Bible in 90 Days
The Lord destroys Jerusalem[a]
2 The Lord was very angry.
He wanted Zion's people to be ashamed.
Zion was the most beautiful city in Israel.[b]
But he has put it down to the ground from its high place.
Zion was like a place where he had rested his feet.[c]
Now that he is angry, he has forgotten about that.
2 The Lord has destroyed all the houses where Jacob's people lived.
He decided that he must punish them.
Because he is angry,
he has destroyed all Judah's strong towns.
Yes, he has destroyed all the buildings, and he has killed the rulers and all the people.
3 Yes, because he is very angry,
he has destroyed Israel's whole army.
He did not help them when they were fighting the enemy.
He was like a big hot fire
that burned Jacob's people from all sides.
4 He prepared his bow and his arrows, like an enemy ready to kill people.
Like an enemy, he has killed all our strong men that once we were proud of.
He has shown how angry he was.
He has sent a fire to destroy all Zion's houses.
5 The Lord has become like an enemy.
He has destroyed Israel
and all the beautiful houses there.
He has destroyed all the strong towns that had walls.
He has caused Judah's people to weep.
They are very sad.
6 He has knocked down his own holy house
as easily as someone can knock down a hut in a garden.
He has destroyed this place where people once met him.
The Lord has caused Zion's people to forget
the special events and the Sabbath days in his holy house.[d]
He was very angry.
So he thought that our king and our priests were not important.
He refused to help them.
7 His holy house and his altar there
no longer give pleasure to the Lord.
He has given Zion's most beautiful houses to the enemy.[e]
They shout in the holy house of the Lord
as people shout on a special holy day.
8 The Lord decided to destroy the strong walls of Zion.
He carefully broke away each stone.
It causes us to weep when we look at those walls.
He destroyed them all.
He destroyed the inside walls and he destroyed the strong outside walls.
9 Zion's gates fell down on the ground.
He destroyed them and he has broken them in pieces.
The enemies have taken away our king
and his sons to a foreign country.
The people no longer understand God's Law.[f]
The Lord does not give messages to his prophets any more.
10 Zion's leaders sit on the ground and they are saying nothing.
They have dressed themselves in sackcloth
and they throw dirt on their own heads.[g]
They are showing everyone that they are very sad.
The young women of Jerusalem can only look down to the ground,
because they are very sad too.
11 I have cried so much that my eyes are red now.
Even the parts inside my body hurt,
because my people are dying.
I feel ill because I am so sad.
The children and babies fall in the city's streets
because they are so weak.
12 ‘Where has all the food and drink gone?’
the hungry children ask their mothers.
Then they fall down in pain on the streets of the city.
They die in their mothers' arms.
13 I want to help you people of Jerusalem,
but there is nothing that I can say to you.
I do not know about anything like what has happened to you.
God has destroyed Zion completely!
I do not know anyone who can make you people better.
14 Your prophets have promised you many good things.
Those good things will not happen.
They should have told you that you should not do wrong things.
If they had told you that, none of these troubles would have happened.
The prophets do not tell you true messages from God
and their dreams are false.[h]
15 Everyone who goes by laughs at you.
They are happy because you are sad.
They see how the enemy has destroyed everything in Jerusalem.
‘Surely this cannot be the city that men called most beautiful,’ they say.
‘People have said that this city is the best city on earth.’
16 All your enemies make noises through their teeth
because they are very happy.
‘We have won!’ they say.
‘We have waited for this day.
Now we have beaten you!
Now we have seen it!’
17 The Lord has done what he decided to do.
Yes, he has done what he told you about a long time ago.
He has destroyed your city and he has not felt sorry about it.
He has caused your enemies to be happy.
He has made them strong
so that they could win against you.[i]
18 Day and night, cause your tears to run like a river round the walls of Zion.
Cry to the Lord all the time, you people.
Do not rest.
Do not let your eyes stop crying.
19 Stand up and pray for God's help.
Talk to God all night.
Pour out your words and thoughts to the Lord
as you pour out water from a jar.
Lift up your hands to him,
and ask him to save the lives of your children.
They fall down to die at the end of every street
because they are so hungry.[j]
20 ‘Look at us, Lord,’ you should say.
‘You have done all this to your people.
Women eat their own children now!
They eat the children that they took care of.
People have killed your own priests and prophets
in your holy house!
21 Young people and old people lie dead in the streets.
The enemy has killed the young men and women with long knives.
But it was really you who killed them.
You were very angry with us.
So you killed them and you did not feel sorry.
22 You asked our enemies to come round us
as people come to a special feast.
They killed our people because you were angry.
Nobody could hide or run away.
They all died.
We saw the enemy kill our own children.’
From trouble to hope[k]
3 I am the man who has seen trouble.
God punished me because he was angry with me.
2 He has led me into the dark.
There is no light, so I cannot see the right way.
3 He is completely against me.[l]
He causes me trouble all the time.
4 God has caused my skin and my whole body to become old.
He has broken my bones.
5 He has fought against me from every side.
He caused much trouble for me,
so that I am very sad.
6 He has brought me to this dark place.
So I am like a person who has been dead for a long time.
7 It is as if God has built high walls round me, and I cannot go out.
My troubles are very bad.
They hold me down like heavy chains.
8 I shout and I pray for help, but God does not listen.
9 On every road that I go along, he has put big rocks in my way.
I cannot go past them.
10 God is like a strong wild animal.
He hides and he waits for me by the path.
11 He is like an animal that catches me and pulls me off the path.
He tears me in pieces and then he leaves me without any help.
12 God is like a soldier with a bow and arrows.
He used his bow to shoot at me.
13 It was as if he shot me in the heart with his arrows.
14 All the people see me and laugh.
They even sing silly songs about me all the time.
15 God has caused my life to become a thing of pain.
It is as if he filled a cup with a very bitter drink for me.
16 It is as if he caused me to eat small stones, so that the stones broke my teeth.
Then he put me on the ground, and he pushed me down in the dirt.
17 He has taken peace away from my mind.
I cannot remember the happy days that I had before.
