Ezekiel 10-12

Good News Translation

The Glory of the Lord Leaves the Temple

10 ^(A)I looked at the dome over the heads of the living creatures^[a] and above them was something that seemed to be a throne made of sapphire. ^2 (B)God said to the man wearing linen clothes, “Go between the wheels under the creatures and fill your hands with burning coals. Then scatter the coals over the city.”

I watched him go. ³ The creatures were standing to the south of the Temple when he went in, and a cloud filled the inner courtyard. ⁴ The dazzling light of the Lord's presence rose up from the creatures and moved to the entrance of the Temple. Then the cloud filled the Temple, and the courtyard was blazing with the light. ⁵ The noise made by the creatures' wings was heard even in the outer courtyard. It sounded like the voice of Almighty God.

⁶ When the Lord commanded the man wearing linen clothes to take some fire from between the wheels that were under the creatures, the man went in and stood by one of the wheels. ⁷ One of the creatures reached his hand into the fire that was there among them, picked up some coals, and put them in the hands of the man in linen. The man took the coals and left.

⁸ I saw that each creature had what looked like a human hand under each of its wings. ^9-10 (C)I also saw that there were four wheels, all alike, one beside each creature. The wheels shone like precious stones, and each one had another wheel which intersected it at right angles. ¹¹ When the creatures moved, they could go in any direction without turning. They all moved together in the direction they wanted to go, without having to turn around. ^12 (D)Their bodies, backs, hands, wings, and wheels were covered with eyes. ¹³ I heard a voice calling out, “Whirling wheels.”

^14 (E)Each creature had four faces. The first was the face of a bull, the second a human face, the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle. ¹⁵ (They were the same creatures that I had seen by the Chebar River.) When the creatures rose in the air ¹⁶ and moved, the wheels went with them. Whenever they spread their wings to fly, the wheels still went with them. ¹⁷ When the creatures stopped, the wheels stopped; and when the creatures flew, the wheels went with them, because the creatures controlled them.

¹⁸ Then the dazzling light of the Lord's presence left the entrance of the Temple and moved to a place above the creatures. ¹⁹ They spread their wings and flew up from the earth while I was watching, and the wheels went with them. They paused at the east gate of the Temple, and the dazzling light was over them. ²⁰ I recognized them as the same creatures which I had seen beneath the God of Israel at the Chebar River.

²¹ Each of them had four faces, four wings, and what looked like a human hand under each wing. ²² Their faces looked exactly like the faces^[b] I had seen by the Chebar River. Each creature moved straight ahead.

Jerusalem Is Condemned

11 God's spirit lifted me up and took me to the east gate of the Temple. There near the gate I saw twenty-five men, including Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah, two leaders of the nation.

² God said to me, “Mortal man, these men make evil plans and give bad advice in this city. ³ They say, ‘We will soon be building houses again.^[c] The city is like a cooking pot, and we are like the meat in it, but at least it protects us from the fire.’ ⁴ Now then, denounce them, mortal man.”

⁵ The spirit of the Lord took control of me, and the Lord told me to give the people this message: “People of Israel, I know what you are saying and what you are planning. ⁶ You have murdered so many people here in the city that the streets are full of corpses.

⁷ “So this is what I, the Sovereign Lord, am saying to you. This city is a cooking pot all right, but what is the meat? The corpses of those you have killed! You will not be here—I will throw you out of the city! ⁸ Are you afraid of swords? I will bring soldiers with swords to attack you. ⁹ I will take you out of the city and hand you over to foreigners. I have sentenced you to death, ¹⁰ and you will be killed in battle in your own country. Then everyone will know that I am the Lord. ¹¹ This city will not protect you the way a pot protects the meat in it. I will punish you wherever you may be in the land of Israel. ¹² You will know that I am the Lord and that while you were keeping the laws of the neighboring nations, you were breaking my laws and disobeying my commands.”

¹³ While I was prophesying, Pelatiah dropped dead. I threw myself face downward on the ground and shouted, “No, Sovereign Lord! Are you going to kill everyone left in Israel?”

God's Promise to the Exiles

¹⁴ The Lord spoke to me. ¹⁵ “Mortal man,” he said, “the people who live in Jerusalem are talking about you and those of your nation who are in exile. They say, ‘The exiles are too far away to worship the Lord. He has given us possession of the land.’

¹⁶ “Now tell your fellow exiles what I am saying. I am the one who sent them to live in far-off nations and scattered them in other countries. Yet, for the time being I will be present with them in the lands where they have gone.

