The Utter Destruction of Babylon

51 Thus says the Lord:

³³ For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel:

³⁶ Therefore thus says the Lord:

⁵⁸ Thus says the Lord of hosts:

Jeremiah’s Command to Seraiah

⁵⁹ The word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of ^(CE)Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, when he went with Zedekiah the king of Judah to Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. And Seraiah was the quartermaster. ⁶⁰ So Jeremiah ^(CF)wrote in a book all the evil that would come upon Babylon, all these words that are written against Babylon. ⁶¹ And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, “When you arrive in Babylon and see it, and read all these words, ⁶² then you shall say, ‘O Lord, You have spoken against this place to cut it off, so that ^(CG)none shall remain in it, neither man nor beast, but it shall be desolate forever.’ ⁶³ Now it shall be, when you have finished reading this book, ^(CH)that you shall tie a stone to it and throw it out into the Euphrates. ⁶⁴ Then you shall say, ‘Thus Babylon shall sink and not rise from the catastrophe that I will bring upon her. And they shall be weary.’ ”

Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.

The Fall of Jerusalem Reviewed^(CI)

52 Zedekiah was ^(CJ)twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of ^(CK)Libnah. ² He also did evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that Jehoiakim had done. ³ For because of the anger of the Lord this happened in Jerusalem and Judah, till He finally cast them out from His presence. Then Zedekiah ^(CL)rebelled against the king of Babylon.

⁴ Now it came to pass in the ^(CM)ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came against Jerusalem and encamped against it; and they built a siege wall against it all around. ⁵ So the city was besieged until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. ⁶ By the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, the famine had become so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land. ⁷ Then the city wall was broken through, and all the men of war fled and went out of the city at night by way of the gate between the two walls, which was by the king’s garden, even though the Chaldeans were near the city all around. And they went by way of the ^[i]plain.

⁸ But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king, and they overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. All his army was scattered from him. ^9 (CN)So they took the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, and he pronounced judgment on him. ^10 (CO)Then the king of Babylon killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes. And he killed all the princes of Judah in Riblah. ¹¹ He also ^(CP)put out the eyes of Zedekiah; and the king of Babylon bound him in ^[j]bronze fetters, took him to Babylon, and put him in prison till the day of his death.

The Temple and City Plundered and Burned

^12 (CQ)Now in the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month (^(CR)which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), ^(CS)Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, who served the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. ¹³ He burned the house of the Lord and the king’s house; all the houses of Jerusalem, that is, all the houses of the great, he burned with fire. ¹⁴ And all the army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guard broke down all the walls of Jerusalem all around. ^15 (CT)Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive some of the poor people, the rest of the people who remained in the city, the defectors who had deserted to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the craftsmen. ¹⁶ But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left some of the poor of the land as vinedressers and farmers.

^17 (CU)The ^(CV)bronze pillars that were in the house of the Lord, and the carts and the bronze Sea that were in the house of the Lord, the Chaldeans broke in pieces, and carried all their bronze to Babylon. ¹⁸ They also took away ^(CW)the pots, the shovels, the trimmers, the ^[k]bowls, the spoons, and all the bronze utensils with which the priests ministered. ¹⁹ The basins, the firepans, the bowls, the pots, the lampstands, the spoons, and the cups, whatever was solid gold and whatever was solid silver, the captain of the guard took away. ²⁰ The two pillars, one Sea, the twelve bronze bulls which were under it, and the carts, which King Solomon had made for the house of the Lord—^(CX)the bronze of all these articles was beyond measure. ²¹ Now concerning the ^(CY)pillars: the height of one pillar was eighteen ^[l]cubits, a measuring line of twelve cubits could measure its circumference, and its thickness was ^[m]four fingers; it was hollow. ²² A capital of bronze was on it; and the height of one capital was five cubits, with a network and pomegranates all around the capital, all of bronze. The second pillar, with pomegranates was the same. ²³ There were ninety-six pomegranates on the sides; ^(CZ)all the pomegranates, all around on the network, were one hundred.

The People Taken Captive to Babylonia

^24 (DA)The captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, ^(DB)Zephaniah the second priest, and the three doorkeepers. ²⁵ He also took out of the city an ^[n]officer who had charge of the men of war, seven men of the king’s close associates who were found in the city, the principal scribe of the army who mustered the people of the land, and sixty men of the people of the land who were found in the midst of the city. ²⁶ And Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took these and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. ²⁷ Then the king of Babylon struck them and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. Thus Judah was carried away captive from its own land.

^28 (DC)These are the people whom Nebuchadnezzar carried away captive: ^(DD)in the seventh year, ^(DE)three thousand and twenty-three Jews; ^29 (DF)in the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar he carried away captive from Jerusalem eight hundred and thirty-two persons; ³⁰ in the twenty-third year of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive of the Jews seven hundred and forty-five persons. All the persons were four thousand six hundred.

Jehoiachin Released from Prison^(DG)

^31 (DH)Now it came to pass in the thirty-seventh year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-fifth day of the month, that ^[o]Evil-Merodach king of Babylon, in the first year of his reign, ^(DI)lifted^[p] up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah and brought him out of prison. ³² And he spoke kindly to him and gave him a more prominent seat than those of the kings who were with him in Babylon. ³³ So ^[q]Jehoiachin changed from his prison garments, ^(DJ)and he ate bread regularly before the king all the days of his life. ³⁴ And as for his provisions, there was a regular ration given him by the king of Babylon, a portion for each day until the day of his death, all the days of his life.