18 I tell myself, ‘Everything good has finished for me!
The things that I hoped for from the Lord have not come!’
19 Lord, please remember all my troubles, because I am sad.
Remember that I am very lonely.
My troubles are like poison for me.
20 I think about all those things,
and I feel small and alone.
21 But then I choose to remember God,
and this is my hope:[m]
22 The Lord's faithful love never comes to an end.
He never stops being kind to us.[n]
23 Every day, we can trust him to be kind again.
We know that he will do what he has promised to do.
24 ‘He is my Lord,’ I say to myself.
‘He is the reason why I can hope for good things.’
25 The Lord does good things for people who wait for him.
He is kind to everyone who looks for him.
26 It is good when people continue to hope.
It is good when they quietly wait for the Lord,
because he will save them.
27 It is also good for people to obey God when they are young.
They should work well for him.
28 Also, when the Lord causes them to be in trouble,
they should sit alone quietly.[o]
29 They should be humble in front of God.[p]
Then hope may come again.
30 If somebody hits them or insults them, they should accept it.[q]
31 The Lord does not turn against people for ever.
32 He does cause people to feel sad sometimes,
but he is sorry for us.
He is also very kind to us, because he loves us very much.
33 He does not enjoy seeing people who are in pain.
He does not enjoy causing trouble for them.[r]
34 Bad people may be cruel to those who are in prison.
35 They may turn against the Most High God and cheat people.
36 They may tell lies in court.
The Lord is not happy when he sees any of those bad things.
37 The Lord causes things to happen.
Nobody can cause things to happen without him.
38 The Most High God causes all things to happen.
He causes good things and bad things to happen when he speaks.
39 He only punishes us when we do wrong things.
We are still alive, so we should not be angry with God.
40 Instead, we should think a lot about what we do,
and we should turn back to the Lord again.
41 We should lift up our hands and pray to God in heaven.[s]
We should be honest with God and say to him,
42 ‘We have done wrong things,
and we have turned against you.
You have not forgiven us.
43 You have hidden yourself from us because you are angry.
You have followed us so that you could kill us.
You were not sorry about it.
44 You have hidden from us in a cloud.
So you do not listen to us when we talk to you.
45 You let people from other countries think bad things about us.
They think that we have no value.
We are like things that nobody can use any longer.
46 All our enemies have insulted us.
47 We have become afraid of them.
They have caught us and they have destroyed us and our things.’[t]
48 I weep, and my eyes are red with all my tears.
It is because the enemy has killed my people.
49 Tears come like a river from my eyes and they will not stop,
50 until the Lord looks down on us from heaven.
He will see us and he will help us.
51 I see what has happened to all the people in my city.
And so I am very sad.
52 My enemies had no reason to follow me.
But they caught me as they would catch a bird.
53 They put me alive into the well,
and they threw stones down on me.
54 The water covered my head.
Then I said, ‘I will soon die.’
55 I shouted your name, Lord,
when I was in the well.
56 ‘Please listen to me, Lord,’ I shouted.
‘Help me! Save me!’ I shouted,
and you heard me.
57 You came near to me when I prayed to you.
‘Do not be afraid,’ you said.
58 Lord, you have given me help.
You have paid the price to keep me alive.
59 You saw the bad things that they did to me.
So please agree with me that they were not fair!
60 You know all the bad things that they did to me.
And you know about all the bad things that they want to do to me.
61 You have heard their cruel words against me, Lord.
Yes, you know about all the bad things that they want to do to me.
62 These people have been cruel to me.
They attack me with cruel words every hour of the day.
63 Look at them as they sing cruel things about me.
They sing when they are sitting, and they sing when they are standing.
64 Punish them for what they have done, Lord.
65 Cause them to think that they cannot hope for anything good.
Cause bad things to happen to them.
66 Run after them angrily.
Kill them all because you are angry with them.
Let nobody on earth remember them any longer.
God punishes his people[u]
4 Look! The gold has stopped shining!
Look how the best gold has changed!
The valuable stones from the Holy Place lie at the end of every street!
2 Jerusalem's men were valuable, like the best gold.[v]
Now they lie in the streets, because God has broken them.
They are like common pots that a potter makes.[w]
3 Even the jackals feed their babies at their breasts.
But Jerusalem's young women have become cruel.
They are like ostriches that leave their eggs in the desert.[x]
4 The mouths of the babies in Jerusalem are completely dry, because they are so thirsty.
And the young children ask for food, but nobody gives them anything to eat.
5 There are people here who had been very rich.
They ate the best foods, but now they are hungry.
Now they lie in the streets with nothing to eat.
They wore the best clothes, but now they sit in the ashes.
6 God has punished my people.
He punished us more than he punished Sodom's people.
God destroyed that city in a moment, and nobody was there to help them.[y]
7 In past times, the leaders of Jerusalem were more pure than very white snow.
They were strong and healthy.
Their bodies seemed to shine like valuable stones.
8 Now their faces are dirty and black.
People see them in the streets, but they do not recognize them.
Their skin hangs on their bones.
Their skin is as dry as wood for a fire.[z]
9 Our enemies have killed many people with long knives.
It is better for those dead people
than for the people who have no food.
They are very hungry.
And they die slowly because they have nothing to eat.[aa]
10 Women who once were very kind
have boiled their own children.
Their children became their food,
when the enemies were destroying the city.[ab]
11 The Lord was very angry.
So he sent fire to burn Zion.
It destroyed the whole city, even the strongest houses.
12 The kings in the other cities on earth could not believe it.[ac]
None of the people on earth could believe it.
They thought that no enemy could go through Jerusalem's gates.
13 God punished Jerusalem and its people because their leaders sinned.
God did not like the things that their prophets and priests did.
They had caused good people to die.
14 Those leaders walked in the streets like men who cannot see.
There was blood on their clothes and everybody was afraid to touch them.
15 ‘Go away!’ people shouted at them.
‘Do not touch us!
You are too dirty to be among God's people!’
So they went away to other countries, but the people there did not want them.
‘They cannot stay here with us!’ those people said.
