Historical

8 And it came to pass in the sixth year, in the sixth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I sat in mine bais, and the zekenim of Yehudah sat before me, that the yad Adonoi Hashem fell there upon me.

² Then I beheld, and hinei a demut (likeness) as of the appearance of eish; from the appearance of His waist and downward, eish; and from His waist and upward, as the appearance of zohar (brightness), as of gleaming amber.

³ And He put forth the form of a yad, and took me by a lock of mine rosh; and the Ruach lifted me up between Ha’Aretz and Shomayim, and brought me in mar’ot Elohim ([divinely granted] visions) to Yerushalayim, to the Petach Sha’ar Hapenimit (entrance of the inner gate), the one facing north; where was the moshav (seat) of the semel hakinah (statue of jealousy), which provoketh [Hashem’s] jealousy.

⁴ And, hinei, the Kavod Elohei Yisroel was there, according to the mareh (vision) that I saw in the plain.

⁵ Then said He unto me, Ben adam, lift up thine eynayim now the derech (toward) north. So I lifted up mine eynayim the derech (toward) north, and hinei northward at the Sha’ar HaMizbe’ach was this semel hakinah in the entrance.

⁶ He said furthermore unto me, Ben adam, seest thou what they do? Even the to’evot gedolot (great abominations) that Bais Yisroel committeth here, causing that I go far off from My Mikdash? But turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see to’evot gedolot (greater abominations).

⁷ And He brought me to the petach (entrance) of the khatzer (court); and when I looked, hinei, a hole in the kir (wall)!

⁸ Then said He unto me, Ben adam, dig now in the kir (wall); and when I had dug in the kir (wall), hinei, a petach (entrance).

⁹ And He said unto me, Go in, and behold the to’evot hara’ot (wicked abominations) that they do here.

¹⁰ So I went in and saw; and, hinei, every form of remes (creeping things), and behemah sheketz (abominable beasts), and all the gillulim (idols) of the Bais Yisroel, portrayed upon the kir (wall) all around.

¹¹ And there stood before them seventy ish of the zekenim of the Bais Yisroel, and in the midst of them stood Ya’azanyahu Ben Shaphan, with every ish his mikteret (censer, incense burner) in his yad; and a thick anan (cloud) of ketoret (incense) went up.

¹² Then said He unto me, Ben adam, hast thou seen what the zekenim of Bais Yisroel do in the choshech (dark), every ish in the cheder (room) of his maskit (image)? For they say, Hashem seeth us not; Hashem hath forsaken ha’aretz.

¹³ He said also unto me, Turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see to’evot gedolot (greater abominations) that they do.

¹⁴ Then He brought me to the petach sha’ar Beis Hashem toward the north; and, hinei, there sat nashim weeping for Tammuz.

¹⁵ Then said He unto me, Hast thou seen this, O ben adam? Turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see to’evot gedolot (greater abominations) than these.

¹⁶ And He brought me into the khatzer Beis Hashem hapenimit [i.e., the Court of the Kohanim], and, hinei, at the petach (entrance) of the Heikhal Hashem, between the Ulam and the Mizbe’ach, were about five and twenty ish, with their backs toward the Heikhal Hashem, and their faces toward the east; and they bowing down toward the east worshiping the sun.

¹⁷ Then He said unto me, Hast thou seen this, O ben adam? Is it a trivial thing to Bais Yehudah that they commit the to’evot (abominations) which they commit here? For they have filled ha’aretz with chamas, and yet have returned to provoke Me to anger; and, behold, they put the branch to their nose.

¹⁸ Therefore will I also deal in chemah (fury); Mine eye shall not pity, neither will I spare; and though they cry in Mine oznayim with a kol gadol, yet will I not hear them.

9 Then He cried also in mine oznayim with a kol gadol (loud voice), saying, Cause them that have charge over the Ir to draw near, even every ish with his keli mashcheh (destroying weapon) in his yad.

² And, hinei, shishah anashim (six men) came from the derech of the Sha’ar HaElyon, which lieth toward the north, and every ish a keli mapatz (slaughter weapon) of his in his yad; and one ish among them was clothed with linen, with a keset hasofer (writing case) at his side; and they went in, and stood beside the Mizbe’ach HaNechoshet.