¹⁷ “So tell them what I, the Sovereign Lord, am saying. I will gather them out of the countries where I scattered them, and will give the land of Israel back to them. ¹⁸ When they return, they are to get rid of all the filthy, disgusting idols they find. ^19 (F)I will give them a new heart and a new mind. I will take away their stubborn heart of stone and will give them an obedient heart. ²⁰ Then they will keep my laws and faithfully obey all my commands. They will be my people, and I will be their God. ²¹ But I will punish the people who love to worship filthy, disgusting idols. I will punish them for what they have done.” The Sovereign Lord has spoken.

God's Glory Leaves Jerusalem

^22 (G)The living creatures began to fly, and the wheels went with them. The dazzling light of the presence of the God of Israel was over them. ²³ Then the dazzling light left the city and moved to the mountain east of it. ²⁴ In the vision the spirit of God lifted me up and brought me back to the exiles in Babylonia. Then the vision faded, ²⁵ and I told the exiles everything that the Lord had shown me.

The Prophet as a Refugee

12 The Lord spoke to me. ^2 (H)“Mortal man,” he said, “you are living among rebellious people. They have eyes, but they see nothing; they have ears, but they hear nothing, because they are rebellious.

³ “Now, mortal man, pack a bundle just as a refugee would and start out before nightfall. Let everyone see you leaving and going to another place. Maybe those rebels will notice you.^{[d] 4} While it is still daylight, pack your bundle for exile, so that they can see you, and then let them watch you leave in the evening as if you were going into exile. ⁵ While they are watching, break a hole through the wall of your house and take your pack out through it. ⁶ Let them watch you putting your pack on your shoulder and going out into the dark with your eyes covered, so that you can't see where you are going. What you do will be a warning to the Israelites.”

⁷ I did what the Lord told me to do. That day I packed a bundle as a refugee would, and that evening as it was getting dark I dug a hole in the wall with my hands and went out. While everyone watched, I put the pack on my shoulder and left.

⁸ The next morning the Lord spoke to me. ⁹ “Mortal man,” he said, “now that those Israelite rebels are asking you what you're doing, ¹⁰ tell them what I, the Sovereign Lord, am saying to them. This message is for the prince ruling in Jerusalem and for all the people who live there. ¹¹ Tell them that what you have done is a sign of what will happen to them—they will be refugees and captives. ¹² The prince who is ruling them will shoulder his pack in the dark and escape through a hole that they dig for him in the wall. He will cover his eyes and not see where he is going. ^13 (I)But I will spread out my net and trap him in it. Then I will take him to the city of Babylon, where he will die without having seen it. ¹⁴ I will scatter in every direction all the members of his court and his advisers and bodyguards, and people will search for them to kill them.

¹⁵ “When I scatter them among the other nations and in foreign countries, they will know that I am the Lord. ¹⁶ I will let a few of them survive the war, the famine, and the diseases, so that there among the nations they will realize how disgusting their actions have been and will acknowledge that I am the Lord.”

The Sign of the Trembling Prophet

¹⁷ The Lord spoke to me. ¹⁸ “Mortal man,” he said, “tremble when you eat, and shake with fear when you drink. ¹⁹ Tell the whole nation that this is the message of the Sovereign Lord to the people of Jerusalem who are still living in their land: They will tremble when they eat and shake with fear when they drink. Their land will be stripped bare, because everyone who lives there is lawless. ²⁰ Cities that are now full of people will be destroyed, and the country will be made a wilderness. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

A Popular Proverb and an Unpopular Message

²¹ The Lord spoke to me. ²² “Mortal man,” he said, “why do the people of Israel repeat this proverb: ‘Time goes by, and predictions come to nothing’? ²³ Now tell them what I, the Sovereign Lord, have to say about that. I will put an end to that proverb. It won't be repeated in Israel any more. Tell them instead: The time has come, and the predictions are coming true!

²⁴ “Among the people of Israel there will be no more false visions or misleading prophecies. ²⁵ I, the Lord, will speak to them, and what I say will be done. There will be no more delay. In your own lifetime, you rebels, I will do what I have warned you I would do. I have spoken,” says the Sovereign Lord.

²⁶ The Lord said to me, ²⁷ “Mortal man, the Israelites think that your visions and prophecies are about the distant future. ²⁸ So tell them that I, the Sovereign Lord, am saying: There will be no more delay. What I have said will be done. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!”