8 And in the sixth year [of the capitivity of King Jehoiachin], in the sixth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I sat in my house [a captive of the Babylonians] with the elders of Judah sitting before me, the hand of the Lord God fell there upon me.

² Then I beheld, and lo, a likeness of a Man with the appearance of fire; from His waist downward He was like fire, and from His waist upward He had the appearance of brightness like gleaming bronze.

³ And He put forth the form of a hand and took me by a lock of my head; and the Spirit lifted me up between the earth and the heavens and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the door of the inner [court] which faces toward the north, where was the seat of the idol (image) of jealousy, which provokes to jealousy.^(A)

⁴ And behold, there was the glory of the God of Israel [Who had loved and chosen them], like the vision I saw in the plain.^(B)

⁵ Then He [the Spirit] said to me, Son of man, now lift up your eyes toward the north. So I lifted up my eyes toward the north, and behold, on the north of the altar gate was that idol (image) of jealousy in the entrance.

⁶ Furthermore, [the Spirit] said to me, Son of man, do you see what they are doing? The great abominations that the house of Israel is committing here to drive Me far from My sanctuary? But you shall again see greater abominations.

⁷ And He brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, behold, there was a hole in the wall.

⁸ Then He said to me, Son of man, dig now in the wall. And when I had dug in the wall, behold, there was a door.

⁹ And He said to me, Go in and see the wicked abominations that they do here.

¹⁰ So I went in and saw there pictures of every form of creeping things and loathsome beasts and all the idols of the house of Israel, painted round about on the wall.

¹¹ And there stood before these [pictures] seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel, and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan [the scribe], with every man his censer in his hand, and a thick cloud of incense was going up [in prayer to these their gods].

¹² Then said He to me, Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in his [secret] chambers of [idol] pictures? For they say, The Lord does not see us; the Lord has forsaken the land.

¹³ He also said to me, Yet again you shall see greater abominations which they are committing.

¹⁴ Then He brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the Lord’s house; and behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz [a Babylonian god, who was supposed to die annually and subsequently be resurrected].

¹⁵ Then said [the Spirit] to me, Have you seen this, O son of man? Yet again you shall see greater abominations that they are committing.

¹⁶ And He brought me to the inner court of the Lord’s house; and behold, at the door of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the bronze altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs to the temple of the Lord and their faces toward the east, and they were bowing themselves toward the east and worshiping the sun.

¹⁷ Then [the Spirit] said to me, Have you seen this, O son of man? Is it too slight a thing to the house of Judah to commit the abominations which they commit here, that they must fill the land with violence and turn back afresh to provoke Me to anger? And behold, they put the branch to their nose [actually, before their mouths, in superstitious worship]!

¹⁸ Therefore I will deal in wrath; My eye will not spare, nor will I have pity; and though they cry in My ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them.^(C)

9 [The Spirit] cried in my ears [in the vision] with a loud voice, saying, Cause those to draw near who have charge over the city [as executioners], every man with his destroying weapon in his hand.

² And behold, six men came from the direction of the Upper Gate, which faces north, every man with his battle-ax in his hand; and one man among them was clothed in linen, with a writer’s ink bottle at his side. And they went in and stood beside the bronze altar.

³ And the glory of the God of Israel [the Shekinah, cloud] had gone up from the cherubim upon which it had rested to [stand above] the threshold of the [Lord’s] house. And [the Lord] called to the man clothed with linen, who had the writer’s ink bottle at his side.

⁴ And the Lord said to him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in the midst of it.

⁵ And to the others He said in my hearing, Follow [the man with the ink bottle] through the city and smite; let not your eye spare, neither have any pity.

⁶ Slay outright the elderly, the young man and the virgin, the infant and the women; but do not touch or go near anyone on whom is the mark. Begin at My sanctuary. So they began with the old men who were in front of the temple [who did not have the Lord’s mark on their foreheads].^(A)

⁷ And He said to [the executioners], Defile the temple and fill its courts with the slain. Go forth! And they went forth and slew in the city.

