Ezekiel 1-12

English Standard Version

Ezekiel in Babylon

1 ^(A)In the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was among the exiles by ^(B)the Chebar canal, ^(C)the heavens were opened, and I saw ^(D)visions of God.^{[a] 2} On the fifth day of the month (it was ^(E)the fifth year of ^(F)the exile of King Jehoiachin), ³ the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel ^(G)the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by ^(H)the Chebar canal, and ^(I)the hand of the Lord was upon him there.

The Glory of the Lord

⁴ As I looked, behold, ^(J)a stormy wind came ^(K)out of the north, and a great cloud, with ^(L)brightness around it, and fire flashing forth continually, and in the midst of the fire, ^(M)as it were gleaming metal.^{[b] 5} And from the midst of it came the likeness of ^(N)four living creatures. ^(O)And this was their appearance: they had a human likeness, ^6 (P)but each had four faces, and each of them had four wings. ⁷ Their legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the sole of a calf's foot. And they sparkled ^(Q)like burnished bronze. ⁸ Under their wings ^(R)on their four sides ^(S)they had human hands. And the four had their faces and their wings thus: ⁹ their wings touched one another. ^(T)Each one of them went straight forward, ^(U)without turning as they went. ¹⁰ As for the likeness of their faces, ^(V)each had a human face. The four had the face of a lion on the right side, the four had the face of an ox on the left side, and the four had the face of an eagle. ¹¹ Such were their faces. And their wings were spread out above. Each creature had two wings, each of which touched the wing of another, while ^(W)two covered their bodies. ^12 (X)And each went straight forward. ^(Y)Wherever the spirit^[c] would go, they went, without turning as they went. ¹³ As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was ^(Z)like burning coals of fire, ^(AA)like the appearance of torches moving to and fro among the living creatures. ^(AB)And the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning. ¹⁴ And the living creatures ^(AC)darted to and fro, ^(AD)like the appearance of a flash of lightning.

^15 (AE)Now as I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the earth beside the living creatures, one for each of the four of them.^{[d] 16 (AF)}As for the appearance of the wheels and their construction: their appearance was like ^(AG)the gleaming of beryl. ^(AH)And the four had the same likeness, their appearance and construction being as it were a wheel within a wheel. ^17 (AI)When they went, they went ^(AJ)in any of their four directions^{[e] (AK)}without turning as they went. ¹⁸ And their rims were tall and awesome, ^(AL)and the rims of all four were full of eyes all around. ^19 (AM)And when the living creatures went, the wheels went beside them; ^(AN)and when the living creatures rose from the earth, the wheels rose. ^20 (AO)Wherever the spirit wanted to go, they went, and the wheels rose along with them, ^(AP)for the spirit of the living creatures^[f] was in the wheels. ^21 (AQ)When those went, these went; and when those stood, these stood; ^(AR)and when those rose from the earth, the wheels rose along with them, ^(AS)for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.

²² Over the heads of the living creatures there was ^(AT)the likeness of an expanse, shining like awe-inspiring ^(AU)crystal, spread out above their heads. ²³ And under the expanse their wings were ^(AV)stretched out straight, one toward another. ^(AW)And each creature had two wings covering its body. ²⁴ And when they went, I heard the sound of their wings ^(AX)like the sound of many waters, like ^(AY)the sound of the ^(AZ)Almighty, a sound of tumult ^(BA)like the sound of an army. When they stood still, they let down their wings. ²⁵ And there came a voice from above ^(BB)the expanse over their heads. When they stood still, they let down their wings.

²⁶ And above the expanse over their heads there was ^(BC)the likeness of a throne, ^(BD)in appearance ^(BE)like sapphire;^[g] and seated above the likeness of a throne was ^(BF)a likeness with a human appearance. ²⁷ And ^(BG)upward from what had the appearance of his waist I saw as it were ^(BH)gleaming metal, like the appearance of fire enclosed all around. And downward from what had the appearance of his waist I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and ^(BI)there was brightness around him.^{[h] 28} Like the appearance of ^(BJ)the bow that is in the cloud on the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness all around.

Such was the appearance of the likeness of ^(BK)the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, ^(BL)I fell on my face, and I heard the voice of one speaking.

Ezekiel's Call

2 And he said to me, ^(BM)“Son of man,^{[i] (BN)}stand on your feet, and I will speak with you.” ² And as he spoke to me, ^(BO)the Spirit entered into me and ^(BP)set me on my feet, and I heard him speaking to me. ³ And he said to me, “Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to ^(BQ)nations of rebels, who have rebelled against me. ^(BR)They and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day. ⁴ The descendants also are ^(BS)impudent and stubborn: I send you to them, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ ⁵ And ^(BT)whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are ^(BU)a rebellious house) ^(BV)they will know that a prophet has been among them. ⁶ And you, son of man, ^(BW)be not afraid of them, nor be afraid of their words, ^(BX)though briers and thorns are with you and you sit on ^(BY)scorpions.^[j] Be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house. ⁷ And you shall speak my words to them, ^(BZ)whether they hear or refuse to hear, for they are a rebellious house.