Jerusalem in Affliction

God’s Anger with Jerusalem

The Prophet’s Anguish and Hope

The Degradation of Zion

Prayer for Restoration

Ezekiel’s Vision of God

1 Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by ^(A)the River Chebar, that ^(B)the heavens were opened and I saw ^(C)visions^[a] of God. ² On the fifth day of the month, which was in the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity, ³ the word of the Lord came expressly to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the ^[b]Chaldeans by the River Chebar; and ^(D)the hand of the Lord was upon him there.

⁴ Then I looked, and behold, ^(E)a whirlwind was coming ^(F)out of the north, a great cloud with raging fire engulfing itself; and brightness was all around it and radiating out of its midst like the color of amber, out of the midst of the fire. ^5 (G)Also from within it came the likeness of four living creatures. And ^(H)this was their appearance: they had ^(I)the likeness of a man. ⁶ Each one had four faces, and each one had four wings. ⁷ Their ^[c]legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the soles of calves’ feet. They sparkled ^(J)like the color of burnished bronze. ^8 (K)The hands of a man were under their wings on their four sides; and each of the four had faces and wings. ⁹ Their wings touched one another. The creatures did not turn when they went, but each one went straight ^(L)forward.

¹⁰ As for ^(M)the likeness of their faces, each ^(N)had the face of a man; each of the four had ^(O)the face of a lion on the right side, ^(P)each of the four had the face of an ox on the left side, ^(Q)and each of the four had the face of an eagle. ¹¹ Thus were their faces. Their wings stretched upward; two wings of each one touched one another, and ^(R)two covered their bodies. ¹² And ^(S)each one went straight forward; they went wherever the spirit wanted to go, and they did not turn when they went.

¹³ As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, ^(T)like the appearance of torches going back and forth among the living creatures. The fire was bright, and out of the fire went lightning. ¹⁴ And the living creatures ran back and forth, ^(U)in appearance like a flash of lightning.

¹⁵ Now as I looked at the living creatures, behold, ^(V)a wheel was on the earth beside each living creature with its four faces. ^16 (W)The appearance of the wheels and their workings was ^(X)like the color of beryl, and all four had the same likeness. The appearance of their workings was, as it were, a wheel in the middle of a wheel. ¹⁷ When they moved, they went toward any one of four directions; they did not turn aside when they went. ¹⁸ As for their rims, they were so high they were awesome; and their rims were ^(Y)full of eyes, all around the four of them. ^19 (Z)When the living creatures went, the wheels went beside them; and when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up. ²⁰ Wherever the spirit wanted to go, they went, because there the spirit went; and the wheels were lifted together with them, ^(AA)for the spirit of the ^[d]living creatures was in the wheels. ²¹ When those went, these went; when those stood, these stood; and when those were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up together with them, for the spirit of the ^[e]living creatures was in the wheels.

^22 (AB)The likeness of the ^[f]firmament above the heads of the ^[g]living creatures was like the color of an awesome ^(AC)crystal, stretched out ^(AD)over their heads. ²³ And under the firmament their wings spread out straight, one toward another. Each one had two which covered one side, and each one had two which covered the other side of the body. ^24 (AE)When they went, I heard the noise of their wings, ^(AF)like the noise of many waters, like ^(AG)the voice of the Almighty, a tumult like the noise of an army; and when they stood still, they let down their wings. ²⁵ A voice came from above the firmament that was over their heads; whenever they stood, they let down their wings.

^26 (AH)And above the firmament over their heads was the likeness of a throne, ^(AI)in appearance like a sapphire stone; on the likeness of the throne was a likeness with the appearance of a man high above ^(AJ)it. ²⁷ Also from the appearance of His waist and upward ^(AK)I saw, as it were, the color of amber with the appearance of fire all around within it; and from the appearance of His waist and downward I saw, as it were, the appearance of fire with brightness all around. ^28 (AL)Like the appearance of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the brightness all around it. ^(AM)This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord.

Ezekiel Sent to Rebellious Israel

So when I saw it, ^(AN)I fell on my face, and I heard a voice of One speaking.

Ezekiel Called to Be a Prophet

2 And He said to me, “Son of man, ^(AO)stand on your feet, and I will speak to you.” ² Then ^(AP)the Spirit entered me when He spoke to me, and set me on my feet; and I heard Him who spoke to me. ³ And He said to me: “Son of man, I am sending you to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that has ^(AQ)rebelled against Me; ^(AR)they and their fathers have transgressed against Me to this very day. ^4 (AS)For they are ^[h]impudent and stubborn children. I am sending you to them, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ ^5 (AT)As for them, whether they hear or whether they refuse—for they are a ^(AU)rebellious house—yet they ^(AV)will know that a prophet has been among them.

⁶ “And you, son of man, ^(AW)do not be afraid of them nor be afraid of their words, though ^(AX)briers and thorns are with you and you dwell among scorpions; ^(AY)do not be afraid of their words or dismayed by their looks, ^(AZ)though they are a rebellious house. ^7 (BA)You shall speak My words to them, whether they hear or whether they refuse, for they are rebellious. ⁸ But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. Do not be rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and ^(BB)eat what I give you.”

⁹ Now when I looked, there was ^(BC)a hand stretched out to me; and behold, ^(BD)a scroll of a book was in it. ¹⁰ Then He spread it before me; and there was writing on the inside and on the outside, and written on it were lamentations and mourning and woe.

The Responsibility of the Prophet

3 Moreover He said to me, “Son of man, eat what you find; ^(BE)eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.” ² So I opened my mouth, and He caused me to eat that scroll.

³ And He said to me, “Son of man, feed your belly, and fill your stomach with this scroll that I give you.” So I ^(BF)ate, and it was in my mouth ^(BG)like honey in sweetness.

