots reached down to plentiful water. 8 Even the cedars in the garden of God did not overshadow it. The boughs of the fir trees were not equal to its boughs, and the chestnut tree could not rival its many branches. No tree in the garden of God could equal it in beauty. 9 I made it so beautiful by the abundance of its branches that all the trees of Eden that were in the garden of God envied it.
10 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says. Because you were so tall, because the cedar stretched its top up between the clouds, and its heart became haughty because of its height, 11 I will hand it over to a chief of nations, and he will deal harshly with it. I banished it as its wickedness deserved. 12 Foreigners, the most ruthless of nations, cut it down and discarded it. Its branches fell on the mountains and in all the valleys. Its boughs lay broken in all the streambeds of the land, and all the peoples of the earth left its shade and abandoned it. 13 All the birds in the sky lodged on its fallen trunk, and all the wild animals in the countryside came to its branches. 14 All this happened so that all the well-watered trees would never again reach such heights or stretch their tops up between the clouds. Nor will the tallest of them remain standing—even though they drink in water—because they have all been handed over to death, to be below the earth, along with all mankind, with those who have descended to the pit.
15 This is what the Lord God says. When Assyria went down to the grave, [5] I caused mourning everywhere. I covered the deep because of it. I restrained the rivers of the deep, and the plentiful waters were held back. I dressed Lebanon in black because of it, and all the trees in the countryside dried up because of it. 16 I made the nations quake at the sound of its fall, when I brought it down to the grave to be with those who have descended to the pit. Below the earth, all the trees of Eden, the choicest and best of Lebanon, all those that drink up water, consoled themselves, 17 even those who served as Assyria’s arm, those who lived in its shade among the nations, even those who went down to the grave with it, those run through by the sword.
18 To whom, then, can you be compared in glory and greatness among the trees of Eden? Yet you shall be brought down below the earth, together with the trees of Eden. You shall lie among the uncircumcised, together with those run through by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his horde, declares the Lord God.
Pharaoh Too Will Descend to the Grave
Ezekiel 32
1 In the twelfth year, [6] in the twelfth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me. 2 Son of man, raise a lament over Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and say this to him.
You consider yourself a young lion among the nations, but you are like a monster in the seas. You thrash around in your rivers. You churn up the water with your feet and make the rivers muddy.
3 This is what the Lord God says. I will cast my net over you by an array of mighty nations, and they will haul you up in my fishing net. 4 I will haul you up and leave you on dry land and throw you into an open field. I will let all the birds of the air settle on you. I will let all the wild animals of the earth feed on you till they are filled. 5 I will dump your flesh on the mountains and fill the ravines with your carcass. 6 I will drench the land with the overflow of your blood, up to the mountains, and the streambeds will be filled with your remains. [7]
7 When you are snuffed out, I will cover the sky and darken its stars. I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon will not give its light. 8 I will black out all the bright lights in the sky because of you. I will bring darkness over your land, declares the Lord God. 9 I will disturb the hearts of mighty peoples when I bring word about your downfall [8] to the nations, to countries you do not know. 10 I will make many peoples appalled by you, and their kings’ hair will stand on end because of you, when I brandish my sword in front of them. They will tremble every minute, each for his own life, on the day when you fall.
11 For this is what the Lord God says. The sword of the king of Babylon will come against you. 12 I will cut down your horde by the swords of his warriors, all of them from the most ruthless of nations. They will devastate the pride of Egypt, and its whole horde will be exterminated. 13 I will kill all its livestock beside many waters. No human foot will ever muddy the waters again, nor will the hoofs of cattle ever muddy them. 14 Then I will let their waters settle and become clear and will make their channels flow like oil, declares the Lord God. 15 When I cause the land of Egypt to be deserted, when the land is emptied of everything that filled it, when I have struck down all its inhabitants, then they will know that I am the Lord.
16 This is a lament, which they will wail. The daughters of the nations will wail it. Over Egypt and all its horde they will wail it, declares the Lord God.
