Lamentations 4 - Ezekiel 3

New King James Version

The Degradation of Zion

4 How the gold has become dim!
How changed the fine gold!
The stones of the sanctuary are ^[a]scattered
At the head of every street.

²The precious sons of Zion,
^[b]Valuable as fine gold,
How they are ^[c]regarded ^(A)as clay pots,
The work of the hands of the potter!

³Even the jackals present their breasts
To nurse their young;
But the daughter of my people is cruel,
^(B)Like ostriches in the wilderness.

⁴The tongue of the infant clings
To the roof of its mouth for thirst;
^(C)The young children ask for bread,
But no one breaks it for them.

⁵Those who ate delicacies
Are desolate in the streets;
Those who were brought up in scarlet
^(D)Embrace ash heaps.

⁶The punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people
Is greater than the punishment of the ^(E)sin of Sodom,
Which was ^(F)overthrown in a moment,
With no hand to help her!

⁷Her ^[d]Nazirites were ^[e]brighter than snow
And whiter than milk;
They were more ruddy in body than rubies,
Like sapphire in their ^[f]appearance.

⁸Now their appearance is blacker than soot;
They go unrecognized in the streets;
^(G)Their skin clings to their bones,
It has become as dry as wood.

⁹Those slain by the sword are better off
Than those who die of hunger;
For these ^(H)pine away,
Stricken for lack of the fruits of the ^(I)field.

¹⁰The hands of the ^(J)compassionate women
Have ^[g]cooked their ^(K)own children;
They became ^(L)food for them
In the destruction of the daughter of my people.

¹¹The Lord has fulfilled His fury,
^(M)He has poured out His fierce anger.
^(N)He kindled a fire in Zion,
And it has devoured its foundations.

¹²The kings of the earth,
And all inhabitants of the world,
Would not have believed
That the adversary and the enemy
Could ^(O)enter the gates of Jerusalem—

¹³^(P)Because of the sins of her prophets
And the iniquities of her priests,
^(Q)Who shed in her midst
The blood of the just.

¹⁴They wandered blind in the streets;
^(R)They have defiled themselves with blood,
^(S)So that no one would touch their garments.

¹⁵They cried out to them,
“Go away, ^(T)unclean!
Go away, go away,
Do not touch us!”
When they fled and wandered,
Those among the nations said,
“They shall no longer dwell here.”

¹⁶The ^[h]face of the Lord scattered them;
He no longer regards them.
^(U)The people do not respect the priests
Nor show favor to the elders.

¹⁷Still ^(V)our eyes failed us,
Watching vainly for our help;
In our watching we watched
For a nation that could not save us.

¹⁸^(W)They ^[i]tracked our steps
So that we could not walk in our streets.
^(X)Our end was near;
Our days were over,
For our end had come.

¹⁹Our pursuers were ^(Y)swifter
Than the eagles of the heavens.
They pursued us on the mountains
And lay in wait for us in the wilderness.

²⁰The ^(Z)breath of our nostrils, the anointed of the Lord,
^(AA)Was caught in their pits,
Of whom we said, “Under his shadow
We shall live among the nations.”

²¹Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of ^(AB)Edom,
You who dwell in the land of Uz!
^(AC)The cup shall also pass over to you
And you shall become drunk and make yourself naked.

²²^(AD)The punishment of your iniquity ^[j]is accomplished,
O daughter of Zion;
He will no longer send you into captivity.
^(AE)He will punish your iniquity,
O daughter of Edom;
He will uncover your sins!

Prayer for Restoration

5 Remember, ^(AF)O Lord, what has come upon us;
Look, and behold ^(AG)our reproach!
²^(AH)Our inheritance has been turned over to aliens,
And our houses to foreigners.
³We have become orphans and waifs,
Our mothers are like ^(AI)widows.

⁴We pay for the water we drink,
And our wood comes at a price.
⁵^(AJ)They pursue at our ^[k]heels;
We labor and have no rest.
⁶^(AK)We have given our hand ^(AL)to the Egyptians
And the ^(AM)Assyrians, to be satisfied with bread.

⁷^(AN)Our fathers sinned and are no more,
But we bear their iniquities.
⁸Servants rule over us;
There is none to deliver us from their hand.
⁹We get our bread at the risk of our lives,
Because of the sword in the wilderness.

¹⁰Our skin is hot as an oven,
Because of the fever of famine.
¹¹They ^(AO)ravished the women in Zion,
The maidens in the cities of Judah.
¹²Princes were hung up by their hands,
And elders were not respected.
¹³Young men ^(AP)ground at the millstones;
Boys staggered under loads of wood.
¹⁴The elders have ceased gathering at the gate,
And the young men from their ^(AQ)music.