⁴ Then He said to me: “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 unfamiliar speech and of hard language, but to the house of Israel, ⁶ not to many people of unfamiliar speech and of hard language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely, ^(BH)had I sent you to them, they would have listened to you. ⁷ But the house of Israel will not listen to you, ^(BI)because they will not listen to Me; ^(BJ)for all the house of Israel are ^[i]impudent and hard-hearted. ⁸ Behold, I have made your face strong against their faces, and your forehead strong against their foreheads. ^9 (BK)Like adamant stone, harder than flint, I have made your forehead; ^(BL)do not be afraid of them, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they are a rebellious house.”

¹⁰ Moreover He said to me: “Son of man, receive into your heart all My words that I speak to you, and hear with your ears. ¹¹ And go, get to the captives, to the children of your people, and speak to them and tell them, ^(BM)‘Thus says the Lord God,’ whether they hear, or whether they refuse.”

¹² Then ^(BN)the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me a great thunderous voice: “Blessed is the ^(BO)glory of the Lord from His place!” ¹³ I also heard the ^(BP)noise of the wings of the living creatures that touched one another, and the noise of the wheels beside them, and a great thunderous noise. ¹⁴ So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness, in the ^[j]heat of my spirit; but ^(BQ)the hand of the Lord was strong upon me. ¹⁵ Then I came to the captives at Tel Abib, who dwelt by the River Chebar; and ^(BR)I sat where they sat, and remained there astonished among them seven days.

Ezekiel Is a Watchman

¹⁶ Now it ^(BS)came to pass at the end of seven days that the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ^17 (BT)“Son of man, I have made you ^(BU)a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore hear a word from My mouth, and give them ^(BV)warning from Me: ¹⁸ When 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, to save his life, that same wicked man ^(BW)shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand. ¹⁹ Yet, if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; ^(BX)but you have delivered your soul.

²⁰ “Again, when a ^(BY)righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die; because you did not give him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness 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 that the righteous should not sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live because he took warning; also you will have delivered your soul.”

^22 (BZ)Then the hand of the Lord was upon me there, and He said to me, “Arise, go out ^(CA)into the plain, and there I shall talk with you.”

²³ So I arose and went out into the plain, and behold, ^(CB)the glory of the Lord stood there, like the glory which I ^(CC)saw by the River Chebar; ^(CD)and I fell on my face. ²⁴ Then ^(CE)the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet, and spoke with me and said to me: “Go, shut yourself inside your house. ²⁵ And you, O son of man, surely ^(CF)they will put ropes on you and bind you with them, so that you cannot go out among them. ^26 (CG)I will make your tongue cling to the roof of your mouth, so that you shall be mute and ^(CH)not be ^[k]one to rebuke them, ^(CI)for they are a rebellious house. ^27 (CJ)But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you shall say to them, ^(CK)‘Thus says the Lord God.’ He who hears, let him hear; and he who refuses, let him refuse; for they are a rebellious house.

The Siege of Jerusalem Portrayed

4 “You also, son of man, take a clay tablet and lay it before you, and portray on it a city, Jerusalem. ^2 (CL)Lay siege against it, build a ^(CM)siege wall against it, and heap up a mound against it; set camps against it also, and place battering rams against it all around. ³ Moreover take for yourself an iron plate, and set it as an iron wall between you and the city. Set your face against it, and it shall be ^(CN)besieged, and you shall lay siege against it. ^(CO)This will be a sign to the house of Israel.

⁴ “Lie also on your left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it. According to the number of the days that you lie on it, you shall bear their iniquity. ⁵ For I have laid on you the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days; ^(CP)so you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Israel. ⁶ And when you have completed them, lie again on your right side; then you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days. I have laid on you a day for each year.

⁷ “Therefore you shall set your face toward the siege of Jerusalem; your arm shall be uncovered, and you shall prophesy against it. ^8 (CQ)And surely I will ^[l]restrain you so that you cannot turn from one side to another till you have ended the days of your siege.

⁹ “Also take for yourself wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and spelt; put them into one vessel, and make bread of them for yourself. During the number of days that you lie on your side, three hundred and ninety days, you shall eat it. ¹⁰ And your food which you eat shall be by weight, twenty shekels a day; from time to time you shall eat it. ¹¹ You shall also drink water by measure, one-sixth of a hin; from time to time you shall drink. ¹² And you shall eat it as barley cakes; and bake it using fuel of human waste in their sight.”

¹³ Then the Lord said, “So ^(CR)shall the children of Israel eat their defiled bread among the Gentiles, where I will drive them.”

¹⁴ So I said, ^(CS)“Ah, Lord God! Indeed I have never defiled myself from my youth till now; I have never eaten ^(CT)what died of itself or was torn by beasts, nor has ^(CU)abominable^[m] flesh ever come into my mouth.”

¹⁵ Then He said to me, “See, I am giving you cow dung instead of human waste, and you shall prepare your bread over it.”

¹⁶ Moreover He said to me, “Son of man, surely I will cut off the ^(CV)supply of bread in Jerusalem; they shall ^(CW)eat bread by weight and with anxiety, and shall ^(CX)drink water by measure and with dread, ¹⁷ that they may lack bread and water, and be dismayed with one another, and ^(CY)waste away because of their iniquity.

A Sword Against Jerusalem

5 “And you, son of man, take a sharp sword, take it as a barber’s razor, ^(CZ)and pass it over your head and your beard; then take scales to weigh and divide the hair. ^2 (DA)You shall burn with fire one-third in the midst of ^(DB)the city, when ^(DC)the days of the siege are finished; then you shall take one-third and strike around it with the sword, and one-third you shall scatter in the wind: I will draw out a sword after ^(DD)them. ^3 (DE)You shall also take a small number of them and bind them in the edge of your garment. ⁴ Then take some of them again and ^(DF)throw them into the midst of the fire, and burn them in the fire. From there a fire will go out into all the house of Israel.

