The Vision of the Chariot

1 In the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was among the exiles by the river Chebar, the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. ² On the fifth day of the month (it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoi′achin), ³ the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chalde′ans by the river Chebar; and the hand of the Lord was upon him there.

⁴ As I looked, behold, a stormy wind came out of the north, and a great cloud, with brightness round about it, and fire flashing forth continually, and in the midst of the fire, as it were gleaming bronze. ⁵ And from the midst of it came the likeness of four living creatures.^[a] And this was their appearance: they had the form of men, ⁶ 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 like burnished bronze. ⁸ Under their wings on their four sides they had human hands. And the four had their faces and their wings thus: ⁹ their wings touched one another; they went every one straight forward, without turning as they went. ¹⁰ As for the likeness of their faces, each had the face of a man in front;^[b] 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 at the back.^{[c] 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 two covered their bodies. ¹² And each went straight forward; wherever the spirit would go, they went, without turning as they went. ¹³ In the midst of^[d] the living creatures there was something that looked like burning coals of fire, like torches moving to and fro among the living creatures; and the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning. ¹⁴ And the living creatures darted to and fro, like a flash of lightning.

¹⁵ Now as I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel upon the earth beside the living creatures, one for each of the four of them.^{[e] 16} As for the appearance of the wheels and their construction: their appearance was like the gleaming of a chrysolite; and the four had the same likeness, their construction being as it were a wheel within a wheel. ¹⁷ When they went, they went in any of their four directions^[f] without turning as they went. ¹⁸ The four wheels had rims and they had spokes;^[g] and their rims were full of eyes round about. ¹⁹ And when the living creatures went, the wheels went beside them; and when the living creatures rose from the earth, the wheels rose. ²⁰ Wherever the spirit would go, they went, and the wheels rose along with them; for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. ²¹ When those went, these went; and when those stood, these stood; and when those rose from the earth, the wheels rose along with them; for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.

²² Over the heads of the living creatures there was the likeness of a firmament, shining like crystal,^[h] spread out above their heads. ²³ And under the firmament their wings were stretched out straight, one toward another; and each creature had two wings covering its body.^{[i] 24} And when they went, I heard the sound of their wings like the sound of many waters, like the thunder of the Almighty, a sound of tumult like the sound of a host; when they stood still, they let down their wings. ²⁵ And there came a voice from above the firmament over their heads; when they stood still, they let down their wings.

²⁶ And above the firmament over their heads there was the likeness of a throne, in appearance like sapphire;^[j] and seated above the likeness of a throne was a likeness as it were of a human form. ²⁷ And upward from what had the appearance of his loins I saw as it were gleaming bronze, like the appearance of fire enclosed round about; and downward from what had the appearance of his loins I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and there was brightness round about him.^{[k] 28} Like the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud on the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about.

Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord.^[l] And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard the voice of one speaking.

The Vision of the Scroll

2 And he said to me, “Son of man, stand upon your feet, and I will speak with you.” ² And when he spoke to me, the Spirit entered into me and set me upon 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 a nation^[m] of rebels, who have rebelled against me; they and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day. ⁴ The people also are impudent and stubborn: I send you to them; and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ ⁵ And whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house) they will know that there has been a prophet among them. ⁶ And you, son of man, be not afraid of them, nor be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you and you sit upon scorpions; 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, 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; be not rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth, and eat what I give you.” ⁹ And when I looked, behold, a hand was stretched out to me, and lo, a written scroll was in it; ¹⁰ and he spread it before me; and it had writing on the front and on the back, and there were written on it words of lamentation and mourning and woe. 3 ¹ And he said to me, “Son of man, eat what is offered to you; eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.” ² So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat. ³ And he said to me, “Son of man, eat this scroll that I give you and fill your stomach with it.” Then I ate it; and it was in my mouth as sweet as honey.

⁴ And he said to me, “Son of man, go, get you 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. Surely, if I sent you to such, they would listen to you. ⁷ But the house of Israel will not listen to you; for they are not willing to listen to me; because all the house of Israel are of a hard forehead and of a stubborn heart. ⁸ Behold, I have made your face hard against their faces, and your forehead hard against their foreheads. ⁹ Like adamant harder than flint have I made your forehead; fear them not, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house.” ¹⁰ Moreover he said to me, “Son of man, all my words that I shall speak to you receive in your heart, and hear with your ears. ¹¹ And go, get you to the exiles, to your people, and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God’; whether they hear or refuse to hear.”

Ezekiel at the River Chebar

¹² Then the Spirit lifted me up, and as the glory of the Lord arose^[n] from its place, I heard behind me the sound of a great earthquake; ¹³ it was the sound of the wings of the living creatures as they touched one another, and the sound of the wheels beside them, that sounded like a great earthquake. ¹⁴ The Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness in the heat of my spirit, the hand of the Lord being strong upon me; ¹⁵ and I came to the exiles at Tel-a′bib, who dwelt by the river Chebar.^[o] And I sat there overwhelmed among them seven days.

