The Skeptics Annotated Bible (656 page)

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

(39.11-12)
“There shall they bury Gog and all his multitude … Seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them.”
After spending seven years burning the weapons of Gog’s soldiers, the Israelites will spend seven months burying the dead bodies.

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 Hamon-gog.

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

(39.17-28) After the Israelites spend seven months burying Gog’s soldiers, God will feed their bodies to the birds and beasts and gets them drunk on their blood.

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.

(39.17)
“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.

(39.18)
“Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth.”

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
.

(39.19)
“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.

(39.20)
“Thus ye shall be filled at my table … with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord.”

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.

(39.21)
“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.

(39.23) “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
;

(39.25) “I … 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.

(39.28) “Then shall they know that I am the LORD.”

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.

(40.1-49) The hand of the Lord takes Ezekiel on a trip to Israel and sets him on a mountain top, where a brass man measures a building with a rod. (I’d skip this chapter unless you are interested in the dimensions of the brass man’s imaginary building.)

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.

(40.1)
“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.

(40.2) “God brought he me into the land of Israel, and set me upon a very high mountain.”

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.

(40.3)
“There was a man, whose appearance was like the appearance of brass, with a line of flax in his hand, and a measuring reed.”

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.

(40.5) “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.

(40.6)
“He … 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.

(40.7)
“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.

(40.8)
“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.

(40.9)
“Then measured he the porch of the gate, eight cubits; and the posts thereof, two cubits.”

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
.

(40.10)
“The little chambers … 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.

(40.11)
“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
.

(40.12)
“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.

(40.13)
“He measured then the gate from the roof of one little chamber to the roof of another: the breadth was five and twenty cubits.”

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

(40.14)
“He made also posts of threescore cubits.”

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

(40.15)
“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.