39 “Son of man, prophesy against GogRev 20:8 and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against you, Gog, chief prince ofOr Gog, prince of Rosh, MeshekS Ge 10:2 and Tubal.S Eze 27:13; S 38:2, 3² I will turn you around and drag you along. I will bring you from the far northS Eze 32:30 and send you against the mountains of Israel.S Eze 38:4, 15³ Then I will strike your bowHos 1:5; Am 2:15 from your left hand and make your arrowsPs 76:3 drop from your right hand.⁴ On the mountains of Israel you will fall, you and all your troops and the nations with you. I will give you as food to all kinds of carrion birdsS Ge 40:19 and to the wild animals.ver 17-20; S Jer 25:33; S Eze 29:5; S 33:27⁵ You will fall in the open field, for I have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord.S Eze 32:4⁶ I will send fireS Eze 30:8; Rev 20:9 on MagogS Ge 10:2 and on those who live in safety in the coastlands,S Jer 25:22 and they will knowS Ex 6:7 that I am the Lord.

⁷ “‘I will make known my holy name among my people Israel. I will no longer let my holy name be profaned,S Ex 20:7; S Eze 13:19 and the nations will knowS Isa 49:26 that I the Lord am the Holy One in Israel.S Isa 12:6; S 54:5; S Eze 20:9; S 36:16, 23⁸ It is coming! It will surely take place, declares the Sovereign Lord. This is the dayEze 7:6 I have spoken of.

⁹ “‘Then those who live in the towns of Israel will go out and use the weapons for fuel and burn them up—the small and large shields, the bows and arrows,Ps 76:3 the war clubs and spears. For seven years they will use them for fuel.S Ps 46:9¹⁰ They will not need to gather wood from the fields or cut it from the forests, because they will use the weapons for fuel. And they will plunderS Ex 3:22 those who plundered them and loot those who looted them, declares the Sovereign Lord.S Isa 14:2; S 33:1; Hab 2:8

¹¹ “‘On that day I will give Gog a burial place in Israel, in the valley of those who travel east of the Sea. It will block the way of travelers, because Gog and all his hordes will be buriedS Isa 34:3 there. So it will be called the Valley of Hamon Gog.Hamon Gog means hordes of Gog.S Eze 38:2

¹² “‘For seven months the Israelites will be burying them in order to cleanse the land.Dt 21:23¹³ All the people of the land will bury them, and the day I display my gloryEze 28:22 will be a memorable day for them, declares the Sovereign Lord.¹⁴ People will be continually employed in cleansing the land. They will spread out across the land and, along with others, they will bury any bodies that are lying on the ground.

“‘After the seven months they will carry out a more detailed search.¹⁵ As they go through the land, anyone who sees a human bone will leave a marker beside it until the gravediggers bury it in the Valley of Hamon Gog,¹⁶ near a town called Hamonah.Hamonah means horde. And so they will cleanse the land.’

¹⁷ “Son of man, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Call out to every kind of birdS Job 15:23 and all the wild animals: ‘Assemble and come together from all around to the sacrifice I am preparing for you, the great sacrifice on the mountains of Israel. There you will eat flesh and drink blood.S Eze 32:4¹⁸ You will eat the flesh of mighty men and drink the blood of the princes of the earth as if they were rams and lambs, goats and bulls—all of them fattened animals from Bashan.S Ps 22:12; Jer 51:40¹⁹ At the sacrificeS Lev 3:9 I am preparing for you, you will eat fat till you are glutted and drink blood till you are drunk.²⁰ At my table you will eat your fill of horses and riders, mighty men and soldiers of every kind,’ declares the Sovereign Lord.S Isa 56:9; S Jer 12:9; Rev 19:17-18

²¹ “I will display my glory among the nations, and all the nations will see the punishment I inflict and the hand I lay on them.Ex 9:16; Isa 37:20; S Eze 38:16²² From that day forward the people of Israel will know that I am the Lord their God.²³ And the nations will know that the people of Israel went into exile for their sin, because they were unfaithful to me. So I hid my face from them and handed them over to their enemies, and they all fell by the sword.Isa 1:15; 59:2; S Jer 22:8-9; S 44:23²⁴ I dealt with them according to their uncleanness and their offenses, and I hid my face from them.2Ki 17:23; Jer 2:17, 19; 4:18; S Eze 7:22; Da 9:7

