The Vision of Four Figures

Now it came about in the thirtieth year, on the fifth day of the fourth month, while I was by the river Chebar among the exiles, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God.

So I am sending you to those who are impudent and obstinate children, and you shall say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says:’

Go to the exiles, to the sons of your people, and speak to them and tell them, whether they listen or not, ‘This is what the Lord God says.’”

But when I speak to you, I will open your mouth and you will say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says:’ The one who hears, let him hear; and the one who refuses, let him refuse; for they are a rebellious house.

But I said, “Oh, Lord God! Behold, I have never been defiled; for from my youth until now I have never eaten what died of itself or was torn by animals, nor has any unclean meat ever entered my mouth!”

“This is what the Lord God says: ‘This is Jerusalem; I have placed her at the center of the nations, with lands around her.

Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: ‘Because you have more turmoil than the nations that surround you and have not walked in My statutes, nor executed My ordinances, nor acted in accordance with the ordinances of the nations around you,’

therefore, this is what the Lord God says: ‘Behold, I, even I, am against you, and I will execute judgments among you in the sight of the nations.

Therefore as I live,’ declares the Lord God, ‘Because you have defiled My sanctuary with all your detestable idols and with all your abominations, I definitely will also withdraw and My eye will have no pity, and I also will not spare.

and say, ‘Mountains of Israel, listen to the word of the Lord God! This is what the Lord God says to the mountains, the hills, the ravines, and the valleys: “Behold, I Myself am going to bring a sword against you, and I will destroy your high places.

“This is what the Lord God says: ‘Clap your hands, stamp your foot and say, “Woe, because of all the evil abominations of the house of Israel, which will fall by the sword, famine, and plague!

“And you, son of man, this is what the Lord God says to the land of Israel: ‘An end! The end is coming on the four corners of the land.

“This is what the Lord God says: ‘A disaster, a unique disaster, behold, it is coming!

Vision of Abominations in Jerusalem

Now it came about in the sixth year, on the fifth day of the sixth month, as I was sitting in my house with the elders of Judah sitting before me, that the hand of the Lord God fell upon me there.

And He extended the form of a hand and took me by the hair of my head; and the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the north gate of the inner courtyard, where the seat of the idol of jealousy, which provokes to jealousy, was located.

And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, like the appearance which I saw in the plain.

Then the glory of the God of Israel ascended from the cherub on which it had been, to the threshold of the temple. And He called to the man clothed in linen at whose waist was the scribe’s kit.

And as they were striking the people and I alone was left, I fell on my face and cried out, saying, “Oh, Lord God! Are You going to destroy the entire remnant of Israel by pouring out Your wrath on Jerusalem?”

Vision of God’s Glory Departing from the Temple

Then I looked, and behold, in the expanse that was over the heads of the cherubim something like a sapphire stone, in appearance resembling a throne, appeared above them.

Moreover, the sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard as far as the outer courtyard, like the voice of God Almighty when He speaks.

When 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 hovered over them.

These are the living beings that I saw beneath the God of Israel by the river Chebar; so I knew that they were cherubim.

Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: “Your slain whom you have laid in the midst of the city are the meat and this city is the pot; but I will bring you out of it.

You have feared a sword; so I will bring a sword upon you,” the Lord God declares.

Now it came about, as I prophesied, that Pelatiah son of Benaiah died. Then I fell on my face and cried out with a loud voice, and said, “Oh, Lord God! Will You bring the remnant of Israel to a complete destruction?”