17 In the twelfth year, on the fifteenth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me.
18 Son of man, mourn over the horde of Egypt and send her down below the earth with the daughters of majestic nations, to be with those who have descended to the pit. 19 Are you more favored than others? Go on down and lie down among the uncircumcised. 20 They will fall among those who were run through by the sword. A sword has been appointed. Egypt and all its hordes will be carried off. 21 The elite warriors will speak to him and to his allies from the midst of the grave. The uncircumcised, those run through by the sword, have come down and lie there.
22 Assyria is there with her whole crowd. Their graves are around her. All of them are slain, fallen by the sword. 23 Her graves are set in the deepest part of the pit, and her crowd is all around her grave, all of them slain, fallen by the sword, all those who once spread terror in the land of the living.
24 Elam [9] is there, with her whole horde around her grave, all of them slain, fallen by the sword, those who went down below the earth uncircumcised, those who once spread terror in the land of the living. They bear their shame along with those who have descended to the pit. 25 A bed is made for Elam among the slain, with its whole horde around its graves, all of them uncircumcised, run through by the sword. Because they once spread terror in the land of the living, they will bear their shame with those who have descended to the pit. They are placed among the slain.
26 Meshek Tubal [10] is there with its whole horde around its graves, all of them uncircumcised, run through by the sword because they had spread terror in the land of the living. 27 Do they not lie with other fallen, uncircumcised warriors, [11] who went down to the grave with their weapons of war, with their swords placed under their heads, with evidence of their guilt on their bones, because of the terror these warriors had once spread in the land of the living?
28 Pharaoh, you too will be broken in the midst of the uncircumcised and will lie with those run through by the sword.
29 Edom is there, with its kings and all its chiefs, who, despite their strength, are placed with those run through by the sword. They lie with the uncircumcised, with those who have descended to the pit.
30 The princes of the north are there, all of them, and every Sidonian, who went down with the slain despite the terror they had caused. Their strength failed them. They lie uncircumcised with those run through by the sword, and they bear their shame along with those who have descended to the pit.
31 Pharaoh will see them all and will console himself concerning his whole horde. Pharaoh is run through by the sword with his whole army, declares the Lord God. 32 For I have set my terror in the land of the living, and he will be forced [12] to lie down among the uncircumcised, with those run through by the sword, that is, Pharaoh and his whole horde, declares the Lord God.
Footnotes
Ezekiel 31:1 In 587 bc, during the siege of Jerusalem
Ezekiel 31:3 Or was a canopy for the forest
Ezekiel 31:4 Literally field
Ezekiel 31:5 Or water that reached its roots or water in its channel
Ezekiel 31:15 Hebrew sheol, here and also in verses 16 and 17
Ezekiel 32:1 Some Hebrew and Greek manuscripts and the Syriac read the eleventh year in 32:1, and some Hebrew manuscripts and the Syriac read the eleventh year in 32:17. Events in the eleventh year would precede the fall of Jerusalem in 586 bc.
Ezekiel 32:6 Literally with you
Ezekiel 32:9 The Greek text reads captivity.
Ezekiel 32:24 From far to the east, in present-day Iran
Ezekiel 32:26 From far to the north, in present-day Turkey and Russia
Ezekiel 32:27 Or, reading with the Greek, they do not lie with the fallen warriors of ancient times
Ezekiel 32:32 The Greek reads though he spreads his terror in the land of the living, he will be forced.
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1 In the tenth year in the tenth month, [1] on the twelfth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me.
2 Son of man, set your face against Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and prophesy against him and against all Egypt. 3 Speak and tell them that this is what the Lord God says.
I am against you, Pharaoh, king of Egypt, the great monster who stretches out in the channels [2] of the Nile. You say, “It is my Nile. I made it for myself.” 4 But I, the Lord, will put hooks in your jaws and make the fish of your Nile stick to your scales. I will haul you up from the middle of your Nile with all the fish from the Nile clinging to your scales. 5 I will leave you in the wilderness—you and all the fish of your Nile. You will lie fallen on the surface of the ground. You will not be collected or gathered up. [3] I will give you as food to the wild animals of the earth and to the birds of the air. 6 Then all the inhabitants of Egypt will know that I am the Lord.
