“ Suffering city, you have been beaten by storms. You have not been comforted. I will rebuild you with turquoise stones. I will rebuild your foundations with lapis lazuli.

“你这受困苦、被风飘荡不得安慰的人哪，我必以彩色安置你的石头，以蓝宝石立定你的根基；

你这受困苦、被暴风卷走、不得怜悯的城，看哪，我必以灰泥来做你的石头，以蓝宝石立你的根基，

你这受困苦、被暴风卷走、不得怜悯的城，看哪，我必以灰泥来做你的石头，以蓝宝石立你的根基，

“困苦不堪、饱经风雨、得不着安慰的城啊，我要以彩石作你的地基，用蓝宝石来建造你，

受困苦、被风飘荡、不得安慰的啊！你看，我要用彩色的石头安置你的基石，以蓝宝石奠定你的根基。

“你这经受困苦、屡遭风暴、不得安慰的城啊！看哪！我必把你的石头安置在金属锑上，以蓝宝石奠定你的根基，

你這受困苦、被風飄蕩不得安慰的人哪，我必以彩色安置你的石頭，以藍寶石立定你的根基；

你這受困苦、被暴風捲走、不得憐憫的城，看哪，我必以灰泥來做你的石頭，以藍寶石立你的根基，

你這受困苦、被暴風捲走、不得憐憫的城，看哪，我必以灰泥來做你的石頭，以藍寶石立你的根基，

「困苦不堪、飽經風雨、得不著安慰的城啊，我要以彩石作你的地基，用藍寶石來建造你，

受困苦、被風飄蕩、不得安慰的啊！你看，我要用彩色的石頭安置你的基石，以藍寶石奠定你的根基。

『受困苦、被風吹蕩、不得安慰的人哪，請注意，是我要用光彩石頭安你的基石，用藍寶石奠定你的根基；

「你這經受困苦、屢遭風暴、不得安慰的城啊！看哪！我必把你的石頭安置在金屬銻上，以藍寶石奠定你的根基，

爾遭患難、飄於巨風、不得慰藉者、我將以丹砂砌爾之石、以青玉作爾之基、

爾遭患難、不納慰藉、若飄於颶風、我必以光石青玉作爾基、

維爾遭患難者、被狂風飄蕩者、不受慰藉者、我必以爾石砌於丹砂、以藍寶石作爾基、

“ Afflicted city, lashed by storms and not comforted, I will rebuild you with stones of turquoise, your foundations with lapis lazuli.

“ O afflicted one, storm-tossed and not comforted, behold, I will set your stones in antimony, and lay your foundations with sapphires.

“ O storm battered city, troubled and desolate! I will rebuild you with precious jewels and make your foundations from lapis lazuli.

“ Poor Jerusalem, storm-tossed, and not comforted, I will set your stones in black mortar, and lay your foundations in lapis lazuli.

“ Afflicted one, storm tossed, and not comforted, Behold, I will set your stones in antimony, And I will lay your foundations with sapphires.

“ O you afflicted one, Tossed with tempest, and not comforted, Behold, I will lay your stones with colorful gems, And lay your foundations with sapphires.

O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will set thy stones in fair colors, and lay thy foundations with sapphires.

“ Poor Jerusalem, storm-tossed, and not comforted, I will set your stones in black mortar, and lay your foundations in sapphires.

O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest,[ and] not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires.

“ O afflicted one, driven away, and unconsoled! Look, I am about to set your stones in antimony and I lay your foundation with lapis-lazuli.

“ You afflicted, tossed with storms, and not comforted, behold, I will set your stones in beautiful colors, and lay your foundations with sapphires.

Christ is the living Stone. People did not accept him, but God chose him. God places the highest value on him.You also are like living stones. As you come to Christ, you are being built into a house for worship. There you will be holy priests. You will offer spiritual sacrifices. God will accept them because of what Jesus Christ has done.In Scripture it says,“ Look! I am placing a stone in Zion. It is a chosen and very valuable stone. It is the most important stone in the building. The one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”( Isaiah 28:16)

With all my riches I’ve done everything I could for the temple of my God. I’ve provided gold for the gold work and silver for the silver work. I’ve provided bronze for the bronze work and iron for the iron work. I’ve given wood for the things that will be made out of wood. I’ve given onyx and turquoise for the settings. I’ve given stones of different colors and all kinds of fine stone and marble. I’ve provided everything in huge amounts.

But I will make you healthy again. I will heal your wounds,” announces the Lord.“ That’s because you have been thrown out. You are called Zion, the one no one cares about.”

