The Vision of Slaughter

9 Then He cried out in my ^[a]presence with a loud ^(A)voice, saying, “Come forward, you ^[b]executioners of the city, each with his weapon of destruction in his hand.” ² And behold, six men came from the direction of the upper gate which faces north, each with his smashing weapon in his hand; and among them was ^(B)one man clothed in linen with a scribe’s kit at his waist. And they came in and stood beside the bronze altar.

³ Then the ^(C)glory of the God of Israel ascended from the cherub on which it had been, to the threshold of the ^[c]temple. And He called to the man clothed in linen at whose waist was the scribe’s kit. ⁴ And the Lord said to him, “Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and make a ^(D)mark on the foreheads of the people who ^(E)groan and sigh over all the abominations which are being committed in its midst.” ⁵ But to the others He said in my ^[d]presence, “Go through the city after him and strike; do not let your eye have pity and do not spare. ^6 [e]Utterly ^(F)kill old men, young men, female virgins, little children, and women, but do not ^(G)touch any person on whom is the mark; and you shall ^(H)start from My sanctuary.” So they started with the ^[f]elders who were before the ^[g]temple. ⁷ He also said to them, “^(I)Defile the ^[h]temple and fill the courtyards with the dead. Go out!” So they went out and struck and killed the people in the city. ⁸ And as they were striking the people and I alone was left, I ^(J)fell on my face and cried out, ^[i]saying, “^(K)Oh, Lord ^[j]God! Are You going to destroy the entire remnant of Israel ^[k]by pouring out Your wrath on Jerusalem?”

⁹ Then He said to me, “The guilt of the house of Israel and Judah is very, very great, and the land is ^(L)filled with blood, and the city is ^(M)full of perversion; for ^(N)they say, ‘The Lord has abandoned the land, and the Lord does not see!’ ¹⁰ But as for Me, ^(O)My eye will have no pity nor will I spare, but ^(P)I will bring their conduct upon their heads.”

¹¹ Then behold, the man clothed in linen, at whose waist was the scribe’s kit, ^[l]reported, saying, “I have done just as You have commanded me.”

Vision of God’s Glory Departing from the Temple

10 Then I looked, and behold, in the ^[a](A)expanse that was over the heads of the cherubim something like a ^(B)sapphire stone, in appearance resembling a ^(C)throne, appeared above them. ² And He spoke to the man clothed in linen and said, “Enter between the ^(D)whirling wheels under the ^[b]cherubim and fill your hands with ^(E)coals of fire from between the cherubim, and scatter them over the city.” And he entered in my sight.

³ Now the cherubim were standing on the right side of the ^[c]temple when the man entered, and the cloud filled the ^(F)inner courtyard. ⁴ Then the ^(G)glory of the Lord went up from the cherub to the threshold of the temple, and the ^(H)temple was filled with the cloud, and the courtyard was filled with the ^(I)brightness of the glory of the Lord. ⁵ Moreover, the sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard as far as the outer courtyard, like the ^(J)voice of ^[d]God Almighty when He speaks.

⁶ And it came about when He commanded the man clothed in linen, saying, “Take fire from between the whirling wheels, from between the cherubim,” he entered and stood beside a wheel. ⁷ Then the cherub reached out with his hand from between the cherubim to the fire which was between the cherubim, took some coals and put them into the hands of the one clothed in linen; and he took them and went out. ⁸ The cherubim appeared to have something like a human hand under their wings.

⁹ Then I looked, and behold, ^(K)four wheels beside the cherubim, one wheel beside each cherub; and the appearance of the wheels was like the gleam of a ^[e](L)Tarshish stone. ¹⁰ And as for their appearance, all four of them had the same likeness, as if one wheel were within another wheel. ¹¹ When they moved, they went ^(M)in any of their four ^[f]directions without turning as they went; but they followed in the direction which ^[g]they faced, without turning as they went. ¹² And their ^(N)whole body, their backs, their hands, their wings and the ^(O)wheels were ^[h]covered with eyes all around, the wheels belonging to all four of them. ¹³ The wheels were called, ^[i]as I heard, the ^[j]whirling wheels. ¹⁴ And ^(P)each one had four faces. The first face was the face of a cherub, the second face was the face of a human, the third, the face of a lion, and the fourth, the face of an eagle.

¹⁵ Then the cherubim rose up. They are the ^(Q)living beings that I saw by the river Chebar. ¹⁶ Now when the cherubim moved, the wheels would move beside them; also when the cherubim lifted up their wings to rise from the ground, the wheels themselves would not turn away from beside them. ¹⁷ When ^[k]the cherubim ^(R)stood still, ^[l]the wheels would stand still; and when they rose up, ^[m]the wheels would rise with them, because the spirit of the living beings was in them.