²⁵ “Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will now restore the fortunes of JacobOr now bring Jacob back from captivityS Jer 33:7 and will have compassionS Jer 30:18 on all the people of Israel, and I will be zealous for my holy name.Isa 27:12-13; S Eze 16:53²⁶ They will forget their shame and all the unfaithfulness they showed toward me when they lived in safetyS 1Ki 4:25; S Jer 32:37; S Eze 38:8 in their land with no one to make them afraid.Isa 17:2; Eze 34:28; Mic 4:4²⁷ When I have brought them back from the nations and have gathered them from the countries of their enemies, I will be proved holy through them in the sight of many nations.S Eze 37:21²⁸ Then they will know that I am the Lord their God, for though I sent them into exile among the nations, I will gather themPs 147:2 to their own land, not leaving any behind.S Eze 36:23, 36²⁹ I will no longer hide my faceS Dt 31:17 from them, for I will pour out my SpiritS Isa 11:2; S Eze 37:9; S Ac 2:17 on the people of Israel, declares the Sovereign Lord.S Eze 16:42”

The Temple Area Restored

40 In the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth of the month, in the fourteenth year after the fall of the cityS 2Ki 25:7; Jer 39:1-10; 52:4-11—on that very day the hand of the Lord was on meS Eze 1:3; S 29:17 and he took me there.² In visionsS Ex 24:10; Da 7:1, 7 of God he took me to the land of Israel and set me on a very high mountain,S Jer 31:12; S Eze 17:22; Rev 21:10 on whose south side were some buildings that looked like a city.³ He took me there, and I saw a man whose appearance was like bronze;S Eze 1:7; Rev 1:15 he was standing in the gateway with a linen cord and a measuring rodEze 47:3; Zec 2:1-2; Rev 11:1; 21:15 in his hand.⁴ The man said to me, “Son of man, look carefully and listen closely and pay attention to everything I am going to show you,S Dt 6:6 for that is why you have been brought here. TellJer 26:2 the people of Israel everything you see.Eze 44:5”

The East Gate to the Outer Court

⁵ I saw a wall completely surrounding the temple area. The length of the measuring rod in the man’s hand was six long cubits,That is, about 11 feet or about 3.2 meters; also in verse 12. The long cubit of about 21 inches or about 53 centimeters is the basic unit of measurement of length throughout chapters 40–48. each of which was a cubit and a handbreadth. He measuredEze 42:20 the wall; it was one measuring rod thick and one rod high.

⁶ Then he went to the east gate.S Eze 8:16 He climbed its steps and measured the threshold of the gate; it was one rod deep.⁷ The alcovesver 36 for the guards were one rod long and one rod wide, and the projecting walls between the alcoves were five cubitsThat is, about 8 3/4 feet or about 2.7 meters; also in verse 48 thick. And the threshold of the gate next to the portico facing the temple was one rod deep.

⁸ Then he measured the portico of the gateway;⁹ itMany Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Vulgate and Syriac; most Hebrew manuscripts gateway facing the temple; it was one rod deep. ⁹ Then he measured the portico of the gateway; it was eight cubitsThat is, about 14 feet or about 4.2 meters deep and its jambs were two cubitsThat is, about 3 1/2 feet or about 1 meter thick. The portico of the gateway faced the temple.

