Ezekiel 1-4

Easy-to-Read Version

Introduction

1 I am the priest, Ezekiel son of Buzi. I was in exile by the Kebar Canal in Babylonia when the skies opened up, and I saw visions of God. This was on the fifth day of the fourth month of the thirtieth year.^[a] (This was the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s exile. The word of the Lord came to Ezekiel. The power of the Lord came over him at that place.)

The Chariot of the Lord—God’s Throne

⁴ I was watching a big storm come in from the north. It was a big cloud with a strong wind, and there was fire flashing from it. Light was shining out all around it. It looked like hot metal^[b] glowing in a fire. ⁵ Inside the cloud, there were four living beings that looked like people. ⁶ But each one of them had four faces and four wings. ⁷ Their legs were straight. Their feet looked like calves’ feet, and they sparkled like polished brass. ⁸ Under their wings were human arms. There were four living beings. Each living being had four faces and four wings. ⁹ The wings touched each other. The living beings did not turn when they moved. They went in the direction they were looking.

¹⁰ Each living being had four faces. In the front they each had a man’s face. There was a lion’s face on the right side and a bull’s face on the left side. There was an eagle’s face on the back. ¹¹ Their wings were spread out over them. With two of the wings each living being reached out to touch the one near it, and with the other two wings it covered its body. ¹² Each living being went in the direction it was looking. They went wherever the spirit^[c] caused them to go, but they did not turn when they moved. ¹³ That is what the living beings looked like.

Inside the area between the living beings, there was something that looked like burning coals of fire. This fire was like small torches that kept moving around among the living beings. The fire glowed brightly and lightning flashed from it. ¹⁴ The living beings ran back and forth—as fast as lightning.^[d]

^15-16 I was looking at the living beings when I noticed four wheels that touched the ground. There was one wheel by each living being. All the wheels looked the same. The wheels looked as if they were made from a clear, yellow jewel. They looked like there was a wheel inside a wheel. ¹⁷ They could turn to move in any direction. But the living beings did not turn when they moved.^[e]

¹⁸ The rims of the wheels were tall and frightening. There were eyes all over the rims of all four wheels.

¹⁹ The wheels always moved with the living beings. If the living beings went up into the air, the wheels went with them. ²⁰ They went wherever the spirit wanted them to go, and the wheels went with them, because the power that moved the living being was in the wheels. ²¹ So if the living beings moved, the wheels moved. If the living beings stopped, the wheels stopped. If the wheels went into the air, the living beings went with them, because the spirit was in the wheels.

²² There was an amazing thing over the heads of the living beings. It was like a bowl^[f] turned upside down, and the bowl was clear like crystal. ²³ Under this bowl, each living being had wings reaching out to the one next to it. Two wings spread out one way and two wings spread out the other way, covering its body.

²⁴ Then I heard the wings. Every time the living beings moved, their wings made a very loud noise like a lot of water rushing by. They were loud like the Lord All-Powerful. They were as loud as an army or a crowd of people. When the living beings stopped moving, they put their wings down by their side.

²⁵ The living beings stopped moving and lowered their wings. Then there was another loud sound that came from above the bowl over their heads. ²⁶ There was something that looked like a throne on top of the bowl. It was blue like sapphire. There was also something that looked like a man sitting on the throne. ²⁷ I looked at him from his waist up. He looked like hot metal with fire all around him. I looked at him from his waist down. It looked like fire with a glow that was shining all around him. ²⁸ The light shining around him was like a rainbow in a cloud. It was the Glory of the Lord. As soon as I saw that, I fell to the ground. I bowed with my face to the ground, and then I heard a voice speaking to me.

The Lord Speaks to Ezekiel

2 The voice said, “Son of man,^[g] stand up and I will speak with you.”

² Then the Spirit came into me^[h] and lifted me up on my feet, and I listened to the one who spoke to me. ³ He said, “Son of man, I am sending you to speak to the family of Israel. Those people and their ancestors turned against me many times. They have sinned against me many times—and they are still sinning against me today. ⁴ I am sending you to speak to them, but they are very stubborn. They are very hardheaded, but you must speak to them. You must say, ‘This is what the Lord God says.’ ⁵ They are people who refuse to obey, so they may not listen to you. But even if they don’t stop sinning, at least they will know that there is a prophet living among them.

⁶ “Son of man, don’t be afraid of the people or what they say. It is true: they will turn against you and try to hurt you. Their words will be sharp like thorns and will sting like scorpions. But don’t be afraid of what they say. They are people who refuse to obey, but don’t be afraid of them. ⁷ You must tell them what I say, whether they listen or not. They are people who usually refuse to listen!

⁸ “Son of man, listen to what I am telling you. Don’t turn against me like those people who refuse to obey. Now open your mouth to receive the words I will give you to speak.”

⁹ Then I saw an arm reach out toward me. It was holding a scroll with words written on it. ¹⁰ It rolled the scroll open in front of me. Words were on the front and on the back of the scroll. There were all kinds of sad songs, sad stories, and warnings.

3 God said to me, “Son of man,^[i] eat what you see. Eat this scroll, and then go tell these things to the family of Israel.”

² So I opened my mouth and he put the scroll into my mouth. ³ Then God said, “Son of man, I am giving you this scroll. Swallow it! Let that scroll fill your body.”

So I ate the scroll. It was as sweet as honey in my mouth.