⁵ “Thus says the Lord God: ‘This is Jerusalem; I have set her in the midst of the nations and the countries all around her. ⁶ She has rebelled against My judgments by doing wickedness more than the nations, and against My statutes more than the countries that are all around her; for they have refused My judgments, and they have not walked in My statutes.’ ⁷ Therefore thus says the Lord God: ‘Because you have ^[n]multiplied disobedience more than the nations that are all around you, have not walked in My statutes ^(DG)nor kept My judgments, ^[o]nor even done according to the judgments of the nations that are all around you’— ⁸ therefore thus says the Lord God: ‘Indeed I, even I, am against you and will execute judgments in your midst in the sight of the nations. ^9 (DH)And I will do among you what I have never done, and the like of which I will never do again, because of all your abominations. ¹⁰ Therefore fathers ^(DI)shall eat their sons in your midst, and sons shall eat their fathers; and I will execute judgments among you, and all of you who remain I will ^(DJ)scatter to all the winds.

¹¹ ‘Therefore, as I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘surely, because you have ^(DK)defiled My sanctuary with all your ^(DL)detestable things and with all your abominations, therefore I will also diminish you; ^(DM)My eye will not spare, nor will I have any pity. ^12 (DN)One-third of you shall die of the pestilence, and be consumed with famine in your midst; and one-third shall fall by the sword all around you; and ^(DO)I will scatter another third to all the winds, and I will draw out a sword after ^(DP)them.

¹³ ‘Thus shall My anger ^(DQ)be spent, and I will ^(DR)cause My fury to rest upon them, ^(DS)and I will be avenged; ^(DT)and they shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken it in My zeal, when I have spent My fury upon them. ¹⁴ Moreover ^(DU)I will make you a waste and a reproach among the nations that are all around you, in the sight of all who pass by.

¹⁵ ‘So ^[p]it shall be a ^(DV)reproach, a taunt, a ^(DW)lesson, and an astonishment to the nations that are all around you, when I execute judgments among you in anger and in fury and in ^(DX)furious rebukes. I, the Lord, have spoken. ¹⁶ When I ^(DY)send against them the terrible arrows of famine which shall be for destruction, which I will send to destroy you, I will increase the famine upon you and cut off your ^(DZ)supply of bread. ¹⁷ So I will send against you famine and ^(EA)wild beasts, and they will bereave you. ^(EB)Pestilence and blood shall pass through you, and I will bring the sword against you. I, the Lord, have spoken.’ ”

Judgment on Idolatrous Israel

6 Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying: ² “Son of man, ^(EC)set your face toward the ^(ED)mountains of Israel, and prophesy against them, ³ and say, ‘O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God! Thus says the Lord God to the mountains, to the hills, to the ravines, and to the valleys: “Indeed I, even I, will bring a sword against you, and ^(EE)I will destroy your ^[q]high places. ⁴ Then your altars shall be desolate, your incense altars shall be broken, and ^(EF)I will cast down your slain men before your idols. ⁵ And I will lay the corpses of the children of Israel before their idols, and I will scatter your bones all around your altars. ⁶ In all your dwelling places the cities shall be laid waste, and the ^[r]high places shall be desolate, so that your altars may be laid waste and made desolate, your idols may be broken and made to cease, your incense altars may be cut down, and your works may be abolished. ⁷ The slain shall fall in your midst, and ^(EG)you shall know that I am the Lord.

^8 (EH)“Yet I will leave a remnant, so that you may have some who escape the sword among the nations, when you are ^(EI)scattered through the countries. ⁹ Then those of you who escape will ^(EJ)remember Me among the nations where they are carried captive, because ^(EK)I was crushed by their adulterous heart which has departed from Me, and ^(EL)by their eyes which play the harlot after their idols; ^(EM)they will loathe themselves for the evils which they committed in all their abominations. ¹⁰ And they shall know that I am the Lord; I have not said in vain that I would bring this calamity upon them.”

¹¹ ‘Thus says the Lord God: ^(EN)“Pound^[s] your fists and stamp your feet, and say, ‘Alas, for all the evil abominations of the house of Israel! ^(EO)For they shall fall by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence. ¹² He who is far off shall die by the pestilence, he who is near shall fall by the sword, and he who remains and is besieged shall die by the famine. ^(EP)Thus will I spend My fury upon them. ¹³ Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when their slain are among their idols all around their altars, ^(EQ)on every high hill, ^(ER)on all the mountaintops, ^(ES)under every green tree, and under every thick oak, wherever they offered sweet incense to all their idols. ¹⁴ So I will ^(ET)stretch out My hand against them and make the land desolate, yes, more desolate than the wilderness toward ^(EU)Diblah, in all their dwelling places. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.’ ” ’ ”

Judgment on Israel Is Near

7 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “And you, son of man, thus says the Lord God to the land of Israel:

⁵ “Thus says the Lord God:

Abominations in the Temple

8 And it came to pass in the sixth year, in the sixth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I sat in my house with ^(FU)the elders of Judah sitting before me, that ^(FV)the hand of the Lord God fell upon me there. ^2 (FW)Then I looked, and there was a likeness, like the appearance of fire—from the appearance of His waist and downward, fire; and from His waist and upward, like the appearance of brightness, ^(FX)like the color of amber. ³ He ^(FY)stretched out the form of a hand, and took me by a lock of my hair; and ^(FZ)the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven, and ^(GA)brought me in visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the north gate of the inner court, ^(GB)where the seat of the image of jealousy was, which ^(GC)provokes^[w] to jealousy. ⁴ And behold, the ^(GD)glory of the God of Israel was there, like the vision that I ^(GE)saw in the plain.

