¹ Och en andekraft lyfte upp mig och förde mig till östra porten på HERRENS hus, den som vetter åt öster. Där fick jag se tjugufem män stå vid ingången till porten; och jag såg bland dem Jaasanja, Assurs son, och Pelatja, Benajas son, som voro furstar i folket.

² Och han sade till mig: »Du människobarn, det är dessa män som tänka ut vad fördärvligt är och råda till vad ont är, här i staden;

³ det är de som säga: 'Hus byggas icke upp så snart. Här är grytan, och vi äro köttet.

⁴ Profetera därför mot dem, ja, profetera, du människobarn.»

⁵ Då föll HERRENS Ande över mig, han sade till mig: »Säg: Så säger HERREN: Sådant sägen I, I av Israels hus, och edra hjärtans tankar känner jag väl.

⁶ Många ligga genom eder slagna här i staden; I haven uppfyllt dess gator med slagna.

⁷ Därför säger Herren, HERREN så: De slagna vilkas fall I haven vållat i staden, de äro köttet, och den är grytan; men eder själva skall man föra bort ur den.

⁸ I frukten för svärd, och svärd skall jag ock låta komma över eder, säger Herren, HERREN.

⁹ Jag skall föra eder bort härifrån och giva eder i främlingars hand; och jag skall hålla dom över eder.

¹⁰ För svärd skolen I falla; vid Israels gräns skall jag döma eder. Och I skolen förnimma att jag är HERREN.

¹¹ Staden skall icke vara en gryta för eder, och I skolen icke vara köttet i den; nej, vid Israels gräns skall jag döma eder.

¹² Då skolen I förnimma att jag är HERREN, I som icke haven vandrat efter mina stadgar och icke haven gjort efter mina rätter, utan haven gjort efter de hednafolks rätter, som bo runt omkring eder.»

¹³ Medan jag så profeterade, hade Pelatja, Benajas son, uppgivit andan. Då föll jag ned på mitt ansikte och ropade med hög röst och sade: »Ack, Herre, Herre, vill du då alldeles göra ände på kvarlevan av Israel?»

¹⁴ Och HERRENS ord kom till mig; han sade:

¹⁵ »Du människobarn, dina bröder, ja, dina bröder dina nära fränder och hela Israels hus, alla de till vilka Jerusalems invånare säga: 'Hållen eder borta från HERREN; det är åt oss som landet har blivit givet till besittning' --

¹⁶ om dem skall du alltså säga: Så säger Herren, HERREN: Ja, väl har jag fört dem långt bort ibland folken och förstrött dem i länderna, och med nöd har jag varit för dem en helgedom i de länder dit de hava kommit;

¹⁷ men därför skall du nu säga: Så säger Herren, HERREN: Jag skall församla eder ifrån folkslagen och hämta eder tillhopa från de länder dit I haven blivit förströdda, och skall giva eder Israels land.

¹⁸ Och när de hava kommit dit, skola de skaffa bort därifrån alla de skändliga och styggeliga avgudar som nu finnas där.

¹⁹ Och jag skall giva dem alla ett och samma hjärta, och en ny ande skall jag låta komma i deras bröst; jag skall taga bort stenhjärtat ur deras kropp och giva dem ett hjärta av kött,

²⁰ så att de vandra efter mina stadgar och hålla mina rätter och göra efter dem, och de skola vara mitt folk, och jag skall vara deras Gud.

²¹ Men de vilkas hjärtan efterfölja de skändliga och styggeliga avgudarnas hjärtan, deras gärningar skall jag låta komma över deras huvuden, säger Herren, HERREN.»

²² Och keruberna, följda av hjulen, lyfte sina vingar, och Israels Guds härlighet vilade ovanpå dem.

²³ Och HERRENS härlighet höjde sig och lämnade staden och stannade på berget öster om staden.

²⁴ Men mig hade en andekraft lyft upp och fört bort till de fångna i Kaldeen, så hade skett i synen, genom Guds Ande. Sedan försvann för mig den syn jag hade fått se.

²⁵ Och jag talade till de fångna alla de ord som HERREN hade uppenbarat för mig.

¹ 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 struck, in the same day, the hand of Yahweh was on me, and he brought me there.

² In the visions of God brought he me into the land of Israel, and set me down on a very high mountain, whereon was as it were the frame of a city on the south.

³ He brought me there; 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 The man said to me, Son of man, see with your eyes, and hear with your ears, and set your heart on all that I shall show you; for, to the intent that I may show them to you, you are brought here: declare all that you see to the house of Israel.

⁵ Behold, a wall on the outside of the house all around, and in the man's hand a measuring reed six cubits long, of a cubit and a handbreadth each: so he measured the thickness of the building, one reed; and the height, one reed.

⁶ Then came he to the gate which looks toward the east, and went up its steps: and he measured the threshold of the gate, one reed broad; and the other threshold, one reed broad.

⁷ Every lodge was one reed long, and one reed broad; and [the space] between the lodges was five cubits; and the threshold of the gate by the porch of the gate toward the house was one reed.

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

⁹ Then measured he the porch of the gate, eight cubits; and its posts, two cubits; and the porch of the gate was toward the house.