For the house of Israel, the Egyptians have been a staff made out of a reed. 7 When Israel grasped you with their hands, you would splinter and tear open all their shoulders. When they leaned on you, you would break and make them lose their balance. [4]8 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: I am about to bring a sword against you and cut off man and beast from you. 9 The land of Egypt will become a desolate ruin, and they will know that I am the Lord.
Because he said, “It is my Nile. I made it for myself,” 10 therefore, I am against you and against the channels of your Nile. I will turn the land of Egypt into ruins, a parched desolation—from Migdol to Aswan, that is, up to the border with Cush. [5]11 No one will set foot in it. No animal will set foot in it. It will remain uninhabited for forty years. 12 I will make the land of Egypt more desolate than any other land, and its cities will be the most desolate of ruined cities for forty years. I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among the countries.
13 Furthermore, this is what the Lord God says. At the end of forty years, I will gather the Egyptians from among the peoples where they were scattered. 14 I will bring about the restoration of Egypt and return them to Upper Egypt, [6] the land of their origin, and there they will be a lowly kingdom. 15 It will be the lowliest of kingdoms, and it will never again exalt itself above other nations. I will make it so weak that it will never again rule over the nations. 16 It will never again be a source of trust for the house of Israel. It will be a reminder of their guilt when they turned to Egypt for help. Then they will know that I am the Lord God.
A Reward for Babylon
17 In the twenty-seventh year, [7] in the first month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me.
18 Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made his army labor hard against Tyre. Every head was made bald, and every shoulder rubbed raw, yet neither he nor his army received any reward for the labor they had expended against Tyre.
19 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says. I am about to give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. He will carry off its wealth, plunder it, and pillage it. That will be the reward for his army. 20 As his pay for which he labored, I have given him the land of Egypt, because his army did it for me, declares the Lord God.
A Horn for Israel
21 On that day I will make a horn [8] sprout for the house of Israel, and I will open your mouth among them. Then they will know that I am the Lord.
Egypt Will Fall
Ezekiel 30
1 The word of the Lord came to me. 2 Son of man, prophesy and say, “This is what the Lord God says.”
All of you, wail! What a miserable day! 3 Yes, that day is near. The Day of the Lord is near. It will be a day of clouds, a time for the nations. 4 A sword will enter Egypt, and there will be anguish in Cush [9] when the slain fall in Egypt. Then they will take away its wealth, and its foundations will be demolished. 5 Cush, Put, [10] Lud, [11] and all the other mercenaries, [12] Libya [13] and the men from the land of the covenant [14] will fall by the sword along with them.
6 This is what the Lord says. Those who prop up Egypt will fall, and its proud power will sink down. From Migdol to Aswan, those in Egypt will fall by the sword, declares the Lord God. 7 It will be the most desolate among the desolate lands, and its cities will be the most ruined among the ruined cities. 8 They will know that I am the Lord when I set fire to Egypt, and all its helpers are crushed. 9 On that day, messengers will go out from me in ships to terrify confident Cush, and there will be panic among them on the day for Egypt, for it is surely coming.
10 This is what the Lord God says. I will put an end to the horde of Egypt by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. 11 He and his army with him, the most ruthless of nations, will be brought in to destroy the land. They will unsheathe their swords against Egypt and fill the land with the fallen. 12 I will dry up the channels of the Nile and sell the land to evil men. I will devastate the land and everything in it by the hand of foreigners. I, the Lord, have spoken.
13 This is what the Lord God says. I will destroy the filthy idols [15] and eliminate from Memphis the gods that are not gods. There will no longer be a ruler in the land of Egypt, and I will put fear into the land of Egypt. 14 I will desolate Upper Egypt. [16] I will set fire to Zoan and inflict punishments on Thebes. [17]15 I will pour out my wrath on Pelusium, the stronghold of Egypt, and I will cut off the horde of Thebes. 16 I will set fire to Egypt. Pelusium will writhe in pain. The defenses of Thebes will be broken down, and Memphis will face enemies every day. 17 The young men of Heliopolis and Bubastis will fall by the sword, and the women [18] will go into captivity. 18 At Tahpanhes the day will grow dark when I break the yokes [19] of Egypt there, and there its proud power will cease. A cloud will cover it, and its daughters will go into captivity. 19 I will inflict judgment on Egypt. Then they will know that I am the Lord.