¹⁵The joy of our heart has ceased;
Our dance has turned into ^(AR)mourning.
¹⁶^(AS)The crown has fallen from our head.
Woe to us, for we have sinned!
¹⁷Because of this our heart is faint;
^(AT)Because of these things our eyes grow dim;
¹⁸Because of Mount Zion which is ^(AU)desolate,
With foxes walking about on it.

¹⁹You, O Lord, ^(AV)remain forever;
^(AW)Your throne from generation to generation.
²⁰^(AX)Why do You forget us forever,
And forsake us for so long a time?
²¹^(AY)Turn us back to You, O Lord, and we will be ^[l]restored;
Renew our days as of old,
²²Unless You have utterly rejected us,
And are very angry with us!

Ezekiel’s Vision of God

1 Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by ^(AZ)the River Chebar, that ^(BA)the heavens were opened and I saw ^(BB)visions^[m] of God. ²On the fifth day of the month, which was in the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity, ³the word of the Lord came expressly to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the ^[n]Chaldeans by the River Chebar; and ^(BC)the hand of the Lord was upon him there.

⁴Then I looked, and behold, ^(BD)a whirlwind was coming ^(BE)out of the north, a great cloud with raging fire engulfing itself; and brightness was all around it and radiating out of its midst like the color of amber, out of the midst of the fire. ⁵^(BF)Also from within it came the likeness of four living creatures. And ^(BG)this was their appearance: they had ^(BH)the likeness of a man. ⁶Each one had four faces, and each one had four wings. ⁷Their ^[o]legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the soles of calves’ feet. They sparkled ^(BI)like the color of burnished bronze. ⁸^(BJ)The hands of a man were under their wings on their four sides; and each of the four had faces and wings. ⁹Their wings touched one another. The creatures did not turn when they went, but each one went straight ^(BK)forward.

¹⁰As for ^(BL)the likeness of their faces, each ^(BM)had the face of a man; each of the four had ^(BN)the face of a lion on the right side, ^(BO)each of the four had the face of an ox on the left side, ^(BP)and each of the four had the face of an eagle. ¹¹Thus were their faces. Their wings stretched upward; two wings of each one touched one another, and ^(BQ)two covered their bodies. ¹²And ^(BR)each one went straight forward; they went wherever the spirit wanted to go, and they did not turn when they went.

¹³As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, ^(BS)like the appearance of torches going back and forth among the living creatures. The fire was bright, and out of the fire went lightning. ¹⁴And the living creatures ran back and forth, ^(BT)in appearance like a flash of lightning.

¹⁵Now as I looked at the living creatures, behold, ^(BU)a wheel was on the earth beside each living creature with its four faces. ¹⁶^(BV)The appearance of the wheels and their workings was ^(BW)like the color of beryl, and all four had the same likeness. The appearance of their workings was, as it were, a wheel in the middle of a wheel. ¹⁷When they moved, they went toward any one of four directions; they did not turn aside when they went. ¹⁸As for their rims, they were so high they were awesome; and their rims were ^(BX)full of eyes, all around the four of them. ¹⁹^(BY)When the living creatures went, the wheels went beside them; and when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up. ²⁰Wherever the spirit wanted to go, they went, because there the spirit went; and the wheels were lifted together with them, ^(BZ)for the spirit of the ^[p]living creatures was in the wheels. ²¹When those went, these went; when those stood, these stood; and when those were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up together with them, for the spirit of the ^[q]living creatures was in the wheels.

²²^(CA)The likeness of the ^[r]firmament above the heads of the ^[s]living creatures was like the color of an awesome ^(CB)crystal, stretched out ^(CC)over their heads. ²³And under the firmament their wings spread out straight, one toward another. Each one had two which covered one side, and each one had two which covered the other side of the body. ²⁴^(CD)When they went, I heard the noise of their wings, ^(CE)like the noise of many waters, like ^(CF)the voice of the Almighty, a tumult like the noise of an army; and when they stood still, they let down their wings. ²⁵A voice came from above the firmament that was over their heads; whenever they stood, they let down their wings.

²⁶^(CG)And above the firmament over their heads was the likeness of a throne, ^(CH)in appearance like a sapphire stone; on the likeness of the throne was a likeness with the appearance of a man high above ^(CI)it. ²⁷Also from the appearance of His waist and upward ^(CJ)I saw, as it were, the color of amber with the appearance of fire all around within it; and from the appearance of His waist and downward I saw, as it were, the appearance of fire with brightness all around. ²⁸^(CK)Like the appearance of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the brightness all around it. ^(CL)This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord.

Ezekiel Sent to Rebellious Israel

So when I saw it, ^(CM)I fell on my face, and I heard a voice of One speaking.

