Ezekiel 9
Lexham English Bible
Yahweh’s Avenging Messenger Destroys the Wicked in the City
9 And he called in my ears with a loud voice, saying,[a] “They have come near,[b] the punishers of the city, and each with his weapon of destruction in his hand. 2 And look! Six men coming from the way of the upper gate[c] that faced northward,[d] and each with his weapon for[e] shattering in his hand; and one man was in the midst of them, dressed in linen, and the[f] writing case of the scribe was at his side. And they came and stood beside the bronze altar. 3 And the glory of the God of Israel lifted itself up from upon the cherub that he was on[g] and went to the threshold of the house,[h] and he called to the man who was clothed in linen with a scribal writing case at his side.[i] 4 And Yahweh said to him, “Go through in the midst of the city, in the midst of Jerusalem, and you must place a mark on the foreheads of the men who are groaning and lamenting[j] about all of the detestable things that are being done[k] in the midst of her.” 5 And to the others he said in my hearing, “Go through the city behind him and kill! Your eyes shall not take pity, and you shall not have compassion. 6 You must kill totally[l] old man, young man and young woman, and little children and women, but concerning[m] every man with the mark on him[n] you must not approach; and from my sanctuary you must begin.” And they began with the old men who were before[o] the house.[p] 7 And he said to them, “Defile the house[q] and fill the courtyards with the dead; go out! And they went out, and they killed in the city. 8 And then[r] as they were striking,[s] and I was left behind, I fell on my face, and I cried out, and I said, “Ah, Lord Yahweh! “Will you be destroying all of the remnant of Israel while you pour out your rage[t] on Jerusalem?” 9 And he said to me, “The guilt of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly[u] great, and the land is filled with bloodguilt, and the city is full of injustice. For they say Yahweh abandoned the land, and Yahweh does not see.[v] 10 And I, my eye will not take pity, and I will not have compassion; their way I will bring on their head.” 11 And look! The man clothed in linen and with a writing case at his side[w] was bringing back a word, saying,[x] “I have done all that you commanded me.”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 9:1 Literally “to say”
- Ezekiel 9:1 Or “Come near” (imperative)
- Ezekiel 9:2 Literally “the gate of the upper”
- Ezekiel 9:2 Literally “faced north + directive”
- Ezekiel 9:2 Or “of”
- Ezekiel 9:2 Or “his”
- Ezekiel 9:3 Hebrew “which he was on it”
- Ezekiel 9:3 That is, the temple
- Ezekiel 9:3 Literally “whom a writing case of a scribe was at his side”
- Ezekiel 9:4 Literally “the men the groaning and the lamenting”
- Ezekiel 9:4 Literally “the being done”
- Ezekiel 9:6 Literally “to destruction”
- Ezekiel 9:6 Literally “upon”
- Ezekiel 9:6 Literally “which is on him the mark”
- Ezekiel 9:6 Literally “were to the face of”
- Ezekiel 9:6 That is, the temple
- Ezekiel 9:7 Or “temple”
- Ezekiel 9:8 Literally “and it was”
- Ezekiel 9:8 Literally “in their striking”
- Ezekiel 9:8 Literally “when pouring out your rage”
- Ezekiel 9:9 Literally “with very very”
- Ezekiel 9:9 Literally “not Yahweh is seeing
- Ezekiel 9:11 Literally “which/whom the writing-case was at his side”
- Ezekiel 9:11 Literally “to say”
Ezekiel 9
Common English Bible
9 Then in my hearing he called out loudly: Draw near, you guardians of the city, and bring your weapons of destruction! 2 Suddenly, six men came from the Upper Gate that faces north. All of them were holding weapons of destruction. Among them was another man who was dressed in linen and had a writing case at his side. When they came in and stood beside the bronze altar, 3 the glory of Israel’s God rose from above the winged creatures[a] where he had been and moved toward the temple’s threshold. The Lord called to the man who was dressed in linen with the writing case at his side: 4 Go through the city, through Jerusalem, and mark the foreheads of those who sigh and groan because of all the detestable practices that have been conducted in it. 5 To the others he said in my hearing: Go through the city after him, and attack. Spare no one! Be merciless! 6 Kill them all, old men, young men and women, babies and mothers. Only don’t touch anyone who has the mark. Begin at my sanctuary. So they began with the men, the elders in front of the temple. 7 He said to them: Make the temple unclean! Fill the courts with the slain! Go! And they went out and attacked the city.
8 While they were attacking, I was left alone. I fell on my face, and I cried out, “Oh, Lord God! When you pour out your wrath on Jerusalem, will you destroy all that is left of Israel?”
9 He said to me: “Judah and the house of Israel are very, very guilty. The land is filled with blood, and the city is full of injustice. They have said, ‘The Lord has forsaken the land; the Lord sees nothing.’ 10 I most definitely won’t spare or pity anyone! I will hold them accountable for their ways.”
11 Just then the man who was dressed in linen with the writing case at his side returned and said, “I’ve done just as you commanded.”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 9:3 LXX; MT creature
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