¹⁰ Inside the east gate were three alcoves on each side; the three had the same measurements, and the faces of the projecting walls on each side had the same measurements.¹¹ Then he measured the width of the entrance of the gateway; it was ten cubits and its length was thirteen cubits.That is, about 18 feet wide and 23 feet long or about 5.3 meters wide and 6.9 meters long¹² In front of each alcove was a wall one cubit high, and the alcoves were six cubits square.¹³ Then he measured the gateway from the top of the rear wall of one alcove to the top of the opposite one; the distance was twenty-five cubitsThat is, about 44 feet or about 13 meters; also in verses 21, 25, 29, 30, 33 and 36 from one parapet opening to the opposite one.¹⁴ He measured along the faces of the projecting walls all around the inside of the gateway—sixty cubits.That is, about 105 feet or about 32 meters The measurement was up to the porticoSeptuagint; Hebrew projecting wall facing the courtyard.The meaning of the Hebrew for this verse is uncertain.S Ex 27:9¹⁵ The distance from the entrance of the gateway to the far end of its portico was fifty cubits.That is, about 88 feet or about 27 meters; also in verses 21, 25, 29, 33 and 36¹⁶ The alcoves and the projecting walls inside the gateway were surmounted by narrow parapet openings all around, as was the portico; the openings all around faced inward. The faces of the projecting walls were decorated with palm trees.ver 21-22; 2Ch 3:5; Eze 41:26

The Outer Court

¹⁷ Then he brought me into the outer court.Rev 11:2 There I saw some rooms and a pavement that had been constructed all around the court; there were thirty roomsEze 41:6 along the pavement.Eze 42:1¹⁸ It abutted the sides of the gateways and was as wide as they were long; this was the lower pavement.¹⁹ Then he measured the distance from the inside of the lower gateway to the outside of the inner court;Eze 46:1 it was a hundred cubitsThat is, about 175 feet or about 53 meters; also in verses 23, 27 and 47ver 23, 27 on the east side as well as on the north.

The North Gate

²⁰ Then he measured the length and width of the north gate, leading into the outer court.²¹ Its alcovesver 7—three on each side—its projecting walls and its porticover 30 had the same measurements as those of the first gateway. It was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide.²² Its openings, its porticover 49 and its palm tree decorations had the same measurements as those of the gate facing east. Seven steps led up to it, with its portico opposite them.S ver 16, 26²³ There was a gate to the inner court facing the north gate, just as there was on the east. He measured from one gate to the opposite one; it was a hundred cubits.S ver 19

The South Gate

²⁴ Then he led me to the south side and I saw the south gate. He measured its jambs and its portico, and they had the same measurementsver 32, 35 as the others.²⁵ The gateway and its portico had narrow openings all around, like the openings of the others. It was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide.ver 33²⁶ Seven steps led up to it, with its portico opposite them; it had palm tree decorations on the faces of the projecting walls on each side.S ver 22²⁷ The inner courtver 32 also had a gate facing south, and he measured from this gate to the outer gate on the south side; it was a hundred cubits.S ver 19

The Slaughter of Gog’s Hordes

39 “Son of man, prophesy against Gog. Give him this message from the Sovereign Lord: I am your enemy, O Gog, ruler of the nations of Meshech and Tubal.² I will turn you around and drive you toward the mountains of Israel, bringing you from the distant north.³ I will knock the bow from your left hand and the arrows from your right hand, and I will leave you helpless.⁴ You and your army and your allies will all die on the mountains. I will feed you to the vultures and wild animals.⁵ You will fall in the open fields, for I have spoken, says the Sovereign Lord.⁶ And I will rain down fire on Magog and on all your allies who live safely on the coasts. Then they will know that I am the Lord.

⁷ “In this way, I will make known my holy name among my people of Israel. I will not let anyone bring shame on it. And the nations, too, will know that I am the Lord, the Holy One of Israel.⁸ That day of judgment will come, says the Sovereign Lord. Everything will happen just as I have declared it.

⁹ “Then the people in the towns of Israel will go out and pick up your small and large shields, bows and arrows, javelins and spears, and they will use them for fuel. There will be enough to last them seven years!¹⁰ They won’t need to cut wood from the fields or forests, for these weapons will give them all the fuel they need. They will plunder those who planned to plunder them, and they will rob those who planned to rob them, says the Sovereign Lord.

