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Ezekiel 1-4
Common English Bible

First vision

1 In the thirtieth year, on the fifth day of the fourth month, I was with the exiles at the Chebar River when the heavens opened and I saw visions of God. 2 (It happened on the fifth day of the month, in the fifth year after King Jehoiachin’s deportation. 3 The Lord’s word burst in on the priest Ezekiel, Buzi’s son, in the land of Babylon at the Chebar River. There the Lord’s power overcame him.)

4 As I watched, suddenly a driving storm came out of the north, a great cloud flashing fire, with brightness all around. At its center, in the middle of the fire, there was something like gleaming amber. 5 And inside that were forms of four living creatures. This was what they looked like: Each had the form of a human being, 6 though each had four faces and four wings. 7 Their feet looked like proper feet, but the soles of their feet were like calves’ hooves, and they shone like burnished bronze. 8 Human hands were under their wings on all four sides. All four creatures had faces and wings, and 9 their wings touched each other’s wings. When they moved, they each went straight ahead without turning. 10 As for the form of their faces: each of the four had a human face, with a lion’s face on the right and a bull’s face on the left, and also an eagle’s face. 11 The pairs of wings[a] that stretched out overhead touched each other, while the other pairs covered their bodies. 12 Each moved straight ahead wherever the wind propelled them; they moved without turning. 13 Regarding the creatures’ forms: they looked like blazing coals, like torches. Fire darted about between the creatures and illuminated them, and lightning flashed from the fire. 14 The creatures looked like lightning streaking back and forth.

15 As I looked at the creatures, suddenly there was a wheel on the earth corresponding to all four faces of the creatures. 16 The appearance and composition of the wheels were like sparkling topaz. There was one shape for all four of them, as if one wheel were inside another. 17 When they moved in any of the four directions, they moved without swerving. 18 Their rims were tall and terrifying, because all four of them were filled with eyes all around. 19 When the creatures moved, the wheels moved next to them. Whenever the creatures rose above the earth, the wheels also rose up. 20 Wherever the wind would appear to go, the wind would make them go there too. The wheels rose up beside them, because the spirit[b] of the creatures was in the wheels. 21 When they moved, the wheels[c] moved; when they stood still, the wheels stood still; and when they rose above the earth, the wheels rose up along with them, because the spirit[d] of the creatures was in the wheels.

22 The shape above the heads of the creatures[e] was a dome; it was like glittering ice stretched out over their heads. 23 Just below the dome, their outstretched wings touched each other. They each also had two wings to cover their bodies. 24 Then I heard the sound of their wings when they moved forward. It was like the sound of mighty waters, like the sound of the Almighty,[f] like the sound of tumult or the sound of an army camp. When they stood still, their wings came to rest. 25 Then there was a sound from above the dome over their heads. They stood still, and their wings came to rest.

26 Above the dome over their heads, there appeared something like lapis lazuli in the form of a throne. Above the form of the throne there was a form that looked like a human being. 27 Above what looked like his waist, I saw something like gleaming amber, something like fire enclosing it all around. Below what looked like his waist, I saw something that appeared to be fire. Its brightness shone all around. 28 Just as a rainbow lights up a cloud on a rainy day, so its brightness shone all around. This was how the form of the Lord’s glory appeared. When I saw it, I fell on my face. I heard the sound of someone speaking.

Ezekiel’s commissioning

2 The voice said to me: Human one, stand on your feet, and I’ll speak to you. 2 As he spoke to me, a wind[g] came to me and stood me on my feet, and I heard someone addressing me. 3 He said to me: Human one, I’m sending you to the Israelites, a traitorous and rebellious people. They and their ancestors have been rebelling against me to this very day. 4 I’m sending you to their hardheaded and hard-hearted descendants, and you will say to them: The Lord God proclaims. 5 Whether they listen or whether they refuse, since they are a household of rebels, they will know that a prophet has been among them.

6 And as for you, human one, don’t be afraid of them or their words. Don’t be afraid! You possess thistles and thorns that subdue scorpions.[h] Don’t be afraid of their words or shrink from their presence, because they are a household of rebels. 7 You’ll speak my words to them whether they listen or whether they refuse. They are just a household[i] of rebels!

