Beginning

9 [The Spirit] cried in my ears [in the vision] with a loud voice, saying, Cause those to draw near who have charge over the city [as executioners], every man with his destroying weapon in his hand.

² And behold, six men came from the direction of the Upper Gate, which faces north, every man with his battle-ax in his hand; and one man among them was clothed in linen, with a writer’s ink bottle at his side. And they went in and stood beside the bronze altar.

³ And the glory of the God of Israel [the Shekinah, cloud] had gone up from the cherubim upon which it had rested to [stand above] the threshold of the [Lord’s] house. And [the Lord] called to the man clothed with linen, who had the writer’s ink bottle at his side.

⁴ And the Lord said to him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in the midst of it.

⁵ And to the others He said in my hearing, Follow [the man with the ink bottle] through the city and smite; let not your eye spare, neither have any pity.

⁶ Slay outright the elderly, the young man and the virgin, the infant and the women; but do not touch or go near anyone on whom is the mark. Begin at My sanctuary. So they began with the old men who were in front of the temple [who did not have the Lord’s mark on their foreheads].^(A)

⁷ And He said to [the executioners], Defile the temple and fill its courts with the slain. Go forth! And they went forth and slew in the city.

⁸ And while they were slaying them and I was left, I fell upon my face and cried, Ah, Lord God! Will You destroy all that is left of Israel in Your pouring out of Your wrath and indignation upon Jerusalem?

⁹ Then said He to me, The iniquity and guilt of the house of Israel and Judah are exceedingly great; the land is full of blood and the city full of injustice and perverseness; for they say, The Lord has forsaken the land; the Lord does not see [what we are doing].

¹⁰ And as for Me, My eye will not spare, neither will I have pity, but I will recompense their wicked doings upon their own heads.

¹¹ And behold, the man clothed in linen, who had the ink bottle at his side, reported the matter, saying, I have done as You have commanded me.

10 Then I looked and behold, in the firmament that was over the heads of the cherubim there appeared above them something looking like a sapphire stone, in form resembling a throne.

² And [the Lord] spoke to the man clothed in linen and said, Go in among the whirling wheels under the cherubim; fill your hands with coals of fire from between the cherubim and scatter them over the city. And he went in before my eyes.^(B)

³ Now the cherubim stood on the south side of the house when the man went in; and the cloud [the Shekinah] filled the inner court.

⁴ Then the glory of the Lord mounted up from the cherubim to stand over the threshold of the [Lord’s] house; and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of the Lord’s glory.^(C)

⁵ And the sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard even to the outer court, like the voice of God Almighty when He speaks.^(D)

⁶ And when He commanded the man clothed in linen, saying, Take fire from between the whirling wheels, from between the cherubim, [the man] went in and stood beside a wheel.

⁷ And a cherub stretched forth his hand from between the cherubim to the fire that was between the cherubim, and took some of it and put it into the hands of the man clothed in linen, who took it and went out.

⁸ And the cherubim seemed to have the form of a man’s hand under their wings.

⁹ And I looked and behold, there were four wheels beside the cherubim, one wheel beside one cherub and another wheel beside another cherub; and the appearance of the wheels was like sparkling chrysolite.

¹⁰ And as for their appearance, they four looked alike, as if a wheel had been within a wheel.

¹¹ When they went, they went in any one of the four directions [in which their four individual faces were turned]; they did not turn as they went, but to the place to which the front wheel faced the others followed; they turned not as they went.

¹² And their whole body, their backs, their hands, and their wings, and the wheels, were full of eyes round about, even the wheels that each had.

¹³ As regarding the wheels [attached to them], they were called in my hearing the whirling wheels.

¹⁴ And every one had four faces: the first face was the face of the cherub, the second the face of a man, the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.

¹⁵ And the cherubim mounted upward. This is the [same] living creature [the four regarded as one] that I saw by the river Chebar [in Babylonia].^(E)

¹⁶ And when the cherubim went, the wheels went beside them; and when the cherubim lifted up their wings to mount up from the earth, the wheels did not turn from beside them.