¹¹ “And I will make a vast graveyard for Gog and his hordes in the Valley of the Travelers, east of the Dead Sea.Hebrew the sea. It will block the way of those who travel there, and they will change the name of the place to the Valley of Gog’s Hordes.¹² It will take seven months for the people of Israel to bury the bodies and cleanse the land.¹³ Everyone in Israel will help, for it will be a glorious victory for Israel when I demonstrate my glory on that day, says the Sovereign Lord.

¹⁴ “After seven months, teams of men will be appointed to search the land for skeletons to bury, so the land will be made clean again.¹⁵ Whenever bones are found, a marker will be set up so the burial crews will take them to be buried in the Valley of Gog’s Hordes.¹⁶ (There will be a town there named Hamonah, which means ‘horde.’) And so the land will finally be cleansed.

¹⁷ “And now, son of man, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Call all the birds and wild animals. Say to them: Gather together for my great sacrificial feast. Come from far and near to the mountains of Israel, and there eat flesh and drink blood!¹⁸ Eat the flesh of mighty men and drink the blood of princes as though they were rams, lambs, goats, and bulls—all fattened animals from Bashan!¹⁹ Gorge yourselves with flesh until you are glutted; drink blood until you are drunk. This is the sacrificial feast I have prepared for you.²⁰ Feast at my banquet table—feast on horses and charioteers, on mighty men and all kinds of valiant warriors, says the Sovereign Lord.

²¹ “In this way, I will demonstrate my glory to the nations. Everyone will see the punishment I have inflicted on them and the power of my fist when I strike.²² And from that time on the people of Israel will know that I am the Lord their God.²³ The nations will then know why Israel was sent away to exile—it was punishment for sin, for they were unfaithful to their God. Therefore, I turned away from them and let their enemies destroy them.²⁴ I turned my face away and punished them because of their defilement and their sins.

Restoration for God’s People

²⁵ “So now, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will end the captivity of my peopleHebrew of Jacob.; I will have mercy on all Israel, for I jealously guard my holy reputation!²⁶ They will accept responsibility forA few Hebrew manuscripts read They will forget. their past shame and unfaithfulness after they come home to live in peace in their own land, with no one to bother them.²⁷ When I bring them home from the lands of their enemies, I will display my holiness among them for all the nations to see.²⁸ Then my people will know that I am the Lord their God, because I sent them away to exile and brought them home again. I will leave none of my people behind.²⁹ And I will never again turn my face from them, for I will pour out my Spirit upon the people of Israel. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!”

The New Temple Area

40 On April 28,Hebrew At the beginning of the year, on the tenth day of the month, of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar. This event occurred on April 28, 573 B.c.; also see note on 1:1. during the twenty-fifth year of our captivity—fourteen years after the fall of Jerusalem—the Lord took hold of me.² In a vision from God he took me to the land of Israel and set me down on a very high mountain. From there I could see toward the south what appeared to be a city.³ As he brought me nearer, I saw a man whose face shone like bronze standing beside a gateway entrance. He was holding in his hand a linen measuring cord and a measuring rod.

⁴ He said to me, “Son of man, watch and listen. Pay close attention to everything I show you. You have been brought here so I can show you many things. Then you will return to the people of Israel and tell them everything you have seen.”

The East Gateway

⁵ I could see a wall completely surrounding the Temple area. The man took a measuring rod that was 10 1⁄2 feetHebrew 6 long cubits [3.2 meters], each being a cubit [18 inches or 45 centimeters] and a handbreadth [3 inches or 8 centimeters] in length. long and measured the wall, and the wall was 10 1⁄2 feetHebrew 1 rod [3.2 meters]; also in 40:5c, 7. thick and 10 1⁄2 feet high.