⁸ And while they were slaying them and I was left, I fell upon my face and cried, Ah, Lord God! Will You destroy all that is left of Israel in Your pouring out of Your wrath and indignation upon Jerusalem?

⁹ Then said He to me, The iniquity and guilt of the house of Israel and Judah are exceedingly great; the land is full of blood and the city full of injustice and perverseness; for they say, The Lord has forsaken the land; the Lord does not see [what we are doing].

¹⁰ And as for Me, My eye will not spare, neither will I have pity, but I will recompense their wicked doings upon their own heads.

¹¹ And behold, the man clothed in linen, who had the ink bottle at his side, reported the matter, saying, I have done as You have commanded me.

¹⁴⁵ I cried with my whole heart; hear me, O Lord; I will keep Your statutes [I will hear, receive, love, and obey them].

¹⁴⁶ I cried to You; save me, that I may keep Your testimonies [hearing, receiving, loving, and obeying them].

¹⁴⁷ I anticipated the dawning of the morning and cried [in childlike prayer]; I hoped in Your word.

¹⁴⁸ My eyes anticipate the night watches and I am awake before the cry of the watchman, that I may meditate on Your word.

¹⁴⁹ Hear my voice according to Your steadfast love; O Lord, quicken me and give me life according to Your [righteous] decrees.

¹⁵⁰ They draw near who follow after wrong thinking and persecute me with wickedness; they are far from Your law.

¹⁵¹ You are near, O Lord [nearer to me than my foes], and all Your commandments are truth.

¹⁵² Of old have I known Your testimonies, and for a long time, [therefore it is a thoroughly established conviction] that You have founded them forever.^(A)

¹⁵³ Consider my affliction and deliver me, for I do not forget Your law.

¹⁵⁴ Plead my cause and redeem me; revive me and give me life according to Your word.

¹⁵⁵ Salvation is far from the wicked, for they seek not nor hunger for Your statutes.

¹⁵⁶ Great are Your tender mercy and loving-kindness, O Lord; give me life according to Your ordinances.

¹⁵⁷ Many are my persecutors and my adversaries, yet I do not swerve from Your testimonies.

¹⁵⁸ I behold the treacherous and am grieved and loathe them, because they do not respect Your law [neither hearing, receiving, loving, nor obeying it].

¹⁵⁹ Consider how I love Your precepts; revive me and give life to me, O Lord, according to Your loving-kindness!

¹⁶⁰ The sum of Your word is truth [the total of the full meaning of all Your individual precepts]; and every one of Your righteous decrees endures forever.

¹⁶¹ Princes pursue and persecute me without cause, but my heart stands in awe of Your words [dreading violation of them far more than the force of prince or potentate].^(B)

¹⁶² I rejoice at Your word as one who finds great spoil.

¹⁶³ I hate and abhor falsehood, but Your law do I love.

¹⁶⁴ Seven times a day and all day long do I praise You because of Your righteous decrees.

¹⁶⁵ Great peace have they who love Your law; nothing shall offend them or make them stumble.^(C)

¹⁶⁶ I am hoping and waiting [eagerly] for Your salvation, O Lord, and I do Your commandments.^(D)

¹⁶⁷ Your testimonies have I kept [hearing, receiving, loving, and obeying them]; I love them exceedingly!

¹⁶⁸ I have observed Your precepts and Your testimonies, for all my ways are [fully known] before You.

¹⁶⁹ Let my mournful cry and supplication come [near] before You, O Lord; give me understanding (discernment and comprehension) according to Your word [of assurance and promise].

¹⁷⁰ Let my supplication come before You; deliver me according to Your word!

¹⁷¹ My lips shall pour forth praise [with thanksgiving and renewed trust] when You teach me Your statutes.

¹⁷² My tongue shall sing [praise for the fulfillment] of Your word, for all Your commandments are righteous.

¹⁷³ Let Your hand be ready to help me, for I have chosen Your precepts.

¹⁷⁴ I have longed for Your salvation, O Lord, and Your law is my delight.

¹⁷⁵ Let me live that I may praise You, and let Your decrees help me.

¹⁷⁶ I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek, inquire for, and demand Your servant, for I do not forget Your commandments.^(E)