16 The Lord himself has sent them away.
He will not take care of them any longer.
Nobody respects the priests.
Nobody is kind to the leaders.[ad]
17 Our eyes became red as we watched.
We were looking for help, but it did not come.
The people from other countries could not save us.
18 Enemies ran after us, so that we could not go into the streets any longer.
We knew that we would die soon.
We could not live like this any longer.
19 The enemy was quicker than big birds that fly in the air.
They followed us so that they could catch us out on the mountains.
They hid and they waited for us in the desert.
20 The Lord had chosen a man to be our king.
We thought that he would save us.
‘Under his shadow we will live among the other countries,’ we had always said.
But the enemy caught him.[ae]
21 You, Edom's people, live in the country called Uz. And you are happy now.
But at a future time, God will hurt you too.
The enemy will take away everything that you have.
So you will become like drunks.
22 God has finished punishing Zion's people.
He will let them return to their homes soon.
But you, Edom's people, God will certainly punish you.[af]
He will discover everything that you have done wrong.
A prayer[ag]
5 Lord, please remember the trouble that has happened to us.
Look at us, because we are ashamed.
2 Strangers have taken the land that our ancestors gave to us.
Foreign people live in our homes.
3 We are children whose fathers have died.
Our mothers no longer have husbands.
4 We must pay money for the water that we drink.
We must buy wood for our fires.
5 Our enemies cause us to work like animals.
But the work is too difficult
and they will not let us rest.
6 We gave ourselves to the Egyptians and to the Assyrians,
so that we could get food to eat.
7 Our ancestors sinned, but they are dead.
Now we have the troubles that you caused because of them.
You punished us because of their sin.[ah]
8 Slaves now rule us.
And there is nobody to save us from their power.
9 We meet danger when we work in the fields.[ai]
Enemies are everywhere and they want to kill us.
10 Our skin feels as if we are burning.
We are so hungry that we are ill.
11 Enemies do what they want with the women in Zion.
They are cruel to the young women in Judah's cities.
12 They hang our leaders by their hands.
And they are cruel to our old men too.
13 They took the young men to make flour for them, like slaves.
Our boys have to carry heavy bags of wood.
14 Our enemies no longer let our old men decide things.[aj]
The old men cannot say what is right or fair for us.
And the young men have stopped their music.
15 We are not happy any longer.
Instead, we are very sad,
so we do not dance any longer.
16 And we have no king in Jerusalem any longer.
We have sinned, so it will be very bad for us.
17 So our bodies feel ill and we feel ill deep inside us.
Our eyes are very tired and we cannot hope for good things any longer.
18 We are so sad because they destroyed Zion's walls and buildings.
Wild animals walk on them now.
19 But you, Lord, will be king for ever.
You will always rule us.
20 Tell us why you have forgotten us.
Tell us why you have left us alone for so long.
21 Help us to come back to you, Lord.
Let us be great again, like we were long ago.
22 Please do that, unless you have turned away from us completely.
Do not continue to be angry with us more than we can take.[ak]
God gives Ezekiel visions
1 It was the 30th year.[al] God spoke to me on the fifth day of the fourth month.[am] I was among the prisoners from Judah at the side of the Kebar river.[an] At that time the skies opened and I saw visions from God.
2 King Jehoiachin of Judah had been a prisoner in Babylon for five years. On the fifth day of the month, 3 the Lord spoke to Ezekiel, the priest.[ao] He was the son of Buzi. He was standing beside the River Kebar in Babylon. While Ezekiel was there, the Lord came to him with power.
4 As I looked, I saw a great storm that was coming from the north. It was a large cloud, with bright lightning. Light shone all around the cloud. It was like a fire that had bright metal in the centre of it. 5 I could see something like four living things in the middle of the fire. Each of them had the shape of a human. 6 But each of them had four faces and four wings. 7 Their legs were straight. Their feet were like the feet of young cows. They shone like bright bronze. 8 They had human hands under their wings on the four sides. Each of these four living things had faces and wings that were like this: 9 Their wings touched each other. All the living things moved forward together. They did not turn as they moved.
10 This is what their faces looked like: Each of the living things had four faces. There was a human face at the front. There was a lion's face on the right side. There was a bull's face on the left side. Each of them also had the face of an eagle. 11 Their wings waved up above them. Two wings of each living thing touched the wings of the living things on each side of them. Each living thing covered its body with its other two wings. 12 The living things each moved forward, in the direction that the spirit wanted them to go. They did not turn as they moved.
13 In the middle of the living things was a fire. It looked like coals that were burning, or like bright flames. The fire moved around among the living things. It shone brightly, with lightning coming out from it. 14 The living things moved around very quickly, as fast as lightning.
15 I continued to look at the four living things. Each of them had a wheel on the ground at its side.[ap] 16 The four wheels all looked the same. They shone like bright jewels. The wheels were made like this: Each wheel had another wheel that went across the middle of it. 17 They moved forward in the same direction that the living things moved. They did not turn in any other direction. 18 The wheels had high edges. Eyes completely covered the edges of all the wheels.
19 When the living things moved, the wheels moved with them. If the living beings rose up from the ground, the wheels rose with them. 20 The living things went wherever the spirit wanted them to go. The wheels would also go with them. That was because the spirit of the living things was in each wheel. 21 When the living things moved, the wheels also moved. When the living things stopped, the wheels stopped moving too. When the living things rose up from the ground, the wheels went up at their side. That happened because the spirit of the living things was in each wheel.
22 I saw something over the heads of the living things. It looked like a high roof that shone brightly like ice. 23 The living things all stood under the roof. Each of them stood with its wings held out towards the living things on each side of it. They covered their bodies with their other two wings. 24 When they moved, I could hear the sound of their wings. They made a noise like lots of water that pours along a river. It was also like the voice of the Almighty God, or the noise of a great army. When the living things stopped moving, they put their wings down at their sides.