Pharaoh’s Arm Will Be Broken
20 In the eleventh year, [20] in the first month, on the seventh day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me.
21 Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. But it has not been wrapped up so that it can heal. It has not been wrapped tightly with a splint to help it heal, so that it can become strong enough to grasp a sword.
22 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says. I am against Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and I will break his arms, both the strong one and the one that was broken, and in this way I will cause the sword to fall from his hand. 23 I will scatter Egypt among the nations and disperse them among the countries. 24 I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put my sword into his hand. But I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan in the presence of the king of Babylon with groans like someone who is mortally wounded. 25 I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh will hang limp. They will know that I am the Lord when I put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he stretches it out against the land of Egypt. 26 I will scatter Egypt among the nations and disperse them among the countries. Then they will know that I am the Lord.
Footnotes
Ezekiel 29:1 During the winter of 587 bc, before the fall of Jerusalem
Ezekiel 29:3 Or branches
Ezekiel 29:5 Some Hebrew manuscripts and versions read collected and buried.
Ezekiel 29:7 The ancient versions read make all their hips unsteady. The Hebrew reads made their hips stand.
Ezekiel 29:10 Cush is the territory south of Egypt, below Aswan.
Ezekiel 29:14 That is, southern Egypt. The Hebrew term is Pathros.
Ezekiel 29:17 In 571 bc, about 15 years after the fall of Jerusalem
Ezekiel 29:21 A horn is a symbol of power. It sometimes refers to a ruler.
Ezekiel 30:4 Cush, later called Nubia, is the territory south of Egypt. Today it is called Sudan.
Ezekiel 30:5 Perhaps a region in Libya
Ezekiel 30:5 Or Lydia
Ezekiel 30:5 Or all the Arabs
Ezekiel 30:5 The Greek text reads Libyans, perhaps reflecting an underlying Hebrew reading Lub. The Hebrew text reads Kub, a completely unknown name.
Ezekiel 30:5 Apparently Israelites living in Egypt
Ezekiel 30:13 Or the manure gods. See the note at 6:4.
Ezekiel 30:14 Southern Egypt is called Upper Egypt because it is upstream on the Nile.
Ezekiel 30:14 Hebrew No. The English names of Egyptian cities are traditionally based on the Greek forms of the names, which are quite different from the Hebrew forms. The translation will not footnote all of these instances.
Ezekiel 30:17 Or the cities
Ezekiel 30:18 Or scepters
Ezekiel 30:20 In 587 bc, during the siege of Jerusalem
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1 The word of the Lord came to me. 2 You, son of man, take up a lament over Tyre. 3 Tell Tyre, who dwells at the entrances to the sea as a merchant traveling to many coastlands, this is what the Lord God says.
Tyre, you say, “I am a perfect beauty.” 4 Your borders were in the heart of the sea. Your builders perfected your beauty. 5 They built for you a double-decked ship, [1] made of fir [2] from Senir. They took a cedar from Lebanon to make a mast for you. 6 They made your oars of oak from Bashan. Your planks were made of pine, [3] inlaid with ivory, from the coasts of Cyprus. [4] 7 Your sail was brightly decorated linen from Egypt, which also served as your banner. Your awning was blue and purple from the coasts of Elishah. 8 Inhabitants of Sidon and Arvad served as your rowers. Tyre, your own skilled men, who were with you, manned your sails. 9 Skilled veterans from Gebal [5] were on board with you, serving as your repairmen. All the ships of the sea and their sailors were in your harbor to engage in trade with you. 10 Warriors from Persia, Lud, [6] and Put were in your army. They hung up their shields and helmets among you. They enhanced your splendor. 11 Men of Arvad and Cilicia were on your walls all around, and men of Gammad were on your towers. They hung their quivers all around on your walls. They made your beauty perfect.