⁶ Then he went over to the eastern gateway. He climbed the steps and measured the threshold of the gateway; it was 10 1⁄2 feet front to back.As in Greek version, which reads 1 rod [3.2 meters] deep; Hebrew reads 1 rod deep, and 1 threshold, 1 rod deep.⁷ There were guard alcoves on each side built into the gateway passage. Each of these alcoves was 10 1⁄2 feet square, with a distance between them of 8 3⁄4 feetHebrew 5 cubits [2.7 meters]; also in 40:48. along the passage wall. The gateway’s inner threshold, which led to the entry room at the inner end of the gateway passage, was 10 1⁄2 feet front to back.⁸ He also measured the entry room of the gateway.As in many Hebrew manuscripts and Syriac version; other Hebrew manuscripts add which faced inward toward the Temple; it was 1 rod [10.5 feet or 3.2 meters] deep. ⁹ Then he measured the entry room of the gateway.⁹ It was 14 feetHebrew 8 cubits [4.2 meters]. across, with supporting columns 3 1⁄2 feetHebrew 2 cubits [1.1 meters]. thick. This entry room was at the inner end of the gateway structure, facing toward the Temple.

¹⁰ There were three guard alcoves on each side of the gateway passage. Each had the same measurements, and the dividing walls separating them were also identical.¹¹ The man measured the gateway entrance, which was 17 1⁄2 feetHebrew 10 cubits [5.3 meters]. wide at the opening and 22 3⁄4 feetHebrew 13 cubits [6.9 meters]. wide in the gateway passage.¹² In front of each of the guard alcoves was a 21-inchHebrew 1 cubit [53 centimeters]. curb. The alcoves themselves were 10 1⁄2 feetHebrew 6 cubits [3.2 meters]. on each side.

¹³ Then he measured the entire width of the gateway, measuring the distance between the back walls of facing guard alcoves; this distance was 43 3⁄4 feet.Hebrew 25 cubits [13.3 meters]; also in 40:21, 25, 29, 30, 33, 36.¹⁴ He measured the dividing walls all along the inside of the gateway up to the entry room of the gateway; this distance was 105 feet.Hebrew 60 cubits [31.8 meters]. Greek version reads 20 cubits [35 feet or 10.6 meters]. The meaning of the Hebrew in this verse is uncertain.¹⁵ The full length of the gateway passage was 87 1⁄2 feetHebrew 50 cubits [26.5 meters]; also in 40:21, 25, 29, 33, 36. from one end to the other.¹⁶ There were recessed windows that narrowed inward through the walls of the guard alcoves and their dividing walls. There were also windows in the entry room. The surfaces of the dividing walls were decorated with carved palm trees.

The Outer Courtyard

¹⁷ Then the man brought me through the gateway into the outer courtyard of the Temple. A stone pavement ran along the walls of the courtyard, and thirty rooms were built against the walls, opening onto the pavement.¹⁸ This pavement flanked the gates and extended out from the walls into the courtyard the same distance as the gateway entrance. This was the lower pavement.¹⁹ Then the man measured across the Temple’s outer courtyard between the outer and inner gateways; the distance was 175 feet.Hebrew 100 cubits [53 meters]; also in 40:23, 27, 47.

The North Gateway

²⁰ The man measured the gateway on the north just like the one on the east.²¹ Here, too, there were three guard alcoves on each side, with dividing walls and an entry room. All the measurements matched those of the east gateway. The gateway passage was 87 1⁄2 feet long and 43 3⁄4 feet wide between the back walls of facing guard alcoves.²² The windows, the entry room, and the palm tree decorations were identical to those in the east gateway. There were seven steps leading up to the gateway entrance, and the entry room was at the inner end of the gateway passage.²³ Here on the north side, just as on the east, there was another gateway leading to the Temple’s inner courtyard directly opposite this outer gateway. The distance between the two gateways was 175 feet.

The South Gateway

²⁴ Then the man took me around to the south gateway and measured its various parts, and they were exactly the same as in the others.²⁵ It had windows along the walls as the others did, and there was an entry room where the gateway passage opened into the outer courtyard. And like the others, the gateway passage was 87 1⁄2 feet long and 43 3⁄4 feet wide between the back walls of facing guard alcoves.²⁶ This gateway also had a stairway of seven steps leading up to it, and an entry room at the inner end, and palm tree decorations along the dividing walls.²⁷ And here again, directly opposite the outer gateway, was another gateway that led into the inner courtyard. The distance between the two gateways was 175 feet.

39 Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:

² And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:

³ And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.

⁴ Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.