What I’m about to tell you is true. You will weep and mourn while the world is full of joy. You will be sad, but your sadness will turn into joy.A woman giving birth to a baby has pain. That’s because her time to give birth has come. But when her baby is born, she forgets the pain. She forgets because she is so happy that a baby has been born into the world.That’s the way it is with you. Now it’s your time to be sad. But I will see you again. Then you will be full of joy. And no one will take away your joy.

But the city of Zion said,“ The Lord has deserted me. The Lord has forgotten me.”

The person who does what is right may have many troubles. But the Lord saves him from all of them.

Suddenly a terrible storm came up on the lake. The waves crashed over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping.

“ That’s why I am weeping. Tears are flowing from my eyes. No one is near to comfort me. No one can heal my spirit. My children don’t have anything. My enemies are much too strong for me.”Zion reaches out her hands. But no one is there to comfort her people. The Lord has ordered that the neighbors of Jacob’s people would become their enemies. Jerusalem has become impure among them.

It was the 14th year after Jerusalem had been captured. We had been brought to Babylon as prisoners. It was the tenth day of a month near the beginning of the 25th year after that. On that day the power of the Lord came on me. He took me back to my land.In visions God gave me, he brought me to the land of Israel. He set me on a very high mountain. Some buildings were on the south side of it. They looked like a city.He took me there. I saw a man who appeared to be made out of bronze. He was standing at the gate of the outer courtyard. He was holding a linen measuring tape and a measuring rod.The man said to me,“ Son of man, look carefully and listen closely. Pay attention to everything I show you. That is why the Lord brought you here. Tell the people of Israel everything you see.”I saw a wall that completely surrounded the temple area. The measuring rod in the man’s hand was 11 feet long. He measured the wall with it. The wall was as thick and as high as one measuring rod.Then the man went to the east gate. He climbed its steps. He measured the gateway. It was one rod wide.The rooms where the guards stood were one rod long and one rod wide. The walls between the rooms were almost nine feet thick. The gateway next to the porch was one rod wide. The porch faced the front of the temple.Then the man measured the porch of the gateway.It was 14 feet wide. Each of its doorposts was three and a half feet thick. The porch of the gateway faced the front of the temple.Inside the east gate were three rooms on each side. All the rooms were the same size. The walls on each side of the rooms had the same thickness.Then the man measured the entrance of the gateway. It was 18 feet wide and 23 feet long.In front of each room was a wall. It was 21 inches high. The rooms measured 11 feet on each side.Then he measured the gateway from the back wall of one room to the back wall of the room across from it. It was 44 feet from the top of one wall to the top of the other.He measured along the front of the side walls all around the inside of the gateway. The total was 105 feet. That didn’t include the porch that faced the courtyard.It was 88 feet from the entrance of the gateway to the far end of its porch.The rooms and their side walls inside the gateway had narrow openings on top of them. So did the porch. All the openings faced the inside. The front of each side wall was decorated with a palm tree.Then the man brought me into the outer courtyard. There I saw some rooms and a sidewalk. They had been built all around the courtyard. Along the sidewalk were 30 rooms.The sidewalk went all the way up to the sides of the gateways. It was as wide as they were long. This was the lower sidewalk.Then he measured from the inside of the lower gateway to the outside of the inner courtyard. The east side measured 175 feet. So did the north side.Then the man measured the north gate. He wanted to show me how long and wide it was. The gate led into the outer courtyard.It had three rooms on each side. Their side walls and porch measured the same as the ones at the first gateway. They measured 88 feet long and 44 feet wide.Its openings, porch and palm tree decorations measured the same as the ones at the east gate. Seven steps led up to the north gate. Its porch was across from them.The inner courtyard had a gate. It faced the gate on the north. It was just like the east gate. He measured from one gate to the one across from it. The total was 175 feet.Then the man led me to the south side of the courtyard. There I saw the south gate. He measured its doorposts and porch. They measured the same as the others.The gateway and its porch had narrow openings all around. The openings were the same as the others had. The side walls and porch measured 88 feet long and 44 feet wide.Seven steps led up to it. Its porch was across from them. The front of each side wall was decorated with a palm tree.The inner courtyard also had a gate that faced south. The man measured from this gate to the outer gate on the south side. The total was 175 feet.Then the man brought me into the inner courtyard. We went through the south gate. He measured it. It was the same size as the others.Its rooms, side walls and porch measured the same as the ones at the other gateways. The gateway and its porch had openings all around. The side walls and porch measured 88 feet long and 44 feet wide.The porches of the gateways around the inner courtyard were 44 feet wide and nine feet long.Its porch faced the outer courtyard. Palm trees decorated its doorposts. Eight steps led up to it.Then the man brought me to the east side of the inner courtyard. There he measured the gateway. It was the same size as the others.Its rooms, side walls and porch measured the same as the ones at the other gateways. The gateway and its porch had openings all around. The side walls and porch measured 88 feet long and 44 feet wide.Its porch faced the outer courtyard. Each doorpost was decorated with a palm tree. Eight steps led up to the porch.Then the man brought me to the north gate. He measured it. It was the same size as the others.Its rooms, side walls and porch measured the same as the ones at the other gateways. It had openings all around. The side walls and the porch measured 88 feet long and 44 feet wide.The porch faced the outer courtyard. Each doorpost was decorated with a palm tree. Eight steps led up to the porch.A room with a doorway was by the porch of each inner gateway. The burnt offerings were washed there.On each side of the porch of the gateway were two tables. The burnt offerings were killed on them. So were the sin offerings and guilt offerings.Two more tables were by the outer wall of the gateway porch. They were near the steps at the entrance of the north gateway. Two more tables were on the other side of the steps.So there were four tables on each side of the gateway. The total number of tables was eight. Animals for sacrifice were killed on all of them.There were also four other tables for the burnt offerings. They were made out of blocks of stone. Each table was two and a half feet long and two and a half feet wide. And each was almost two feet high. The tools for killing the burnt offerings and other sacrifices were placed on them.