⁸ “But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. ^(CA)Be not rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and ^(CB)eat what I give you.” ⁹ And when I looked, behold, ^(CC)a hand was stretched out to me, and behold, ^(CD)a scroll of a book was in it. ¹⁰ And he spread it before me. And it had writing ^(CE)on the front and on the back, and there were written on it words of lamentation and mourning and woe.

3 And he said to me, ^(CF)“Son of man, eat whatever you find here. ^(CG)Eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.” ² So I opened my mouth, and he gave me this scroll to eat. ³ And he said to me, “Son of man, feed your belly with this scroll that I give you and fill your stomach with it.” ^(CH)Then I ate it, and it was in my mouth ^(CI)as sweet as honey.

⁴ And he said to me, ^(CJ)“Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak with my words to them. ⁵ For you are not sent to a people of foreign speech and a hard language, but to the house of Israel— ⁶ not to many peoples of foreign speech and a hard language, whose words you cannot understand. ^(CK)Surely, if I sent you to such, they would listen to you. ^7 (CL)But the house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you, for they are not willing to listen to me: because all the house of Israel ^(CM)have a hard forehead and a stubborn heart. ^8 (CN)Behold, I have made your face as hard as their faces, and your forehead as hard as their foreheads. ⁹ Like ^(CO)emery harder than flint have I made your forehead. ^(CP)Fear them not, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house.” ¹⁰ Moreover, he said to me, “Son of man, ^(CQ)all my words that I shall speak to you receive ^(CR)in your heart, and hear with your ears. ¹¹ And go to the exiles, ^(CS)to your people, and speak to them and say to them, ^(CT)‘Thus says the Lord God,’ ^(CU)whether they hear or refuse to hear.”

^12 (CV)Then the Spirit^[k] lifted me up, and I heard behind me the voice^[l] of ^(CW)a great earthquake: “Blessed be the glory of the Lord from its place!” ¹³ It was the sound of the wings of ^(CX)the living creatures as they touched one another, and the sound of the wheels beside them, and the sound of ^(CY)a great earthquake. ^14 (CZ)The Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness in the heat of my spirit, the ^(DA)hand of the Lord being strong upon me. ^15 (DB)And I came to the exiles at Tel-abib, who were dwelling ^(DC)by the Chebar canal, and I sat where they were dwelling.^[m] And ^(DD)I sat there ^(DE)overwhelmed among them ^(DF)seven days.

A Watchman for Israel

^16 (DG)And at the end of seven days, the word of the Lord came to me: ^17 (DH)“Son of man, ^(DI)I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall ^(DJ)give them warning from me. ^18 (DK)If I say to the wicked, ^(DL)‘You shall surely die,’ ^(DM)and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person ^(DN)shall die for^[n] his iniquity, ^(DO)but his blood I will require at your hand. ^19 (DP)But if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die for his iniquity, ^(DQ)but you ^(DR)will have delivered your soul. ^20 (DS)Again, if a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits injustice, ^(DT)and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die. ^(DU)Because you have not warned him, he shall die for his sin, ^(DV)and his righteous deeds that he has done shall not be remembered, ^(DW)but his blood I will require at your hand. ²¹ But if you warn the righteous person not to sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live, because he took warning, and you will have delivered your soul.”

^22 (DX)And the hand of the Lord was upon me there. And he said to me, “Arise, go out into ^(DY)the valley,^[o] and ^(DZ)there I will speak with you.” ²³ So I arose and went out into the valley, and behold, ^(EA)the glory of the Lord stood there, like the glory that I had seen ^(EB)by the Chebar canal, ^(EC)and I fell on my face. ^24 (ED)But the Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and he spoke with me and said to me, “Go, shut yourself within your house. ²⁵ And you, O son of man, behold, ^(EE)cords will be placed upon you, and you shall be bound with them, so that you cannot go out among the people. ²⁶ And I will make your tongue cling to the roof of your mouth, so that ^(EF)you shall be mute and unable to reprove them, ^(EG)for they are a rebellious house. ^27 (EH)But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you shall say to them, ^(EI)‘Thus says the Lord God.’ ^(EJ)He who will hear, let him hear; and he who will refuse to hear, let him refuse, for they are a rebellious house.

The Siege of Jerusalem Symbolized

4 “And you, ^(EK)son of man, ^(EL)take a brick and lay it before you, and engrave on it a city, even Jerusalem. ^2 (EM)And put siegeworks against it, ^(EN)and build a siege wall against it, ^(EO)and cast up a mound against it. Set camps also against it, ^(EP)and plant battering rams against it all around. ³ And you, take an iron griddle, and place it as an iron wall between you and the city; ^(EQ)and set your face toward it, ^(ER)and let it be in a state of siege, and press the siege against it. This is ^(ES)a sign for the house of Israel.