Tyre’s Trade [7]
12 Tarshish traded with you because of your great wealth of every kind. They traded silver, iron, tin, and lead for your exports.
13 Ionia, Tubal, and Meshek also dealt with you. They traded human beings and articles of bronze for your wares.
14 From Beth Togarmah, horses, war horses, and mules were traded to you because of the abundance of your products.
15 The men of Rhodes [8] also dealt with you. Many coastlands were agents of your trade, bringing back ivory tusks and ebony in payment to you.
16 Edom [9] traded with you because of the abundance of your products. They sold turquoise, purple, and finely embroidered cloth, linen, coral, and rubies [10] to you as exports.
17 Judah and the land of Israel also dealt with you. With wheat of Minnith, flour, honey, oil, and balm they bought your wares.
18 Damascus traded with you because of the abundance of your products, because of the abundance of all kinds of wealth. They sold wine of Helbon, wool from Sahar, 19 and wine casks from Izalla [11] as exports. Wrought iron, cassia, and calamus were traded for your goods.
20 Dedan traded to you saddle blankets used for riding. 21 Arabia and all the rulers of Kedar were your agents for trade in lambs, rams, and goats. They were your agents for those. 22 Merchants of Sheba and Ra’amah dealt with you in all kinds of expensive perfumes and in all kinds of precious stones and gold, which they sold you for your merchandise.
23 Haran, Kanneh, and Eden, and dealers from Sheba, Assyria, and Kilmad were your dealers. 24 They were your dealers in elegant clothing, in purple garments and finely embroidered cloth, in carpets with multicolored trim, tightly wound with ropes for your marketplaces.
25 Tarshish ships traveled for you with your merchandise.
Tyre’s Collapse
So you were full and very heavily loaded in the midst of the seas. 26 Your rowers brought you out into deep water. An east wind broke you up in the heart of the sea. 27 Your wealth, your exports and your imports, your sailors and your pilots, your repairmen, and those who bring you imports, all your warriors on board—in fact, all your company who were on board—will sink into the heart of the sea on the day of your collapse.
28 At the sound of the cry of distress from your pilots, the fields on the mainland will quake. 29 All who handle the oars will abandon their ships. The sailors and all the pilots of the sea will stand on shore. 30 They will shout loudly because of you and cry out bitterly. They will throw dirt on their heads and roll in ashes. 31 They will make themselves bald on account of you and put on sackcloth. They will weep bitterly over you, with a bitter lament. 32 In their grief, they will raise a lament over you. They utter this lament over you, “Who is like Tyre, now silenced in the midst of the sea?” 33 When your exports were unloaded from the seas, you satisfied many peoples. By your abundant wealth and your imports, you enriched the kings of the earth. 34 Now you have been broken up by the seas and sunk into the watery depths. Your merchandise and the entire company on board have sunk. 35 All the inhabitants of the coastlands are appalled because of you. Their kings’ hair stands on end. Their faces show distress. 36 Traders among the peoples whistle and hiss at you. You have become horrifying, and you will never exist again, forever.
Tyre’s King Is Expelled From Eden
Ezekiel 28
1 The word of the Lord came to me. 2 Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre that this is what the Lord God says.
Because you became arrogant and said, “I am a god, and I occupy a throne of a god in the heart of the seas,” even though you are a mere man and not a god, and because you regard your wisdom as divine wisdom— 3 You really think you are wiser than Daniel, don’t you? No mystery baffles you. 4 By your wisdom and your shrewdness you have gained wealth for yourself and put gold and silver into your treasuries. 5 By your great skill in trading, you increased your wealth, but you became conceited because of your wealth.
6 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says. Because you regard your wisdom as divine wisdom, 7 therefore, I am about to bring foreigners against you, the most ruthless of nations. They will unsheathe their swords against your beautiful wisdom, and they will desecrate your radiant splendor. 8 They will cast you down to the pit, and you will die a violent death in the heart of the sea. 9 Will you still claim “I am a god” in the presence of the one who kills you? It will be clear that you are merely a man and not a god when you fall into the hands of those who run you through. 10 You will die a death like that of the uncircumcised by the hand of foreigners, for I have spoken, declares the Lord God.