Above the space over their heads was something that looked like a throne made out of lapis lazuli. On the throne high above was a figure that appeared to be a man.

In that day I will become angry with them. I will desert them. I will turn my face away from them. And they will be destroyed. Many horrible troubles and hard times will come on them. On that day they will say,‘ Trouble has come on us. Our God isn’t with us!’

Instead, I will give it to those who made you suffer. They said to you,‘ Fall down flat on the ground. Then we can walk all over you.’ And that is exactly what you did. You made your back like a street to be walked on.”Wake up! Zion, wake up! Dress yourself with strength as if it were your clothes. Holy city of Jerusalem, put on your clothes of glory. Those who haven’t been circumcised will never enter you again. Neither will those who are“ unclean.”Get up, Jerusalem! Shake off your dust. Take your place on your throne. Captured people of Zion, remove the chains from your neck.The Lord says,“ When you were sold as slaves, no one paid anything for you. Now no one will pay any money to set you free.”The Lord and King continues,“ Long ago my people went down to Egypt. They lived there for a while. Later, Assyria crushed them without any reason.“ Now look at what has happened to them,” announces the Lord.“ Once again my people have been taken away. And no one paid anything for them. Those who rule over them brag about it,” announces the Lord.“ All day long without stopping, people speak evil things against my name.

After a long time, the king of Egypt died. The people of Israel groaned because they were slaves. They also cried out to God. Their cry for help went up to him.

The Lord said,“ I have seen how my people are suffering in Egypt. I have heard them cry out because of their slave drivers. I am concerned about their suffering.

You were like a wife who was deserted. And her heart was broken. You were like a wife who married young. And her husband sent her away. But now I am calling you to come back,” says your God.

They saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a street made out of lapis lazuli. It was as bright blue as the sky itself.

There they helped the believers gain strength. They told them to remain faithful to what they had been taught.“ We must go through many hard times to enter God’s kingdom,” they said.

What answer should be given to the messengers from that nation? Tell them,‘ The Lord has made Zion secure. His suffering people will find safety there.’ ”

The city of Jerusalem is so empty! She used to be full of people. But now she’s like a woman whose husband has died. She used to be great among the nations. She was like a queen among the kingdoms. But now she is a slave.Jerusalem weeps bitterly at night. Tears run down her cheeks. None of her friends comforts her. All those who were going to help her have turned against her. They have become her enemies.

Here is what Israel should say.“ My enemies have treated me badly ever since I was a young nation.My enemies have treated me badly ever since I was a young nation. But they haven’t won the battle.They have made deep wounds in my back. It looks like a field a farmer has plowed.

There the angel of the Lord appeared to him from inside a burning bush. Moses saw that the bush was on fire. But it didn’t burn up.

So listen to me, you suffering people of Jerusalem. You have been made drunk, but not by drinking wine.

