Chronological
The Execution of Idolaters
9 Then he shouted in my ears, “Approach,[a] you who are to visit destruction on the city, each with his destructive weapon in his hand!” 2 Next I noticed[b] six men[c] coming from the direction of the upper gate[d] that faces north, each with his war club in his hand. Among them was a man dressed in linen with a writing kit[e] at his side. They came and stood beside the bronze altar.
3 Then the glory of the God of Israel went up from the cherub where it had rested to the threshold of the temple.[f] He called to the man dressed in linen who had the writing kit at his side. 4 The Lord said to him, “Go through the city of Jerusalem[g] and put a mark[h] on the foreheads of the people who moan and groan over all the abominations practiced in it.”
5 While I listened, he said to the others,[i] “Go through the city after him and strike people down; do not let your eye pity nor spare[j] anyone! 6 Old men, young men, young women, little children, and women—wipe them out! But do not touch anyone who has the mark. Begin at my sanctuary!” So they began with the elders who were at the front of the temple.
7 He said to them, “Defile the temple and fill the courtyards with corpses. Go!” So they went out and struck people down throughout the city. 8 While they were striking them down, I was left alone, and I threw myself face down and cried out, “Ah, Sovereign Lord! Will you destroy the entire remnant of Israel when you pour out your fury on Jerusalem?”
9 He said to me, “The sin of the house of Israel and Judah is extremely great; the land is full of murder, and the city is full of corruption,[k] for they say, ‘The Lord has abandoned the land, and the Lord does not see!’[l] 10 But as for me, my eye will not pity them nor will I spare[m] them; I hereby repay them for what they have done.”[n]
11 Next I noticed the man dressed in linen with the writing kit at his side bringing back word: “I have done just as you commanded me.”
God’s Glory Leaves the Temple
10 As I watched, I saw[o] on the platform[p] above the top of the cherubim something like a sapphire, resembling the shape of a throne, appearing above them. 2 The Lord[q] said to the man dressed in linen, “Go between the wheelwork[r] underneath the cherubim.[s] Fill your hands with burning coals from among the cherubim and scatter them over the city.” He went as I watched.
3 (The cherubim were standing on the south side[t] of the temple when the man went in, and a cloud filled the inner court.) 4 Then the glory of the Lord arose from the cherub and moved to the threshold of the temple. The temple was filled with the cloud while the court was filled with the brightness of the Lord’s glory. 5 The sound of the wings of the cherubim could be heard from the outer court, like the sound of the Sovereign God[u] when he speaks.
6 When the Lord[v] commanded the man dressed in linen, “Take fire from within the wheelwork, from among the cherubim,” the man[w] went in and stood by one of the wheels.[x] 7 Then one of the cherubim[y] stretched out his hand[z] toward the fire that was among the cherubim. He took some and put it into the hands of the man dressed in linen, who took it and left. 8 (The cherubim appeared to have the form[aa] of human hands under their wings.)
9 As I watched, I noticed[ab] four wheels by the cherubim, one wheel beside each cherub;[ac] the wheels gleamed like jasper.[ad] 10 As for their appearance, all four of them looked the same, something like a wheel within a wheel.[ae] 11 When they[af] moved, they would go in any of the four directions they faced without turning as they moved; in the direction the head would turn they would follow[ag] without turning as they moved, 12 along with their entire bodies,[ah] their backs, their hands, and their wings. The wheels of the four of them were full of eyes all around. 13 As for their wheels, they were called “the wheelwork”[ai] as I listened. 14 Each of the cherubim[aj] had four faces: The first was the face of a cherub,[ak] the second that of a man, the third that of a lion, and the fourth that of an eagle.
15 The cherubim rose up; these were the living beings[al] I saw at the Kebar River. 16 When the cherubim moved, the wheels moved beside them; when the cherubim spread[am] their wings to rise from the ground, the wheels did not move from their side. 17 When the cherubim[an] stood still, the wheels[ao] stood still, and when they rose up, the wheels[ap] rose up with them, for the spirit[aq] of the living beings[ar] was in the wheels.[as]
18 Then the glory of the Lord moved away from the threshold of the temple and stopped above the cherubim. 19 The cherubim spread[at] their wings, and they rose up from the earth[au] while I watched (when they went, the wheels went alongside them). They stopped at the entrance to the east gate of the Lord’s temple as the glory of the God of Israel hovered above them.
20 These were the living creatures[av] that I saw at the Kebar River underneath the God of Israel; I knew that they were cherubim. 21 Each had four faces; each had four wings and the form of human hands under the wings. 22 As for the form of their faces, they were the faces whose appearance I had seen at the Kebar River. Each one moved straight ahead.
The Fall of Jerusalem
11 A wind[aw] lifted me up and brought me to the east gate of the Lord’s temple that faces the east. There, at the entrance of the gate, I noticed twenty-five men. Among them I saw Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah, officials of the people.[ax] 2 The Lord[ay] said to me, “Son of man, these are the men who plot evil and give wicked advice in this city. 3 They say,[az] ‘The time is not near to build houses;[ba] the city[bb] is a cooking pot,[bc] and we are the meat in it.’ 4 Therefore, prophesy against them! Prophesy, son of man!”
