Beginning
1 It happened at that time, in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month (as I was among the captives by the river Chebar) that the heavens were opened; and I saw visions of God.
2 On the fifth day of the month (which was the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity),
3 the Word of the LORD came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans, by the river Chebar, where the Hand of the LORD was upon him.
4 And I looked, and behold, a whirlwind came out of the North, a great cloud and a fire wrapped about it. And a brightness surrounded it. And in the midst of it, in the midst of the fire, the likeness of amber came out.
5 Also out of its midst came the likeness of four beasts. And this was their form: they had the appearance of a man.
6 And each one had four faces. And each one had four wings.
7 And their feet were straight feet. And the sole of their feet was like the soles of a calf’s foot. And they sparkled like the appearance of bright bronze.
8 And the hands of a man came out from under their wings, in the four parts of them. And those four had their faces and their wings.
9 They were joined, by their wings, to one another. When they went forth, they did not return. Each one went straight forward.
10 And the likeness of their faces was as the face of a man. And those four had the face of a lion on the right side. And those four had the face of a bull on the left side. Those four also had the face of an eagle.
11 Thus were their faces. But their wings were spread out above. Two of each one were joined to each other and two covered their bodies.
12 And each one went straight forward. They went wherever their spirit led them. They did not return when they went forth.
13 As for the likeness of the beasts, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, and like the appearance of lamps running among the beasts. And the fire had a brightness. And the fire went out of the lightning.
14 And the beasts ran and returned, like lightning.
15 Now, as I beheld the beasts, behold, a wheel appeared upon the earth by the beasts, having four faces.
16 The appearance of the wheels and their workings was like chrysolite. And those four had one form, and their appearance and their workings as a wheel inside another wheel.
17 When they moved, they moved in one of four directions. They did not turn when they moved.
18 As for their rims, they were so high that they were terrifying to behold. And their rims were full of eyes, around all four of them.
19 And when the beasts moved, the wheels went with them. And when the beasts were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up.
20 Wherever their spirit led them, they went, and there the spirit of the wheels led them; and the wheels were lifted up with them. For the spirit of the beasts was in the wheels.
21 When the beasts moved, they moved. And when they stood still, they stood still. And when they were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up with them. For the spirit of the beasts was in the wheels.
22 And the likeness of the firmament upon the heads of the beasts was wonderful, like crystal, spread out over their heads.
23 And under the firmament their wings were straight, one toward another. Each one had two which covered them, and each one had two which covered their bodies.
24 And when they went forth, I heard the noise of their wings, like the noise of great waters, as the Voice of the Almighty, the voice of speech, as the noise of an army. When they stood, they let down their wings.
25 And when they stood and had let down their wings, there was a voice from the firmament that was over their heads.
26 And above the firmament that was over their heads, was the appearance of a throne, like a Sapphire stone. And upon the likeness of the throne was a likeness with the appearance of a man above upon it.
27 And I saw the likeness of amber, and the likeness of fire, all around and within it, from his loins upward, as well as from his loins downward. I saw a likeness of fire and brightness all around it.
28 As the likeness of the rainbow that is in the clouds on the day of rain, so was the appearance of the light all around.
29 This was the appearance of the likeness of the Glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face. And I heard the Voice of One Who spoke.
2 And He said to me: “Son of man, stand up upon your feet, and I will speak to you.”
2 And the Spirit entered into me after He had spoken to me, and set me upon my feet, so that I heard Him Who spoke to me.
3 And He said to me: “Son of man, I send you to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against Me. They and their fathers have rebelled against Me to this very day.
4 “For they are impudent children, and stiff-hearted. I send you to them. And you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD God.’
5 “But surely, they will not hear. Indeed, nor will they cease. For they are a rebellious House: Yet they shall know that there has been a Prophet among them.
6 “And you, son of man, do not fear them or be afraid of their words, although rebels and thorns are with you, and you remain with scorpions. Do not fear their words or be afraid of their looks, for they are a rebellious House.
7 “Therefore, you shall speak My Words to them. Surely, they will not hear. Indeed, nor will they cease, for they are rebellious.
8 “But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. Do not be rebellious, like this rebellious House. Open your mouth and eat that I give you.”
9 And when I looked up, behold, a Hand was sent to me. And lo, a scroll of a book was inside.
10 And He spread it before me, and there was writing inside and outside. And lamentations and mourning and woe were written on it.
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 gave me this scroll to eat.
3 And He said to me: “Son of man, cause your belly to eat, and fill your core with this scroll that I give you.” Then I ate. And it was as sweet as honey in my mouth.
4 And He said to me: “Son of man, go, enter into the House of Israel, and declare to them My Words.
5 “For you are not sent to a people of an unknown tongue, or of a hard language, but to the House of Israel,
6 “not to many people of an unknown tongue, or of a hard language, whose words you cannot understand. Yet, if I would send you to them, they would obey you.