¹⁷ When those stood still, these stood still; and when those mounted up, these [the wheels] mounted up also, for the spirit of life was in these [wheels].^(F)

¹⁸ Then the glory of the Lord [the Shekinah, cloud] went forth from above the threshold of the temple and stood over the cherubim.

¹⁹ And the cherubim lifted up their wings and mounted up from the earth in my sight, and they went forth with the wheels beside them; and they stood at the entrance of the East Gate of the house of the Lord, and the glory of the God of Israel [the Shekinah, cloud] was over them.

²⁰ This is the living creature [of four combined creatures] that I saw beneath the God of Israel by the river Chebar, and I knew that they were cherubim.

²¹ Each one had four faces and each one had four wings, and what looked like the hands of a man was under their wings.

²² And as for the likeness of their faces, they were the same faces which I saw by the river Chebar, with regard to their appearances and themselves; they went every one straight forward.

11 Moreover, the Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the East Gate of the Lord’s house, which faces east. And behold, at the door of the gateway there were twenty-five men; and I saw in the midst of them Jaazaniah the son of Azzur and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people.

² Then [the Spirit] said to me, Son of man, these are the men who devise iniquity and give wicked counsel in this city,

³ Who say, [The time] is not near to build houses; this city is the boiling pot and we are the flesh.

⁴ Therefore prophesy against them; prophesy, O son of man!

⁵ And the Spirit of the Lord fell upon me, and He said to me, Speak. Say, Thus says the Lord: This is what you thought, O house of Israel, for I know the things that come into your mind.

⁶ You have multiplied your slain in this city and you have filled its streets with the slain.

⁷ Therefore thus says the Lord God: Your slain whom you have laid in your midst; they are the flesh and this city is the boiling pot, but you shall be brought forth out of the midst of it.

⁸ You have feared the sword, and I will bring a sword upon you, says the Lord God.

⁹ And I will bring you forth out of the midst of it and deliver you into the hands of foreigners and execute judgments among you.

¹⁰ You shall fall by the sword; I will judge and punish you [before your neighbors] at the border or outside the land of Israel, and you shall know (understand and realize) that I am the Lord.

¹¹ This city shall not be your boiling pot, neither shall you be the flesh in the midst of it; I will judge you at the border or outside of Israel;

¹² And you shall know (understand and realize) that I am the Lord; for you have not walked in My statutes nor executed My ordinances, but have acted according to the ordinances of the nations around you.

¹³ And while I was prophesying, Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died. Then I fell down upon my face and cried with a loud voice, Ah, Lord God! Will You make a complete end of the remnant of Israel?

¹⁴ And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

¹⁵ Son of man, your brethren, even your kindred, your fellow exiles, and all the house of Israel, all of them, are they of whom the [present] inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, They have gone far from the Lord [and from this land]; therefore this land is given to us for a possession.

¹⁶ Therefore say, Thus says the Lord God: Whereas I have removed [Israel] far off among the nations, and whereas I have scattered them among the countries, yet I have been to them a sanctuary for a little while in the countries to which they have come.

¹⁷ Therefore say, Thus says the Lord God: I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give back to you the land of Israel.

¹⁸ And when they return there, they shall take away from it all traces of its detestable things and all its abominations (sex impurities and heathen religious practices).

¹⁹ And I will give them one heart [a new heart] and I will put a new spirit within them; and I will take the stony [unnaturally hardened] heart out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh [sensitive and responsive to the touch of their God],^(G)

²⁰ That they may walk in My statutes and keep My ordinances, and do them. And they shall be My people, and I will be their God.

²¹ But as for those whose heart yearns for and goes after their detestable things and their loathsome abominations [associated with idolatry], I will repay their deeds upon their own heads, says the Lord God.

²² Then the cherubim lifted up their wings with the wheels which were beside them, and the glory of the God of Israel [the Shekinah, cloud] was over them.

²³ Then the glory of the Lord rose up from over the midst of the city and stood over the mountain which is on the east side of the city.