25 While they stood with their wings down at their sides, I heard a voice. It came from above the roof over their heads. 26 Above the roof, there was something that looked like a throne. It was made of a blue jewel called sapphire. On the throne, high above, I saw something that looked like the shape of a man. 27 The top part of his body shone like a fire with bright metal in the centre of it. The lower part of his body looked like flames of fire. All around the human shape, there was a very bright light. 28 It shone with the colours of a rainbow in the clouds when there is rain. This bright light showed the glory of the Lord, who was there.
When I saw this, I bent down low with my face on the ground. I heard a voice that was speaking to me.
God chooses Ezekiel to be his messenger
2 The voice said to me, ‘Son of man, you must stand up on your feet. Then I will speak to you.’ 2 A spirit came into me while he spoke.[aq] He made me stand up and I heard him speak to me.
3 He said, ‘Son of man, I am sending you to Israel's people. They are a nation of people who have turned against me. They and their ancestors have refused to obey me, even until today. 4 I am sending you to speak to these people. They do not accept my authority and they refuse to change. But you must say to them, “This is what the Almighty Lord says.”
5 The Israelites may listen to what you say, or they may not listen. They do not want to obey me. But they will know that I have sent a prophet to them. 6 You must not be afraid of them, son of man. Do not be afraid of their words either. It may seem that you are living with thorn bushes all around you. You may think that they can hurt you like dangerous scorpions. But do not be afraid of what they say to you, or how they look at you. Remember that they refuse to obey me. 7 You must speak my words to them, whether they listen to you or not. They are people who refuse to obey me. 8 But you must listen to what I say to you, son of man. Do not refuse to obey me, as those people refuse to obey me. Open your mouth and eat what I will give to you.’
9 When I looked, I saw a hand! It held out a scroll towards me.[ar] 10 He opened the scroll so that I could see inside it. I saw words that were written on both sides of the scroll. There were sad funeral songs, and words about great trouble that make you weep.
3 He said to me, ‘Son of man, eat what you can see in front of you. Eat this scroll with words on it. Then go and speak to the Israelites.’ 2 So I opened my mouth and he gave me the scroll to eat.
3 He said, ‘Son of man, I am giving you this scroll. Eat it all and fill your stomach with it.’ So I ate it. It had a sweet taste like honey in my mouth.[as]
4 Then he said to me, ‘Son of man, now go to Israel's people and speak my words to them. 5 I am not sending you to a people whose words you cannot understand. They do not speak a difficult language. No, I am sending you to Israel's people. 6 I am not sending you to people who speak many different languages that you cannot understand. If I did send you to people like that, I am sure that they would listen to you. 7 But Israel's people will not agree to listen to you. That is because they refuse to listen to me. All the Israelites have decided not to obey me, and they will not change. 8 But I will make you as strong in your mind as they are. You will not change what you think. 9 You will be as strong as the strongest stone that nobody can break. Do not be afraid of them. Do not be afraid of how they look at you. Remember that they are people who refuse to obey me.’
10 Then he said to me, ‘Son of man, listen carefully to all the words that I say to you. Remember them. 11 Now you must go to the Israelites who are prisoners in Babylon. They are your own people. Give my message to them and say, “This is what the Almighty Lord says.” They may listen to you or they may refuse to listen. But you must still give them my message.’
12 Then a spirit lifted me up.[at] I heard a loud noise like thunder behind me. It was the sound of the Lord's great glory as it rose up from its place! 13 I heard the sound of the living things' wings as they touched each other. I also heard the loud noise of the wheels that were at the side of the living things. It was like the noise of thunder. 14 Then a spirit lifted me up and he took me away. I was angry and upset in my mind. But the Lord gave me great power and strength. 15 I came to Tel Abib near the Kedar river, where the Israelite prisoners lived. I stayed with them for seven days. I was very upset as I sat among them.
Ezekiel must warn the Lord's people
16 When the seven days were finished, the Lord gave this message to me:
17 ‘Son of man, I have made you a guard to warn Israel's people about danger. You must listen to the messages that I will give to you. Then you must use my messages to warn the Israelites. 18 I may say to a wicked person, “Your punishment will be death.” Then you must warn that person. You must tell him to stop doing wicked things so that he may save his life. If you do not tell the wicked person this, he will die because of his sins. But I will say that you are guilty, as if you had killed him yourself. 19 So you must warn the wicked person. If you warn him, he still may not stop doing wicked things. Then that wicked person will die because of his sins. But you will have saved your own life.
20 A righteous person may stop doing things that are right. He may start to do bad things. Then I will put him in danger. He will die as punishment for his sins. I will not remember the good things that he did. But if you have not warned him of the danger, I will say that you are guilty. It is as if you killed him yourself. 21 But if you do warn that righteous person to stop doing bad things, he may agree. Then he will continue to live, because you warned him. You also will have saved your own life.’
22 The Lord continued to give me strength. He said to me, ‘Stand up now! Go out into the valley and I will speak to you there.’ 23 So I got up and I went out to the valley. I saw the glory of the Lord in that place. It was like the glory that I had seen beside the Kebar river. I bent down low, with my face to the ground.
24 Then a spirit came into me. He lifted me up and he made me stand on my feet. The Lord said to me, ‘Go into your house and shut the door. 25 Son of man, people will tie you with ropes so that you cannot move. You will not be able to go out among the people. 26 I will also stop your tongue from moving so that you cannot speak. You will not be able to warn the Israelites. They are people who refuse to obey me. 27 But sometimes I will speak to you. Then you will be able to open your mouth and give them my message. You must tell them, “This is what the Almighty Lord says.” Some of them will listen to my message. But other people will refuse to listen. They are a nation of people who refuse to obey me.’[au]
A message about Jerusalem
4 ‘Son of man, take a large brick and put it in front of you.[av] On the brick, draw a picture of the city, Jerusalem. 2 Show that soldiers are ready to attack the city. Build heaps of earth around it so that nobody can escape. Put heavy pieces of wood around the city that the enemy could use to break its walls. 3 Then you must do this. Take a flat plate of iron and put it between you and the brick. It will be like a wall between you and the city. Look towards the city. Show that soldiers are around the city and they are ready to attack it. Nobody can escape. This will be a picture to show Israel's people what will happen to them.[aw]
4-5 Then lie down on your left side. Show that you are receiving the punishment for the sins of the Israelites. You will suffer like that for 390 days. It will show the number of years that I have decided to punish Israel's people. Each day that you suffer will show one year of their punishment.