⁵ Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord God.

⁶ And I will send a fire on Magog, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the Lord.

⁷ So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel.

⁸ Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord God; this is the day whereof I have spoken.

⁹ And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves, and the spears, and they shall burn them with fire seven years:

¹⁰ So that they shall take no wood out of the field, neither cut down any out of the forests; for they shall burn the weapons with fire: and they shall spoil those that spoiled them, and rob those that robbed them, saith the Lord God.

¹¹ And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give unto Gog a place there of graves in Israel, the valley of the passengers on the east of the sea: and it shall stop the noses of the passengers: and there shall they bury Gog and all his multitude: and they shall call it The valley of Hamongog.

¹² And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse the land.

¹³ Yea, all the people of the land shall bury them; and it shall be to them a renown the day that I shall be glorified, saith the Lord God.

¹⁴ And they shall sever out men of continual employment, passing through the land to bury with the passengers those that remain upon the face of the earth, to cleanse it: after the end of seven months shall they search.

¹⁵ And the passengers that pass through the land, when any seeth a man's bone, then shall he set up a sign by it, till the buriers have buried it in the valley of Hamongog.

¹⁶ And also the name of the city shall be Hamonah. Thus shall they cleanse the land.

¹⁷ And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord God; Speak unto every feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh, and drink blood.

¹⁸ Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan.

¹⁹ And ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you.

²⁰ Thus ye shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord God.

²¹ And I will set my glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them.

²² So the house of Israel shall know that I am the Lord their God from that day and forward.

²³ And the heathen shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity: because they trespassed against me, therefore hid I my face from them, and gave them into the hand of their enemies: so fell they all by the sword.

²⁴ According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions have I done unto them, and hid my face from them.

²⁵ Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Now will I bring again the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel, and will be jealous for my holy name;

²⁶ After that they have borne their shame, and all their trespasses whereby they have trespassed against me, when they dwelt safely in their land, and none made them afraid.

²⁷ When I have brought them again from the people, and gathered them out of their enemies' lands, and am sanctified in them in the sight of many nations;

²⁸ Then shall they know that I am the Lord their God, which caused them to be led into captivity among the heathen: but I have gathered them unto their own land, and have left none of them any more there.

²⁹ Neither will I hide my face any more from them: for I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord God.

40 In the five and twentieth year of our captivity, in the beginning of the year, in the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after that the city was smitten, in the selfsame day the hand of the Lord was upon me, and brought me thither.

² In the visions of God brought he me into the land of Israel, and set me upon a very high mountain, by which was as the frame of a city on the south.

³ And he brought me thither, and, behold, there was a man, whose appearance was like the appearance of brass, with a line of flax in his hand, and a measuring reed; and he stood in the gate.

⁴ And the man said unto me, Son of man, behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears, and set thine heart upon all that I shall shew thee; for to the intent that I might shew them unto thee art thou brought hither: declare all that thou seest to the house of Israel.

⁵ And behold a wall on the outside of the house round about, and in the man's hand a measuring reed of six cubits long by the cubit and an hand breadth: so he measured the breadth of the building, one reed; and the height, one reed.

⁶ Then came he unto the gate which looketh toward the east, and went up the stairs thereof, and measured the threshold of the gate, which was one reed broad; and the other threshold of the gate, which was one reed broad.

⁷ And every little chamber was one reed long, and one reed broad; and between the little chambers were five cubits; and the threshold of the gate by the porch of the gate within was one reed.

⁸ He measured also the porch of the gate within, one reed.

⁹ Then measured he the porch of the gate, eight cubits; and the posts thereof, two cubits; and the porch of the gate was inward.

¹⁰ And the little chambers of the gate eastward were three on this side, and three on that side; they three were of one measure: and the posts had one measure on this side and on that side.

¹¹ And he measured the breadth of the entry of the gate, ten cubits; and the length of the gate, thirteen cubits.

¹² The space also before the little chambers was one cubit on this side, and the space was one cubit on that side: and the little chambers were six cubits on this side, and six cubits on that side.

