Beginning
Date of Vision of Living Creatures and Glory of the Throne of Yahweh
1 And it was in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, and I was in the midst of[a] the exiles[b] by the Kebar River.[c] The heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. 2 On the fifth day of the month—it was the fifth year of the exile of the king Jehoiachin— 3 the word of Yahweh came[d] clearly[e] to Ezekiel the son of Buzi, the priest, in the land of the Chaldeans at the Kebar River,[f] and the hand of Yahweh was on him there.
4 And I looked,[g] and look! A storm wind was coming from the north, a great cloud, and fire flashing back and forth, and brightness around and within it,[h] and from its midst[i] it was like the outward appearance of amber stone from the midst[j] of the fire. 5 And from its midst[k] was the likeness of four living creatures, and this was their appearance: a human form,[l] 6 and each had four faces,[m] and each of them had four wings.[n] 7 And their legs were straight legs, and the sole of their feet was like the sole of the foot of a calf, and they were sparkling like the outward appearance of polished bronze. 8 And under their wings were human hands[o] on their four sides. And their faces and their wings for the four of them were as follows: 9 their wings were touching one another;[p] each of them went straight forward,[q] without turning right or left.[r] 10 The likeness of their faces was the face of a human in front, and the face of a lion on the right of each of them,[s] and the face of an ox on the left of each of them,[t] and the face of an eagle for each of them.[u] 11 So were their faces; their wings were spread out upward;[v] each had two touching one another and two covering their bodies. 12 And each went straight forward;[w] wherever the spirit went[x] they went, and they did not turn as they went.[y] 13 As for[z] the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, like the appearance of torches. It[aa] was moving to and fro between the living creatures, and the fire was very bright[ab] and lightning was going out from the fire. 14 And the living creatures were speeding to and fro[ac] like the appearance of lightning.
15 And I saw the living creatures, and look! A wheel was on the earth[ad] beside each of the living creatures that had four faces.[ae] 16 The appearance of the wheels and their construction was like the appearance of beryl,[af] and they all looked alike,[ag] and their appearance and their construction was like a wheel within a wheel.[ah] 17 When they moved, they went toward their four sides; they did not veer at all as they went.[ai] 18 And their rims were high and awesome,[aj] and all four of[ak] their rims were full of eyes all around. 19 And at the going of the living creatures, the wheels next to them also went, and when the creatures were lifted from the ground[al] the wheels also rose. 20 Wherever[am] the spirit went they would go there, and the wheels rose, for the spirit of the living creatures[an] was in the wheels. 21 At their[ao] going, they[ap] go, and at their standing, they stood, and at their being lifted up from on the earth,[aq] the wheels rose,[ar] for the spirit of the living creatures[as] was in the wheels.
22 Now[at] the likeness above the heads of the living creatures was an expanse like the outward appearance of awesome[au] ice[av] spread out above their heads upward.[aw] 23 And under the expanse their wings were stretched out straight one toward the other;[ax] each had two wings covering them, and each had two wings covering their bodies. 24 And I heard the sound of their wings like the sound of many waters, like the voice of Shaddai,[ay] and when they moved[az] there was a sound of tumult like the sound of an army; when they stood still[ba] they lowered their wings. 25 And there was[bb] a sound from above the expanse that was above their heads, and when they stood[bc] they lowered their wings. 26 And from above the expanse that was above their heads there was the likeness of a throne, looking like a sapphire,[bd] and above the likeness of the throne was a likeness similar to[be] the appearance of a human on it, but above it.[bf] 27 And I saw something like the outward appearance of amber, something like the appearance of fire, with a covering around it, from the likeness of his loins and upward.[bg] And from the likeness of his loins and downward[bh] I saw something like the appearance of fire, and it was radiant all around.[bi] 28 Like the appearance[bj] of a bow that is in the cloud on a rainy day,[bk] such was the radiance[bl] around it; thus was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of Yahweh. And I saw, and I fell on my face, and I heard a voice speaking.