⁴ “Then lie on your left side, and place the punishment^[p] of the house of Israel upon it. For the number of the days that you lie on it, ^(ET)you shall bear their punishment. ⁵ For I assign to you a number of days, ^(EU)390 days, ^(EV)equal to the number of the years of their punishment. ^(EW)So long shall you bear ^(EX)the punishment of the house of Israel. ⁶ And when you have completed these, you shall lie down a second time, but on your right side, and ^(EY)bear ^(EZ)the punishment of the house of Judah. ^(FA)Forty days I assign you, a day for each year. ^7 (FB)And you shall set your face toward the siege of Jerusalem, ^(FC)with your arm bared, and you shall prophesy against the city. ⁸ And behold, ^(FD)I will place cords upon you, so that you cannot turn from one side to the other, till you have completed ^(FE)the days of your siege.

⁹ “And you, take wheat and barley, beans and lentils, millet and emmer,^[q] and put them into a single vessel and make your ^(FF)bread from them. ^(FG)During the number of days that you lie on your side, ^(FH)390 days, you shall eat it. ¹⁰ And your food that you eat shall be ^(FI)by weight, ^(FJ)twenty shekels^[r] a day; from day to day^[s] you shall eat it. ¹¹ And water you shall drink ^(FK)by measure, the sixth part of a hin;^[t] from day to day you shall drink. ¹² And you shall eat it as a barley cake, baking it ^(FL)in their sight on human dung.” ¹³ And the Lord said, “Thus shall the people of Israel eat ^(FM)their bread unclean, among the nations where I will drive them.” ¹⁴ Then I said, ^(FN)“Ah, Lord God! Behold, I have never defiled myself.^{[u] (FO)}From my youth up till now I have never eaten ^(FP)what died of itself or was torn by beasts, nor has ^(FQ)tainted meat come into my mouth.” ¹⁵ Then he said to me, “See, I assign to you cow's dung instead of human dung, on which you may prepare your bread.” ¹⁶ Moreover, he said to me, ^(FR)“Son of man, behold, ^(FS)I will break the supply^[v] of bread in Jerusalem. They shall eat bread ^(FT)by weight and with anxiety, and they shall drink water ^(FU)by measure and in dismay. ¹⁷ I will do this that they may lack bread and water, and ^(FV)look at one another in dismay, and ^(FW)rot away because of their punishment.

Jerusalem Will Be Destroyed

5 “And you, ^(FX)O son of man, take a ^(FY)sharp sword. Use it as ^(FZ)a barber's razor and ^(GA)pass it over your head and your beard. Then take balances for weighing and divide the hair. ^2 (GB)A third part you shall burn in the fire ^(GC)in the midst of the city, ^(GD)when the days of the siege are completed. And a third part you shall take and strike with the sword all around the city. ^(GE)And a third part you shall scatter to the wind, and ^(GF)I will unsheathe the sword after them. ^3 (GG)And you shall take from these a small number and bind them in the skirts of your robe. ^4 (GH)And of these again you shall take some and cast them into the midst of the fire and burn them in the fire. From there a fire will come out into all the house of Israel.

⁵ “Thus says the Lord God: ^(GI)This is Jerusalem. I have set her ^(GJ)in the center of the nations, with countries all around her. ⁶ And she has rebelled against my rules by doing wickedness ^(GK)more than the nations, and against my statutes more than ^(GL)the countries all around her; for they have rejected my rules and have not walked in my statutes. ⁷ Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because you are ^(GM)more turbulent than the nations that are all around you, ^(GN)and have not walked in my statutes or obeyed my rules, ^(GO)and have not^[w] even acted according to the rules of the nations that are all around you, ⁸ therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, even I, ^(GP)am against you. ^(GQ)And I will execute judgments^[x] in your midst ^(GR)in the sight of the nations. ⁹ And because of all your abominations I will do with you ^(GS)what I have never yet done, and the like of which I will never do again. ¹⁰ Therefore ^(GT)fathers shall eat their sons in your midst, and sons shall eat their fathers. ^(GU)And I will execute judgments on you, ^(GV)and any of you who survive I will scatter to all the winds. ¹¹ Therefore, ^(GW)as I live, declares the Lord God, surely, ^(GX)because you have defiled my sanctuary ^(GY)with all your detestable things and with all your ^(GZ)abominations, ^(HA)therefore I will withdraw.^{[y] (HB)}My eye will not spare, and I will have no pity. ^12 (HC)A third part of you shall die of pestilence and be consumed with famine in your midst; ^(HD)a third part shall fall by the sword all around you; ^(HE)and a third part I will scatter to all the winds and will unsheathe the sword after them.

