Beginning

The Vision of the Lord’s Glory

1 In the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river of Kebar, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God.

² On the fifth day of the month, which was the fifth year of the captivity of King Jehoiachin, ³ the word of the Lord came expressly to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the River Kebar. And the hand of the Lord was on him there.

⁴ As I looked, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud with fire flashing forth continually, and a brightness was all around it, and in its midst something as glowing metal in the midst of the fire. ⁵ Also out of the midst came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance: They had the likeness of a man. ⁶ Every one had four faces, and every one had four wings. ⁷ Their legs were straight and the soles of their feet were like the sole of a calf’s hoof. And they gleamed like the color of burnished bronze. ⁸ They had the hands of a man under their wings on their four sides. As for the faces and wings of the four of them, ⁹ their wings were joined to one another. Their faces did not turn when they went. Each went straight forward.

¹⁰ As for the likeness of their faces, each had the face of a man, and all four had the face of a lion on the right side, and the face of an ox on the left side, and the face of an eagle. ¹¹ Thus were their faces. And their wings were stretched upward. Two wings of every one were joined to one another, and two covered their bodies. ¹² Each went straight forward. Wherever the spirit was to go, they would go and not turn as they went. ¹³ As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire and like the appearance of lamps. It went up and down among the living creatures. And the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning. ¹⁴ The living creatures ran to and fro as the appearance of a flash of lightning.

¹⁵ Now as I looked at the living creatures, one wheel was on the ground by the living creatures for each of the four faces. ¹⁶ The appearance of the wheels and their work was like the color of sparkling beryl. And all four of them had one likeness. And their appearance and their work was, as it were, a wheel in the middle of a wheel. ¹⁷ Whenever they went, they went in any of their four sides and did not turn as they went. ¹⁸ As for their rims, they were so high that they were dreadful. And the rims of all four of them were full of eyes all around.

¹⁹ Whenever the living creatures went, the wheels went with them. And whenever the living creatures were lifted up from the ground, the wheels also were lifted up. ²⁰ Wherever the spirit was about to go, they would go in that direction. And the wheels rose close beside them. For the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. ²¹ Whenever those went, these went. And whenever those stood still, these stood still. And whenever those rose from the ground, the wheels rose close beside them. For the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.

²² The likeness of the expanse over the heads of the living creatures was as the awesome gleam of crystal, stretched out over their heads above. ²³ Under the expanse their wings were stretched out straight, the one toward the other. Each one also had two wings which covered its body on the one side and the other. ²⁴ When they went, I heard the noise of their wings, like the noise of abundant waters, as the voice of the Almighty, the noise of tumult as the noise of an army camp. Whenever they stood still, they let down their wings.

²⁵ There was a voice from the expanse that was over their heads whenever they stood still and let down their wings. ²⁶ Above the expanse that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone. And on the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man on it high up. ²⁷ Then I saw as glowing metal, as the appearance of fire all around within it, from the appearance of His loins and upward; and from the appearance of His loins and downward I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and there was a brightness around Him. ²⁸ As the appearance of the rainbow that is in the cloud on a day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness all around.

This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell on my face and heard a voice of one speaking.

The Call of Ezekiel

2 Then He said to me: Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak to you! ² When He spoke to me, the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet. Then I heard Him speaking to me.

³ And He said to me: Son of man, I send you to the sons of Israel, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against Me. They and their fathers have transgressed against Me even to this very day. ⁴ And as for the impudent and obstinate children, I am sending you to them. And you shall say to them, “Thus says the Lord God.” ⁵ As for them, whether they listen or not (for they are a rebellious house), they shall know that there has been a prophet among them. ⁶ And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them or be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns be with you, and you dwell among scorpions. Do not be afraid of their words or be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house. ⁷ You shall speak My words to them, whether they listen or not, for they are rebellious. ⁸ But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. Do not be rebellious like that rebellious house. Open your mouth and eat what I give you.

⁹ When I looked, a hand was sent to me. And a scroll was in it. ¹⁰ And He spread it before me. And there was writing on the inside and on the outside, and written on it were words of lamentation and mourning and woe.

3 Moreover He said to me, Son of man, eat what you find. Eat this scroll and go speak to the house of Israel. ² So I opened my mouth, and He fed me this scroll.

³ He said to me, Son of man, feed your stomach and fill your inward parts with this scroll that I give you. Then I ate it, and it was as honey for sweetness in my mouth.

