1
Then the Spirit picked me up and took me to the gate of the Temple that faces east. There were twenty-five men standing at the gate. I recognized the leaders, Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah.
2
God said, "Son of man, these are the men who draw up blueprints for sin, who think up new programs for evil in this city.
3
They say, 'We can make anything happen here. We're the best. We're the choice pieces of meat in the soup pot.'
5
Then the Spirit of God came upon me and told me what to say: "This is what God says: 'That's a fine public speech, Israel, but I know what you are thinking.
6
You've murdered a lot of people in this city. The streets are piled high with corpses.'
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.