^13 (HF)“Thus shall my anger spend itself, and I will vent my fury upon them and satisfy myself. And they shall know that ^(HG)I am the Lord—that I have spoken in my jealousy—^(HH)when I spend my fury upon them. ¹⁴ Moreover, I will make you ^(HI)a desolation and ^(HJ)an object of reproach among ^(HK)the nations all around you and in the sight of all who pass by. ¹⁵ You shall be^[z] a reproach and a taunt, a warning ^(HL)and a horror, to ^(HM)the nations all around you, ^(HN)when I execute judgments on you in anger and fury, and ^(HO)with furious rebukes—I am the Lord; I have spoken— ¹⁶ when I send against you^{[aa] (HP)}the deadly arrows of famine, arrows for destruction, which I will send to destroy you, and when I bring more and more famine upon ^(HQ)you and break your supply^[ab] of bread. ¹⁷ I will send famine and ^(HR)wild beasts against you, ^(HS)and they will rob you of your children. Pestilence and ^(HT)blood shall pass through you, and I will bring the sword upon you. I am the Lord; I have spoken.”

Judgment Against Idolatry

6 The word of the Lord came to me: ^2 (HU)“Son of man, ^(HV)set your face toward ^(HW)the mountains of Israel, and ^(HX)prophesy against them, ³ and say, ^(HY)You mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God! Thus says the Lord God to ^(HZ)the mountains and ^(IA)the hills, to ^(IB)the ravines and the valleys: Behold, I, even I, will bring a sword upon you, ^(IC)and I will destroy your high places. ^4 (ID)Your altars shall become desolate, and your ^(IE)incense altars shall be broken, and I will cast down your slain before your idols. ^5 (IF)And I will lay the dead bodies of the people of Israel before their idols, ^(IG)and I will scatter your bones around your altars. ⁶ Wherever you dwell, ^(IH)the cities shall be waste and ^(II)the high places ruined, so that your altars will be waste and ruined,^[ac] your idols broken and destroyed, your ^(IJ)incense altars cut down, and your works wiped out. ⁷ And the slain shall fall in your midst, and you shall know that I am the Lord.

^8 (IK)“Yet I will leave some of you alive. When you have among the nations ^(IL)some who escape the sword, and when you are scattered through the countries, ⁹ then those of you who escape ^(IM)will remember me among the nations where they are carried captive, how ^(IN)I have been broken over their whoring heart that has departed from me and over their eyes ^(IO)that go whoring after their idols. ^(IP)And they will be loathsome in their own sight for the evils that they have committed, for all their abominations. ¹⁰ And they shall know that I am the Lord. ^(IQ)I have not said in vain that I would do this evil to them.”

¹¹ Thus says the Lord God: ^(IR)“Clap your hands ^(IS)and stamp your foot and say, Alas, because of all the evil abominations of the house of Israel, ^(IT)for they shall fall by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence. ^12 (IU)He who is far off shall die of pestilence, and he who is near shall fall by the sword, and he who is left and is preserved shall die of famine. ^(IV)Thus I will spend my fury upon them. ¹³ And you shall know that I am the Lord, ^(IW)when their slain lie among their idols around their altars, ^(IX)on every high hill, ^(IY)on all the mountaintops, ^(IZ)under every green tree, and under ^(JA)every leafy oak, wherever ^(JB)they offered pleasing aroma to all their idols. ¹⁴ And ^(JC)I will stretch out my hand against them and ^(JD)make the land desolate and waste, ^(JE)in all their dwelling places, from the wilderness to ^(JF)Riblah.^[ad] Then ^(JG)they will know that I am the Lord.”

The Day of the Wrath of the Lord

7 The word of the Lord came to me: ² “And you, ^(JH)O son of man, thus says the Lord God to the land of Israel: ^(JI)An end! The end has come upon the four corners of the land.^{[ae] 3} Now ^(JJ)the end is upon you, and ^(JK)I will send my anger upon you; ^(JL)I will judge you according to your ways, and I will punish you for all your abominations. ^4 (JM)And my eye will not spare you, nor will I have pity, but ^(JN)I will punish you for your ways, while your abominations are in your midst. ^(JO)Then you will know that I am the Lord.

⁵ “Thus says the Lord God: Disaster ^(JP)after disaster!^[af] Behold, it comes. ^6 (JQ)An end has come; the end has come; it has awakened against you. Behold, it comes. ^7 (JR)Your doom^[ag] has come to you, O inhabitant of the land. ^(JS)The time has come; the day is near, a day of tumult, and not ^(JT)of joyful shouting on the mountains. ⁸ Now I will soon ^(JU)pour out my wrath upon you, and ^(JV)spend my anger against you, ^(JW)and judge you according to your ways, and I will punish you for all your abominations. ^9 (JX)And my eye will not spare, nor will I have pity. I will punish you according to your ways, while your abominations are in your midst. ^(JY)Then you will know that I am the Lord, who strikes.