8 As for you, human one, listen to what I say to you. Don’t become rebellious like that household of rebels. Open your mouth and eat what I give you. 9 Then I looked, and there in a hand stretched out to me was a scroll. 10 He spread it open in front of me, and it was filled with writing on both sides, songs of mourning, lamentation, and doom.

3 Then he said to me: Human one, eat this thing that you’ve found. Eat this scroll and go, speak to the house of Israel. 2 So I opened my mouth, and he fed me the scroll. 3 He said to me: Human one, feed your belly and fill your stomach with this scroll that I give you. So I ate it, and in my mouth it became as sweet as honey.

4 Then he said to me: Human one, go! Go to the house of Israel and speak my words to them. 5 You aren’t being sent to a people whose language and speech are difficult and obscure but to the house of Israel. 6 No, not to many peoples who speak difficult and obscure languages, whose words you wouldn’t understand. If I did send you to them, they would listen to you. 7 But the house of Israel—they will refuse to listen to you because they refuse to listen to me. The whole house of Israel is hardheaded and hard-hearted too. 8 I’ve now hardened your face so that you can meet them head-on. 9 I’ve made your forehead like a diamond, harder than stone. Don’t be afraid of them or shrink away from them, because they are a household of rebels.

10 He said to me: Human one, listen closely, and take to heart every word I say to you. 11 Then go to the exiles, to your people’s children. Whether they listen or not, speak to them and say: The Lord God proclaims!

12 Then a wind lifted me up, and I heard behind me a great quaking sound from his place. Blessed is the Lord’s glory! 13 The sound was the creatures’ wings beating against each other and the sound of the wheels beside them; it was a great rumbling noise. 14 Then the wind picked me up and took me away. With the Lord’s power pressing down against me I went away, bitter and deeply angry, 15 and I came to the exiles who lived beside the Chebar River at Tel-abib. I stayed there among them for seven desolate days.

16 At the end of the seven days, the Lord’s word came to me: 17 Human one, I’ve made you a lookout for the house of Israel. When you hear a word from me, deliver my warning. 18 If I declare that the wicked will die but you don’t warn them, if you say nothing to warn them from their wicked ways so that they might live, they will die because of their guilt, but I will hold you accountable for their deaths. 19 If you do warn the wicked and they don’t turn from their wickedness or their wicked ways, they will die because of their guilt, but you will save your life.

20 Or suppose righteous people turn away from doing the right thing. If they act dishonestly, and I make them stumble because of it, they will die because you didn’t warn them of their sin. Their righteous deeds won’t be remembered, and I will hold you accountable for their deaths. 21 But if you do warn the righteous not to sin, and they don’t sin, they will be declared righteous. Their lives will be preserved because they heeded the warning, and you will save your life.

22 The Lord’s power overcame me, and he said to me: Get up! Go out to the valley, and I’ll speak to you there. 23 So I got up and went out to the valley. Suddenly, the Lord’s glory stood there, like the glory that I had seen at the Chebar River, and I fell on my face. 24 When a wind came to me and stood me on my feet, he spoke to me and said: Go, shut yourself up inside your house. 25 Look at you, human one! They’ve now put cords on you and bound you up so that you can’t go out among them. 26 I’ll make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth and take away your ability to speak. You won’t be able to correct them, because they are a household of rebels. 27 But whenever I speak to you, I’ll open your mouth, and you will say to them: The Lord God proclaims. Those who hear will understand, but those who refuse will not. They are just a household of rebels.

Jerusalem’s siege

4 You, human one, take a brick. Put it in front of you and draw the city of Jerusalem on it. 2 Prepare the siege: Build a wall, construct ramps, set up army camps, and place battering rams all around. 3 Take an iron plate and set it up as an iron wall between you and the city. Face it directly. When it is under siege like this, press hard against it. This is a sign for the house of Israel.

4 Now, lie on your left side, and set the guilt of the house of Israel on it. For the length of time that you lie on your side, you will bear their punishment. 5 I appoint to you three hundred ninety days, one day for each year of their guilt. So you will bear the punishment of the house of Israel. 6 When you have completed these days, lie on your right side to bear the guilt of the house of Judah. I appoint forty days to you, one day for each year. 7 With your arm stretched out, face the siege of Jerusalem directly and prophesy against it. 8 I’ve now bound you with cords so that you can’t turn from one side to the other until you have completed the days of your siege.