⁴ Then God said to me, “Son of man, go to the family of Israel. Speak my words to them. ⁵ I am not sending you to some foreigners you cannot understand. You don’t have to learn another language. I am sending you to the family of Israel. ⁶ I am not sending you to many different countries where people speak languages you cannot understand. If you went to those people and spoke to them, they would listen to you. But you will not have to learn those hard languages. ⁷ No, I am sending you to the family of Israel. Only, these people have hard heads—they are very stubborn! And the people of Israel will refuse to listen to you. They don’t want to listen to me. ⁸ But I will make you just as stubborn as they are, and your head just as hard. ⁹ A diamond is harder than flint rock. In the same way you will be more stubborn than they are, and your head will be harder. Then you will not be afraid of them or those who always turn against me.”

¹⁰ Then God said to me, “Son of man, listen to every word I say to you and remember them. ¹¹ Then go to all of your people in exile and tell them, ‘This is what the Lord God says ….’ They will not listen, and they will not stop sinning, but you must still tell them my message.”

¹² Then the Spirit^[j] lifted me up, and I heard a voice behind me. It was very loud, like thunder. It said, “Blessed is the Glory of the Lord!” ¹³ Then the wings of the living beings began moving. The wings made a very loud noise as they touched each other, and the wheels in front of them began making a noise as loud as thunder. ¹⁴ The Spirit lifted me and took me away. I was very sad and upset in my spirit, but I felt the Lord’s power in me. ¹⁵ I went to the people of Israel who were forced to live in Tel Aviv^[k] by the Kebar Canal. I sat there among them for seven days, shocked and silent.

The Watchman of Israel

¹⁶ After seven days, the word of the Lord came to me. He said, ¹⁷ “Son of man, I am making you a watchman for Israel. I will tell you about bad things that will happen to them, and you must warn Israel. ¹⁸ If I say, ‘These evil people will die!’ Then you must warn them. You must tell them to change their lives and stop doing evil. If you don’t warn them, they will die because they sinned. But I will also make you responsible for their death, because you did not go to them and save their lives.

¹⁹ “If you warn them and tell them to change their lives and stop doing evil, but they refuse to listen, they will die because they sinned. But since you warned them, you will have saved your own life.

²⁰ “If good people stop being good and begin to do evil, and I send something that makes them stumble and sin, they will die because they sinned. But since you did not warn them and remind them of the good things they had done, I will make you responsible for their death.

²¹ “But if you warn good people and tell them to stop sinning, and they listen to your warning and stop sinning, they will not die. In that way you will have saved your own life.”

²² The Lord’s power came to me. He said to me, “Get up and go to the valley.^[l] I will speak to you in that place.”

²³ So I got up and went out to the valley. The Glory of the Lord was there—as I had seen it by the Kebar Canal. So I bowed with my face to the ground. ²⁴ But the Spirit came into me and lifted me up on my feet. He said to me, “Go home and lock yourself in your house. ²⁵ Son of man, people will come with ropes and tie you up. They will not let you go out among the people. ²⁶ I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth—you will not be able to talk. So they will not have anyone to teach them that they are doing wrong, because they are always turning against me. ²⁷ But I will talk to you, and then I will allow you to speak. But you must say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says.’ If a person wants to listen, fine. If a person refuses to listen, fine. But those people always turn against me.

Warnings About the Attack of Jerusalem

4 “Son of man,^[m] take a brick and scratch a picture on it. Draw a picture of a city—the city of Jerusalem. ² And then pretend you are an army surrounding the city. Build a dirt wall around the city to help you attack it. Build a dirt road leading up to the city wall. Bring battering rams^[n] and set up army camps around the city. ³ And then take an iron pan and put it between you and the city. It will be like an iron wall separating you and the city. In this way you will show that you are against it. You will surround the city and attack it. This is an example for the family of Israel to show that I will destroy Jerusalem.

⁴ “Then you must lie down on your left side. You must do this thing that shows that you are taking the sins of the people of Israel on yourself. You will carry the guilt for as many days as you lie on your left side. ⁵ You must bear the guilt of Israel for 390 days.^[o] In this way I am telling you how long Israel will be punished; one day equals one year.

⁶ “After that time, you will lie on your right side for 40 days. This time you will bear the guilt of Judah for 40 days. One day equals one year. I am telling you how long Judah must be punished.

⁷ “Now, roll up your sleeve and raise your arm over the brick. Act like you are attacking the city of Jerusalem. Do this to show that you are speaking as my messenger to the people. ⁸ Now look, I am tying ropes on you. You will not be able to roll over from one side to the other until your attack against the city^[p] is finished.

⁹ “You must get some grain to make bread. Get some wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and spelt. Mix all these things together in one bowl and grind them to make flour. You will use this flour to make bread. You will eat only this bread during the 390 days that you lie on your side. ¹⁰ You will be allowed to use only 1 cup^[q] of that flour each day to make bread. You will eat that bread from time to time throughout the day. ¹¹ You can drink only 3 cups^[r] of water each day. You can drink it from time to time throughout the day. ¹² You must make your bread each day. You must get dry human dung and burn it. Then you must cook the bread over this burning dung. You must eat this bread in front of the people.” ¹³ Then the Lord said, “This will show that the family of Israel will eat unclean bread in foreign countries and that I am the one who forced them to leave Israel and go to those countries!”

¹⁴ Then I said, “Oh, but Lord God, I have never eaten any unclean food. I have never eaten meat from an animal that died from a disease or from an animal that was killed by a wild animal. I have never eaten unclean meat—not from the time that I was a little baby until now. None of that bad meat ever entered my mouth.”

¹⁵ Then God said to me, “Very well, I will let you use dry cow dung to cook your bread. You don’t have to use dry human dung.”

¹⁶ Then God said to me, “Son of man, I am destroying Jerusalem’s supply of bread. People will have only a little bread to eat. They will be very worried about their food supply, and they will have only a little water to drink. Every time they take a drink, they will feel more afraid. ¹⁷ That is because there will not be enough food and water for everyone. They will be terrified as they watch each other wasting away because of their sins.