11 The word of the Lord came to me.
12 Son of man, raise a lament over the king of Tyre. Say to him that this is what the Lord God says.
You were a seal of perfection, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. 13 You were in Eden, the garden of God. Every kind of precious stone was covering you: carnelian, diamond, emerald, topaz, onyx, jasper, sapphire, agate, and beryl. [12] Your mountings and your settings were worked in gold. They were prepared on the day you were created.
14 You were a cherub, the anointed guardian. I appointed you. You were on the holy mountain of God, and you walked about in the midst of sparkling stones. 15 Your conduct was blameless from the day you were created until guilt was found in you. 16 In your widespread trade, you practiced much violence and you sinned. I defiled you by banishing you from the mountain of God. I expelled you, you guardian cherub, from among the sparkling stones.
17 You became arrogant because of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom together with your splendor. So I hurled you down to the earth and set you in front of kings who gloated over you. 18 By your many sins during your unscrupulous trade, you defiled your sanctuaries. So I made fire break out from your midst, and it devoured you. I reduced you to ashes on the ground in the sight of all who were watching. 19 All those among the people who knew you are appalled at you. You have become horrifying, and you will never exist again, forever.
An Oracle Against Sidon
20 The word of the Lord came to me.
21 Son of man, set your face toward Sidon, and prophesy against her. 22 Say that this is what the Lord God says.
I am against you, Sidon. I will display my glory in your midst, and they will know that I am the Lord, when I inflict punishments on you and display my holiness in you. 23 I will release the plague in her. There will be blood in her streets, and the slain will fall in her midst when the sword comes against her from all sides. Then they will know that I am the Lord.
Hope for Israel
24 Never again will the house of Israel be subjected to those who deride them, who are all around them like prickly briers or painful thorns. Then they will know that I am the Lord God.
25 This is what the Lord God says. When I gather the house of Israel from the peoples where they have been scattered, I will display my holiness through them in the sight of the nations. Then they will live on their own land, which I gave to my servant Jacob. 26 They will live on it in security. They will build houses and plant vineyards. They will live on it in security when I inflict judgments upon all those around them who despise them. Then they will know that I am the Lord, their God.
Footnotes
Ezekiel 27:5 Or a ship with a double hull. The Hebrew word indicates that the planks were double. The meaning of many of the nautical terms in this section is uncertain.
Ezekiel 27:5 The identification of some of the types of trees is uncertain.
Ezekiel 27:6 The translation pine follows a different word division than that which occurs in the main Hebrew text, which has the reading daughter of Assyria.
Ezekiel 27:6 The Hebrew reads Kittim. This term may include locations other than Cyprus.
Ezekiel 27:9 Also called Byblos
Ezekiel 27:10 Or Lydia
Ezekiel 27:12 The meaning of many of the terms in verses 12-15 is uncertain.
Ezekiel 27:15 The Greek text reads Rhodes, a Mediterranean island. The Hebrew reads Dedan, a desert oasis in Arabia, which is dealt with in verse 20.
Ezekiel 27:16 The translation Edom follows some Hebrew manuscripts and ancient versions. Most Hebrew manuscripts read Aram, but verse 18 deals with that country under the heading Damascus, and the commodities in this verse fit better with Edom.
Ezekiel 27:16 The identification of some of the precious items is uncertain.
Ezekiel 27:19 In the translation, words from the beginning of verse 19 complete the sentence of verse 18. The Hebrew text at the beginning of verse 19 seems to read Dan and Javan paid for your wares, traversing back and forth, a sentence which does not fit this context.
Ezekiel 28:13 The identification of some of the gemstones is uncertain.
https://wels.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/842x474-ThroughMyBible1.jpg474842Martin Spriggshttps://wels.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/WELSnet-Logo-2021.pngMartin Spriggs2025-06-05 01:00:352026-01-19 10:41:13Through My Bible Yr 02 – June 05
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