The wheels sparkled as if made of beryl. All four wheels looked alike and were made the same; each wheel had a second wheel turning crosswise within it.

The rims of the four wheels were tall and frightening, and they were covered with eyes all around.

All around him was a glowing halo, like a rainbow shining in the clouds on a rainy day. This is what the glory of the Lord looked like to me. When I saw it, I fell face down on the ground, and I heard someone’s voice speaking to me.

Then he added, “Son of man, let all my words sink deep into your own heart first. Listen to them carefully for yourself.

Prepare and eat this food as you would barley cakes. While all the people are watching, bake it over a fire using dried human dung as fuel and then eat the bread.”

“All right,” the Lord said. “You may bake your bread with cow dung instead of human dung.”

Then take some of these hairs out and throw them into the fire, burning them up. A fire will then spread from this remnant and destroy all of Israel.

Therefore, I myself, the Sovereign Lord, am now your enemy. I will punish you publicly while all the nations watch.

“As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, I will cut you off completely. I will show you no pity at all because you have defiled my Temple with your vile images and detestable sins.

Then at last my anger will be spent, and I will be satisfied. And when my fury against them has subsided, all Israel will know that I, the Lord, have spoken to them in my jealous anger.

“So I will turn you into a ruin, a mockery in the eyes of the surrounding nations and to all who pass by.

You will become an object of mockery and taunting and horror. You will be a warning to all the nations around you. They will see what happens when the Lord punishes a nation in anger and rebukes it, says the Lord.

All your altars will be demolished, and your places of worship will be destroyed. I will kill your people in front of your idols.

Wherever you live there will be desolation, and I will destroy your pagan shrines. Your altars will be demolished, your idols will be smashed, your places of worship will be torn down, and all the religious objects you have made will be destroyed.

Then when they are exiled among the nations, they will remember me. They will recognize how hurt I am by their unfaithful hearts and lustful eyes that long for their idols. Then at last they will hate themselves for all their detestable sins.

“This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Clap your hands in horror, and stamp your feet. Cry out because of all the detestable sins the people of Israel have committed. Now they are going to die from war and famine and disease.

No hope remains, for I will unleash my anger against you. I will call you to account for all your detestable sins.

I will turn my eyes away and show no pity. I will repay you for all your detestable sins. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

Soon I will pour out my fury on you and unleash my anger against you. I will call you to account for all your detestable sins.

I will turn my eyes away and show no pity. I will repay you for all your detestable sins. Then you will know that it is I, the Lord, who is striking the blow.

Their violence has grown into a rod that will beat them for their wickedness. None of these proud and wicked people will survive. All their wealth and prestige will be swept away.

Yes, the time has come; the day is here! Buyers should not rejoice over bargains, nor sellers grieve over losses, for all of them will fall under my terrible anger.

The Desolation of Israel

“The trumpet calls Israel’s army to mobilize, but no one listens, for my fury is against them all.

They were proud of their beautiful jewelry and used it to make detestable idols and vile images. Therefore, I will make all their wealth disgusting to them.

So I went in and saw the walls covered with engravings of all kinds of crawling animals and detestable creatures. I also saw the various idols worshiped by the people of Israel.