¹⁸ Then the glory of the Lord departed from the threshold of the temple and stood ^(S)over the cherubim. ¹⁹ When ^(T)the cherubim departed, they lifted their wings and rose up from the ground in my sight with the wheels beside them; and they stood still at the entrance of the east gate of the Lord’s house, and the glory of the God of Israel ^[n]hovered over them.

²⁰ These are the ^(U)living beings that I saw beneath the God of Israel by ^(V)the river Chebar; so I knew that they were cherubim. ^21 (W)Each one had four faces and each one four wings, and beneath their wings was the form of human hands. ²² As for the likeness of their faces, they were the same faces whose appearance I had seen by the river Chebar. Each one went straight ahead.

The Vision of Four Figures

1 Now it came about in the thirtieth year, on the fifth day of the fourth month, while I was by the ^(A)river Chebar among the exiles, the ^(B)heavens were opened and I saw ^[a](C)visions of God. ² (On the fifth of the month ^[b]in the ^(D)fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s exile, ³ the ^(E)word of the Lord came expressly to Ezekiel the priest, son of Buzi, in the ^(F)land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and there ^(G)the hand of the Lord came upon him.)

⁴ As I looked, behold, a ^(H)high wind was coming from the north, a great cloud with fire flashing intermittently and a bright light around it, and in its midst something like ^(I)gleaming ^[c]metal in the midst of the fire. ⁵ And within it there were figures resembling ^(J)four living beings. And this was their appearance: they had human ^(K)form. ⁶ Each of them had ^(L)four faces and ^(M)four wings. ⁷ Their legs were straight and ^[d]their feet were like a calf’s ^[e]hoof, and they sparkled like ^(N)polished bronze. ⁸ Under their wings on their ^(O)four sides were human ^(P)hands. As for the faces and wings of the four of them, ⁹ their wings touched one another; their faces did ^(Q)not turn when they moved, each ^(R)went straight forward. ¹⁰ As for the ^(S)form of their faces, each had a human ^(T)face; ^[f]all four had the face of a lion on the right and the face of a bull on the left, and ^[g]all four had the face of an eagle. ¹¹ Such were their faces. Their wings were spread out above; each had two touching another being, and ^(U)two covering their bodies. ¹² And ^(V)each went straight forward; ^(W)wherever the spirit was about to go, they would go, without turning as they went. ^13 [h]In the midst of the living beings there was something that looked like burning coals of ^(X)fire, ^[i]like torches moving among the living beings. The fire was bright, and lightning was ^[j]flashing from the fire. ¹⁴ And the living beings ^(Y)ran back and forth like bolts of ^(Z)lightning.

¹⁵ Now as I looked at the living beings, behold, there was one ^(AA)wheel on the ground beside the living beings, for ^[k]each of the four of them. ¹⁶ The ^(AB)appearance of the wheels and their workmanship was like ^[l]sparkling ^(AC)topaz, and all four of them had the same form, their appearance and workmanship being as if ^[m]one wheel were within another. ¹⁷ Whenever they ^[n]moved, they ^[o]moved in any of their four ^[p]directions without ^(AD)turning as they ^[q]moved. ¹⁸ As for their rims, they were high and awesome, and the rims of all four of them were ^[r](AE)covered with eyes all around. ^19 (AF)Whenever the living beings ^[s]moved, the wheels ^[t]moved with them. And whenever the living beings ^(AG)rose from the earth, the wheels rose also. ^20 (AH)Wherever the spirit was about to go, they would go in that direction^[u]. And the wheels rose just as they did; for the spirit of the living ^[v]beings was in the wheels. ^21 (AI)Whenever those went, they went; and whenever those stopped, they stopped. And whenever those rose from the earth, the wheels rose just as they did; for the spirit of the living ^[w]beings was in the wheels.

Vision of Divine Glory

²² Now ^(AJ)over the heads of the living ^[x]beings there was something like an expanse, like the awesome gleam of crystal, spread out over their heads. ²³ Under the expanse their wings were stretched out straight, one toward the other; each one also had ^(AK)two wings covering its body on the one side and on the other. ²⁴ And I also heard the sound of their wings, like the ^(AL)sound of abundant waters as they went, like the ^(AM)voice of ^[y]the Almighty, a sound of a crowd like the ^(AN)sound of an army camp; whenever they stopped, they let down their wings. ²⁵ And a voice came from above the ^(AO)expanse that was over their heads; whenever they stood still, they let down their wings.

