The Sinful Are Killed

9 Then I heard Him call out in a loud voice, “Come near, you who punish the city, each with a destroying ax in his hand.” ² And I saw six men coming from the upper gate on the north side. Each man had his battle-ax in his hand. Among them was a certain man dressed in linen, with things for writing at his side. And the men went in and stood by the brass altar.

³ Then the shining-greatness of the God of Israel went up from the cherub where it had been, to the door of the Lord’s house. And He called to the man dressed in linen with the things for writing at his side. ⁴ The Lord said to him, “Go through the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who cry inside themselves over all the hated sins which are being done among them.” ⁵ But to the others I heard Him say, “Go through the city after him, and destroy. Do not let your eye have pity. And do not let any sinner go without punishment. ⁶ Kill and destroy old men, young men, young women, little children, and women. But do not touch anyone who has the mark. Begin at My holy house.” So they started with the leaders who were in front of the Lord’s house. ⁷ He said to them, “Make the house of worship unclean and fill the open spaces with the dead. Go out!” So they went out and killed the people in the city. ⁸ As they were killing, I alone was left, and I fell on my face and cried out, “It is bad, O Lord God! Are You destroying all the people of Israel who are left, by pouring out Your anger on Jerusalem?”

⁹ Then He said to me, “The sin of the people of Israel and Judah is very, very bad. The land is filled with blood, and the city is full of wrong-doing. For they say, ‘The Lord has left the land, and the Lord does not see.’ ¹⁰ But as for Me, My eye will have no pity, and I will not leave any sinner without punishment. I will bring their wrong-doing upon their own heads.”

¹¹ Then I saw the man dressed in linen, who had the things for writing at his side, come and say, “I have done just as You have told me.”

God’s Shining-Greatness Leaves the House of God

10 Then I looked and saw something like a sapphire stone in the open space that was over the cherubim’s heads. It looked like a throne above them. ² And the Lord said to the man dressed in linen, “Go in between the wheels under the cherubim. Fill your hands with coals of fire from between the cherubim and throw them over the city.” And as I watched, he went in.

³ Now the cherubim were standing on the right side of the house of the Lord when the man went in. And the cloud filled the open space inside. ⁴ Then the shining-greatness of the Lord went up from above the cherubim to the door of the Lord’s house. The house of the Lord was filled with the cloud. And the open space was filled with the bright and shining-greatness of the Lord. ⁵ The sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard as far as the outside open space. It was like the voice of God All-powerful when He speaks.

⁶ When He told the man dressed in linen, “Take fire from between the wheels, from between the cherubim,” the man went in and stood beside a wheel. ⁷ Then one of the cherubim put out his hand to the fire which was among them. He took some and put it into the hands of the one dressed in linen, who took it and went out. ⁸ (The cherubim had what looked like a man’s hands under their wings.)

⁹ Then I looked and saw four wheels beside the cherubim, one wheel beside each cherub. The wheels looked like they were made of shining chrysolite stone. ¹⁰ All four of them looked the same. Each looked like they had one wheel inside another wheel. ¹¹ When they moved, they went in any of their four ways without turning as they went, but followed the way the head was facing without turning as they went. ¹² And their whole body, their backs, their hands, their wings, and the wheels were full of eyes all around, the wheels belonging to all four of them. ¹³ The wheels were called in my hearing, “the turning wheels.” ¹⁴ Each one of the cherubim had four faces. The first face was the face of a cherub. The second face was the face of a man. The third was the face of a lion. And the fourth was the face of an eagle.

¹⁵ Then the cherubim rose up. They were the living beings that I saw by the Chebar River. ¹⁶ Now when the cherubim moved, the wheels went beside them. And when the cherubim lifted up their wings to rise from the ground, the wheels did not leave their side. ¹⁷ When the cherubim stood still, the wheels stood still. When they rose up, the wheels rose with them. For the spirit of the living beings was in them.

¹⁸ Then the shining-greatness of the Lord left the door of the Lord’s house and stood over the cherubim. ¹⁹ When the cherubim left, they lifted their wings and rose up from the earth in front of my eyes, with the wheels beside them. And they stood still at the door of the east gate of the Lord’s house. The shining-greatness of the God of Israel was over them.

²⁰ These are the living beings that I saw under the God of Israel by the Chebar River, so I knew that they were cherubim. ²¹ Each one had four faces and four wings, and under their wings were what looked like human hands. ²² Their faces looked the same as those I had seen by the Chebar River. Each one went straight ahead.

Israel’s Leaders Are Judged

11 The Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the east gate of the Lord’s house which faces eastward. There I saw twenty-five men at the door of the gate. Among them I saw Jaazaniah the son of Azzur, and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, leaders of the people. ² Then He said to me, “Son of man, these are the men who make sinful plans and tell others in this city to do what is wrong. ³ They say, ‘Will it not soon be time to build houses? This city is the pot and we are the meat.’ ⁴ So tell what will happen against them, son of man. Speak the Word of God!”