7 “But, the House of Israel will not obey you. For they will not obey Me. Yea, all the House of Israel are impudent and stiff-hearted.
8 “Behold, I have made your face strong against their faces, and your forehead hard against their foreheads.
9 “I have made your forehead as a sharp stone, harder than the flint. Therefore, do not fear them or be afraid of their look. For they are a rebellious House.”
10 Moreover, He said to me: “Son of man, receive in your heart all My Words that I speak to you, and hear them with your ears.
11 “And go, get to those who are led away captives, to the children of your people. And speak to them and tell them, ‘Thus says the LORD God:’ Surely, they will not hear. Indeed, nor will they cease.”
12 Then the Spirit took me up, and I heard a noise of a great rushing behind me, saying, “Blessed be the Glory of the LORD out of His place.
13 I also heard the noise of the wings of the beasts that touched one another, and the rattling of the wheels that were beside them, a noise of a great rushing.
14 So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away. And I went in bitterness and indignation of my spirit. But the Hand of the LORD was strong upon me.
15 Then I came to those who were led away captives to Tel Abib, who dwelt by the river Chebar. And I sat where they sat, and remained there, astonished among them for seven days.
16 And at the end of seven days, the Word of the LORD came again to me, saying:
17 “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the House of Israel. Therefore, hear the Word in My Mouth, and give them warning from Me.
18 “When I shall say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you do not give him warning or speak to admonish the wicked of his wicked way, so that he may live, that 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 “Likewise, if a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, I will lay a stumbling block before him and he shall die. And because you have not given him warning, he shall die in his sin and his righteous deeds which he has done shall not be remembered. But his blood will I require at your hand.
21 “However, if you admonish the righteous man that the righteous does not sin (so that he does not sin), he shall live because he is admonished; and you have also delivered your soul.”
22 And the Hand of the LORD was there upon me. And He said to me: “Arise. Go into the field, and I will talk with you there.”
23 So when I had risen up and gone forth into the field, behold, the Glory of the LORD stood there, as the Glory which I saw by the river Chebar. And I fell down upon my face.
24 Then the Spirit entered into me and set me up upon my feet and spoke to me and said to me: “Come. Shut yourself inside your house.
25 “And you, O son of man, behold, they shall put ropes upon you and shall bind you with them. And you shall not go out among them.
26 “And I will make your tongue cling to the roof of your mouth, so that you shall be dumb, and shall not be to them as a man who rebukes. For they are a rebellious House.
27 “But when I have spoken to 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.”
4 “You, also, son of man, take a brick and lay it before you and engrave the city of Jerusalem on it.
2 “And lay siege against it, and build a siege wall against it, and pour a mound against it. Also, set the camp against it and lay engines of war against it, all around.
3 “Moreover, take an iron plate and set it as a wall of iron between yourself and the city, and direct your face toward it, and it shall be besieged. And you shall lay siege against it. This shall be a sign to the House of Israel.
4 “Also, sleep on your left side and lay the iniquity of the House of Israel upon it. According to the number of days that you shall sleep on it shall you bear their iniquity.
5 “For I have laid the years of their iniquity upon you, according to the number of days: three hundred ninety days. So shall you bear the iniquity of the House of Israel.
6 “And when you have completed them, sleep again on your right side. And you shall bear the iniquity of the House of Judah for forty days —a day for a year. I have appointed to you a day for a year.
7 “Therefore, you shall direct your face toward the siege of Jerusalem. And your arm shall be uncovered. And you shall prophesy against it.
8 “And behold, I will lay ropes upon you. And you shall not turn from one side to another until you have ended the days of your siege.
9 “You shall also take wheat for yourself, and barley, and beans, and lentils, and millet, and spelt, and put them in one vessel, and make yourself bread from it. According to the number of the days that you shall sleep on your side —three hundred ninety days —you shall eat it.
10 “And the food which you shall eat shall be twenty shekels a day by weight. From time to time, you shall eat it.
11 “You shall also drink water, the sixth part of a hin by measure. From time to time, you shall drink.
12 “And you shall eat it like barley cakes. And you shall bake it in the dung that comes out of man, in their sight.”
13 And the LORD said: “So shall the children of Israel eat their defiled bread among the Gentiles, wherever I cast them.”
14 Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, my soul has not been polluted. For from my youth, even until this hour, I have not eaten of a thing dead or torn in pieces, nor came there any unclean flesh in my mouth.”
15 Then He said to me, “Lo, I have given you bull’s dung instead of man’s dung. And you shall prepare your bread with it.”
16 Moreover, He said to me, “Son of man, behold, I will break the staff of bread in Jerusalem. And they shall eat bread by weight, and with care. And they shall drink water by measure, and with astonishment,
17 “because bread and water shall fail. They shall be appalled with one another and shall waste away because of their iniquity.”
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