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.”
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- 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
New English Translation
The Execution of Idolaters
9 Then he shouted in my ears, “Approach,[a] you who are to visit destruction on the city, each with his destructive weapon in his hand!” 2 Next I noticed[b] six men[c] coming from the direction of the upper gate[d] that faces north, each with his war club in his hand. Among them was a man dressed in linen with a writing kit[e] at his side. They came and stood beside the bronze altar.
3 Then the glory of the God of Israel went up from the cherub where it had rested to the threshold of the temple.[f] He called to the man dressed in linen who had the writing kit at his side. 4 The Lord said to him, “Go through the city of Jerusalem[g] and put a mark[h] on the foreheads of the people who moan and groan over all the abominations practiced in it.”
5 While I listened, he said to the others,[i] “Go through the city after him and strike people down; do not let your eye pity nor spare[j] anyone! 6 Old men, young men, young women, little children, and women—wipe them out! But do not touch anyone who has the mark. Begin at my sanctuary!” So they began with the elders who were at the front of the temple.
7 He said to them, “Defile the temple and fill the courtyards with corpses. Go!” So they went out and struck people down throughout the city. 8 While they were striking them down, I was left alone, and I threw myself face down and cried out, “Ah, Sovereign Lord! Will you destroy the entire remnant of Israel when you pour out your fury on Jerusalem?”
9 He said to me, “The sin of the house of Israel and Judah is extremely great; the land is full of murder, and the city is full of corruption,[k] for they say, ‘The Lord has abandoned the land, and the Lord does not see!’[l] 10 But as for me, my eye will not pity them nor will I spare[m] them; I hereby repay them for what they have done.”[n]
11 Next I noticed the man dressed in linen with the writing kit at his side bringing back word: “I have done just as you commanded me.”
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- Ezekiel 9:1 tc Heb “they approached.” Reading the imperative assumes the same consonantal text but different vowels.
- Ezekiel 9:2 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
- Ezekiel 9:2 sn The six men plus the scribe would equal seven, which was believed by the Babylonians to be the number of planetary deities.
- Ezekiel 9:2 sn The upper gate was built by Jotham (2 Kgs 15:35).
- Ezekiel 9:2 tn Or “a scribe’s inkhorn.” The Hebrew term occurs in the OT only in Ezek 9 and is believed to be an Egyptian loanword.
- Ezekiel 9:3 tn Heb “house.”
- Ezekiel 9:4 tn Heb “through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem.”
- Ezekiel 9:4 tn The word translated “mark” is in Hebrew the letter ת (tav). Outside this context the only other occurrence of the word is in Job 31:35. In ancient Hebrew script this letter was written like the letter X.sn For a similar concept in the Bible, see Rev 7:2-4; 13:16; 14:9, 11; 20:4; 22:4.
- Ezekiel 9:5 tn Heb “to these he said in my ears.”
- Ezekiel 9:5 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term is primarily emotional: “to pity,” which in context implies an action, as in being moved by pity in order to spare them from the horror of their punishment.
- Ezekiel 9:9 tn Or “lawlessness” (NAB); “perversity” (NRSV). The Hebrew word occurs only here in the OT, and its meaning is uncertain. The similar phrase in 7:23 has a common word for “violence.”
- Ezekiel 9:9 sn The saying is virtually identical to that of the elders in Ezek 8:12.
- Ezekiel 9:10 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term is primarily emotional: “to pity,” which in context implies an action, as in being moved by pity in order to spare them from the horror of their punishment.
- Ezekiel 9:10 tn Heb “their way on their head I have placed.” The same expression occurs in 1 Kgs 8:32; Ezek 11:21; 16:43; 22:31.
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