9 You, gather some wheat and barley, beans and lentils, and millet and spelt. Put them in a bowl and make your bread from them. Eat it during the three hundred ninety days that you lie on your side. 10 At fixed times you will eat your food by weight, fourteen ounces a day.[j] 11 You will also ration your water by measure, drinking a sixth of a hin[k] at fixed times each day. 12 Eat it like barley bread, and bake it on human excrement while they watch. 13 The Lord says: In this same way the Israelites will eat their unclean bread among the nations where I am scattering them.

14 And I said: “Ah, Lord God! I’ve never been unclean! From my childhood until now I’ve never eaten anything that wasn’t properly slaughtered,[l] and no unclean meat has ever entered my mouth!”

15 He answered me: “Then I’ll let you use cow dung instead of human excrement. You can make your bread over that.”

16 Then he said to me: Human one, I’m destroying the food supply in Jerusalem. They will anxiously ration and eat their food, and in dismay they will dole out and drink their water. 17 When their food and water dwindles away, everyone will be horrified, and they will waste away because of their guilt.

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 1:11 LXX; MT adds and their faces.
  2. Ezekiel 1:20 Or wind
  3. Ezekiel 1:21 Or they
  4. Ezekiel 1:21 Or wind
  5. Ezekiel 1:22 LXX; MT creature
  6. Ezekiel 1:24 Heb Shaddai or Mountain One
  7. Ezekiel 2:2 Or spirit
  8. Ezekiel 2:6 Or thistles and thorns are with you, and you sit on scorpions.
  9. Ezekiel 2:7 LXX, Syr, Tg; MT lacks household.
  10. Ezekiel 4:10 Or twenty shekels
  11. Ezekiel 4:11 A hin is approximately one gallon.
  12. Ezekiel 4:14 Or what died of itself or was torn by wild beasts
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Ezekiel 1-4
New International Version

Ezekiel’s Inaugural Vision

1 In my thirtieth year, in the fourth month on the fifth day, while I was among the exiles(A) by the Kebar River,(B) the heavens were opened(C) and I saw visions(D) of God.

2 On the fifth of the month—it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin(E)— 3 the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel(F) the priest, the son of Buzi, by the Kebar River in the land of the Babylonians.[a] There the hand of the Lord was on him.(G)

4 I looked, and I saw a windstorm(H) coming out of the north(I)—an immense cloud with flashing lightning and surrounded by brilliant light. The center of the fire looked like glowing metal,(J) 5 and in the fire was what looked like four living creatures.(K) In appearance their form was human,(L) 6 but each of them had four faces(M) and four wings. 7 Their legs were straight; their feet were like those of a calf and gleamed like burnished bronze.(N) 8 Under their wings on their four sides they had human hands.(O) All four of them had faces and wings, 9 and the wings of one touched the wings of another. Each one went straight ahead; they did not turn as they moved.(P)

10 Their faces looked like this: Each of the four had the face of a human being, and on the right side each had the face of a lion, and on the left the face of an ox; each also had the face of an eagle.(Q) 11 Such were their faces. They each had two wings(R) spreading out upward, each wing touching that of the creature on either side; and each had two other wings covering its body. 12 Each one went straight ahead. Wherever the spirit would go, they would go, without turning as they went.(S) 13 The appearance of the living creatures was like burning coals(T) of fire or like torches. Fire moved back and forth among the creatures; it was bright, and lightning(U) flashed out of it. 14 The creatures sped back and forth like flashes of lightning.(V)

15 As I looked at the living creatures,(W) I saw a wheel(X) on the ground beside each creature with its four faces. 16 This was the appearance and structure of the wheels: They sparkled like topaz,(Y) and all four looked alike. Each appeared to be made like a wheel intersecting a wheel. 17 As they moved, they would go in any one of the four directions the creatures faced; the wheels did not change direction(Z) as the creatures went. 18 Their rims were high and awesome, and all four rims were full of eyes(AA) all around.

19 When the living creatures moved, the wheels beside them moved; and when the living creatures rose from the ground, the wheels also rose. 20 Wherever the spirit would go, they would go,(AB) and the wheels would rise along with them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. 21 When the creatures moved, they also moved; when the creatures stood still, they also stood still; and when the creatures rose from the ground, the wheels rose along with them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.(AC)

22 Spread out above the heads of the living creatures was what looked something like a vault,(AD) sparkling like crystal, and awesome. 23 Under the vault their wings were stretched out one toward the other, and each had two wings covering its body. 24 When the creatures moved, I heard the sound of their wings, like the roar of rushing(AE) waters, like the voice(AF) of the Almighty,[b] like the tumult of an army.(AG) When they stood still, they lowered their wings.