⁵ Then He said to me, “Son of man, lift your eyes now toward the north.” So I lifted my eyes toward the north, and there, north of the altar gate, was this image of jealousy in the entrance.

⁶ Furthermore He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing, the great ^(GF)abominations that the house of Israel commits here, to make Me go far away from My sanctuary? Now turn again, you will see greater abominations.” ⁷ So He brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, there was a hole in the wall. ⁸ Then He said to me, “Son of man, dig into the wall”; and when I dug into the wall, there was a door.

⁹ And He said to me, “Go in, and see the wicked abominations which they are doing there.” ¹⁰ So I went in and saw, and there—every ^(GG)sort of ^(GH)creeping thing, abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, ^[x]portrayed all around on the walls. ¹¹ And there stood before them ^(GI)seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel, and in their midst stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan. Each man had a censer in his hand, and a thick 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 do in the dark, every man in the room of his idols? For they say, ^(GJ)‘The Lord does not see us, the Lord has forsaken the land.’ ”

¹³ And He said to me, “Turn again, and you will see greater abominations that they are doing.” ¹⁴ So He brought me to the door of the north gate of the Lord’s house; and to my dismay, women were sitting there weeping for ^[y]Tammuz.

¹⁵ Then He said to me, “Have you seen this, O son of man? Turn again, you will see greater abominations than these.” ¹⁶ So He brought me into the inner court of the Lord’s house; and there, at the door of the temple of the Lord, ^(GK)between the porch and the altar, ^(GL)were about twenty-five men ^(GM)with their backs toward the temple of the Lord and their faces toward the east, and they were worshiping ^(GN)the sun toward the east.

¹⁷ And He said to me, “Have you seen this, O son of man? Is it a trivial thing to the house of Judah to commit the abominations which they commit here? For they have ^(GO)filled the land with violence; then they have returned to provoke Me to anger. Indeed they put the branch to their nose. ^18 (GP)Therefore I also will act in fury. My ^(GQ)eye will not spare nor will I have pity; and though they ^(GR)cry in My ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them.”

The Wicked Are Slain

9 Then He called out in my hearing with a loud voice, saying, “Let those who have charge over the city draw near, each with a ^[z]deadly weapon in his hand.” ² And suddenly six men came from the direction of the upper gate, which faces north, each with his ^[aa]battle-ax in his hand. ^(GS)One man among them was clothed with linen and had a writer’s inkhorn ^[ab]at his side. They went in and stood beside the bronze altar.

³ Now ^(GT)the glory of the God of Israel had gone up from the cherub, where it had been, to the threshold of the ^[ac]temple. And He called to the man clothed with linen, who had the writer’s inkhorn at his side; ⁴ and the Lord said to him, “Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and put ^(GU)a mark on the foreheads of the men ^(GV)who sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done within it.”

⁵ To the others He said in my ^[ad]hearing, “Go after him through the city and ^(GW)kill;^{[ae] (GX)}do not let your eye spare, nor have any pity. ^6 (GY)Utterly^[af] slay old and young men, maidens and little children and women; but ^(GZ)do not come near anyone on whom is the mark; and ^(HA)begin at My sanctuary.” ^(HB)So they began with the elders who were before the ^[ag]temple. ⁷ Then He said to them, “Defile the ^[ah]temple, and fill the courts with the slain. Go out!” And they went out and killed in the city.

⁸ So it was, that while they were killing them, I was left alone; and I ^(HC)fell on my face and cried out, and said, ^(HD)“Ah, Lord God! Will You destroy all the remnant of Israel in pouring out Your fury on Jerusalem?”

⁹ Then He said to me, “The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great, and ^(HE)the land is full of bloodshed, and the city full of perversity; for they say, ^(HF)‘The Lord has forsaken the land, and ^(HG)the Lord does not see!’ ¹⁰ And as for Me also, My ^(HH)eye will neither spare, nor will I have pity, but ^(HI)I will recompense their deeds on their own head.”

¹¹ Just then, the man clothed with linen, who had the inkhorn at his side, reported back and said, “I have done as You commanded me.”

The Glory Departs from the Temple

10 And I looked, and there in the ^(HJ)firmament^[ai] that was above the head of the cherubim, there appeared something like a sapphire stone, having the appearance of the likeness of a throne. ^2 (HK)Then He spoke to the man clothed with linen, and said, “Go in among the wheels, under the cherub, fill your hands with ^(HL)coals of fire from among the cherubim, and ^(HM)scatter them over the city.” And he went in as I watched.

³ Now the cherubim were standing on the ^[aj]south side of the ^[ak]temple when the man went in, and the ^(HN)cloud filled the inner court. ^4 (HO)Then the glory of the Lord went up from the cherub, and paused over the threshold of the ^[al]temple; and ^(HP)the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of the Lord’s ^(HQ)glory. ⁵ And the ^(HR)sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard even in the outer court, like ^(HS)the voice of Almighty God when He speaks.

⁶ Then it happened, when He commanded the man clothed in linen, saying, “Take fire from among the wheels, from among the cherubim,” that he went in and stood beside the wheels. ⁷ And the cherub stretched out his hand from among the cherubim to the fire that was among the cherubim, and took some of it and put it into the hands of the man clothed with linen, who took it and went out. ^8 (HT)The cherubim appeared to have the form of a man’s hand under their wings.