Ezekiel Called to Be a Prophet

2 And He said to me, “Son of man, ^(CN)stand on your feet, and I will speak to you.” ²Then ^(CO)the Spirit entered me when He spoke to me, and set me on my feet; and I heard Him who spoke to me. ³And He said to me: “Son of man, I am sending you to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that has ^(CP)rebelled against Me; ^(CQ)they and their fathers have transgressed against Me to this very day. ⁴^(CR)For they are ^[t]impudent and stubborn children. I am sending you to them, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ ⁵^(CS)As for them, whether they hear or whether they refuse—for they are a ^(CT)rebellious house—yet they ^(CU)will know that a prophet has been among them.

⁶“And you, son of man, ^(CV)do not be afraid of them nor be afraid of their words, though ^(CW)briers and thorns are with you and you dwell among scorpions; ^(CX)do not be afraid of their words or dismayed by their looks, ^(CY)though they are a rebellious house. ⁷^(CZ)You shall speak My words to them, whether they hear or whether they refuse, for they are rebellious. ⁸But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. Do not be rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and ^(DA)eat what I give you.”

⁹Now when I looked, there was ^(DB)a hand stretched out to me; and behold, ^(DC)a scroll of a book was in it. ¹⁰Then He spread it before me; and there was writing on the inside and on the outside, and written on it were lamentations and mourning and woe.

The Responsibility of the Prophet

3 Moreover He said to me, “Son of man, eat what you find; ^(DD)eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.” ²So I opened my mouth, and He caused me to eat that scroll.

³And He said to me, “Son of man, feed your belly, and fill your stomach with this scroll that I give you.” So I ^(DE)ate, and it was in my mouth ^(DF)like honey in sweetness.

⁴Then He said to me: “Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak with My words to them. ⁵For you are not sent to a people of unfamiliar speech and of hard language, but to the house of Israel, ⁶not to many people of unfamiliar speech and of hard language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely, ^(DG)had I sent you to them, they would have listened to you. ⁷But the house of Israel will not listen to you, ^(DH)because they will not listen to Me; ^(DI)for all the house of Israel are ^[u]impudent and hard-hearted. ⁸Behold, I have made your face strong against their faces, and your forehead strong against their foreheads. ⁹^(DJ)Like adamant stone, harder than flint, I have made your forehead; ^(DK)do not be afraid of them, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they are a rebellious house.”

¹⁰Moreover He said to me: “Son of man, receive into your heart all My words that I speak to you, and hear with your ears. ¹¹And go, get to the captives, to the children of your people, and speak to them and tell them, ^(DL)‘Thus says the Lord God,’ whether they hear, or whether they refuse.”

¹²Then ^(DM)the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me a great thunderous voice: “Blessed is the ^(DN)glory of the Lord from His place!” ¹³I also heard the ^(DO)noise of the wings of the living creatures that touched one another, and the noise of the wheels beside them, and a great thunderous noise. ¹⁴So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness, in the ^[v]heat of my spirit; but ^(DP)the hand of the Lord was strong upon me. ¹⁵Then I came to the captives at Tel Abib, who dwelt by the River Chebar; and ^(DQ)I sat where they sat, and remained there astonished among them seven days.

Ezekiel Is a Watchman

¹⁶Now it ^(DR)came to pass at the end of seven days that the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹⁷^(DS)“Son of man, I have made you ^(DT)a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore hear a word from My mouth, and give them ^(DU)warning from Me: ¹⁸When I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life, that same wicked man ^(DV)shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand. ¹⁹Yet, if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; ^(DW)but you have delivered your soul.

²⁰“Again, when a ^(DX)righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die; because you did not give him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered; but his blood I will require at your hand. ²¹Nevertheless if you warn the righteous man that the righteous should not sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live because he took warning; also you will have delivered your soul.”

²²^(DY)Then the hand of the Lord was upon me there, and He said to me, “Arise, go out ^(DZ)into the plain, and there I shall talk with you.”

²³So I arose and went out into the plain, and behold, ^(EA)the glory of the Lord stood there, like the glory which I ^(EB)saw by the River Chebar; ^(EC)and I fell on my face. ²⁴Then ^(ED)the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet, and spoke with me and said to me: “Go, shut yourself inside your house. ²⁵And you, O son of man, surely ^(EE)they will put ropes on you and bind you with them, so that you cannot go out among them. ²⁶^(EF)I will make your tongue cling to the roof of your mouth, so that you shall be mute and ^(EG)not be ^[w]one to rebuke them, ^(EH)for they are a rebellious house. ²⁷^(EI)But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you shall say to them, ^(EJ)‘Thus says the Lord God.’ He who hears, let him hear; and he who refuses, let him refuse; for they are a rebellious house.