25 Then there came a voice from above the vault over their heads as they stood with lowered wings. 26 Above the vault over their heads was what looked like a throne(AH) of lapis lazuli,(AI) and high above on the throne was a figure like that of a man.(AJ) 27 I saw that from what appeared to be his waist up he looked like glowing metal, as if full of fire, and that from there down he looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded him.(AK) 28 Like the appearance of a rainbow(AL) in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him.(AM)

This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory(AN) of the Lord. When I saw it, I fell facedown,(AO) and I heard the voice of one speaking.

Ezekiel’s Call to Be a Prophet

2 He said to me, “Son of man,[c](AP) stand(AQ) up on your feet and I will speak to you.(AR)” 2 As he spoke, the Spirit came into me and raised me(AS) to my feet, and I heard him speaking to me.

3 He said: “Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me; they and their ancestors have been in revolt against me to this very day.(AT) 4 The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn.(AU) Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says.’(AV) 5 And whether they listen or fail to listen(AW)—for they are a rebellious people(AX)—they will know that a prophet has been among them.(AY) 6 And you, son of man, do not be afraid(AZ) of them or their words. Do not be afraid, though briers and thorns(BA) are all around you and you live among scorpions. Do not be afraid of what they say or be terrified by them, though they are a rebellious people.(BB) 7 You must speak(BC) my words to them, whether they listen or fail to listen, for they are rebellious.(BD) 8 But you, son of man, listen to what I say to you. Do not rebel(BE) like that rebellious people;(BF) open your mouth and eat(BG) what I give you.”

9 Then I looked, and I saw a hand(BH) stretched out to me. In it was a scroll,(BI) 10 which he unrolled before me. On both sides of it were written words of lament and mourning and woe.(BJ)

3 And he said to me, “Son of man, eat what is before you, eat this scroll; then go and speak to the people of Israel.” 2 So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat.

3 Then he said to me, “Son of man, eat this scroll I am giving you and fill your stomach with it.” So I ate(BK) it, and it tasted as sweet as honey(BL) in my mouth.

4 He then said to me: “Son of man, go now to the people of Israel and speak my words to them.(BM) 5 You are not being sent to a people of obscure speech and strange language,(BN) but to the people of Israel— 6 not to many peoples of obscure speech and strange language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely if I had sent you to them, they would have listened to you.(BO) 7 But the people of Israel are not willing to listen(BP) to you because they are not willing to listen to me, for all the Israelites are hardened and obstinate.(BQ) 8 But I will make you as unyielding and hardened as they are.(BR) 9 I will make your forehead(BS) like the hardest stone, harder than flint.(BT) Do not be afraid of them or terrified by them, though they are a rebellious people.(BU)”

10 And he said to me, “Son of man, listen carefully and take to heart(BV) all the words I speak to you. 11 Go(BW) now to your people in exile and speak to them. Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says,’(BX) whether they listen or fail to listen.(BY)”

12 Then the Spirit lifted me up,(BZ) and I heard behind me a loud rumbling sound as the glory of the Lord rose from the place where it was standing.[d] 13 It was the sound of the wings of the living creatures(CA) brushing against each other and the sound of the wheels beside them, a loud rumbling sound.(CB) 14 The Spirit(CC) then lifted me up(CD) and took me away, and I went in bitterness and in the anger of my spirit, with the strong hand of the Lord(CE) on me. 15 I came to the exiles who lived at Tel Aviv near the Kebar River.(CF) And there, where they were living, I sat among them for seven days(CG)—deeply distressed.