²⁶ Now ^(AP)above the expanse that was over their heads there was something ^(AQ)resembling a throne, like ^[z](AR)lapis lazuli in appearance; and on that which resembled a throne, high up, was a figure with the appearance of a ^(AS)man. ²⁷ Then I ^[aa]noticed from the appearance of His waist and upward something ^(AT)like gleaming ^[ab]metal that looked like fire all around within it, and from the appearance of His waist and downward I saw something like fire; and there was a radiance around Him. ²⁸ Like the appearance of the ^(AU)rainbow ^[ac]in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the surrounding radiance. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the ^(AV)glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I ^(AW)fell on my face and heard a voice speaking.

Ezekiel Prepares for Exile

12 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, you live in the ^(A)midst of the ^(B)rebellious house, who ^(C)have eyes to see but do not see, ears to hear but do not hear; for they are a rebellious house. ³ So as for you, son of man, prepare for yourself baggage for exile and go into exile by day in their sight; that is, go into exile from your place to another place in their sight. ^(D)Perhaps they will ^[a]understand, though they are a rebellious house. ⁴ Bring your baggage out by day in their sight, as baggage for exile. Then you shall go out ^(E)at evening in their sight, as those who are going into exile. ⁵ Dig a hole through the wall in their sight and ^[b]go out through it. ⁶ Load the baggage on your shoulder in their sight and carry it out in the dark. You shall ^(F)cover your face so that you cannot see the land, for I have set you as a ^(G)sign to the house of Israel.”

⁷ Then I ^(H)did so, just as I had been commanded. By day I ^(I)brought out my baggage like the baggage of an exile. Then in the evening I dug through the wall with my hands; I went out in the dark and carried the baggage on my shoulder in their sight.

⁸ And in the morning the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ⁹ “Son of man, has the house of Israel, the ^(J)rebellious house, not said to you, ‘^(K)What are you doing?’ ¹⁰ Say to them, ‘This is what the Lord ^[c]God says: “This ^(L)pronouncement concerns the prince in Jerusalem as well as all the house of Israel who are ^[d]in it.”’ ¹¹ Say, ‘I am ^[e]a ^(M)sign to you. Just as I have done, so it will be done to them; they will ^(N)go into exile, into captivity.’ ¹² The ^(O)prince who is among them will load his baggage on his shoulder in the dark and go out. ^[f]They will dig a hole through the wall to bring it out through it. He will cover his face so that he cannot see the land with his eyes. ¹³ I will also spread My ^(P)net over him, and he will be caught in My net. And I will bring him to Babylon in the land of the Chaldeans; yet he will ^(Q)not see it, though he will die there. ¹⁴ And I will ^(R)scatter to every wind all who are around him, his helpers and all his troops; and I will draw out a sword after them. ¹⁵ So they will ^(S)know that I am the Lord, when I disperse them among the nations and scatter them among the countries. ¹⁶ But I will ^[g]spare a few of them from the ^(T)sword, the famine, and plague so that they may tell of all their abominations among the nations where they go, and ^[h]may ^(U)know that I am the Lord.”

¹⁷ Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹⁸ “Son of man, ^(V)eat your bread with trembling, and drink your water with quivering and anxiety. ¹⁹ Then say to the people of the land, ‘This is what the Lord God says concerning the inhabitants of Jerusalem in the land of Israel: “They will eat their bread with anxiety and drink their water with horror, because ^[i]their land will be ^[j](W)stripped of its fullness on account of the violence of all who live in it. ²⁰ The inhabited ^(X)cities will be in ruins, and the ^(Y)land will be a desolation. So you will know that I am the Lord.”’”

²¹ Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ²² “Son of man, what is this ^(Z)proverb you people have about the land of Israel, saying, ‘The ^(AA)days are long, and every ^(AB)vision fails’? ²³ Therefore say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “I will put an end to this proverb so that they will no longer use it as a proverb in Israel.” But tell them, “^(AC)The days are approaching as well as the ^[k]fulfillment of every vision. ²⁴ For there will no longer be any ^[l](AD)false vision or deceptive divination within the house of Israel. ²⁵ For I the Lord will speak whatever ^(AE)word I speak, and it will be performed. It will no longer be delayed, for in ^(AF)your days, you ^(AG)rebellious house, I will speak the word and perform it,” declares the Lord God.’”

²⁶ Furthermore, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ²⁷ “Son of man, behold, the house of Israel is saying, ‘The vision that he sees is for ^(AH)many ^[m]years from now, and he prophesies of times far off.’ ²⁸ Therefore say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “None of My words will be delayed any longer. Whatever word I speak will be performed,”’” declares the Lord God.