The Call of Ezekiel to Speak God’s Words
2 And he said to me, “Son of man,[bm] stand on your feet, so that I can speak with you.” 2 And the Spirit[bn] came into me as he was speaking to me, and it set me on my feet, and I heard the one speaking to me. 3 And he said to me, “Son of man,[bo] I am sending you to the Israelites,[bp] to nations[bq] who are rebelling, who rebelled against me, they and their ancestors,[br] they transgressed against me until this very day.[bs] 4 And the children[bt] are impudent[bu] and stubborn,[bv] and so I am sending you to them, and you must say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh!’ 5 And they, whether they listen or whether they fail to listen, for they are a rebellious house, they will know that a prophet was in their midst. 6 And you, son of man,[bw] you must not be afraid of them, and you must not be afraid of their words, because[bx] briers and thorns are with you, and you are sitting among scorpions. You must not be afraid of their words, and you must not be dismayed because of their looks,[by] for they are a rebellious house. 7 And you must speak my words to them whether they listen or whether they fail to listen, for they are rebellious. 8 And you, son of man,[bz] hear what I am speaking to you: you must not be rebellious like the house of rebellion. Open your mouth and eat what I am giving to you.” 9 And I looked,[ca] and look! There was a hand stretched out to me, and look! In it was a scroll with writing.[cb] 10 And he rolled it out[cc] before me,[cd] and it was written on the front and back, and there were written on it laments and mourning and wailing.[ce]
3 And he said to me, “Son of man,[cf] what you find, eat! Eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.” 2 And I opened my mouth, and he gave me this scroll to eat, 3 and he said to me, “Son of man,[cg] you must give your stomach this to eat, and you must fill your belly with this scroll that I am giving to you.” And I ate, and it became like sweet honey[ch] in my mouth. 4 And he said to me, “Son of man,[ci] come! Go to the house of Israel, and you must speak to them with my words. 5 For you are sent to the house of Israel, not to a people of obscure speech[cj] and of a difficult language,[ck] 6 and not to many nations of obscure speech[cl] and a difficult language[cm] whose words[cn] you do not understand, for if I had sent you to them they would have listened to you. 7 And the house of Israel, they are not willing to listen to you, for they are not willing to listen to me, for all of the house of Israel is hard of forehead, and they are hard of heart. 8 But look, I have made[co] your face hard against[cp] their faces and your forehead hard against[cq] their forehead. 9 Like a diamond harder than flint[cr] I have made your forehead; you must not fear them, and you must not be dismayed on account of them,[cs] for they are a rebellious house.[ct] 10 And he said to me, “Son of man,[cu] all of my words that I shall speak to you, receive into[cv] your heart and hear with your ears. 11 And come, go to the exiles,[cw] to the children[cx] of your people, and you must speak to them, and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh!’ whether they listen or whether they fail to listen.” 12 And the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me the sound of a great earthquake when the glory of Yahweh rose from its place. 13 And it was the sound of the wings of the living creatures touching lightly[cy] one against the other,[cz] and the sound of the wheels beside them and the sound of a great earthquake. 14 And the Spirit lifted me and took me, and I went in bitterness in the heat of my spirit, and the hand of Yahweh was strong on me. 15 And I went to the exiles[da] at Tel Abib, who were dwelling near the Kebar River,[db] and I sat where they were dwelling. I sat there seven days in the midst of them, stunned. 16 And then it happened[dc] at the end of seven days, the word of Yahweh came[dd] to me, saying, 17 “Son of man,[de] I have appointed you as a watchman for the house of Israel. When you hear a word from my mouth, then you must warn them from me. 18 When I say[df] to the wicked, ‘Surely you will die,’ and you do not warn him and you do not speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way so that he may live,[dg] that wicked person will die because of his guilt, and from your hand I will seek his blood. 19 And you, if you do warn the wicked and he does not turn from his wickedness and from his wicked way, on account of his guilt he will die, and you yourself will have saved your life.[dh] 20 And when the righteous turns from his righteousness[di] and does injustice, and I place[dj] a stumbling block before him,[dk] he will die, for you did not warn him. Because of his sin he will die, and his righteousness[dl] that he did will not be remembered, and his blood I shall seek from your hand. 21 And if you warn him, the righteous, not to sin, and the righteous does not sin, surely he will live, for he heeded a warning. And you will have saved your life.”[dm]