^10 (JZ)“Behold, the day! Behold, it comes! ^(KA)Your doom has come; ^(KB)the rod has blossomed; pride has budded. ^11 (KC)Violence has grown up into ^(KD)a rod of wickedness. ^(KE)None of them shall remain, nor their abundance, nor their wealth; neither shall there be preeminence among them.^{[ah] 12 (KF)}The time has come; the day has arrived. Let not ^(KG)the buyer rejoice, nor ^(KH)the seller mourn, ^(KI)for wrath is upon all their multitude.^{[ai] 13} For ^(KJ)the seller shall not return to what he has sold, while they live. ^(KK)For the vision concerns all their multitude; it shall not turn back; and because of his iniquity, none can maintain his life.^[aj]

¹⁴ “They have blown the trumpet and made everything ready, but none goes to battle, ^(KL)for my wrath is upon all their multitude. ^15 (KM)The sword is without; pestilence and famine are within. ^(KN)He who is in the field dies by the sword, ^(KO)and him who is in the city famine and pestilence devour. ^16 (KP)And if any survivors escape, they will be on the mountains, like ^(KQ)doves of the valleys, all of them moaning, each one over his iniquity. ^17 (KR)All hands are feeble, and all knees turn to water. ^18 (KS)They put on sackcloth, and ^(KT)horror covers them. Shame is on all faces, and ^(KU)baldness on all their heads. ¹⁹ They cast their silver into the streets, and their gold is like an unclean thing. ^(KV)Their silver and gold are not able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the Lord. They cannot satisfy their hunger or fill their stomachs with it. ^(KW)For it was ^(KX)the stumbling block of their iniquity. ^20 (KY)His beautiful ornament they used for pride, and ^(KZ)they made their abominable images and their detestable things of it. Therefore ^(LA)I make it an unclean thing to them. ²¹ And I will give it into the hands of ^(LB)foreigners for prey, ^(LC)and to the wicked of the earth for spoil, and ^(LD)they shall profane it. ²² I will turn my face from them, and ^(LE)they shall profane my treasured^[ak] place. Robbers shall enter ^(LF)and profane it.

^23 (LG)“Forge a chain!^{[al] (LH)}For the land is full of bloody crimes ^(LI)and the city is full of violence. ²⁴ I will bring ^(LJ)the worst of the nations to take possession of their houses. ^(LK)I will put an end to the pride of the strong, ^(LL)and their holy places^[am] shall be profaned. ^25 (LM)When anguish comes, ^(LN)they will seek peace, but there shall be none. ^26 (LO)Disaster comes upon disaster; ^(LP)rumor follows rumor. ^(LQ)They seek a vision from the prophet, while ^(LR)the law^[an] perishes from the priest and ^(LS)counsel from the elders. ²⁷ The king mourns, the prince is wrapped in despair, and the hands of the people of the land are paralyzed by terror. According to their way ^(LT)I will do to them, and according to their judgments I will judge them, ^(LU)and they shall know that I am the Lord.”

Abominations in the Temple

8 ^(LV)In the sixth year, in the sixth month, on the fifth day of the month, ^(LW)as I sat in my house, with ^(LX)the elders of Judah sitting before me, ^(LY)the hand of the Lord God fell upon me there. ² Then I looked, and behold, ^(LZ)a form that had the appearance of a man.^{[ao] (MA)}Below what appeared to be his waist was fire, and above his waist was something like the appearance of brightness, like ^(MB)gleaming metal.^{[ap] 3} He ^(MC)put out the form of a hand and took me by a lock of my head, and the Spirit lifted me up ^(MD)between earth and heaven and ^(ME)brought me in ^(MF)visions of God to Jerusalem, ^(MG)to the entrance of the gateway of the inner court that faces north, ^(MH)where was the seat of the ^(MI)image of jealousy, ^(MJ)which provokes to jealousy. ⁴ And behold, ^(MK)the glory of the God of Israel was there, like the vision that I saw ^(ML)in the valley.

⁵ Then he said to me, ^(MM)“Son of man, lift up your eyes now toward the north.” So I lifted up my eyes toward the north, and behold, north of ^(MN)the altar gate, in the entrance, was this ^(MO)image of jealousy. ⁶ And he said to me, “Son of man, ^(MP)do you see what they are doing, ^(MQ)the great abominations that the house of Israel are committing here, ^(MR)to drive me far from my sanctuary? But you will see still greater abominations.”

⁷ And he brought me to the entrance of the court, and when I looked, behold, there was a hole in the wall. ⁸ Then he said to me, “Son of man, ^(MS)dig in the wall.” So I dug in the wall, and behold, there was an entrance. ⁹ And he said to me, “Go in, and see ^(MT)the vile abominations that they are committing here.” ¹⁰ So I went in and saw. And there, ^(MU)engraved on the wall all around, was ^(MV)every form of ^(MW)creeping things and loathsome beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel. ¹¹ And before them stood ^(MX)seventy men of ^(MY)the elders of the house of Israel, with Jaazaniah the son of ^(MZ)Shaphan standing among them. Each had his censer in his hand, and ^(NA)the smoke of the cloud of incense went up. ¹² Then he said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel are doing ^(NB)in the dark, each ^(NC)in his room of pictures? For they say, ^(ND)‘The Lord does not see us, the Lord has forsaken the land.’” ¹³ He said also to me, ^(NE)“You will see still greater abominations that they commit.”