²⁴ And the Spirit lifted me up and brought me in a vision by the Spirit of God into Chaldea, to the exiles. Then the vision that I had seen went up from me.

²⁵ And I told the exiles everything that the Lord had shown me.

12 The word of the Lord also came to me, saying,

² Son of man, you dwell in the midst of the house of the rebellious, who have eyes to see and see not, who have ears to hear and hear not, for they are a rebellious house.^(H)

³ Therefore, son of man, prepare your belongings for removing and going into exile, and move out by day in their sight; and you shall remove from your place to another place in their sight. It may be they will consider and perceive that they are a rebellious house.

⁴ And you shall bring forth your baggage by day in their sight, as baggage for removing into exile; and you shall go forth yourself at evening in their sight, as those who go forth into exile.

⁵ Dig through the wall in their sight and carry the stuff out through the hole.

⁶ In their sight you shall bear your baggage upon your shoulder and carry it forth in the dark; you shall cover your face so that you cannot see the land, for I have set you as a sign for the house of Israel.

⁷ And I did as I was commanded. I brought forth my baggage by day, as baggage for exile, and in the evening I dug through the wall with my own hands. I brought out my baggage in the dark, carrying it upon my shoulder in their sight.

⁸ And in the morning came the word of the Lord to me, saying,

⁹ Son of man, has not the house of Israel, the rebellious house, asked you what you are doing?

¹⁰ Say to them, Thus says the Lord God: This oracle or revelation concerns the prince in Jerusalem and all the house of Israel who are in it.

¹¹ Say, I am your sign; as I have done, so shall it be done to them; into banishment, into captivity, they shall go.

¹² And the prince who is in their midst shall lift up his luggage to his shoulder in the dark; then shall he go forth. They shall dig through the wall to carry out through the hole in it. He shall cover his face so that he will ^[a]not see with his eyes the land.

¹³ My net also will I spread over him, and he shall be taken in My snare, and I will bring him to Babylonia, to the land of the Chaldeans; yet shall he ^[b]not see it, though he shall die there.^(I)

¹⁴ And I will scatter toward every wind all who are about him to help him, even all his bands; and I will draw out the sword after them.

¹⁵ And they shall know (recognize, understand, and realize) that I am the Lord, when I shall scatter them among the nations and disperse them in the countries.

¹⁶ But I will leave a few survivors who will escape the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, that they may declare and confess all their [idolatrous] abominations among the nations to which they go, and [thus God’s punishment of them will be justified before everyone and] they shall know (understand and realize) that I am the Lord.

¹⁷ Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

¹⁸ Son of man, eat your bread with shaking, and drink water with trembling and with fearfulness;

¹⁹ And say to the people of the land, Thus says the Lord God concerning the inhabitants of Jerusalem in the land of Israel: They shall eat their bread with fearfulness and drink water with dismay, for their land will be stripped and plundered of all its fullness, because of the violence of all those who dwell in it.

²⁰ And the cities that are inhabited shall be laid waste, and the land shall be deserted and become a desolation; and you shall know (understand and realize) that I am the Lord.

²¹ And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

²² Son of man, what is this proverb that you have in the land of Israel, saying, The days drag on and every vision comes to nothing and is not fulfilled?

²³ Tell them therefore, Thus says the Lord God: I will put an end to this proverb, and they shall use it no more as a proverb in Israel. But say to them, The days are at hand and the fulfillment of every vision.

²⁴ For there shall be no more any false, empty, and fruitless vision or flattering divination in the house of Israel.

²⁵ For I am the Lord; I will speak, and the word that I shall speak shall be performed (come to pass); it shall be no more delayed or prolonged, for in your days, O rebellious house, I will speak the word and will perform it, says the Lord God.

²⁶ Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

²⁷ Son of man, behold, they of the house of Israel say, The vision that [Ezekiel] sees is for many days to come, and he prophesies of the times that are far off.

²⁸ Therefore say to them, Thus says the Lord God: There shall none of My words be deferred any more, but the word which I have spoken shall be performed, says the Lord God.