^9 (HU)And when I looked, there were four wheels by the cherubim, one wheel by one cherub and another wheel by each other cherub; the wheels appeared to have the color of a ^(HV)beryl stone. ¹⁰ As for their appearance, all four looked alike—as it were, a wheel in the middle of a wheel. ^11 (HW)When they went, they went toward any of their four directions; they did not turn aside when they went, but followed in the direction the head was facing. They did not turn aside when they went. ¹² And their whole body, with their back, their hands, their wings, and the wheels that the four had, were ^(HX)full of eyes all around. ¹³ As for the wheels, they were called in my ^[am]hearing, “Wheel.”

^14 (HY)Each one had four faces: the first face was the face of a cherub, the second face the face of a man, the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle. ¹⁵ And the cherubim were lifted up. This was ^(HZ)the living creature I saw by the River Chebar. ^16 (IA)When the cherubim went, the wheels went beside them; and when the cherubim lifted their wings to mount up from the earth, the same wheels also did not turn from beside them. ^17 (IB)When ^[an]the cherubim stood still, the wheels stood still, and when ^[ao]one was lifted up, ^[ap]the other lifted itself up, for the spirit of the living creature was in them.

¹⁸ Then ^(IC)the glory of the Lord ^(ID)departed from the threshold of the ^[aq]temple and stood over the cherubim. ¹⁹ And ^(IE)the cherubim lifted their wings and mounted up from the earth in my sight. When they went out, the wheels were beside them; and they stood at the door of the ^(IF)east gate of the Lord’s house, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them.

^20 (IG)This is the living creature I saw under the God of Israel ^(IH)by the River Chebar, and I knew they were cherubim. ^21 (II)Each one had four faces and each one four wings, and the likeness of the hands of a man was under their wings. ²² And ^(IJ)the likeness of their faces was the same as the faces which I had seen by the River Chebar, their appearance and their persons. ^(IK)They each went straight forward.

Judgment on Wicked Counselors

11 Then ^(IL)the Spirit lifted me up and brought me to ^(IM)the East Gate of the Lord’s house, which faces eastward; and there ^(IN)at the door of the gate were twenty-five men, among whom I saw Jaazaniah the son of Azzur, and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people. ² And He said to me: “Son of man, these are the men who devise iniquity and give wicked ^[ar]counsel in this city, ³ who say, ‘The time is not ^(IO)near to build houses; ^(IP)this city is the ^[as]caldron, and we are the meat.’ ⁴ Therefore prophesy against them, prophesy, O son of man!”

⁵ Then ^(IQ)the Spirit of the Lord fell upon me, and said to me, “Speak! ‘Thus says the Lord: “Thus you have said, O house of Israel; for ^(IR)I know the things that come into your mind. ^6 (IS)You have multiplied your slain in this city, and you have filled its streets with the slain.” ⁷ Therefore thus says the Lord God: ^(IT)“Your slain whom you have laid in its midst, they are the meat, and this city is the caldron; ^(IU)but I shall bring you out of the midst of it. ⁸ You have ^(IV)feared the sword; and I will bring a sword upon you,” says the Lord God. ⁹ “And I will bring you out of its midst, and deliver you into the hands of strangers, and ^(IW)execute judgments on you. ^10 (IX)You shall fall by the sword. I will judge you at ^(IY)the border of Israel. ^(IZ)Then you shall know that I am the Lord. ^11 (JA)This city shall not be your ^[at]caldron, nor shall you be the meat in its midst. 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 executed My judgments, but ^(JB)have done according to the customs of the Gentiles which are all around you.” ’ ”

¹³ Now it happened, while I was prophesying, that ^(JC)Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died. Then ^(JD)I fell on my face and cried with a loud voice, and said, “Ah, Lord God! Will You make a complete end of the remnant of Israel?”

God Will Restore Israel

¹⁴ Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹⁵ “Son of man, your brethren, your relatives, your countrymen, and all the house of Israel in its entirety, are those about whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, ‘Get far away from the Lord; this land has been given to us as a possession.’ ¹⁶ Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Although I have cast them far off among the Gentiles, and although I have scattered them among the countries, ^(JE)yet I shall be a little ^[au]sanctuary for them in the countries where they have gone.” ’ ¹⁷ Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: ^(JF)“I will gather you from the peoples, assemble you from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.” ’ ¹⁸ And they will go there, and they will take away all its ^(JG)detestable things and all its abominations from there. ¹⁹ Then ^(JH)I will give them one heart, and I will put ^(JI)a new spirit within ^[av]them, and take ^(JJ)the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh, ^20 (JK)that they may walk in My statutes and keep My judgments and do them; ^(JL)and they shall be My people, and I will be their God. ²¹ But as for those whose hearts follow the desire for their detestable things and their abominations, ^(JM)I will recompense their deeds on their own heads,” says the Lord God.

²² So the cherubim ^(JN)lifted up their wings, with the wheels beside them, and the glory of the God of Israel was high above them. ²³ And ^(JO)the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city and stood ^(JP)on the mountain, ^(JQ)which is on the east side of the city.

²⁴ Then ^(JR)the Spirit took me up and brought me in a vision by the Spirit of God into ^[aw]Chaldea, to those in captivity. And the vision that I had seen went up from me. ²⁵ So I spoke to those in captivity of all the things the Lord had shown me.

Judah’s Captivity Portrayed

12 Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying: ² “Son of man, you dwell in the midst of ^(JS)a rebellious house, which ^(JT)has eyes to see but does not see, and ears to hear but does not hear; ^(JU)for they are a rebellious house.