6 After you have finished all those days, lie down again. This time, lie down on your right side for 40 days. You will suffer like that to show the punishment for the sins of Judah's people. Each day will show one year of their punishment. 7 Continue to look towards the brick which has the picture of Jerusalem on it. Show that you are ready to attack it, like soldiers all around it. Speak my message to warn the city. 8 Listen! I will use ropes to tie around you. You will not be able to turn from one side to another. You will lie on one side until you have finished all the days to attack the city.[ax]
9 You must take some grains like wheat and barley, and different kinds of beans. Then put them all into a jar. Use them to make bread for yourself. You must eat this for 390 days while you lie on your left side. 10 You should eat 220 grams of food each day. Eat it at the same time each day. 11 You must measure the water that you drink each day. You may drink two cups at the same times each day. 12 Prepare your food like a cake that is made from barley. Bake it on a fire that you have made with human dung. Do this where the people can see you.’[ay]
13 The Lord also said, ‘I will send Israel's people away to live in foreign lands. Then they will have to eat unclean food, as you will do now.’[az]
14 Then I said, ‘No, Almighty Lord, I could not use human dung. It would make me unclean. Since I was a child I have never eaten any food that would make me unclean. I have never eaten meat from a dead animal that people have found. I have not eaten meat from an animal that wild animals have killed.’
15 So God said to me, ‘I will allow you to use dung from cows instead of from humans. You may use that to make the fire to cook your bread.’
16 Then God said to me, ‘Son of man, I will soon take away the bread in Jerusalem. The people will have to measure the food that they eat. And they will have to measure the water that they drink. They will worry and be afraid. 17 They will not have enough food or water. Everyone will be very upset. Their bodies will become very thin when I punish them for their sins.’[ba]
Ezekiel cuts his hair
5 ‘Son of man, take a sharp sword. Use it like a knife to cut off your hair and your beard. Then use some scales to weigh the hair. Put it into three separate parts that are the same weight.[bb]
2 Wait until all the days when you are lying on your side have finished. Take one part of your hair and burn it on the brick which has the picture of Jerusalem. Take another part and use a sword to cut it into small pieces. Let the pieces fall all around the brick which shows the city. Then take the third part and throw the hairs into the wind. I will run after them with a sword. 3 But keep a few of your hairs. Tie them into the edge of your clothes. 4 Finally, take out some of these hairs. Throw them into the fire and burn them. This fire will grow so that it reaches all Israel's people.
5 I, the Almighty Lord, say this: This shows what will happen to Jerusalem. I have put the city in the centre of all the nations. It has countries all around it. 6 But Jerusalem's people have refused to obey my rules and my commands. They have become more wicked than the nations and countries around them. They have not obeyed my laws.
7 So this is what the Almighty Lord says: You people of Jerusalem have done worse things than any of the nations around you. You have not obeyed my rules or my laws. You have not even obeyed the laws of the nations around you.
8 So this is what the Almighty Lord says: I myself have become your enemy, people of Jerusalem. I will punish you while the other nations watch. 9 I will punish you for all the disgusting things that you have done. I have never punished anyone like that before. And I will never do it again. 10 When I punish you like that, you will have no food to eat. Parents will be so hungry that they will eat their children. Children will eat their parents. I will chase away those few people who are still alive. They will go to all parts of the earth.
11 The Almighty Lord says this: I promise you as surely as I live that I will remove you. You have made my holy place unclean. You have put your disgusting idols in my house. You have done wicked things there. Because of that I will not be sorry for you. I will not save you. 12 Illness or famine will kill one third of your people inside the city. The soldiers who are around the city will kill a third of your people. And I will chase away a third of them to all parts of the earth. I will cause their enemies to run after them with their swords.[bc]
13 When I have done all that to them, I will not be angry any longer. I will not punish them any more, because it is enough. When I have finished, they will know that I, the Lord, have spoken to them. I have been angry with them because they have not been faithful to me.
14 I will cause your city to become a heap of stones. People of the other nations around you will laugh at you when they see what has happened to you. 15 They will all laugh at you and insult you. They will see that I was very angry with you and I punished you. Then they will be afraid of my great anger. I, the Lord, say this!
16 I will take away your bread so that famine kills more and more of you. It will seem that I am shooting arrows at you to destroy you. 17 Famine or wild animals will kill you. Your children will no longer live. Illness and war will destroy you. I will send soldiers to attack you. I, the Lord, say this!’
6 The Lord gave this message to me: 2 ‘Son of man, look towards the mountains of Israel. Tell them my message to warn them.[bd] 3 Say, “You mountains of Israel, listen to this message from the Almighty Lord. This is what the Almighty Lord says to the mountains, the hills and the valleys: I am coming here to attack you. I will destroy the places where you worship false gods. 4 I will destroy your altars for sacrifices and your altars for incense. I will kill the people who worship there and put them in front of their idols.[be] 5 The dead bodies of you people of Israel will lie in front of your idols. I will cause soldiers to throw your bones on the ground around the altars.
6 In all the places that you live, soldiers will destroy your towns. They will also destroy the places where you worship false gods. They will break down the altars so that they become heaps of stones. They will break your idols into pieces. They will destroy the altars where you burn incense. They will remove all those things that you have made. 7 Dead bodies will lie on the ground everywhere that you live. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
8 But I will allow some of you to live. Those people will escape when the enemy army attacks. They will run away to live in foreign countries. 9 When they are living as prisoners among those other nations, they will remember me. They will realize that they made me very sad because they were not faithful to me. They stopped worshipping me. Instead, they chose to worship idols. Then they will be ashamed of themselves, because of all the disgusting things which they have done. 10 They will know that I am the Lord. They will know that it was true when I promised to bring this terrible trouble to them.” ’
11 This is what I, the Almighty Lord, say to you, Ezekiel: ‘Clap your hands together. Stamp on the ground with your feet. Show that you are very upset because of all the disgusting, evil things that Israel's people have done. War, famine and disease will kill them. 12 Illness will kill the people who live far away. Enemy soldiers will kill those who live near to the city. Famine will kill those people who are still alive. Because I am very angry with them, I will punish them very much.
