Abominations in the Temple

8 ^(A)In the sixth year, in the sixth month, on the fifth day of the month, ^(B)as I sat in my house, with ^(C)the elders of Judah sitting before me, ^(D)the hand of the Lord God fell upon me there. ² Then I looked, and behold, ^(E)a form that had the appearance of a man.^{[a] (F)}Below what appeared to be his waist was fire, and above his waist was something like the appearance of brightness, like ^(G)gleaming metal.^{[b] 3} He ^(H)put out the form of a hand and took me by a lock of my head, and the Spirit lifted me up ^(I)between earth and heaven and ^(J)brought me in ^(K)visions of God to Jerusalem, ^(L)to the entrance of the gateway of the inner court that faces north, ^(M)where was the seat of the ^(N)image of jealousy, ^(O)which provokes to jealousy. ⁴ And behold, ^(P)the glory of the God of Israel was there, like the vision that I saw ^(Q)in the valley.

⁵ Then he said to me, ^(R)“Son of man, lift up your eyes now toward the north.” So I lifted up my eyes toward the north, and behold, north of ^(S)the altar gate, in the entrance, was this ^(T)image of jealousy. ⁶ And he said to me, “Son of man, ^(U)do you see what they are doing, ^(V)the great abominations that the house of Israel are committing here, ^(W)to drive me far from my sanctuary? But you will see still greater abominations.”

⁷ And he brought me to the entrance of the court, and when I looked, behold, there was a hole in the wall. ⁸ Then he said to me, “Son of man, ^(X)dig in the wall.” So I dug in the wall, and behold, there was an entrance. ⁹ And he said to me, “Go in, and see ^(Y)the vile abominations that they are committing here.” ¹⁰ So I went in and saw. And there, ^(Z)engraved on the wall all around, was ^(AA)every form of ^(AB)creeping things and loathsome beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel. ¹¹ And before them stood ^(AC)seventy men of ^(AD)the elders of the house of Israel, with Jaazaniah the son of ^(AE)Shaphan standing among them. Each had his censer in his hand, and ^(AF)the smoke of the 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 are doing ^(AG)in the dark, each ^(AH)in his room of pictures? For they say, ^(AI)‘The Lord does not see us, the Lord has forsaken the land.’” ¹³ He said also to me, ^(AJ)“You will see still greater abominations that they commit.”

¹⁴ Then he brought me to ^(AK)the entrance of the north gate of the house of the Lord, and behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz. ¹⁵ Then he said to me, “Have you seen this, O ^(AL)son of man? ^(AM)You will see still greater abominations than these.”

¹⁶ And he brought me into ^(AN)the inner court of the house of the Lord. And behold, at the entrance of the temple of the Lord, ^(AO)between the ^(AP)porch and ^(AQ)the altar, were about twenty-five men, ^(AR)with their backs to the temple of the Lord, and their faces toward the east, worshiping ^(AS)the sun toward the east. ¹⁷ Then he said to me, “Have you seen this, O ^(AT)son of man? Is it too light a thing for the house of Judah to commit ^(AU)the abominations that they commit here, that ^(AV)they should fill the land with violence and ^(AW)provoke me still further to anger? Behold, they put the branch to their^[c] nose. ¹⁸ Therefore ^(AX)I will act in wrath. ^(AY)My eye will not spare, nor will I have pity. ^(AZ)And though they cry in my ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them.”

Idolaters Killed

9 Then he cried in my ears with a loud voice, saying, “Bring near the executioners of the city, ^(BA)each with his destroying weapon in his hand.” ² And behold, six men came from the direction of ^(BB)the upper gate, which faces north, each with his weapon for slaughter in his hand, and with them was ^(BC)a man clothed in linen, with a writing case at his waist. And they went in and stood beside ^(BD)the bronze altar.

³ Now ^(BE)the glory of the God of Israel had gone up from the cherub on which it rested to ^(BF)the threshold of the house. And he called to ^(BG)the man clothed in linen, who had the writing case at his waist. ⁴ And the Lord said to him, “Pass through the city, through Jerusalem, and ^(BH)put a mark on the foreheads of the men who ^(BI)sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it.” ⁵ And to ^(BJ)the others he said in my hearing, “Pass through the city after him, and strike. ^(BK)Your eye shall not spare, and you shall show no pity. ^6 (BL)Kill old men outright, young men and maidens, little children and women, but ^(BM)touch no one on whom is the mark. And ^(BN)begin at my sanctuary.” So they began with the elders who were before the house. ⁷ Then he said to them, ^(BO)“Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain. Go out.” So they went out and struck in the city. ⁸ And while they were striking, and I was left alone, ^(BP)I fell upon my face, and cried, ^(BQ)“Ah, Lord God! ^(BR)Will you destroy all the remnant of Israel ^(BS)in the outpouring of your wrath on Jerusalem?”

⁹ Then he said to me, ^(BT)“The guilt of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great. ^(BU)The land is full of blood, and the city full of injustice. For ^(BV)they say, ‘The Lord has forsaken the land, and the Lord does not see.’ ¹⁰ As for me, ^(BW)my eye will not spare, nor will I have pity; ^(BX)I will bring their deeds upon their heads.”

¹¹ And behold, ^(BY)the man clothed in linen, with the writing case at his waist, brought back word, saying, “I have done as you commanded me.”

The Glory of the Lord Leaves the Temple

10 Then I looked, and behold, ^(BZ)on the expanse that was over the heads of the cherubim there appeared above them something ^(CA)like a sapphire,^[d] in appearance like a throne. ² And he said to ^(CB)the man clothed in linen, “Go in among ^(CC)the whirling wheels underneath the cherubim. Fill your hands with ^(CD)burning coals from between the cherubim, and ^(CE)scatter them over the city.”