Ezekiel’s Task as Watchman

16 At the end of seven days the word of the Lord came to me:(CH) 17 “Son of man, I have made you a watchman(CI) for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me.(CJ) 18 When I say to a wicked person, ‘You will surely die,(CK)’ and you do not warn them or speak out to dissuade them from their evil ways in order to save their life, that wicked person will die for[e] their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood.(CL) 19 But if you do warn the wicked person and they do not turn(CM) from their wickedness(CN) or from their evil ways, they will die(CO) for their sin; but you will have saved yourself.(CP)

20 “Again, when a righteous person turns(CQ) from their righteousness and does evil, and I put a stumbling block(CR) before them, they will die. Since you did not warn them, they will die for their sin. The righteous things that person did will not be remembered, and I will hold you accountable for their blood.(CS) 21 But if you do warn the righteous person not to sin and they do not sin, they will surely live because they took warning, and you will have saved yourself.(CT)”

22 The hand of the Lord(CU) was on me there, and he said to me, “Get up and go(CV) out to the plain,(CW) and there I will speak to you.” 23 So I got up and went out to the plain. And the glory of the Lord was standing there, like the glory I had seen by the Kebar River,(CX) and I fell facedown.(CY)

24 Then the Spirit came into me and raised me(CZ) to my feet. He spoke to me and said: “Go, shut yourself inside your house.(DA) 25 And you, son of man, they will tie with ropes; you will be bound so that you cannot go out among the people.(DB) 26 I will make your tongue stick to the roof(DC) of your mouth so that you will be silent and unable to rebuke them, for they are a rebellious people.(DD) 27 But when I speak to you, I will open your mouth and you shall say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says.’(DE) Whoever will listen let them listen, and whoever will refuse let them refuse; for they are a rebellious people.(DF)

Siege of Jerusalem Symbolized

4 “Now, son of man, take a block of clay, put it in front of you and draw the city of Jerusalem on it. 2 Then lay siege to it: Erect siege works against it, build a ramp(DG) up to it, set up camps against it and put battering rams around it.(DH) 3 Then take an iron pan,(DI) place it as an iron wall between you and the city and turn your face toward(DJ) it. It will be under siege, and you shall besiege it. This will be a sign(DK) to the people of Israel.(DL)

4 “Then lie on your left side and put the sin of the people of Israel upon yourself.[f] You are to bear their sin for the number of days you lie on your side. 5 I have assigned you the same number of days as the years of their sin. So for 390 days you will bear the sin of the people of Israel.

6 “After you have finished this, lie down again, this time on your right side, and bear the sin(DM) of the people of Judah. I have assigned you 40 days, a day for each year.(DN) 7 Turn your face(DO) toward the siege of Jerusalem and with bared arm prophesy against her. 8 I will tie you up with ropes so that you cannot turn from one side to the other until you have finished the days of your siege.(DP)

9 “Take wheat and barley, beans and lentils, millet and spelt;(DQ) put them in a storage jar and use them to make bread for yourself. You are to eat it during the 390 days you lie on your side. 10 Weigh out twenty shekels[g](DR) of food to eat each day and eat it at set times. 11 Also measure out a sixth of a hin[h] of water and drink it at set times.(DS) 12 Eat the food as you would a loaf of barley bread; bake it in the sight of the people, using human excrement(DT) for fuel.” 13 The Lord said, “In this way the people of Israel will eat defiled food among the nations where I will drive them.”(DU)

14 Then I said, “Not so, Sovereign Lord!(DV) I have never defiled myself. From my youth until now I have never eaten anything found dead(DW) or torn by wild animals. No impure meat has ever entered my mouth.(DX)”

15 “Very well,” he said, “I will let you bake your bread over cow dung instead of human excrement.”

16 He then said to me: “Son of man, I am about to cut off(DY) the food supply in Jerusalem. The people will eat rationed food in anxiety and drink rationed water in despair,(DZ) 17 for food and water will be scarce.(EA) They will be appalled at the sight of each other and will waste away because of[i] their sin.(EB)

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 1:3 Or Chaldeans
  2. Ezekiel 1:24 Hebrew Shaddai
  3. Ezekiel 2:1 The Hebrew phrase ben adam means human being. The phrase son of man is retained as a form of address here and throughout Ezekiel because of its possible association with “Son of Man” in the New Testament.
  4. Ezekiel 3:12 Probable reading of the original Hebrew text; Masoretic Text sound—may the glory of the Lord be praised from his place
  5. Ezekiel 3:18 Or in; also in verses 19 and 20
  6. Ezekiel 4:4 Or upon your side
  7. Ezekiel 4:10 That is, about 8 ounces or about 230 grams
  8. Ezekiel 4:11 That is, about 2/3 quart or about 0.6 liter
  9. Ezekiel 4:17 Or away in
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