13 Then they will know that I am the Lord. They will see the dead bodies of their own people. The bodies will be lying among the idols that they worshipped. They will be lying around the altars of their false gods, on every high hill and mountain. The dead bodies will lie under the big trees where they offered incense to all their idols. 14 I will punish them very much. I will destroy their land from the desert in the south as far as Diblah. I will make it a place where nobody can live. Then they will know that I am the Lord.’
The day has come for the Lord to punish Israel
7 The Lord gave this message to me: 2 ‘Son of man, this is what I, the Almighty Lord, say to the land of Israel: The end is now here! I will soon destroy the whole land. 3 The time has come for your final punishment! You will know that I am very angry with you. I will punish you because of the bad way that you have lived. You will receive the punishment that you deserve for all the disgusting things that you have done. 4 I will not be sorry for you. I will not be kind to you. I will punish you as you deserve. You have done disgusting things. So I will punish you and you will know that I am the Lord.
5 This is what the Almighty Lord says: Terrible trouble is coming to you! It will be worse than any other trouble. 6 The end has now come! It is finally here to destroy you! Look out! 7 You people who live in the land will now receive terrible punishment. The day for that to happen is very near. There will be no more sound of happy parties on the mountains. Instead there will be shouts of fear. 8 Very soon, I will punish you because of my great anger. You will know how angry I am. I will judge you for the way that you have lived. I will punish you as you deserve for the disgusting things that you have done. 9 I will not be sorry for you. I will not be kind to you. I will punish you as you deserve, because of the disgusting things that you have done. Then you will know that I, the Lord, am causing you pain.
10 Yes, the day of your punishment is here! Terrible trouble is coming to you! Like a tree that is ready to make flowers, your proud and wicked acts are ready for punishment. 11 You use violence to help you to do wicked things. None of all those people will escape. None of their riches or valuable things will remain. 12 The day of punishment has now come! The person who buys things will no longer be happy. Nor will the person who sells things. My anger will bring pain to all of them. 13 Any man who sells his land will never get it back as long as he lives. God has shown what he will do to all those people. He will not change his mind. Each one will lose his life because of their sins.
14 The soldiers make a noise with trumpets to prepare for war. But nobody goes out to fight a battle because my anger has brought punishment for all the people.
15 The enemy is ready to attack outside the city. Inside the city, there is disease and famine. Enemy soldiers will kill the people who are in the country. Famine and disease will kill everyone who is in the city. 16 Those who remain alive will escape. They will run to the mountains. They will be like doves that hunters have chased out of the valleys. They will cry aloud because of their sins. 17 Their hands will be weak. Their knees will shake. 18 They will wear sackcloth. They will be very afraid. Their faces will show that they are ashamed. They will cut all the hair from their heads. 19 They will throw their silver away in the streets. They will think that their gold has no value, like dirt. Their silver and their gold will not be able to save them on the day of the Lord's great anger. When they are hungry, their money will not buy them any food. It is their riches that have caused them to do wicked things. 20 They were proud of their beautiful jewels. They used them to make disgusting idols and images. That is why I, the Lord, have made them hate their valuable things. 21 I will allow foreigners and wicked people to take those things from them. They will use those valuable things in a disgusting way. 22 Those foreigners and robbers will go into my holy temple. They will cause it to become unclean. But I will look away and I will allow them to do that.
23 Prepare chains to tie my people. The whole land is full of murder and violence. 24 I will bring the most wicked people from other nations to attack. They will take the houses of my people and they will live in them. The strong men among my people will no longer boast. Enemies will spoil the holy places where my people worshipped.
25 Terrible trouble is coming to my people! When they are afraid, they will look for peace. But they will not find it. 26 Many troubles will happen, one after another. There will be lots of news about terrible things. People will ask the prophets to tell them what will happen. The priests will not have anything to teach the people. The leaders will not have any good advice. 27 The king will be very sad. His son will not hope for anything good to happen. The people will shake with fear.
I will punish them as they deserve for the way that they have lived. I will judge them in the same way that they have judged other people. Then they will know that I am the Lord.’
Disgusting things in God's temple
8 On the fifth day of the sixth month of the sixth year, I was sitting in my house. The leaders of Judah were sitting in front of me.[bf] While I sat there, the Almighty Lord took hold of me with great power.[bg]
2 I looked up and I saw something that looked like a man. The lower part of his body looked like fire. Above that, his body looked like bright metal. 3 He put out something in the shape of a hand. He took hold of the hair on my head. Then the Spirit lifted me up, high in the sky, and took me to Jerusalem.[bh] This happened in the vision which God gave to me. I came to the north gate of the temple's inside yard. In that place there was a disgusting idol that made God very angry. 4 Then I saw that the bright glory of Israel's God was there. It was like the glory that I had seen beside the River Kebar.
5 Then the Lord said to me, ‘Son of man, look up towards the north.’ When I looked, I saw the disgusting idol. It stood at the entrance, on the north side of the altar gate.
6 He said to me, ‘Son of man, look at what they are doing! Israel's people are doing very disgusting things here. They are chasing me far away from my holy temple. But you will see even worse things than these.’
7 Then the Lord took me to the entrance of the temple's yard. As I looked, I saw a hole in the wall. 8 He said to me, ‘Son of man, make a hole through the wall here.’ So I dug into the wall. I found a door in it.
9 He said to me, ‘Go in there. Look at the wicked things that they are doing in this place.’ 10 So I went in and I looked. I saw pictures of many things on the walls all around. There were pictures of snakes and other disgusting animals. There were also images of the things that Israel's people were worshipping. 11 70 of Israel's leaders were there. Shaphan's son Jaazaniah, was also among them. Each of them held a pot to burn incense. The smell of the incense rose up above them.
