Beginning
Chapter 9
Slaughter of the Idolaters. 1 Then he cried aloud for me to hear: Come, you scourges of the city! 2 And there were six men coming from the direction of the upper gate which faces north, each with a weapon of destruction in his hand. In their midst was a man dressed in linen, with a scribe’s case at his waist. They entered and stood beside the bronze altar.(A) 3 Then the glory of the God of Israel moved off the cherub and went up to the threshold of the temple. He called to the man dressed in linen with the scribe’s case at his waist,(B) 4 (C)and the Lord said to him:[a] Pass through the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and mark an X on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the abominations practiced within it. 5 To the others he said in my hearing: Pass through the city after him and strike! Do not let your eyes spare; do not take pity. 6 Old and young, male and female, women and children—wipe them out! But do not touch anyone marked with the X. Begin at my sanctuary. So they began with the elders who were in front of the temple.(D) 7 Defile the temple, he said to them, fill its courts with the slain. Then go out and strike in the city.
8 As they were striking, I was left alone. I fell on my face, crying out, “Alas, Lord God! Will you destroy all that is left of Israel when you pour out your fury on Jerusalem?” 9 He answered me: The guilt of the house of Israel and the house of Judah is too great to measure; the land is filled with bloodshed, the city with lawlessness. They think that the Lord has abandoned the land, that he does not see them. 10 My eye, however, will not spare, nor shall I take pity, but I will bring their conduct down upon their heads.
11 Just then the man dressed in linen with the scribe’s case at his waist made his report: “I have done as you commanded!”
Chapter 10
1 Then I looked and there above the firmament over the heads of the cherubim was something like a sapphire, something that looked like a throne.(E) 2 [b]And he said to the man dressed in linen: Go within the wheelwork under the cherubim; fill both your hands with burning coals from the place among the cherubim, then scatter them over the city. As I watched, he entered.(F) 3 Now the cherubim were standing to the south of the temple when the man went in and a cloud filled the inner court. 4 The glory of the Lord had moved off the cherubim to the threshold of the temple; the temple was filled with the cloud, the whole court brilliant with the glory of the Lord. 5 The sound of the wings of the cherubim could be heard as far as the outer court; it was like the voice of God Almighty speaking.(G) 6 He commanded the man dressed in linen: Take fire from within the wheelwork among the cherubim. The man entered and stood by one of the wheels. 7 Thereupon a cherub stretched out a hand from among the cherubim toward the fire in the midst of the cherubim, took some, and put it in the hands of the one dressed in linen. He took it and came out. 8 Something like a human hand was visible under the wings of the cherubim. 9 I also saw four wheels beside the cherubim, one wheel beside each cherub, and the wheels appeared to have the sparkle of yellow topaz. 10 And the appearance of the four all seemed alike, as though one wheel were inside the other. 11 When they moved, they went in any of the four directions without veering as they moved; in whatever direction the first cherub faced, the others followed without veering as they went. 12 Their entire bodies—backs, hands, and wings—and wheels were covered with eyes all around like the four wheels.(H) 13 I heard the wheels called “wheelwork.” 14 Each living creature had four faces: the first a cherub, the second a human being, the third a lion, the fourth an eagle.(I) 15 [c]When the cherubim rose up, they were indeed the living creatures I had seen by the river Chebar.(J) 16 When the cherubim moved, the wheels went beside them; when the cherubim lifted up their wings to rise from the earth, even then the wheels did not leave their sides. 17 When they stood still, the wheels stood still; when they rose up, the wheels rose up with them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in them. 18 Then the glory of the Lord left the threshold of the temple and took its place upon the cherubim. 19 The cherubim lifted their wings and rose up from the earth before my eyes as they departed with the wheels beside them. They stopped at the entrance of the eastern gate of the Lord’s house, and the glory of the God of Israel was up above them.(K) 20 [d]These were the living creatures I had seen beneath the God of Israel by the river Chebar. Now I knew they were cherubim.(L) 21 Each of them had four faces and four wings, and something like human hands under their wings. 22 Their faces looked just like the faces I had seen by the river Chebar; and each one went straight ahead.
Chapter 11
Death for the Remnant in Jerusalem. 1 The spirit lifted me up and brought me to the east gate of the house of the Lord facing east. There at the entrance of the gate were twenty-five men; among them I saw the public officials Jaazaniah, son of Azzur, and Pelatiah, son of Benaiah. 2 The Lord said to me: Son of man, these are the men who are planning evil and giving wicked counsel in this city. 3 They are saying, “No need to build houses! The city is the pot, and we are the meat.”[e](M) 4 Therefore prophesy against them, son of man, prophesy! 5 Then the spirit of the Lord fell upon me and told me to say: Thus says the Lord: This is how you talk, house of Israel. I know the things that come into your mind! 6 You have slain many in this city, filled its streets with the slain. 7 Therefore thus says the Lord God: The slain whom you piled up in it, that is the meat, the pot is the city. But you I will bring out of it.(N) 8 You fear the sword—that sword I will bring upon you—oracle of the Lord God.(O) 9 I will bring you out of the city, hand you over to foreigners, and execute judgments against you. 10 By the sword you shall fall. At the borders of Israel I will judge you so that you will know that I am the Lord. 11 The city shall not be a pot for you, nor shall you be meat within it. At the borders of Israel I will judge you,(P) 12 so you shall know that I am the Lord, whose statutes you did not follow, whose ordinances you did not keep. Instead, you acted according to the ordinances of the nations around you.