¹⁶ And at the end of seven days, the word of the Lord came to me: ¹⁷ “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. ¹⁸ If I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand. ¹⁹ But if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you will have saved your life. ²⁰ Again, if a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die; because you have not warned him, he shall die for his sin, and his righteous deeds which he has done shall not be remembered; but his blood I will require at your hand. ²¹ Nevertheless if you warn the righteous man not to sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live, because he took warning; and you will have saved your life.”

Ezekiel Isolated and Silenced

²² And the hand of the Lord was there upon me; and he said to me, “Arise, go forth into the plain,^[p] and there I will speak with you.” ²³ So I arose and went forth into the plain;^[q] and lo, the glory of the Lord stood there, like the glory which I had seen by the river Chebar; and I fell on my face. ²⁴ But the Spirit entered into me, and set me upon 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, 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 cleave to the roof of your mouth, so that you shall be dumb and unable to reprove them; for they are a rebellious house. ²⁷ But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God’; he that will hear, let him hear; and he that will refuse to hear, let him refuse; for they are a rebellious house.

Betraying Secrets

Hypocrisy and Retribution

Anger and Vengeance

The Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus

18 When Jesus had spoken these words, he went forth with his disciples across the Kidron valley, where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered. ² Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place; for Jesus often met there with his disciples. ³ So Judas, procuring a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, went there with lanterns and torches and weapons. ⁴ Then Jesus, knowing all that was to befall him, came forward and said to them, “Whom do you seek?” ⁵ They answered him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am he.” Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. ⁶ When he said to them, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground. ⁷ Again he asked them, “Whom do you seek?” And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.” ⁸ Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he; so, if you seek me, let these men go.” ⁹ This was to fulfil the word which he had spoken, “Of those whom thou gavest me I lost not one.” ¹⁰ Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s slave and cut off his right ear. The slave’s name was Malchus. ¹¹ Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup which the Father has given me?”

Jesus before the High Priest

¹² So the band of soldiers and their captain and the officers of the Jews seized Jesus and bound him. ¹³ First they led him to Annas; for he was the father-in-law of Ca′iaphas, who was high priest that year.^{[a] 14} It was Ca′iaphas who had given counsel to the Jews that it was expedient that one man should die for the people.

Peter Denies Jesus

¹⁵ Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple. As this disciple was known to the high priest, he entered the court of the high priest along with Jesus, ¹⁶ while Peter stood outside at the door. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the maid who kept the door, and brought Peter in. ¹⁷ The maid who kept the door said to Peter, “Are not you also one of this man’s disciples?” He said, “I am not.” ¹⁸ Now the servants^[b] and officers had made a charcoal fire, because it was cold, and they were standing and warming themselves; Peter also was with them, standing and warming himself.

The High Priest Questions Jesus

¹⁹ The high priest then questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching. ²⁰ Jesus answered him, “I have spoken openly to the world; I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all Jews come together; I have said nothing secretly. ²¹ Why do you ask me? Ask those who have heard me, what I said to them; they know what I said.” ²² When he had said this, one of the officers standing by struck Jesus with his hand, saying, “Is that how you answer the high priest?” ²³ Jesus answered him, “If I have spoken wrongly, bear witness to the wrong; but if I have spoken rightly, why do you strike me?” ²⁴ Annas then sent him bound to Ca′iaphas the high priest.

Peter Denies Jesus Again

²⁵ Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. They said to him, “Are not you also one of his disciples?” He denied it and said, “I am not.” ²⁶ One of the servants^[c] of the high priest, a kinsman of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, “Did I not see you in the garden with him?” ²⁷ Peter again denied it; and at once the cock crowed.

Jesus before Pilate

²⁸ Then they led Jesus from the house of Ca′iaphas to the praetorium. It was early. They themselves did not enter the praetorium, so that they might not be defiled, but might eat the passover.^{[d] 29} So Pilate went out to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this man?”^{[e] 30} They answered him, “If this man were not an evildoer, we would not have handed him over.” ³¹ Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.” The Jews said to him, “It is not lawful for us to put any man to death.”^{[f] 32} This was to fulfil the word which Jesus had spoken to show by what death he was to die.

³³ Pilate entered the praetorium again and called Jesus, and said to him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” ³⁴ Jesus answered, “Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?” ³⁵ Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me; what have you done?” ³⁶ Jesus answered, “My kingship is not of this world; if my kingship were of this world, my servants would fight, that I might not be handed over to the Jews; but my kingship is not from the world.” ³⁷ Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Every one who is of the truth hears my voice.” ³⁸ Pilate said to him, “What is truth?”

Jesus Sentenced to Death

After he had said this, he went out to the Jews again, and told them, “I find no crime in him. ³⁹ But you have a custom that I should release one man for you at the Passover; will you have me release for you the King of the Jews?” ⁴⁰ They cried out again, “Not this man, but Barab′bas!” Now Barab′bas was a robber.