¹³ He measured then the gate from the roof of one little chamber to the roof of another: the breadth was five and twenty cubits, door against door.

¹⁴ He made also posts of threescore cubits, even unto the post of the court round about the gate.

¹⁵ And from the face of the gate of the entrance unto the face of the porch of the inner gate were fifty cubits.

¹⁶ And there were narrow windows to the little chambers, and to their posts within the gate round about, and likewise to the arches: and windows were round about inward: and upon each post were palm trees.

¹⁷ Then brought he me into the outward court, and, lo, there were chambers, and a pavement made for the court round about: thirty chambers were upon the pavement.

¹⁸ And the pavement by the side of the gates over against the length of the gates was the lower pavement.

¹⁹ Then he measured the breadth from the forefront of the lower gate unto the forefront of the inner court without, an hundred cubits eastward and northward.

²⁰ And the gate of the outward court that looked toward the north, he measured the length thereof, and the breadth thereof.

²¹ And the little chambers thereof were three on this side and three on that side; and the posts thereof and the arches thereof were after the measure of the first gate: the length thereof was fifty cubits, and the breadth five and twenty cubits.

²² And their windows, and their arches, and their palm trees, were after the measure of the gate that looketh toward the east; and they went up unto it by seven steps; and the arches thereof were before them.

²³ And the gate of the inner court was over against the gate toward the north, and toward the east; and he measured from gate to gate an hundred cubits.

²⁴ After that he brought me toward the south, and behold a gate toward the south: and he measured the posts thereof and the arches thereof according to these measures.

²⁵ And there were windows in it and in the arches thereof round about, like those windows: the length was fifty cubits, and the breadth five and twenty cubits.

²⁶ And there were seven steps to go up to it, and the arches thereof were before them: and it had palm trees, one on this side, and another on that side, upon the posts thereof.

²⁷ And there was a gate in the inner court toward the south: and he measured from gate to gate toward the south an hundred cubits.

¹⁸ But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”

Show me your faith without deeds,Ro 3:28 and I will show you my faithHeb 11 by my deeds.Mt 7:16, 17; Jas 3:13¹⁹ You believe that there is one God.Dt 6:4; Mk 12:29; 1Co 8:4-6 Good! Even the demons believe thatMt 8:29; Lk 4:34—and shudder.

²⁰ You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is uselessSome early manuscripts dead?ver 17, 26²¹ Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?Ge 22:9, 12²² You see that his faith and his actions were working together,Heb 11:17 and his faith was made complete by what he did.1Th 1:3²³ And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,”Gen. 15:6Ge 15:6; S Ro 4:3 and he was called God’s friend.2Ch 20:7; Isa 41:8²⁴ You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.

²⁵ In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction?S Heb 11:31²⁶ As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.ver 17, 20

Taming the Tongue

3 Not many of you should become teachers,S Eph 4:11 my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judgedS Mt 7:1 more strictly.Ro 2:21² We all stumble1Ki 8:46; Ro 3:9-20; Jas 2:10; 1Jn 1:8 in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they sayPs 39:1; Pr 10:19; 1Pe 3:10 is perfect,S Mt 12:37 able to keep their whole body in check.Jas 1:26

³ When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal.Ps 32:9⁴ Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go.⁵ Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts.Ps 12:3, 4; 73:8, 9 Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.⁶ The tongue also is a fire,Pr 16:27 a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body,Mt 15:11, 18, 19 sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.S Mt 5:22

⁷ All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind,⁸ but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.Ps 140:3; Ro 3:13

⁹ With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness.Ge 1:26, 27; 1Co 11:7¹⁰ Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be.¹¹ Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?¹² My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs?Mt 7:16 Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.

Two Kinds of Wisdom

¹³ Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show itJas 2:18 by their good life, by deedsS 1Pe 2:12 done in the humility that comes from wisdom.¹⁴ But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambitionver 16; 2Co 12:20 in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth.Jas 5:19¹⁵ Such “wisdom” does not come down from heavenver 17; Jas 1:17 but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.1Ti 4:1¹⁶ For where you have envy and selfish ambition,ver 14; Gal 5:20, 21 there you find disorder and every evil practice.

