The Glory Departs from the Temple

10 And I looked, and there in the ^(A)firmament^[a] 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 (B)Then He spoke to the man clothed with linen, and said, “Go in among the wheels, under the cherub, fill your hands with ^(C)coals of fire from among the cherubim, and ^(D)scatter them over the city.” And he went in as I watched.

³ Now the cherubim were standing on the ^[b]south side of the ^[c]temple when the man went in, and the ^(E)cloud filled the inner court. ^4 (F)Then the glory of the Lord went up from the cherub, and paused over the threshold of the ^[d]temple; and ^(G)the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of the Lord’s ^(H)glory. ⁵ And the ^(I)sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard even in the outer court, like ^(J)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 (K)The cherubim appeared to have the form of a man’s hand under their wings.

^9 (L)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 ^(M)beryl stone. ¹⁰ As for their appearance, all four looked alike—as it were, a wheel in the middle of a wheel. ^11 (N)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 ^(O)full of eyes all around. ¹³ As for the wheels, they were called in my ^[e]hearing, “Wheel.”

^14 (P)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 ^(Q)the living creature I saw by the River Chebar. ^16 (R)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 (S)When ^[f]the cherubim stood still, the wheels stood still, and when ^[g]one was lifted up, ^[h]the other lifted itself up, for the spirit of the living creature was in them.

¹⁸ Then ^(T)the glory of the Lord ^(U)departed from the threshold of the ^[i]temple and stood over the cherubim. ¹⁹ And ^(V)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 ^(W)east gate of the Lord’s house, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them.

^20 (X)This is the living creature I saw under the God of Israel ^(Y)by the River Chebar, and I knew they were cherubim. ^21 (Z)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 ^(AA)the likeness of their faces was the same as the faces which I had seen by the River Chebar, their appearance and their persons. ^(AB)They each went straight forward.

Judgment on Wicked Counselors

11 Then ^(AC)the Spirit lifted me up and brought me to ^(AD)the East Gate of the Lord’s house, which faces eastward; and there ^(AE)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 ^[j]counsel in this city, ³ who say, ‘The time is not ^(AF)near to build houses; ^(AG)this city is the ^[k]caldron, and we are the meat.’ ⁴ Therefore prophesy against them, prophesy, O son of man!”

⁵ Then ^(AH)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 ^(AI)I know the things that come into your mind. ^6 (AJ)You have multiplied your slain in this city, and you have filled its streets with the slain.” ⁷ Therefore thus says the Lord God: ^(AK)“Your slain whom you have laid in its midst, they are the meat, and this city is the caldron; ^(AL)but I shall bring you out of the midst of it. ⁸ You have ^(AM)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 ^(AN)execute judgments on you. ^10 (AO)You shall fall by the sword. I will judge you at ^(AP)the border of Israel. ^(AQ)Then you shall know that I am the Lord. ^11 (AR)This city shall not be your ^[l]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 ^(AS)have done according to the customs of the Gentiles which are all around you.” ’ ”

¹³ Now it happened, while I was prophesying, that ^(AT)Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died. Then ^(AU)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, ^(AV)yet I shall be a little ^[m]sanctuary for them in the countries where they have gone.” ’ ¹⁷ Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: ^(AW)“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 ^(AX)detestable things and all its abominations from there. ¹⁹ Then ^(AY)I will give them one heart, and I will put ^(AZ)a new spirit within ^[n]them, and take ^(BA)the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh, ^20 (BB)that they may walk in My statutes and keep My judgments and do them; ^(BC)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, ^(BD)I will recompense their deeds on their own heads,” says the Lord God.

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

²⁴ Then ^(BI)the Spirit took me up and brought me in a vision by the Spirit of God into ^[o]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.

The Peril of Not Progressing

6 Therefore, ^(A)leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to ^[a]perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from ^(B)dead works and of faith toward God, ^2 (C)of the doctrine of baptisms, ^(D)of laying on of hands, ^(E)of resurrection of the dead, ^(F)and of eternal judgment. ³ And this ^[b]we will do if God permits.

⁴ For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted ^(G)the heavenly gift, and ^(H)have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, ⁵ and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, ^6 [c]if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, ^(I)since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.

⁷ For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, ^(J)receives blessing from God; ^8 (K)but if it bears thorns and briers, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned.

A Better Estimate

⁹ But, beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you, yes, things that accompany salvation, though we speak in this manner. ¹⁰ For ^(L)God is not unjust to forget ^(M)your work and ^[d]labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ^(N)ministered to the saints, and do minister. ¹¹ And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence ^(O)to the full assurance of hope until the end, ¹² that you do not become ^[e]sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience ^(P)inherit the promises.

God’s Infallible Purpose in Christ

¹³ For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, ^(Q)He swore by Himself, ¹⁴ saying, ^(R)“Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.” ¹⁵ And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the ^(S)promise. ¹⁶ For men indeed swear by the greater, and ^(T)an oath for confirmation is for them an end of all dispute. ¹⁷ Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to ^(U)the heirs of promise ^(V)the ^[f]immutability of His counsel, ^[g]confirmed it by an oath, ¹⁸ that by two ^[h]immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to ^(W)lie, we ^[i]might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope ^(X)set before us.

¹⁹ This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, ^(Y)and which enters the Presence behind the veil, ^20 (Z)where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, ^(AA)having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

My Son, Be Wise