³ “Therefore, son of man, prepare your belongings for captivity, and go into captivity by day in their sight. You shall go from your place into captivity to another place in their sight. It may be that they will consider, though they are a rebellious house. ⁴ By day you shall bring out your belongings in their sight, as though going into captivity; and at evening you shall go in their sight, like those who go into captivity. ⁵ Dig through the wall in their sight, and carry your belongings out through it. ⁶ In their sight you shall bear them on your shoulders and carry them out at twilight; you shall cover your face, so that you cannot see the ground, ^(JV)for I have made you a sign to the house of Israel.”

⁷ So I did as I was commanded. I brought out my belongings by day, as though going into captivity, and at evening I dug through the wall with my hand. I brought them out at twilight, and I bore them on my shoulder in their sight.

⁸ And in the morning the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ⁹ “Son of man, has not the house of Israel, ^(JW)the rebellious house, said to you, ^(JX)‘What are you doing?’ ¹⁰ Say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “This ^(JY)burden^[ax] concerns the prince in Jerusalem and all the house of Israel who are among them.” ’ ¹¹ Say, ^(JZ)‘I am a sign to you. As I have done, so shall it be done to them; ^(KA)they shall be carried away into captivity.’ ¹² And ^(KB)the prince who is among them shall bear his belongings on his shoulder at twilight and go out. They shall dig through the wall to carry them out through it. He shall cover his face, so that he cannot see the ground with his eyes. ¹³ I will also spread My ^(KC)net over him, and he shall be caught in My snare. ^(KD)I will bring him to Babylon, to the land of the Chaldeans; yet he shall not see it, though he shall die there. ^14 (KE)I will scatter to every wind all who are around him to help him, and all his troops; and ^(KF)I will draw out the sword after them.

^15 (KG)“Then they shall know that I am the Lord, when I scatter them among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries. ^16 (KH)But I will spare a few of their men from the sword, from famine, and from pestilence, that they may declare all their abominations among the Gentiles wherever they go. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.”

Judgment Not Postponed

¹⁷ Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹⁸ “Son of man, ^(KI)eat your bread with ^[ay]quaking, and drink your water with trembling and anxiety. ¹⁹ And say to the people of the land, ‘Thus says the Lord God to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the land of Israel: “They shall eat their bread with anxiety, and drink their water with dread, so that her land may ^(KJ)be emptied of all who are in it, ^(KK)because of the violence of all those who dwell in it. ²⁰ Then the cities that are inhabited shall be laid waste, and the land shall become desolate; and you shall know that I am the Lord.” ’ ”

²¹ And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ²² “Son of man, what is this proverb that you people have about the land of Israel, which says, ^(KL)‘The days are prolonged, and every vision fails’? ²³ Tell them therefore, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “I will lay this proverb to rest, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel.” ’ But say to them, ‘ ^(KM)“The days are at hand, and the ^[az]fulfillment of every vision. ²⁴ For ^(KN)no more shall there be any ^(KO)false^[ba] vision or flattering divination within the house of Israel. ²⁵ For I am the Lord. I speak, and ^(KP)the word which I speak will come to pass; it will no more be postponed; for in your days, O rebellious house, I will say the word and ^(KQ)perform it,” says the Lord God.’ ”

²⁶ Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ^27 (KR)“Son of man, look, the house of Israel is saying, ‘The vision that he sees is ^(KS)for many days from now, and he prophesies of times far off.’ ^28 (KT)Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “None of My words will be postponed any more, but the word which I speak ^(KU)will be done,” says the Lord God.’ ”

Woe to Foolish Prophets

13 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, prophesy ^(KV)against the prophets of Israel who prophesy, and say to ^(KW)those who prophesy out of their own ^(KX)heart,^[bb] ‘Hear the word of the Lord!’ ”

³ Thus says the Lord God: “Woe to the foolish prophets, who follow their own spirit and have seen ^[bc]nothing! ⁴ O Israel, your prophets are ^(KY)like foxes in the deserts. ⁵ You ^(KZ)have not gone up into the ^[bd]gaps to build a wall for the house of Israel to stand in battle on the day of the Lord. ^6 (LA)They have envisioned futility and false divination, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord!’ But the Lord has ^(LB)not sent them; yet they hope that the word may ^[be]be confirmed. ⁷ Have you not seen a futile vision, and have you not spoken false divination? You say, ‘The Lord says,’ but I have not spoken.”

⁸ Therefore thus says the Lord God: “Because you have spoken nonsense and envisioned lies, therefore I am indeed against you,” says the Lord God. ⁹ “My hand will be ^(LC)against the prophets who envision futility and who ^(LD)divine lies; they shall not be in the assembly of My people, ^(LE)nor be written in the record of the house of Israel, ^(LF)nor shall they enter into the land of Israel. ^(LG)Then you shall know that I am the Lord God.

¹⁰ “Because, indeed, because they have seduced My people, saying, ^(LH)‘Peace!’ when there is no peace—and one builds a wall, and they ^(LI)plaster^[bf] it with untempered mortar— ¹¹ say to those who plaster it with untempered mortar, that it will fall. ^(LJ)There will be flooding rain, and you, O great hailstones, shall fall; and a stormy wind shall tear it down. ¹² Surely, when the wall has fallen, will it not be said to you, ‘Where is the mortar with which you plastered it?’ ”

¹³ Therefore thus says the Lord God: “I will cause a stormy wind to break forth in My fury; and there shall be a flooding rain in My anger, and great hailstones in fury to consume it. ¹⁴ So I will break down the wall you have plastered with untempered mortar, and bring it down to the ground, so that its foundation will be uncovered; it will fall, and you shall be consumed in the midst of it. ^(LK)Then you shall know that I am the Lord.

¹⁵ “Thus will I accomplish My wrath on the wall and on those who have plastered it with untempered mortar; and I will say to you, ‘The wall is no more, nor those who plastered it, ¹⁶ that is, the prophets of Israel who prophesy concerning Jerusalem, and who ^(LL)see visions of peace for her when there is no peace,’ ” says the Lord God.