¹⁰ The lodges 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 He measured the breadth of the opening of the gate, ten cubits; and the length of the gate, thirteen cubits;

¹² and a border before the lodges, one cubit [on this side], and a border, one cubit on that side; and the lodges, six cubits on this side, and six cubits on that side.

¹³ He measured the gate from the roof of the one lodge to the roof of the other, a breadth of twenty-five cubits; door against door.

¹⁴ He made also posts, sixty cubits; and the court [reached] to the posts, around the gate.

¹⁵ [From] the forefront of the gate at the entrance to the forefront of the inner porch of the gate were fifty cubits.

¹⁶ There were closed windows to the lodges, and to their posts within the gate all around, and likewise to the arches; and windows were around inward; and on [each] post were palm trees.

¹⁷ Then brought he me into the outer court; and behold, there were rooms and a pavement, made for the court all around: thirty rooms were on the pavement.

¹⁸ The pavement was by the side of the gates, answerable to the length of the gates, even the lower pavement.

¹⁹ Then he measured the breadth from the forefront of the lower gate to the forefront of the inner court outside, one hundred cubits, [both] on the east and on the north.

²⁰ The gate of the outer court whose prospect is toward the north, he measured its length and its breadth.

²¹ The lodges of it were three on this side and three on that side; and its posts and its arches were after the measure of the first gate: its length was fifty cubits, and the breadth twenty-five cubits.

²² The windows of it, and its arches, and the palm trees of it, were after the measure of the gate whose prospect is toward the east; and they went up to it by seven steps; and its arches were before them.

²³ There was a gate to the inner court over against the [other] gate, [both] on the north and on the east; and he measured from gate to gate one hundred cubits.

²⁴ He led me toward the south; and behold, a gate toward the south: and he measured its posts and its arches according to these measures.

²⁵ There were windows in it and in its arches all around, like those windows: the length was fifty cubits, and the breadth twenty-five cubits.

²⁶ There were seven steps to go up to it, and its arches were before them; and it had palm trees, one on this side, and another on that side, on its posts.

²⁷ There was a gate to the inner court toward the south: and he measured from gate to gate toward the south a hundred cubits.

²⁸ Then he brought me to the inner court by the south gate: and he measured the south gate according to these measures;

²⁹ and its lodges, and its posts, and its arches, according to these measures: and there were windows in it and in its arches all around; it was fifty cubits long, and twenty-five cubits broad.

³⁰ There were arches all around, twenty-five cubits long, and five cubits broad.

³¹ The arches of it were toward the outer court; and palm trees were on its posts: and the ascent to it had eight steps.

³² He brought me into the inner court toward the east: and he measured the gate according to these measures;

³³ and its lodges, and its posts, and its arches, according to these measures: and there were windows therein and in its arches all around; it was fifty cubits long, and twenty-five cubits broad.

³⁴ The arches of it were toward the outer court; and palm trees were on its posts, on this side, and on that side: and the ascent to it had eight steps.

³⁵ He brought me to the north gate: and he measured [it] according to these measures;

³⁶ its lodges, its posts, and its arches: and there were windows therein all around; the length was fifty cubits, and the breadth twenty-five cubits.

³⁷ The posts of it were toward the outer court; and palm trees were on its posts, on this side, and on that side: and the ascent to it had eight steps.

³⁸ A room with its door was by the posts at the gates; there they washed the burnt offering.

³⁹ In the porch of the gate were two tables on this side, and two tables on that side, to kill thereon the burnt offering and the sin offering and the trespass offering.

⁴⁰ On the [one] side outside, as one goes up to the entry of the gate toward the north, were two tables; and on the other side, which belonged to the porch of the gate, were two tables.

⁴¹ Four tables were on this side, and Four tables on that side, by the side of the gate; eight tables, whereupon they killed [the sacrifices].

⁴² There were four tables for the burnt offering, of cut stone, a cubit and a half long, and a cubit and a half broad, and one cubit high; whereupon they laid the instruments with which they killed the burnt offering and the sacrifice.

⁴³ The hooks, a handbreadth long, were fastened within all around: and on the tables was the flesh of the offering.

⁴⁴ Outside of the inner gate were rooms for the singers in the inner court, which was at the side of the north gate; and their prospect was toward the south; one at the side of the east gate having the prospect toward the north.

⁴⁵ He said to me, This room, whose prospect is toward the south, is for the priests, the keepers of the duty of the house;

⁴⁶ and the room whose prospect is toward the north is for the priests, the keepers of the duty of the altar: these are the sons of Zadok, who from among the sons of Levi come near to Yahweh to minister to him.

⁴⁷ He measured the court, one hundred cubits long, and a hundred cubits broad, foursquare; and the altar was before the house.

⁴⁸ Then he brought me to the porch of the house, and measured each post of the porch, five cubits on this side, and five cubits on that side: and the breadth of the gate was three cubits on this side, and three cubits on that side.

⁴⁹ The length of the porch was twenty cubits, and the breadth eleven cubits; even by the steps by which they went up to it: and there were pillars by the posts, one on this side, and another on that side.