And he went in ^(CF)before my eyes. ³ Now the cherubim were standing ^(CG)on the south side of the house, when the man went in, and ^(CH)a cloud filled ^(CI)the inner court. ⁴ And ^(CJ)the glory of the Lord ^(CK)went up from the cherub to the threshold of the house, and the house ^(CL)was filled with the cloud, and the court was filled with ^(CM)the brightness of the glory of the Lord. ⁵ And ^(CN)the sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard as far as the outer court, ^(CO)like the voice of God Almighty when he speaks.

⁶ And when he commanded ^(CP)the man clothed in linen, ^(CQ)“Take fire from between ^(CR)the whirling wheels, from between the cherubim,” he went in and stood beside a wheel. ⁷ And a cherub stretched out his hand from between the cherubim to the fire that was between the cherubim, and took some of it and put it into the hands of the man clothed in linen, who took it and went out. ⁸ The cherubim appeared to have ^(CS)the form of a human hand under their wings.

^9 (CT)And I looked, and behold, there were four wheels beside the cherubim, one beside each cherub, and ^(CU)the appearance of the wheels was ^(CV)like sparkling ^(CW)beryl. ¹⁰ And as for their appearance, the four had the same likeness, as if a wheel were within a wheel. ^11 (CX)When they went, they went in any of their four directions^{[e] (CY)}without turning as they went, ^(CZ)but in whatever direction the front wheel^[f] faced, the others followed without turning as they went. ^12 (DA)And their whole body, their rims, and their spokes, their wings,^[g] and the wheels were full of eyes all around—the wheels that the four of them had. ¹³ As for the wheels, they were called in my hearing ^(DB)“the whirling wheels.” ^14 (DC)And every one had four faces: ^(DD)the first face was the face of the cherub, and the second face was ^(DE)a human face, and the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.

^15 (DF)And the cherubim mounted up. These were ^(DG)the living creatures that I saw by ^(DH)the Chebar canal. ^16 (DI)And when the cherubim went, the wheels went beside them. And ^(DJ)when the cherubim lifted up their wings to mount up from the earth, the wheels did not turn from beside them. ^17 (DK)When they stood still, these stood still, and when they mounted up, these mounted up with them, for the spirit of the living creatures^[h] was in them.

^18 (DL)Then ^(DM)the glory of the Lord went out from the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubim. ^19 (DN)And the cherubim lifted up their wings and mounted up from the earth ^(DO)before my eyes as they went out, with the wheels beside them. And they stood at the entrance of the ^(DP)east gate of the house of the Lord, and ^(DQ)the glory of the God of Israel was over them.

^20 (DR)These were the living creatures that I saw ^(DS)underneath the God of Israel by ^(DT)the Chebar canal; and I knew that they were cherubim. ^21 (DU)Each had four faces, and each four wings, and underneath their wings ^(DV)the likeness of human hands. ^22 (DW)And as for the likeness of their faces, they were the same faces whose appearance I had seen by the Chebar canal. ^(DX)Each one of them went straight forward.

Instructions for the Church

5 ^(A)Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, ^(B)younger men as brothers, ² older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity.

³ Honor widows ^(C)who are truly widows. ⁴ But if a widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn ^(D)to show godliness to their own household and to make some return to their parents, for ^(E)this is pleasing in the sight of God. ⁵ She ^(F)who is truly a widow, left all alone, has set her hope on God and ^(G)continues in supplications and prayers night and day, ⁶ but ^(H)she who is self-indulgent is ^(I)dead even while she lives. ^7 (J)Command these things as well, so that they may be without reproach. ⁸ But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for ^(K)members of his household, he has ^(L)denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

⁹ Let a widow be enrolled if she is not less than sixty years of age, having been ^(M)the wife of one husband,^{[a] 10} and having a reputation for good works: if she has brought up children, has ^(N)shown hospitality, ^(O)has washed the feet of the saints, has ^(P)cared for the afflicted, and has ^(Q)devoted herself to every good work. ¹¹ But refuse to enroll younger widows, for when ^(R)their passions draw them away from Christ, they desire to marry ¹² and so incur condemnation for having abandoned their former faith. ¹³ Besides that, they learn to be idlers, going about from house to house, and not only idlers, but also ^(S)gossips and ^(T)busybodies, saying what they should not. ¹⁴ So I would have ^(U)younger widows marry, bear children, ^(V)manage their households, and ^(W)give the adversary no occasion for slander. ^15 (X)For some have already strayed after Satan. ¹⁶ If any believing woman has relatives who are widows, let her care for them. Let the church not be burdened, so that it may care for those ^(Y)who are truly widows.

¹⁷ Let the elders ^(Z)who rule well be considered worthy of ^(AA)double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. ¹⁸ For the Scripture says, ^(AB)“You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,” and, ^(AC)“The laborer deserves his wages.” ¹⁹ Do not admit a charge against an elder except ^(AD)on the evidence of two or three witnesses. ²⁰ As for those who persist in sin, ^(AE)rebuke them in the presence of all, ^(AF)so that the rest may stand in fear. ²¹ In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the elect angels ^(AG)I charge you to keep these rules without prejudging, ^(AH)doing nothing from partiality. ^22 (AI)Do not be hasty in the ^(AJ)laying on of hands, nor ^(AK)take part in the sins of others; keep yourself pure. ²³ (No longer drink only water, but ^(AL)use a little wine ^(AM)for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.) ²⁴ The sins of some people are conspicuous, going before them to judgment, but the sins of others appear later. ²⁵ So also good works are conspicuous, and ^(AN)even those that are not cannot remain hidden.