¹⁴ Then he brought me to ^(NF)the entrance of the north gate of the house of the Lord, and behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz. ¹⁵ Then he said to me, “Have you seen this, O ^(NG)son of man? ^(NH)You will see still greater abominations than these.”

¹⁶ And he brought me into ^(NI)the inner court of the house of the Lord. And behold, at the entrance of the temple of the Lord, ^(NJ)between the ^(NK)porch and ^(NL)the altar, were about twenty-five men, ^(NM)with their backs to the temple of the Lord, and their faces toward the east, worshiping ^(NN)the sun toward the east. ¹⁷ Then he said to me, “Have you seen this, O ^(NO)son of man? Is it too light a thing for the house of Judah to commit ^(NP)the abominations that they commit here, that ^(NQ)they should fill the land with violence and ^(NR)provoke me still further to anger? Behold, they put the branch to their^[aq] nose. ¹⁸ Therefore ^(NS)I will act in wrath. ^(NT)My eye will not spare, nor will I have pity. ^(NU)And though they cry in my ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them.”

Idolaters Killed

9 Then he cried in my ears with a loud voice, saying, “Bring near the executioners of the city, ^(NV)each with his destroying weapon in his hand.” ² And behold, six men came from the direction of ^(NW)the upper gate, which faces north, each with his weapon for slaughter in his hand, and with them was ^(NX)a man clothed in linen, with a writing case at his waist. And they went in and stood beside ^(NY)the bronze altar.

³ Now ^(NZ)the glory of the God of Israel had gone up from the cherub on which it rested to ^(OA)the threshold of the house. And he called to ^(OB)the man clothed in linen, who had the writing case at his waist. ⁴ And the Lord said to him, “Pass through the city, through Jerusalem, and ^(OC)put a mark on the foreheads of the men who ^(OD)sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it.” ⁵ And to ^(OE)the others he said in my hearing, “Pass through the city after him, and strike. ^(OF)Your eye shall not spare, and you shall show no pity. ^6 (OG)Kill old men outright, young men and maidens, little children and women, but ^(OH)touch no one on whom is the mark. And ^(OI)begin at my sanctuary.” So they began with the elders who were before the house. ⁷ Then he said to them, ^(OJ)“Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain. Go out.” So they went out and struck in the city. ⁸ And while they were striking, and I was left alone, ^(OK)I fell upon my face, and cried, ^(OL)“Ah, Lord God! ^(OM)Will you destroy all the remnant of Israel ^(ON)in the outpouring of your wrath on Jerusalem?”

⁹ Then he said to me, ^(OO)“The guilt of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great. ^(OP)The land is full of blood, and the city full of injustice. For ^(OQ)they say, ‘The Lord has forsaken the land, and the Lord does not see.’ ¹⁰ As for me, ^(OR)my eye will not spare, nor will I have pity; ^(OS)I will bring their deeds upon their heads.”

¹¹ And behold, ^(OT)the man clothed in linen, with the writing case at his waist, brought back word, saying, “I have done as you commanded me.”

The Glory of the Lord Leaves the Temple

10 Then I looked, and behold, ^(OU)on the expanse that was over the heads of the cherubim there appeared above them something ^(OV)like a sapphire,^[ar] in appearance like a throne. ² And he said to ^(OW)the man clothed in linen, “Go in among ^(OX)the whirling wheels underneath the cherubim. Fill your hands with ^(OY)burning coals from between the cherubim, and ^(OZ)scatter them over the city.”

And he went in ^(PA)before my eyes. ³ Now the cherubim were standing ^(PB)on the south side of the house, when the man went in, and ^(PC)a cloud filled ^(PD)the inner court. ⁴ And ^(PE)the glory of the Lord ^(PF)went up from the cherub to the threshold of the house, and the house ^(PG)was filled with the cloud, and the court was filled with ^(PH)the brightness of the glory of the Lord. ⁵ And ^(PI)the sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard as far as the outer court, ^(PJ)like the voice of God Almighty when he speaks.

⁶ And when he commanded ^(PK)the man clothed in linen, ^(PL)“Take fire from between ^(PM)the whirling wheels, from between the cherubim,” he went in and stood beside a wheel. ⁷ And a cherub stretched out his hand from between the cherubim to the fire that was between the cherubim, and took some of it and put it into the hands of the man clothed in linen, who took it and went out. ⁸ The cherubim appeared to have ^(PN)the form of a human hand under their wings.