¹⁷ “Likewise, son of man, ^(LM)set your face against the daughters of your people, ^(LN)who prophesy out of their own ^[bg]heart; prophesy against them, ¹⁸ and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Woe to the women who sew magic charms ^[bh]on their sleeves and make veils for the heads of people of every height to hunt souls! Will you ^(LO)hunt the souls of My people, and keep yourselves alive? ¹⁹ And will you profane Me among My people ^(LP)for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, killing people who should not die, and keeping people alive who should not live, by your lying to My people who listen to lies?”

²⁰ ‘Therefore thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I am against your magic charms by which you hunt souls there like ^[bi]birds. I will tear them from your arms, and let the souls go, the souls you hunt like birds. ²¹ I will also tear off your veils and deliver My people out of your hand, and they shall no longer be as prey in your hand. ^(LQ)Then you shall know that I am the Lord.

²² “Because with ^(LR)lies you have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and you have ^(LS)strengthened the hands of the wicked, so that he does not turn from his wicked way to save his life. ²³ Therefore ^(LT)you shall no longer envision futility nor practice divination; for I will deliver My people out of your hand, and you shall know that I am the Lord.” ’ ”

Idolatry Will Be Punished

14 Now ^(LU)some of the elders of Israel came to me and sat before me. ² And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ³ “Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their hearts, and put before them ^(LV)that which causes them to stumble into iniquity. ^(LW)Should I let Myself be inquired of at all by them?

⁴ “Therefore speak to them, and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Everyone of the house of Israel who sets up his idols in his heart, and puts before him what causes him to stumble into iniquity, and then comes to the prophet, I the Lord will answer him who comes, according to the multitude of his idols, ⁵ that I may seize the house of Israel by their heart, because they are all estranged from Me by their idols.” ’

⁶ “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Repent, turn away from your idols, and ^(LX)turn your faces away from all your abominations. ⁷ For anyone of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell in Israel, who separates himself from Me and sets up his idols in his heart and puts before him what causes him to stumble into iniquity, then comes to a prophet to inquire of him concerning Me, I the Lord will answer him by Myself. ^8 (LY)I will set My face against that man and make him a ^(LZ)sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of My people. ^(MA)Then you shall know that I am the Lord.

⁹ “And if the prophet is induced to speak anything, I the Lord ^(MB)have induced that prophet, and I will stretch out My hand against him and destroy him from among My people Israel. ¹⁰ And they shall bear their iniquity; the punishment of the prophet shall be the same as the punishment of the one who inquired, ¹¹ that the house of Israel may ^(MC)no longer stray from Me, nor be profaned anymore with all their transgressions, ^(MD)but that they may be My people and I may be their God,” says the Lord God.’ ”

Judgment on Persistent Unfaithfulness

¹² The word of the Lord came again to me, saying: ¹³ “Son of man, when a land sins against Me by persistent unfaithfulness, I will stretch out My hand against it; I will cut off its ^(ME)supply of bread, send famine on it, and cut off man and beast from it. ^14 (MF)Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver only themselves ^(MG)by their righteousness,” says the Lord God.

¹⁵ “If I cause ^(MH)wild beasts to pass through the land, and they ^[bj]empty it, and make it so desolate that no man may pass through because of the beasts, ¹⁶ even ^(MI)though these three men were ^[bk]in it, as I live,” says the Lord God, “they would deliver neither sons nor daughters; only they would be delivered, and the land would be ^(MJ)desolate.

¹⁷ “Or if ^(MK)I bring a sword on that land, and say, ‘Sword, go through the land,’ and I ^(ML)cut off man and beast from it, ¹⁸ even ^(MM)though these three men were in it, as I live,” says the Lord God, “they would deliver neither sons nor daughters, but only they themselves would be delivered.

¹⁹ “Or if I send ^(MN)a pestilence into that land and ^(MO)pour out My fury on it in blood, and cut off from it man and beast, ²⁰ even ^(MP)though Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live,” says the Lord God, “they would deliver neither son nor daughter; they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness.”

²¹ For thus says the Lord God: “How much more it shall be when ^(MQ)I send My four ^[bl]severe judgments on Jerusalem—the sword and famine and wild beasts and pestilence—to cut off man and beast from it? ^22 (MR)Yet behold, there shall be left in it a remnant who will be ^(MS)brought out, both sons and daughters; surely they will come out to you, and ^(MT)you will see their ways and their doings. Then you will be comforted concerning the disaster that I have brought upon Jerusalem, all that I have brought upon it. ²³ And they will comfort you, when you see their ways and their doings; and you shall know that I have done nothing ^(MU)without cause that I have done in it,” says the Lord God.

The Outcast Vine

15 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: ² “Son of man, how is the wood of the vine better than any other wood, the vine branch which is among the trees of the forest? ³ Is wood taken from it to make any object? Or can men make a peg from it to hang any vessel on? ⁴ Instead, ^(MV)it is thrown into the fire for fuel; the fire devours both ends of it, and its middle is burned. Is it useful for any work? ⁵ Indeed, when it was whole, no object could be made from it. How much less will it be useful for any work when the fire has devoured it, and it is burned?

⁶ “Therefore thus says the Lord God: ‘Like the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so I will give up the inhabitants of Jerusalem; ⁷ and ^(MW)I will set My face against them. ^(MX)They will go out from one fire, but another fire shall devour them. ^(MY)Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I set My face against them. ⁸ Thus I will make the land desolate, because they have persisted in unfaithfulness,’ says the Lord God.”