5 Then the Spirit of the Lord came[bd] upon me and said to me, “Say: ‘This is what the Lord says: This is what you are thinking,[be] O house of Israel; I know what goes through your minds.[bf] 6 You have killed many people in this city; you have filled its streets with corpses.’ 7 Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘The corpses you have dumped[bg] in the midst of the city[bh] are the meat, and this city[bi] is the cooking pot, but I will take you out of it.[bj] 8 You fear the sword, so the sword I will bring against you,’ declares the Sovereign Lord. 9 ‘But I will take you out of the city.[bk] And I will hand you over to foreigners. I will execute judgments on you. 10 You will die by the sword; I will judge you at the border of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord. 11 This city will not be a cooking pot for you, and you will not[bl] be meat within it; I will judge you at the border of Israel. 12 Then you will know that I am the Lord, whose statutes you have not followed and whose regulations you have not carried out. Instead you have behaved according to the regulations of the nations around you!’”
13 Now, while I was prophesying, Pelatiah son of Benaiah died. Then I threw myself face down and cried out with a loud voice, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! You are completely wiping out the remnant of Israel!”[bm]
14 Then the Lord’s message came to me: 15 “Son of man, your brothers,[bn] your relatives,[bo] and the whole house of Israel, all of them are those to whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, ‘They have gone far away[bp] from the Lord; to us this land has been given as a possession.’
16 “Therefore say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Although I have removed them far away among the nations and have dispersed them among the countries, I have been a little[bq] sanctuary for them among the lands where they have gone.’
17 “Therefore say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: When I regather you from the peoples and assemble you from the lands where you have been dispersed, I will give you back the country of Israel.’
18 “When they return to it, they will remove from it all its detestable things and all its abominations. 19 I will give them one heart and I will put a new spirit within them;[br] I will remove the hearts of stone from their bodies[bs] and I will give them tender hearts,[bt] 20 so that they may follow my statutes and observe my regulations and carry them out. Then they will be my people, and I will be their God.[bu] 21 But those whose hearts are devoted to detestable things and abominations, I hereby repay them for what they have done,[bv] says the Sovereign Lord.”
22 Then the cherubim spread[bw] their wings with their wheels alongside them while the glory of the God of Israel hovered above them. 23 The glory of the Lord rose up from within the city and stopped[bx] over the mountain east of it. 24 Then a wind[by] lifted me up and carried me to the exiles in Babylonia,[bz] in the vision given to me by the Spirit of God.
Then the vision I had seen went up from me. 25 So I told the exiles everything[ca] the Lord had shown me.
Previewing the Exile
12 The Lord’s message came to me: 2 “Son of man, you are living in the midst of a rebellious house.[cb] They have eyes to see, but do not see, and ears to hear, but do not hear,[cc] because they are a rebellious house.
3 “Therefore, son of man, pack up your belongings as if for exile. During the day, while they are watching, pretend to go into exile. Go from where you live to another place. Perhaps they will understand,[cd] although they are a rebellious house. 4 Bring out your belongings packed for exile during the day while they are watching. And go out at evening, while they are watching, as if for exile. 5 While they are watching, dig a hole in the wall and carry your belongings out through it. 6 While they are watching, raise your baggage onto your shoulder and carry it out in the dark.[ce] You must cover your face so that you cannot see the ground[cf] because I have made you an object lesson[cg] to the house of Israel.”
7 So I did just as I was commanded. I carried out my belongings packed for exile during the day, and at evening I dug myself a hole through the wall with my hands. I went out in the darkness, carrying my baggage[ch] on my shoulder while they watched.
8 The Lord’s message came to me in the morning: 9 “Son of man, has not the house of Israel, that rebellious house, said to you, ‘What are you doing?’ 10 Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: The prince will raise this burden in Jerusalem,[ci] and all the house of Israel within it.’[cj] 11 Say, ‘I am an object lesson[ck] for you. Just as I have done, so it will be done to them; they will go into exile and captivity.’
12 “The prince[cl] who is among them will raise his belongings[cm] onto his shoulder in darkness and will go out. He[cn] will dig a hole in the wall to leave through. He will cover his face so that he cannot see the land with his eyes. 13 But I will throw my net over him, and he will be caught in my snare. I will bring him to Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans[co] (but he will not see it),[cp] and there he will die.[cq] 14 All his retinue—his attendants and his troops—I will scatter to every wind; I will unleash a sword behind them.
15 “Then they will know that I am the Lord when I disperse them among the nations and scatter them among foreign countries. 16 But I will let a small number of them survive the sword, famine, and pestilence, so that they can confess all their abominable practices to the nations where they go. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”
17 The Lord’s message came to me: 18 “Son of man, eat your bread with trembling[cr] and drink your water with anxious shaking. 19 Then say to the people of the land, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says about the inhabitants of Jerusalem and of the land of Israel: They will eat their bread with anxiety and drink their water in fright, for their land will be stripped bare of all it contains because of the violence of all who live in it. 20 The inhabited towns will be left in ruins, and the land will be devastated. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”
21 The Lord’s message came to me: 22 “Son of man, what is this proverb you have in the land of Israel, ‘The days pass slowly, and every vision fails’? 23 Therefore tell them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I hereby end this proverb; they will not recite it in Israel any longer.’ But say to them, ‘The days are at hand when every vision will be fulfilled.[cs] 24 For there will no longer be any false visions or flattering omens amidst the house of Israel. 25 For I, the Lord, will speak. Whatever word I speak will be accomplished. It will not be delayed any longer. Indeed in your days, O rebellious house, I will speak the word and accomplish it, declares the Sovereign Lord.’”
26 The Lord’s message came to me: 27 “Take note, son of man, the house of Israel is saying, ‘The vision that he sees is for distant days; he is prophesying about the far future.’ 28 Therefore say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: None of my words will be delayed any longer! The word I speak will come to pass, declares the Sovereign Lord.’”
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.