^9 (PO)And I looked, and behold, there were four wheels beside the cherubim, one beside each cherub, and ^(PP)the appearance of the wheels was ^(PQ)like sparkling ^(PR)beryl. ¹⁰ And as for their appearance, the four had the same likeness, as if a wheel were within a wheel. ^11 (PS)When they went, they went in any of their four directions^{[as] (PT)}without turning as they went, ^(PU)but in whatever direction the front wheel^[at] faced, the others followed without turning as they went. ^12 (PV)And their whole body, their rims, and their spokes, their wings,^[au] and the wheels were full of eyes all around—the wheels that the four of them had. ¹³ As for the wheels, they were called in my hearing ^(PW)“the whirling wheels.” ^14 (PX)And every one had four faces: ^(PY)the first face was the face of the cherub, and the second face was ^(PZ)a human face, and the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.

^15 (QA)And the cherubim mounted up. These were ^(QB)the living creatures that I saw by ^(QC)the Chebar canal. ^16 (QD)And when the cherubim went, the wheels went beside them. And ^(QE)when the cherubim lifted up their wings to mount up from the earth, the wheels did not turn from beside them. ^17 (QF)When they stood still, these stood still, and when they mounted up, these mounted up with them, for the spirit of the living creatures^[av] was in them.

^18 (QG)Then ^(QH)the glory of the Lord went out from the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubim. ^19 (QI)And the cherubim lifted up their wings and mounted up from the earth ^(QJ)before my eyes as they went out, with the wheels beside them. And they stood at the entrance of the ^(QK)east gate of the house of the Lord, and ^(QL)the glory of the God of Israel was over them.

^20 (QM)These were the living creatures that I saw ^(QN)underneath the God of Israel by ^(QO)the Chebar canal; and I knew that they were cherubim. ^21 (QP)Each had four faces, and each four wings, and underneath their wings ^(QQ)the likeness of human hands. ^22 (QR)And as for the likeness of their faces, they were the same faces whose appearance I had seen by the Chebar canal. ^(QS)Each one of them went straight forward.

Judgment on Wicked Counselors

11 ^(QT)The Spirit lifted me up and brought me to ^(QU)the east gate of the house of the Lord, which faces east. And behold, at the entrance of the gateway there were ^(QV)twenty-five men. And I saw among them Jaazaniah ^(QW)the son of Azzur, and ^(QX)Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people. ² And he said to me, ^(QY)“Son of man, these are the men who devise iniquity and who give wicked counsel in this city; ^3 (QZ)who say, ^(RA)‘The time is not near^[aw] to build houses. ^(RB)This city is the cauldron, and we are the meat.’ ⁴ Therefore prophesy against them; prophesy, O son of man.”

⁵ And ^(RC)the Spirit of the Lord fell upon me, and he said to me, “Say, Thus says the Lord: So you think, O house of Israel. ^(RD)For I know the things that come into your mind. ^6 (RE)You have multiplied your slain in this city and have filled its streets with the slain. ⁷ Therefore thus says the Lord God: ^(RF)Your slain whom you have laid in the midst of it, ^(RG)they are the meat, and ^(RH)this city is the cauldron, but you shall be brought out of the midst of it. ^8 (RI)You have feared the sword, and I will bring the sword upon you, declares the Lord God. ⁹ And I will bring you out of the midst of it, and ^(RJ)give you into the hands of foreigners, and ^(RK)execute judgments upon you. ^10 (RL)You shall fall by the sword. I will judge you at the border of Israel, ^(RM)and you shall know that I am the Lord. ^11 (RN)This city shall not be your cauldron, nor shall you be the meat in the midst of it. I will judge you at the border of Israel, ¹² and you shall know that I am the Lord. For you have not walked in my statutes, nor obeyed my rules, ^(RO)but have acted according to the rules of the nations that are around you.”

¹³ And it came to pass, while I was prophesying, ^(RP)that ^(RQ)Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died. ^(RR)Then I fell down on my face and cried out with a loud voice and said, ^(RS)“Ah, Lord God! ^(RT)Will you make a full end of the remnant of Israel?”

Israel's New Heart and Spirit

¹⁴ And the word of the Lord came to me: ^15 (RU)“Son of man, your brothers, even your brothers, your kinsmen,^[ax] the whole house of Israel, all of them, are those of whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, ^(RV)‘Go far from the Lord; to us this land is given for a possession.’ ¹⁶ Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: Though I removed them far off among the nations, and though I scattered them among the countries, yet ^(RW)I have been a sanctuary to them for a while^[ay] in the countries where they have gone.’ ¹⁷ Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: ^(RX)I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, ^(RY)and I will give you the land of Israel.’ ¹⁸ And when they come there, ^(RZ)they will remove from it all its ^(SA)detestable things and all its abominations. ^19 (SB)And I will give them one heart, and ^(SC)a new spirit I will put within them. ^(SD)I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh ^(SE)and give them a heart of flesh, ^20 (SF)that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. ^(SG)And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. ^21 (SH)But as for those whose heart goes after their detestable things and their abominations, ^(SI)I will^[az] bring their deeds upon their own heads, declares the Lord God.”

