A voice cries out, “In the wilderness clear a way for the Lord; construct in the desert a road for our God.

This is what the Lord says, the one who made a road through the sea, a pathway through the surging waters,

He says, ¹  “Build it! Build it! Clear a way! Remove all the obstacles out of the way of my people!”

You who live in Aroer, ¹  stand by the road and watch. Question the man who is fleeing and the woman who is escaping. Ask them, ‘What has happened?’

“Yet your people ¹  say, ‘The behavior ²  of the Lord is not right,’ ³  when it is their behavior that is not right.

Yet you say, ‘The behavior of the Lord is not right.’ House of Israel, I will judge each of you according to his behavior.” ¹ 

He measured the length and width of the gate of the outer court which faces north.

Then he brought me to the inner court on the east side. He measured the gate; it had the same dimensions as the others.

He said to me, “This chamber which faces south is for the priests who keep charge of the temple, ¹ 

At the beginning ¹  of the wall of the court toward the south, ²  facing the courtyard and the building, were chambers

Then he brought me back by way of the outer gate of the sanctuary which faces east, but it was shut.

The company of priests is like a gang of robbers, lying in ambush to pounce on a victim. They commit murder on the road to Shechem; they have done heinous crimes!

The enemy broke through the city walls, ¹  and all the soldiers tried to escape. They left the city during the night. ²  They went through the gate between the two walls that is near the king’s garden. ³  (The Babylonians were all around the city.) Then they headed for the Jordan Valley. ⁴ 

When King Zedekiah of Judah and all his soldiers saw them, they tried to escape. They departed from the city during the night. They took a path through the king’s garden and passed out through the gate between the two walls. ¹  Then they headed for the Jordan Valley. ² 

They broke through the city walls, and all the soldiers tried to escape. They left the city during the night. They went through the gate between the two walls that is near the king’s garden. ¹  (The Babylonians had the city surrounded.) Then they headed for the Jordan Valley. ² 

He said to me, “Son of man, look up toward ¹  the north.” So I looked up toward the north, and I noticed to the north of the altar gate was this statue of jealousy at the entrance.

On the outside of the inner gate were chambers for the singers of the inner court, one ¹  at the side of the north gate facing south, and the other at the side of the south ²  gate facing north.

When he drove ¹  the man out, he placed on the eastern side ²  of the orchard in Eden angelic sentries ³  who used the flame of a whirling sword ⁴  to guard the way to the tree of life.

Then he separated them from Jacob by a three-day journey, ¹  while ²  Jacob was taking care of the rest of Laban’s flocks.

So he took his relatives ¹  with him and pursued Jacob ²  for seven days. ³  He caught up with ⁴  him in the hill country of Gilead.