⁵ Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon me, and He said to me, “Tell them, ‘This is what the Lord says: “This is what you thought, O people of Israel. For I know the things that come into your mind. ⁶ You have made many more of your people die in this city. You have filled its streets with them.” ⁷ So the Lord God says, “Your dead whom you have laid in the city are the meat, and this city is the pot. But I will bring you out of it. ⁸ You have been afraid of the sword, so I will bring a sword upon you,” the Lord God says. ⁹ “And I will bring you out of the city, and give you over to strangers and punish you. ¹⁰ You will be killed by the sword all the way to the land of Israel, so you will know that I am the Lord. ¹¹ This city will not be a pot for you, and you will not be the meat inside it. But I will punish you all the way to the land of Israel. ¹² And you will know that I am the Lord. For you have not walked in my Laws or obeyed them, but have followed the ways of the nations around you.”’”

¹³ While I was saying what was going to happen, Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died. Then I fell on my face and cried out with a loud voice, “It is bad, Lord God! Will You bring a complete end to those of Israel who are left?”

God Will Bring Israel Back

¹⁴ Then the Word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹⁵ “Son of man, your brothers, your family, those who were driven out of the land, and all the people of Israel are those of whom the people of Jerusalem have said, ‘They have gone far away from the Lord. This land has been given to us for our own.’ ¹⁶ So tell them, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “I sent them far away among the nations. I divided them among the countries. But still I was a holy place for them a little while in the countries where they had gone.”’ ¹⁷ So tell them, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “I will gather you from the nations. I will gather you together out of the countries where you have been divided. And I will give you the land of Israel.”’ ¹⁸ When they return to it, they will take away all its hated and sinful things. ¹⁹ I will give them one heart, and put a new spirit within them. I will take the heart of stone out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh. ²⁰ Then they will walk in My Laws and keep them, and obey them. They will be My people, and I will be their God. ²¹ But as for those whose hearts go after their hated and sinful things, I will bring their actions upon their own heads,” says the Lord God.

²² Then the cherubim lifted up their wings with the wheels beside them. And the shining-greatness of the God of Israel was over them. ²³ The shining-greatness of the Lord went up from the city and stood over the mountain east of it. ²⁴ The Spirit lifted me up and brought me in a special dream by the Spirit of God to the Jews who had been taken to Babylon. Then the special dream that I had seen left me. ²⁵ And I told the Jews in Babylon all the things that the Lord had shown me.

The Man of God Leaves

12 The Word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, you live among sinful people. They have eyes to see but do not see, and ears to hear but do not hear. For they are sinful people. ³ So, son of man, get your things ready to take with you to another land, and let them see you leave during the day. Let them see you leave to go to another place. It may be that they will understand even if they are sinful people. ⁴ Take your things with you during the day, with them watching you. Take the things you will need for going to another land. Then let them see you go out at evening, like those who go to another land. ⁵ While they watch, dig a hole through the wall and go out through it. ⁶ Load your things on your shoulder while they watch, and carry the load out in the dark. Cover your face so that you cannot see the land. For I have made you as something special for the people of Israel to see.”

⁷ I did as I was told. During the day I brought out my things that I would need to go to another land. Then in the evening I dug through the wall with my hands. I went out in the dark and carried the load on my shoulder while they watched.

⁸ In the morning the Word of the Lord came to me, saying, ⁹ “Son of man, have not the sinful people of Israel said to you, ‘What are you doing?’ ¹⁰ Tell them, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “This word is about the leader in Jerusalem, as well as all the people of Israel who are in it.”’ ¹¹ Tell them, ‘I am something special for you to see. As I have done, so it will be done to them. They will be taken to another land and held there.’ ¹² The leader among them will load his things on his shoulder in the dark and go out. A hole will be dug through the wall for him to go through. He will cover his face so that he cannot see the land with his eyes. ¹³ I will spread My net over him, and he will be caught in My trap. I will bring him to Babylon in the land of the Babylonians, yet he will not see it. And he will die there. ¹⁴ I will divide all his helpers and all his army who are around him to the four winds and have the sword follow them. ¹⁵ Then they will know that I am the Lord when I divide them among the nations, and spread them among the countries. ¹⁶ But I will let a few of them get away from the sword, hunger and disease. They will tell about all their sinful ways to the nations where they go. And they will know that I am the Lord.”

¹⁷ The Word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹⁸ “Son of man, shake in fear as you eat your bread and drink your water. ¹⁹ Then tell the people of the land, ‘This is what the Lord God says about the people of Jerusalem in the land of Israel: “They will be afraid as they eat their bread, and drink their water in fear. For their land will lay waste because of the fighting of all who live in it. ²⁰ The cities where people live will be laid waste, and the land will be destroyed. Then you will know that I am the Lord.”’”

²¹ The Word of the Lord came to me, saying, ²² “Son of man, what is this saying you people have about the land of Israel, which says, ‘The days are long and every special dream comes to nothing’? ²³ Tell them, ‘The Lord God says, “I will make this saying come to an end, so that they will no longer use it as a saying in Israel.’” But tell them, ‘The days are near when all the special dreams from God will come true. ²⁴ For there will be no more false dreams or good sounding words that do not come true. ²⁵ For I the Lord will speak, and whatever I say will be done. It will no longer be held back. For in your days, O sinful people, I will speak the word and do it,’ says the Lord God.”

²⁶ Again the Word of the Lord came to me, saying, ²⁷ “Son of man, the people of Israel are saying, ‘The special dream he sees will not come to pass for many years. He is speaking of times far in the future.’ ²⁸ So tell them, ‘The Lord God says, “None of My words will be held back any longer. Whatever I say will be done,’” says the Lord God.”