451 "When you divide up the inheritance of the land, you must set aside part of the land as sacred space for God: approximately seven miles long by six miles wide, all of it holy ground. 2 Within this rectangle, reserve a seven-hundred-fifty-foot square for the Sanctuary with a seventy-five-foot buffer zone surrounding it. 3 Mark off within the sacred reserve a section seven miles long by three miles wide. The Sanctuary with its Holy of Holies will be placed there. 4 This is where the priests will live, those who lead worship in the Sanctuary and serve God there. Their houses will be there along with The Holy Place. 5 "To the north of the sacred reserve, an area roughly seven miles long and two and a quarter miles wide will be set aside as land for the villages of the Levites who administer the affairs of worship in the Sanctuary. 6 "To the south of the sacred reserve, measure off a section seven miles long and about a mile and a half wide for the city itself, an area held in common by the whole family of Israel. 7 "The prince gets the land abutting the seven-mile east and west borders of the central sacred square, extending eastward toward the Jordan and westward toward the Mediterranean. 8 This is the prince's possession in Israel. My princes will no longer bully my people, running roughshod over them. They'll respect the land as it has been allotted to the tribes.
9 "This is the Message of God, the Master: 'I've put up with you long enough, princes of Israel! Quit bullying and taking advantage of my people. Do what's just and right for a change. 10 Use honest scales - honest weights and honest measures. 11 Every pound must have sixteen ounces. Every gallon must measure four quarts. The ounce is the basic measure for both. 12 And your coins must be honest - no wooden nickels! Everyone in the Land Must Contribute
13 "'These are the prescribed offerings you are to supply: one-sixtieth part of your wheat, one-sixtieth part of your barley, 14 one-hundredth part of your oil, 15 one sheep out of every two hundred from the lush pastures of Israel. These will be used for the grain offerings, burnt offerings, and peace offerings for making the atonement sacrifices for the people. Decree of God, the Master. 16 "'Everyone in the land must contribute to these special offerings that the prince in Israel will administer. 17 It's the prince's job to provide the burnt offerings, grain offerings, and drink offerings at the Holy Festivals, the New Moons, and the Sabbaths - all the commanded feasts among the people of Israel. Sin offerings, grain offerings, burnt offerings, and peace offerings for making atonement for the people of Israel are his responsibility. 18 "'This is the Message from God, the Master: On the first day of the first month, take an unblemished bull calf and purify the Sanctuary. 19 The priest is to take blood from the sin offerings and rub it on the doorposts of the Temple, on the four corners of the ledge of the altar, and on the gate entrance to the inside courtyard. 20 Repeat this ritual on the seventh day of the month for anyone who sins without knowing it. In this way you make atonement for the Temple. 21 "'On the fourteenth day of the first month, you will observe the Passover, a feast of seven days. During the feast you will eat bread made without yeast. 22 "'On Passover, the prince supplies a bull as a sin offering for himself and all the people of the country. 23 Each day for each of the seven days of the feast, he will supply seven bulls and seven rams unblemished as a burnt offering to God, and also each day a male goat. 24 "'He will supply about five and a half gallons of grain offering and a gallon of oil for each bull and each ram. 25 "'On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, and on each of the seven days of the feast, he is to supply the same materials for sin offerings, burnt offerings, grain offerings, and oil.
31 He told me, "Son of man, eat what you see. Eat this book. Then go and speak to the family of Israel." 2 As I opened my mouth, he gave me the scroll to eat, 3 saying, "Son of man, eat this book that I am giving you. Make a full meal of it!" So I ate it. It tasted so good - just like honey. 4 Then he told me, "Son of man, go to the family of Israel and speak my Message. 5 Look, I'm not sending you to a people who speak a hard-to-learn language with words you can hardly pronounce. 6 If I had sent you to such people, their ears would have perked up and they would have listened immediately. 7 "But it won't work that way with the family of Israel. They won't listen to you because they won't listen to me. They are, as I said, a hard case, hardened in their sin. 8 But I'll make you as hard in your way as they are in theirs. 9 I'll make your face as hard as rock, harder than granite. Don't let them intimidate you. Don't be afraid of them, even though they're a bunch of rebels." 10 Then he said, "Son of man, get all these words that I'm giving you inside you. Listen to them obediently. Make them your own. 11 And now go. Go to the exiles, your people, and speak. Tell them, 'This is the Message of God, the Master.' Speak your piece, whether they listen or not." 12 Then the Spirit picked me up. Behind me I heard a great commotion - "Blessed be the Glory of God in his Sanctuary!" 13 - the wings of the living creatures beating against each other, the whirling wheels, the rumble of a great earthquake. 14 The Spirit lifted me and took me away. I went bitterly and angrily. I didn't want to go. But God had me in his grip. 15 I arrived among the exiles who lived near the Kebar River at Tel Aviv. I came to where they were living and sat there for seven days, appalled.
16 At the end of the seven days, I received this Message from God: 17 "Son of man, I've made you a watchman for the family of Israel. Whenever you hear me say something, warn them for me. 18 If I say to the wicked, 'You are going to die,' and you don't sound the alarm warning them that it's a matter of life or death, they will die and it will be your fault. I'll hold you responsible. 19 But if you warn the wicked and they keep right on sinning anyway, they'll most certainly die for their sin, but you won't die. You'll have saved your life. 20 "And if the righteous turn back from living righteously and take up with evil when I step in and put them in a hard place, they'll die. If you haven't warned them, they'll die because of their sins, and none of the right things they've done will count for anything - and I'll hold you responsible. 21 But if you warn these righteous people not to sin and they listen to you, they'll live because they took the warning - and again, you'll have saved your life."
22 God grabbed me by the shoulder and said, "Get up. Go out on the plain. I want to talk with you." 23 So I got up and went out on the plain. I couldn't believe my eyes: the Glory of God! Right there! It was like the Glory I had seen at the Kebar River. I fell to the ground, prostrate. 24 Then the Spirit entered me and put me on my feet. He said, "Go home and shut the door behind you." 25 And then something odd: "Son of man: They'll tie you hand and foot with ropes so you can't leave the house. 26 I'll make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth so you won't be able to talk and tell the people what they're doing wrong, even though they are a bunch of rebels. 27 "But then when the time is ripe, I'll free your tongue and you'll say, 'This is what God, the Master, says: . . .' From then on it's up to them. They can listen or not listen, whichever they like. They are a bunch of rebels!