13 While I was prophesying, Pelatiah, the son of Benaiah, dropped dead. I fell down on my face and cried out in a loud voice: “Alas, Lord God! You are finishing off what remains of Israel!”[f](Q)
Restoration for the Exiles. 14 The word of the Lord came to me: 15 [g]Son of man, the inhabitants of Jerusalem are saying about all your relatives, the other exiles, and all the house of Israel, “They are far away from the Lord. The land is given to us as a possession.”(R) 16 Therefore say: Thus says the Lord God: I have indeed sent them far away among the nations, scattered them over the lands, and have been but little sanctuary for them in the lands to which they have gone. 17 Therefore, thus says the Lord God, I will gather you from the nations and collect you from the lands through which you were scattered, so I can give you the land of Israel.(S) 18 They will enter it and remove all its atrocities and abominations. 19 (T)And I will give them another heart and a new spirit I will put within them. From their bodies I will remove the hearts of stone, and give them hearts of flesh, 20 so that they walk according to my statutes, taking care to keep my ordinances. Thus they will be my people, and I will be their God.(U) 21 But as for those whose hearts are devoted to their atrocities and abominations, I will bring their conduct down upon their heads—oracle of the Lord God.
22 Then the cherubim lifted their wings and the wheels alongside them, with the glory of the God of Israel above them.(V) 23 [h]The glory of the Lord rose up from the middle of the city and came to rest on the mountain east of the city.(W) 24 In a vision, the spirit lifted me up and brought me back to the exiles in Chaldea, by the spirit of God. The vision I had seen left me,(X) 25 and I told the exiles everything the Lord had shown me.(Y)
Chapter 12
Acts Symbolic of the Exile. 1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 Son of man, you live in the midst of a rebellious house; they have eyes to see, but do not see, and ears to hear but do not hear. They are such a rebellious house!(Z) 3 Now, son of man, during the day while they watch, pack a bag for exile,[i] and again while they watch, go into exile from your place to another place; perhaps they will see that they are a rebellious house. 4 During the day, while they watch, bring out your bag, an exile’s bag. In the evening, again while they watch, go out as if into exile.(AA) 5 While they watch, dig a hole through the wall[j] and go out through it. 6 While they watch, shoulder your load and go out in darkness. Cover your face so you cannot see the land, for I am making you a sign for the house of Israel!(AB)
7 I did just as I was commanded. During the day I brought out my bag, an exile’s bag. In the evening while they watched, I dug a hole through the wall with my hands and set out in darkness, shouldering my load.
8 In the morning, the word of the Lord came to me: 9 Son of man, did not the house of Israel, that house of rebels, say, “What are you doing?”(AC) 10 Tell them: Thus says the Lord God: This load is the prince in Jerusalem and the whole house of Israel within it. 11 Say, I am a sign for you: just as I have done, so it shall be done to them; into exile, as captives they shall go.(AD) 12 The prince among them shall shoulder his load in darkness and go out through the hole they dug in the wall to bring him out. His face shall be covered so that he cannot even see the ground.(AE) 13 (AF)I will spread my net over him and he shall be caught in my snare. I will bring him into Babylon, to the land of the Chaldeans, though he shall not see it,[k] and there he shall die. 14 All his retinue, his aides and all his troops, I will scatter to the winds and pursue them with the sword.(AG) 15 Then they shall know that I am the Lord, when I disperse them among the nations and scatter them throughout the lands.(AH) 16 But I will let a few of them escape the sword, starvation, and plague, so that they may recount all their abominations among the nations to which they go. Thus they may know that I am the Lord.[l]
17 The word of the Lord came to me: 18 Son of man, eat your bread trembling and drink your water shaking with fear.(AI) 19 And say to the people of the land:[m] Thus says the Lord God about the inhabitants of Jerusalem in the land of Israel: they shall eat their bread in fear and drink their water in horror, because the land will be emptied of what fills it—the lawlessness of all its inhabitants. 20 Inhabited cities shall be in ruins, the land a desolate place. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.
Prophecy Ridiculed. 21 The word of the Lord came to me: 22 Son of man, what is this proverb you have in the land of Israel: “The days drag on, and every vision fails”?[n](AJ) 23 Say to them therefore: Thus says the Lord God: I will put an end to that proverb; they shall never use it again in Israel. Say to them instead: “The days are at hand and every vision fulfilled.”(AK) 24 No longer shall there be any false visions or deceitful divinations within the house of Israel,(AL) 25 for whatever word I speak shall happen without delay. In your days, rebellious house, whatever I speak I will bring about—oracle of the Lord God.(AM)
26 The word of the Lord came to me: 27 Son of man, listen! The house of Israel is saying, “The vision he sees is a long time off; he prophesies for distant times!”(AN) 28 Say to them therefore: Thus says the Lord God: None of my words shall be delayed any longer. Whatever I say is final; it shall be done—oracle of the Lord God.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.