A stream flowed in Eden and watered the garden; beyond Eden it divided into four rivers.

(Pure gold is found there and also rare perfume and precious stones.)

The third river is the Tigris, which flows east of Assyria, and the fourth river is the Euphrates.

There by the Ahava Canal I gave orders for us all to fast and humble ourselves before our God and to ask him to lead us on our journey and protect us and our children and all our possessions.

It was on the twelfth day of the first month that we left the Ahava Canal to go to Jerusalem. Our God was with us and protected us from enemy attacks and from ambush as we traveled.

On the fifth day of the fourth month of the thirtieth year, I, Ezekiel the priest, son of Buzi, was living with the Jewish exiles by the Chebar River in Babylonia. The sky opened, and I saw a vision of God.

They told me that those who had survived and were back in the homeland were in great difficulty and that the foreigners who lived nearby looked down on them. They also told me that the walls of Jerusalem were still broken down and that the gates had not been restored since the time they were burned.

When I heard all this, I sat down and wept. For several days I mourned and did not eat. I prayed to God,

and answered, "May Your Majesty live forever! How can I keep from looking sad when the city where my ancestors are buried is in ruins and its gates have been destroyed by fire?"

While they were still a long way off they saw Job, but did not recognize him. When they did, they began to weep and wail, tearing their clothes in grief and throwing dust into the air and on their heads.

Then they sat there on the ground with him for seven days and nights without saying a word, because they saw how much he was suffering.

If you will not listen, I will cry in secret because of your pride; I will cry bitterly, and my tears will flow because the LORD's people have been taken away as captives.

The LORD said to me, "Tell the king and his mother to come down from their thrones, because their beautiful crowns have fallen from their heads.

I did not spend my time with other people, laughing and having a good time. In obedience to your orders I stayed by myself and was filled with anger.

Jerusalem's old men sit on the ground in silence, With dust on their heads and sackcloth on their bodies. Young women bow their heads to the ground.

So I came to Tel Abib beside the Chebar River, where the exiles were living, and for seven days I stayed there, overcome by what I had seen and heard.

My heart breaks when I remember the past, when I went with the crowds to the house of God and led them as they walked along, a happy crowd, singing and shouting praise to God.

Because of your anger and fury, ashes are my food, and my tears are mixed with my drink. You picked me up and threw me away.

My life is like the evening shadows; I am like dry grass.

You will rise and take pity on Zion; the time has come to have mercy on her; this is the right time.

Rejoice with Jerusalem; be glad for her, all you that love this city! Rejoice with her now, all you that have mourned for her!

The LORD says to his people in Babylonia: "You have escaped death! Now go! Don't wait! Though you are far from home, think about me, your LORD, and remember Jerusalem.

You say, 'We've been disgraced and made ashamed; we feel completely helpless because foreigners have taken over the holy places in the Temple.'

"That is why my eyes are overflowing with tears. No one can comfort me; no one can give me courage. The enemy has conquered me; my people have nothing left.

My eyes are worn out with weeping; my soul is in anguish. I am exhausted with grief at the destruction of my people. Children and babies are fainting in the streets of the city.

O Jerusalem, let your very walls cry out to the Lord! Let your tears flow like rivers night and day; Wear yourself out with weeping and grief !

My eyes flow with rivers of tears at the destruction of my people.

My heart is grieved when I see what has happened to the women of the city.

And I prayed earnestly to the Lord God, pleading with him, fasting, wearing sackcloth, and sitting in ashes.

At that time I was mourning for three weeks.

I did not eat any rich food or any meat, drink any wine, or comb my hair until the three weeks were past.

He came closer to the city, and when he saw it, he wept over it,

I will send my two witnesses dressed in sackcloth, and they will proclaim God's message during those 1, 260 days."