⁴ Then He said to me: Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak with My words to them. ⁵ For you are not being sent to a people of foreign speech and hard language, but to the house of Israel, ⁶ nor to many peoples of foreign speech and hard language, whose words you cannot understand. But I have sent you to them who should listen to you. ⁷ But the house of Israel will not listen to you, because they will not listen to Me. For all the house of Israel is impudent and obstinate. ⁸ But I have made your face as hard as their faces and your forehead as hard as their foreheads. ⁹ As emery harder than flint, I have made your forehead. Do not be afraid of them or be dismayed at their looks, though they are a rebellious house.

¹⁰ Moreover He said to me: Son of man, all My words that I shall speak to you receive in your heart and hear with your ears. ¹¹ Go to the captives, to the sons of your people, and speak to them and tell them, whether they listen or not, “Thus says the Lord God.”

¹² Then the Spirit took me up, and I heard behind me a great thundering voice: “Blessed be the glory of the Lord in His place.” ¹³ I heard also the noise of the wings of the living creatures that touched one another and the noise of the wheels beside them, even a great rushing sound. ¹⁴ So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit, and the hand of the Lord was strong upon me. ¹⁵ Then I came to the captives at Tel Aviv, who lived by the River Kebar, and I sat there where they sat seven days, causing consternation among them.

Ezekiel, a Watchman for Israel

¹⁶ At the end of seven days, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹⁷ Son of man, I have made you a watchman to the house of Israel. Whenever you hear the word from My mouth, then warn them from Me. ¹⁸ When I say to the wicked, “You shall surely die,” and you do not warn him, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way that he may live, the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. ¹⁹ Yet if you warn the wicked and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity. But you have delivered your soul.

²⁰ Again, when a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die. Because you have not given 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. ²¹ Nevertheless 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. And you have delivered your soul.

²² The hand of the Lord was upon me there, and He said to me, Rise, go out into the plain, and I will talk with you there. ²³ Then I arose, and went out into the plain. And the glory of the Lord stood there, as the glory which I saw by the river of Kebar, and I fell on my face.

²⁴ Then the Spirit entered me, and set me on my feet, and spoke with me and said to me: Go, shut yourself up within your house. ²⁵ As for you, son of man, they shall put bands on you and shall bind you with them, so that you cannot go out among them. ²⁶ And I will make your tongue cleave to the roof of your mouth so that you shall be mute and cannot be one to rebuke them, for they are a rebellious house. ²⁷ But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you shall say to them, “Thus says the Lord God.” He who hears, let him hear. And he who refuses, let him refuse. For they are a rebellious house.

The Siege of Jerusalem Portrayed

4 You also, son of man, take a brick and lay it before you and inscribe a city on it, even Jerusalem. ² Then lay siege against it, and build a fort against it, and build a mound against it; set camps and place battering rams against it all around. ³ Moreover take for yourself an iron plate and set it up for a wall of iron between you and the city. And set your face against it so that it is besieged, and lay siege against it. This shall be a sign to the house of Israel.

⁴ As for you, lie down on your left side and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it. According to the number of the days that you lie on it, you shall bear their iniquity. ⁵ For I have laid upon you the years of their iniquity according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days. So you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Israel.

⁶ When you have accomplished them, lie again on your right side, and you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days. I have appointed you each day for a year. ⁷ Therefore you shall set your face toward the siege of Jerusalem, and your arm shall be uncovered, and you shall prophesy against it. ⁸ I will lay bands upon you, and you shall not turn yourself from one side to another until you have ended the days of your siege.

⁹ Also take for yourself wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentils, and millet, and spelt, and put them in one vessel and make bread. According to the number of the days that you lie on your side, three hundred and ninety days, you shall eat it. ¹⁰ Your food which you shall eat shall be by weight, twenty shekels^[a] a day. From time to time you shall eat it. ¹¹ You also shall drink water by measure, the sixth part of a hin.^[b] From time to time you shall drink it. ¹² You shall eat it as barley cake, having baked it in their sight with dung that comes out of man. ¹³ Then the Lord said, “Even so the sons of Israel shall eat their defiled bread among the nations where I drive them.”

¹⁴ Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! My soul has not been defiled. For from my youth up even until now I have not eaten of that which dies of itself, or is torn in pieces, nor has abominable meat come into my mouth.”

¹⁵ Then He said to me, “I have given you cow dung instead of man’s dung over which you shall prepare your bread.”

¹⁶ Moreover He said to me, Son of man, I will cut off the supply of bread in Jerusalem. They shall eat bread by weight and with anxiety and drink water by measure and with horror, ¹⁷ because bread and water will be scarce, and they will be appalled with one another, and waste away for their iniquity.