Put four rows of valuable jewels on it. Put carnelian, chrysolite and beryl in the first row.Put turquoise, lapis lazuli and emerald in the second row.Put jacinth, agate and amethyst in the third row.And put topaz, onyx and jasper in the fourth row. Put them in fancy gold settings.

The wall was made out of jasper. The city was made out of pure gold, as pure as glass.The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of jewel. The first foundation was made out of jasper. The second was made out of sapphire. The third was made out of agate. The fourth was made out of emerald.The fifth was made out of onyx. The sixth was made out of ruby. The seventh was made out of chrysolite. The eighth was made out of beryl. The ninth was made out of topaz. The tenth was made out of turquoise. The eleventh was made out of jacinth. The twelfth was made out of amethyst.The 12 gates were made from 12 pearls. Each gate was made out of a single pearl. The main street of the city was made out of gold. It was gold as pure as glass that people can see through clearly.

The people did what the king commanded. They removed large blocks of the best quality stone from a rock pit. They used them to provide a foundation for the temple.

Wake up, Jerusalem! Wake up! Get up! The Lord has handed you the cup of his great anger. And you have drunk from it. That cup makes people unsteady on their feet. And you have drunk from it to the very last drop.Among all the children who were born to you there was none to guide you. Among all the children you brought up there was none to lead you by the hand.Nothing but trouble has come to you. You have been wiped out and destroyed. And you have suffered hunger and war. No one feels sorry for you. No one can comfort you.

The workers put four rows of valuable jewels on it. Carnelian, chrysolite and beryl were in the first row.Turquoise, lapis lazuli and emerald were in the second row.Jacinth, agate and amethyst were in the third row.And topaz, onyx and jasper were in the fourth row. The workers put them in fancy gold settings.They used a total of 12 stones. There was one stone for each of the names of the sons of Israel. Each stone was carved with the name of one of the 12 tribes.

So the Lord and King speaks. He says,“ Look! I am laying a stone in Zion. It is a stone that has been tested. It is the most important stone for a firm foundation. The one who depends on that stone will never be shaken.

The dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth. So he chased the woman who had given birth to the boy.The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle. She was given these wings so that she could fly away. She could fly to the place prepared for her in the desert. There she would be taken care of for three and a half years. She would be out of the serpent’s reach.Then out of his mouth the serpent spit water like a river. He wanted to catch the woman and sweep her away in the flood.But the earth helped the woman. It opened its mouth and swallowed the river that the dragon had spit out.The dragon was very angry with the woman. He went off to make war against the rest of her children. They obey God’s commands. And they hold firmly to the truth they have said about Jesus.

You are a building that is built on the apostles and prophets. They are the foundation. Christ Jesus himself is the most important stone in the building.

I will appoint my two witnesses. And they will prophesy for 1,260 days. They will be dressed in the rough clothes people wear when they’re sad.”The witnesses are“ the two olive trees” and the two lampstands. And“ they stand in front of the Lord of the earth.”( Zechariah 4:3, 11, 14)If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and eats up their enemies. This is how anyone who wants to harm them must die.These witnesses have power to close up the sky. Then it will not rain while they are prophesying. They also have power to turn the waters into blood. And they can strike the earth with every kind of plague. They can do this as often as they want to.When they have finished speaking, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them. He will overpower them and kill them.Their bodies will lie in the main street of the great city. It is also the city where their Lord was nailed to a cross. The city is sometimes compared to Sodom or Egypt.For three and a half days, people will stare at their bodies. These people will be from every tribe and nation, no matter what language they speak. They will refuse to bury them.Those who live on the earth will be happy about this. That’s because those two prophets had made them suffer. The people will celebrate by sending one another gifts.

“ People have heard me groan. But no one is here to comfort me. My enemies have heard about all my troubles. What you have done makes them happy. So please judge them, just as you said you would. Let them become like me.

We took a very bad beating from the storm. The next day the crew began to throw the ship’s contents overboard.On the third day, they even threw the ship’s tools and supplies overboard with their own hands.The sun and stars didn’t appear for many days. The storm was terrible. So we gave up all hope of being saved.

“ You have been deserted and hated. No one even travels through you. But I will make you into something to be proud of forever. You will be a place of joy for all time to come.

“ I have told you these things, so that you can have peace because of me. In this world you will have trouble. But be encouraged! I have won the battle over the world.”

His arms are like rods of gold set with topaz. His body is like polished ivory decorated with lapis lazuli.

I looked up and saw something that appeared to be a throne made out of lapis lazuli. It was above the huge space that was spread out over the heads of the cherubim.