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.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 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 Living Translation
The Slaughter of Idolaters
9 Then the Lord thundered, “Bring on the men appointed to punish the city! Tell them to bring their weapons with them!” 2 Six men soon appeared from the upper gate that faces north, each carrying a deadly weapon in his hand. With them was a man dressed in linen, who carried a writer’s case at his side. They all went into the Temple courtyard and stood beside the bronze altar.
3 Then the glory of the God of Israel rose up from between the cherubim, where it had rested, and moved to the entrance of the Temple. And the Lord called to the man dressed in linen who was carrying the writer’s case. 4 He said to him, “Walk through the streets of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of all who weep and sigh because of the detestable sins being committed in their city.”
5 Then I heard the Lord say to the other men, “Follow him through the city and kill everyone whose forehead is not marked. Show no mercy; have no pity! 6 Kill them all—old and young, girls and women and little children. But do not touch anyone with the mark. Begin right here at the Temple.” So they began by killing the seventy leaders.
7 “Defile the Temple!” the Lord commanded. “Fill its courtyards with corpses. Go!” So they went and began killing throughout the city.
8 While they were out killing, I was all alone. I fell face down on the ground and cried out, “O Sovereign Lord! Will your fury against Jerusalem wipe out everyone left in Israel?”
9 Then he said to me, “The sins of the people of Israel and Judah are very, very great. The entire land is full of murder; the city is filled with injustice. They are saying, ‘The Lord doesn’t see it! The Lord has abandoned the land!’ 10 So I will not spare them or have any pity on them. I will fully repay them for all they have done.”
11 Then the man in linen clothing, who carried the writer’s case, reported back and said, “I have done as you commanded.”
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