^22 (SJ)Then the cherubim lifted up their wings, with the wheels beside them, ^(SK)and the glory of the God of Israel was over them. ²³ And the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city and ^(SL)stood on the mountain that is on the east side of the city. ^24 (SM)And the Spirit lifted me up and brought me ^(SN)in the vision by the Spirit of God ^(SO)into Chaldea, to the exiles. Then the vision that I had seen went up from me. ²⁵ And I told the exiles all the things that the Lord had shown me.

Judah's Captivity Symbolized

12 The word of the Lord came to me: ^2 (SP)“Son of man, you dwell in the midst of ^(SQ)a rebellious house, ^(SR)who have eyes to see, but see not, who have ears to hear, but hear not, for they are ^(SS)a rebellious house. ³ As for you, son of man, prepare for yourself ^(ST)an exile's baggage, and go into exile by day ^(SU)in their sight. You shall go like an exile from your place to another place ^(SV)in their sight. ^(SW)Perhaps they will understand, though^[ba] they are a rebellious house. ⁴ You shall bring out your baggage by day in their sight, as baggage for exile, and you shall go out yourself ^(SX)at evening in their sight, as those do who must go into exile. ⁵ In their sight ^(SY)dig through the wall, and bring your baggage out through it. ⁶ In their sight you shall lift the baggage upon your shoulder and carry it out at dusk. You shall cover your face that you may not see the land, for I have made you ^(SZ)a sign for the house of Israel.”

^7 (TA)And I did as I was commanded. ^(TB)I brought out my baggage by day, as baggage for exile, and in the evening I dug through the wall with my own hands. I brought out my baggage at dusk, carrying it on my shoulder in their sight.

⁸ In the morning the word of the Lord came to me: ^9 (TC)“Son of man, has not the house of Israel, ^(TD)the rebellious house, said to you, ^(TE)‘What are you doing?’ ¹⁰ Say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: This oracle concerns^{[bb] (TF)}the prince in Jerusalem and all the house of Israel who are in it.’^{[bc] 11} Say, ^(TG)‘I am a sign for you: ^(TH)as I have done, so shall it be done to them. They shall go into exile, into captivity.’ ^12 (TI)And the prince who is among them shall lift his baggage upon his shoulder at dusk, and shall go out. ^(TJ)They shall dig through the wall to bring him out through it. ^(TK)He shall cover his face, that he may not see the land with his eyes. ^13 (TL)And I will spread my net over him, and he shall be taken in my snare. And ^(TM)I will bring him to Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans, ^(TN)yet he shall not see it, and he shall die there. ^14 (TO)And I will scatter toward every wind all who are around him, his helpers and all his troops, ^(TP)and I will unsheathe the sword after them. ^15 (TQ)And they shall know that I am the Lord, when I disperse them among the nations and scatter them among the countries. ^16 (TR)But I will let a few of them escape from the sword, from famine and pestilence, that they may declare all their abominations among the nations where they go, ^(TS)and may know that I am the Lord.”

¹⁷ And the word of the Lord came to me: ^18 (TT)“Son of man, ^(TU)eat your bread with quaking, and drink water with trembling and with anxiety. ¹⁹ And say to the people of the land, Thus says the Lord God concerning the inhabitants of Jerusalem in the land of Israel: ^(TV)They shall eat their bread with anxiety, ^(TW)and drink water in dismay. In this way ^(TX)her land will be stripped of all it contains, ^(TY)on account of the violence of all those who dwell in it. ^20 (TZ)And the inhabited cities shall be laid waste, and the land shall become a desolation; and you shall know that I am the Lord.”

²¹ And the word of the Lord came to me: ²² “Son of man, ^(UA)what is this proverb that you^[bd] have about the land of Israel, saying, ^(UB)‘The days grow long, and every vision comes to nothing’? ²³ Tell them therefore, ‘Thus says the Lord God: I will put an end to this proverb, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel.’ But say to them, ^(UC)The days are near, and the fulfillment^[be] of every vision. ^24 (UD)For there shall be no more any ^(UE)false vision or flattering divination within the house of Israel. ²⁵ For I am the Lord; I will speak ^(UF)the word that I will speak, and it will be performed. ^(UG)It will no longer be delayed, but in your days, ^(UH)O rebellious house, I will speak the word and perform it, declares the Lord God.”

²⁶ And the word of the Lord came to me: ²⁷ “Son of man, behold, they of the house of Israel say, ^(UI)‘The vision that he sees is ^(UJ)for many days from now, and he prophesies of times far off.’ ²⁸ Therefore say to them, Thus says the Lord God: ^(UK)None of my words will be delayed any longer, ^(UL)but the word that I speak will be performed, declares the Lord God.”