¹⁷ But the wisdom that comes from heaven1Co 2:6; Jas 1:17 is first of all pure; then peace-loving,Heb 12:11 considerate, submissive, full of mercyLk 6:36 and good fruit, impartial and sincere.Ro 12:9¹⁸ PeacemakersMt 5:9; S Ro 14:19 who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.Pr 11:18; Isa 32:17; Hos 10:12; Php 1:11

¹⁸ Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.”

¹⁹ You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God.Some manuscripts read that God is one; see Deut 6:4. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror.²⁰ How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless?

²¹ Don’t you remember that our ancestor Abraham was shown to be right with God by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?²² You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete.²³ And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.”Gen 15:6. He was even called the friend of God.See Isa 41:8.²⁴ So you see, we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone.

²⁵ Rahab the prostitute is another example. She was shown to be right with God by her actions when she hid those messengers and sent them safely away by a different road.²⁶ Just as the body is dead without breath,Or without spirit. so also faith is dead without good works.

Controlling the Tongue

3 Dear brothers and sisters,Greek brothers; also in 3:10. not many of you should become teachers in the church, for we who teach will be judged more strictly.² Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way.

³ We can make a large horse go wherever we want by means of a small bit in its mouth.⁴ And a small rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot chooses to go, even though the winds are strong.⁵ In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches.

But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire.⁶ And among all the parts of the body, the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself.Or for it will burn in hell (Greek Gehenna).

⁷ People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish,⁸ but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison.⁹ Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God.¹⁰ And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right!¹¹ Does a spring of water bubble out with both fresh water and bitter water?¹² Does a fig tree produce olives, or a grapevine produce figs? No, and you can’t draw fresh water from a salty spring.Greek from salt.

True Wisdom Comes from God

¹³ If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom.¹⁴ But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your heart, don’t cover up the truth with boasting and lying.¹⁵ For jealousy and selfishness are not God’s kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and demonic.¹⁶ For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind.

¹⁷ But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere.¹⁸ And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness.Or of good things, or of justice.

¹⁸ Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.

¹⁹ Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.

²⁰ But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?

²¹ Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?

²² Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?

²³ And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.

²⁴ Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.

²⁵ Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?

²⁶ For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

3 My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation.

² For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.

³ Behold, we put bits in the horses' mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body.

⁴ Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth.

⁵ Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!

⁶ And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.

⁷ For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind:

⁸ But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.

⁹ Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God.

¹⁰ Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.

¹¹ Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?

¹² Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.

¹³ Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom.

¹⁴ But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth.

¹⁵ This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.

¹⁶ For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.

¹⁷ But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.

¹⁸ And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.

Psalm 118

Psalm 118

118 O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: because his mercy endureth for ever.

² Let Israel now say, that his mercy endureth for ever.

³ Let the house of Aaron now say, that his mercy endureth for ever.

⁴ Let them now that fear the Lord say, that his mercy endureth for ever.

⁵ I called upon the Lord in distress: the Lord answered me, and set me in a large place.

⁶ The Lord is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?

⁷ The Lord taketh my part with them that help me: therefore shall I see my desire upon them that hate me.

⁸ It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man.

⁹ It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes.

¹⁰ All nations compassed me about: but in the name of the Lord will I destroy them.

¹¹ They compassed me about; yea, they compassed me about: but in the name of the Lord I will destroy them.

¹² They compassed me about like bees: they are quenched as the fire of thorns: for in the name of the Lord I will destroy them.

¹³ Thou hast thrust sore at me that I might fall: but the Lord helped me.

¹⁴ The Lord is my strength and song, and is become my salvation.

¹⁵ The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tabernacles of the righteous: the right hand of the Lord doeth valiantly.

¹⁶ The right hand of the Lord is exalted: the right hand of the Lord doeth valiantly.

¹⁷ I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord.

¹⁸ The Lord hath chastened me sore: but he hath not given me over unto death.

² For the transgression of a land many are the princes thereof: but by a man of understanding and knowledge the state thereof shall be prolonged.