22 And the hand of Yahweh was on me there, and he said to me, “Rise up, go out to the valley, and there I will speak with you.” 23 And I rose up, and I went to the valley, and, look, there the glory of Yahweh was standing, like the glory that I saw near the Kebar River,[dn] and I fell on my face. 24 And the Spirit[do] came into me, and it made me stand on my feet, and he spoke with me and said to me, “Come, shut yourself inside your house,[dp] 25 and you, son of man,[dq] look, they will place[dr] cords on you, and they will tie you up with them. Then you will not go out into the midst of them. 26 And I will make your tongue cling to the roof of your mouth, and you will be silenced, and you will not be a reproving man for them, for they are a rebellious house.[ds] 27 And when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you must say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “The one hearing him, let him hear, and the one failing to hear, let him fail,”’ for they are a rebellious house.[dt]
Siege of Jerusalem Illustrated on a Brick
4 “Now,[du] son of man,[dv] take for yourself a brick, and you must put it before you,[dw] and you must portray on it a city, Jerusalem. 2 And you must build against it siege works, and you must build against it a bulwark, and you must heap against it a siege ramp, and you must set up against it camps and put against it a battering ram all around. 3 And take for yourself a plate of iron, and you must place it as a wall of iron between you and the city, and you must set your face against it, and it must be under siege,[dx] and you must lay the siege against it; it is a sign for the house of Israel. 4 And you, lie down on your left side, and you must put[dy] the guilt of the house of Israel on it. You will carry their guilt the number of days that you will lie on it. 5 And I will give to you the years of their guilt according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days, and you must bear the guilt[dz] of the house of Israel. 6 When you have completed these, then you must lie a second time on your right side; and you must bear the guilt[ea] of the house of Judah forty days, a day for each year, a day for each year I give it to you. 7 And toward the siege of Jerusalem you must set your face and your bared arm; then you must prophesy against it. 8 Now[eb] look! I will put on you cords, and you may not turn yourself from one side to your other side until you complete the days of your siege.
Ezekiel’s Strange Defiled Meal
9 “And you, take for yourself[ec] wheat and barley and beans and lentils and millet[ed] and spelt, and you must put them in one vessel, and you must make them for yourself[ee] into a food during the number of days that you are lying on your side; three hundred and ninety days you shall eat it. 10 And your food that you will eat[ef] will be according to weight; twenty shekels for each day at fixed times[eg] you shall eat it. 11 And an amount of water[eh] you shall drink, a sixth of a hin; at fixed times[ei] you shall drink it. 12 And as a bread-cake of barley you shall eat it, and with human excrement[ej] you shall bake it before their eyes.” 13 And Yahweh said, “Thus shall the Israelites[ek] eat their unclean food among the nations where I will scatter them.”[el] 14 And I said, “Ah, Lord Yahweh! Look! I have not been defiling myself, and a dead body and mangled carcass I have not eaten from my childhood until now, and unclean meat[em] has not come into my mouth!” 15 And he said to me, “See I will give you cattle manure[en] in the place of the feces of a human, and you may prepare your food on it.” 16 And he said to me, “Son of man,[eo] look, I am going to break the supply[ep] of bread in Jerusalem, and they will eat bread by weight, anxiously,[eq] and rationed water,[er] and they will drink with horror, 17 so that they will lack food and water, and they will be appalled with one another,[es] and they will waste away because of their guilt.[et]
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