12 The Lord said, ‘Son of man, look at the wicked things that Israel's leaders are doing! They are doing them secretly in the dark. Each of them has a room where they worship their images of idols. They say, “The Lord does not see us! The Lord has gone away from our land!” ’
13 The Lord said to me, ‘You will see even worse things that they are doing.’
14 Then he took me to entrance at the north gate of the temple. I saw some women who were sitting there. They were weeping because the god Tammuz was dead.[bi] 15 He said to me, ‘Son of man, look at that! But you will see even worse things than these.’
16 Then the Lord took me to the inside yard of his temple. I could see about 25 men who were standing between the altar and the front of the temple. Their backs were turned towards the Lord's temple. Their faces looked towards the east. They were bending down low to worship the sun that was rising in the east![bj]
17 The Lord said to me, ‘Son of man, look at that! The people of Judah are doing these disgusting things here in my temple! That is a terrible thing! And they are also doing violent things everywhere in their land. They continue to make me angry all the time. Look at them! They insult me as much as they can! 18 So now I will punish them in my great anger. I will not be sorry for them. I will not be kind to them. They may shout at me for help, but I will not listen to them.’
The death of people who worship idols
9 I heard the Lord shout loudly, ‘Bring here the men who will punish the people of this city! Tell the guards to bring their weapons with them.’ 2 Then I looked and I saw six men. They were coming from the higher gate that is on the north side of the temple. Each man carried his weapon and he was ready to kill. A man who was wearing white linen clothes was among them. At his side he had a small box with pens in it. They came in and they stood next to the bronze altar.[bk]
3 The bright glory of Israel's God then moved up from above the cherubs where it had been. It moved to the entrance of the temple. Then the Lord called to the man who was wearing linen clothes. 4 He said, ‘Go everywhere in the city of Jerusalem. Find the people who are very sad because of the disgusting things that people are doing in the city. Use your pens to put a mark on those people. Put the mark on the front of their heads.’
5 While I listened, the Lord said to the other men, ‘Follow that man through the city. Kill people who do not have his mark on their heads. Do not be sorry for them. Do not be kind to them. 6 Kill the old men, young men and girls. Kill the women and the children. Destroy them all! But do not touch anyone who has the mark on their head.’
So the men started to kill. The first people that they killed were the city's leaders who were in front of the temple.
7 The Lord said to them, ‘Fill the yards of the temple with dead bodies! Make the temple an unclean place! Go and do it now!’ So they went out and they started to kill people everywhere in the city. 8 I was alone while they were doing this. I bent down low with my face towards the ground. I called out, ‘Almighty Lord! Will you destroy all Israel's people who are still alive? Are you so angry with the people of Jerusalem that you will do that?’
9 He answered me, ‘The sins of the people of Israel and Judah are very great. They murder people everywhere in the land. In the city, nobody does what is right. They say, “The Lord has gone away from our land! The Lord does not see what we are doing!” 10 So I will not be sorry for them. I will not be kind to them. Now I will punish them as they deserve for the things that they have done.’
11 Then I saw again the man who was wearing linen clothes, with the box of pens. He brought this message to the Lord: ‘I have done what you commanded me to do.’
God's glory leaves the temple
10 In the vision, I saw something that looked like a throne. It was made from a blue jewel called sapphire. It was above the roof and it was high over the heads of the cherubs. 2 The Lord said to the man who was wearing linen clothes, ‘Go between the wheels that are under the cherubs. Pick up some of the hot coals that are burning among the cherubs. Fill your hands with them. Then throw them everywhere over the city.’ Then the man did this, as I watched him.
3 The cherubs stood at the south side of the temple when the man went in among them. A cloud filled the inside yard of the temple.[bl] 4 Then the Lord's bright glory rose up. It went up from above the cherubs. It moved to the entrance of the temple. The cloud filled the temple. The bright glory of the Lord's shone everywhere in the yard. 5 The noise of the cherubs' wings was very loud. It reached as far as the outside yard. The noise was like the voice of Almighty God when he speaks.
6 The Lord gave a command to the man who was wearing linen clothes. He said, ‘Go in among the cherubs. Take coals of fire from between the wheels.’ So the man went in and he stood beside one of the wheels.
7 Then one of the cherubs put his hand towards the fire which was among the cherubs. He took some coals from the fire. He put them into the hands of the man who was wearing linen clothes. The man took the coals and he went out. 8 (Under the wings of the cherubs I could see something that looked like human hands.)
9 In the vision, I saw four wheels beside the cherubs. There was one wheel at the side of each cherub. The wheels shone like bright jewels. 10 All the four wheels looked the same. Each wheel had another wheel that went across the middle of it. 11 When the cherubs moved, they could go forward in any of the four directions. They did not have to turn as they moved. When the head turned in a certain direction, they would move that way. They did not need to turn. 12 Eyes completely covered their bodies. This included their backs, their hands and their wings. Eyes also covered the edges of all the wheels. 13 I heard someone call the wheels, ‘wheels that turn very fast’.[bm]
14 Each of the cherubs had four faces. One face was the face of a bull. The second face was the face of a man. The third face was a lion's face. And the fourth face was an eagle's face.
15 The cherubs rose up into the air. They were the same as the living things that I had seen beside the River Kebar. 16 When they moved, the wheels that were beside them also moved. When the cherubs lifted up their wings to fly into the air, the wheels moved beside them. 17 When the cherubs stood still, the wheels also stood still. And when the cherubs rose in the air, the wheels also rose with them. This was because the spirit of the living things was in the wheels.
18 Then the glory of the Lord moved away from the entrance of the temple. It stopped at a place above the cherubs. 19 Then the cherubs lifted up their wings and they rose up from the ground. The wheels also moved with them. I watched them do this. They stopped by the east gate of the Lord's temple. The glory of Israel's God stayed above them.[bn]
20 They were the same living things that I had seen beside the Kebar River when they were under Israel's God. I realized that they were cherubs. 21 Each of them had four faces and four wings. They had something with the shape of human hands under their wings. 22 They had the same four faces that I had seen beside the River Kebar. Each of them moved forward and they did not turn.
What will happen to Jerusalem
11 Then a spirit lifted me up and took me to the east gate of the Lord's temple.[bo] When I was there, near the entrance of the gate, I could see 25 men. Azzur's son Jaazaniah and Benaiah's son Pelatiah were among them. They were leaders of the people. 2 The Lord said to me. ‘Son of man, these are the men who decide to do evil things in this city. They also give wicked advice to the people. 3 They say, “It is not the right time now to build houses. This city is like a pot to cook meat on a fire. We are like the meat in that pot.”
4 Son of man, you must speak my message to warn them.’
5 Then the Lord's Spirit took hold of me. He said to me, ‘This is the Lord's message to the people: Tell them, “People of Israel, I know what you are saying. I know the thoughts that you have in your minds. 6 You have killed many people in this city. The streets are full of the dead bodies of people that you have killed.”
7 So this is what the Almighty Lord says: “The dead bodies that you have put in this city are the meat. And the city is the pot to cook them in. But as for you, I will remove you from it! 8 You are afraid that an enemy will attack you. So I will bring an army to attack you.” That is what the Almighty Lord says.
9 “I will remove you from this city. I will put you under the power of a foreign army. I will use them to punish you. 10 Enemy soldiers will use their swords to kill you. I will punish you in your own country. Then you will know that I am the Lord. 11 This city will not be like a pot where you can be safe. You will not be like the meat in that pot. I will punish you while you are still inside Israel. 12 Then you will know that I am the Lord. You have not obeyed my rules or my laws. Instead, you have lived in the same wicked way as the nations around you.” ’
13 While I was speaking the Lord's message, Benaiah's son Pelatiah died. Then I bent down low with my face towards the ground. I shouted, ‘Almighty Lord, do not do this! You will completely destroy all Israel's people who remain!’
14 Then the Lord gave this message to me: 15 ‘Son of man, listen to what the people of Jerusalem are saying about you, your brothers and your relatives. They say this about all the people of Israel who are now in Babylon. They are saying, “Those people have gone far away from the Lord. So now this land belongs to us and we can keep it.”
16 So say this: “This is what the Almighty Lord says. I removed my people from their own land and I sent them far away. I sent them to live among other nations and in other countries. But I am still near to them in the countries where they have gone.”
17 Then say, “This is what the Almighty Lord says. I will fetch you from the places where you have been living. I will bring you back together from those countries. I will give the land of Israel back to you.”
18 The people will return to their land. Then they will destroy their idols and other disgusting things. 19 I will give them new thoughts so that they will choose to worship only me. I will put a new spirit in them. They will no longer refuse to change their way of life. Instead, I will help them to want to obey me. 20 Then they will know my rules and my laws. They will be careful to obey them. They will be my people and I will be their God. 21 But it will be different for those who continue to worship their disgusting idols. I will punish them as they deserve because of the evil things that they have done. That is what the Almighty Lord says.’
22 Then the cherubs lifted up their wings to fly. The wheels were at their sides. And the bright glory of Israel's God was above them. 23 The glory of the Lord rose up and it went away from the city. It stopped over a mountain on the east side of the city.
24 In the vision, a spirit lifted me up and took me back to Babylon. I returned to the Israelites who were prisoners there. That was the end of the vision.
25 I told the Israelites everything that the Lord had shown me in the vision.
12 The Lord gave this message to me: 2 ‘Son of man, you are living among a people who refuse to obey me. They have eyes, but they do not see anything. They have ears, but they do not hear anything. They refuse to listen to me.
3 Because of that, son of man, pretend that you are going away as a prisoner. During the day, prepare your things for the journey. While people are watching, prepare to leave your home and go to another place. The people refuse to obey me, but perhaps they will understand what you are doing. 4 Bring out the things that you have prepared for your journey. Do that during the day while the people are watching you. Then leave your home in the evening while they are watching you. Go away like someone who is travelling to a far country as a prisoner. 5 While the people are watching, dig a hole in the wall of your house. Go out through the hole and carry your things with you. 6 Put your bag of things on your shoulder while the people watch you. Carry it out when it starts to become dark. Cover your face so that you cannot see the ground. I want you to do this so that it warns Israel's people about danger.’
7 So I did what the Lord had told me to do. I carried out a bag of my things to show that I was going on a journey. I prepared these things during the day. Then in the evening I used my hands to dig a hole in the wall of my house. When it became dark, I went out. I carried my bag of things on my shoulder. The people watched me do all this.
8 In the morning, the Lord gave this message to me: 9 ‘Son of man, listen to Israel's people who refuse to obey me. They have asked you, “What are you doing?” 10 Say to them, “This is what the Almighty Lord says: This is a message about the prince who rules in Jerusalem and all the Israelites who are there.”
11 Tell them, “I am teaching you a lesson to warn you about what will happen to you.” As you have done, the people will have to go as prisoners to another country.
12 Their king will leave Jerusalem when it starts to become dark. He will carry his things on his shoulder as he goes out. They will dig a hole in the wall for him to go through. He will cover his face so that he cannot see the land. 13 I will throw my net over him and I will catch him in my trap. I will take him to Babylon city, in the land of the Chaldeans. But he will not see that land. He will die there.[bp] 14 I will cause all his officers and soldiers to run away in different directions. Then their enemies will chase after them, to kill them with their swords.
15 I will send the people away from their homes to other countries. They will have to live among foreign people. Then they will know that I am the Lord. 16 But I will save a few of them. War, famine and disease will not kill all of them. When they live among those other nations, they will realize that they have done many disgusting things. And they will know that I am the Lord.’
17 The Lord gave this message to me: 18 ‘Son of man, shake with fear while you eat your food or you drink your water. 19 Then say to the people of Israel, “This is what the Almighty Lord says about the people who live in Jerusalem and in all the land of Israel: They will be afraid while they eat their food. They will shake with fear when they drink their water. An enemy will destroy their land so that nothing remains in it. This will happen because all the people who live there have done violent things. 20 The towns where people live will become heaps of stones. An enemy will destroy the whole land. Then you will know that I am the Lord.” ’
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