³ And the Kavod Elohei Yisroel was gone up from the Keruv (Cherub), whereupon it was, to the miftan HaBeis [HaMikdash] (the Threshold of the Beis HaMikdash). And He called to the ish clothed with linen, which had the keset hasofer at his side;

⁴ And Hashem said unto him, Go through the midst of the Ir, through the midst of Yerushalayim, and put a TAV upon the mitzekhot (foreheads) of the anashim that grieve and lament for kol hato’evot that are being done in the midst thereof.

⁵ And to the others He said in mine hearing, Go ye through the Ir after him [i.e., the man with the scribal kit], and strike down; let not your eye have pity, and do not spare;

⁶ Slay utterly zaken (old man) and bochur (young man), betulah, little children, and nashim; but come not near any ish upon whom is the TAV; and begin at My Mikdash. Then they began with the anashim hazekenim which were before the Beis [HaMikdash][1K 4:17].

⁷ And He said unto them, Make the Beis [HaMikdash] tameh, and fill the khatzerot (coutyards) with chalalim (slain ones); go ye forth. And they went forth, and slaughtered in the Ir.

⁸ And it came to pass, while they were slaying them, and I was left, that I fell upon my face, and cried out, and said, Ah, Adonoi Hashem! Wilt Thou destroy kol She’erit Yisroel in Thy pouring out of Thy chemah (wrath, fury) upon Yerushalayim?

⁹ Then He said unto me, The avon Bais Yisroel and Yehudah is exceeding great, and HaAretz is full of damim, and the Ir full of injustice; for they say, Hashem hath forsaken Ha’Aretz, and Hashem seeth not.

¹⁰ And as for Me, Mine eye shall show no pity, neither will I spare, but I will recompense their derech upon their rosh.

¹¹ And, hinei, the ish clothed with linen, which had the keset ([writing] case) at his side, reported, saying, I have done as Thou hast commanded me.

10 Then I looked, and, hinei, above the raki’a that was over the rosh of the Keruvim there appeared over them something like a sapphire stone, as the appearance of the demut (likeness) of a kisse (throne).

² And He spoke unto the ish clothed with linen, and said, Come in between the galgal (wheelwork), even under the Keruv, and fill thine yad with coals of eish from among the Keruvim, and scatter them over the Ir. And He went in in my sight.

³ Now the Keruvim stood on the right [south] side of the Beis [Hamikdash], when the ish went in; and the anan (cloud) filled the khatzer hapenimit (innermost courtyard, 1Kgs 8:10).

⁴ Then the Kavod Hashem went up from the Keruv, and stood over the threshold of the Beis; and the Beis was filled with the anan (cloud), and the khatzer (courtyard) was full of the radiance of the Kavod Hashem.

⁵ And the sound of the wings of the Keruvim was heard even as far as the khatzer hakhitzonah (the outer court), like the voice of El Shaddai when He speaketh.

⁶ And it came to pass, that when He had commanded the ish clothed with linen, saying, Take eish from between the Galgal (Wheelwork), from between the Keruvim; then he went in, and stood beside the Ofan (Wheel).

⁷ And one Keruv stretched forth his yad from between the Keruvim unto the eish that was between the Keruvim, and took thereof, and put it into the hands of him that was clothed with linen: who took it, and went out.

⁸ And Keruvim appeared to have the tavnit (form) of a yad adam under their kenafayim (wings).

⁹ And when I looked, hinei, the four Ofanim (wheels) by the Keruvim, one Ofan beside one Keruv, and another Ofan beside another Keruv: and the appearance of the Ofanim was like the color of tarshish even (stone).

¹⁰ And as for their appearance, there was one demut (likeness) for the four of them, like that it was the Ofan within the Ofan.

¹¹ When they went, they went toward their four sides; they did not turn aside as they went, but to the makom (place) where the rosh looked they followed it; they did not turn aside as they went.

¹² And their whole basar, and their backs, and their hands, and their kenafayim (wings), and the Ofanim, were full of eynayim all around, even the Ofanim that they four had.

¹³ As for the Ofanim, they were called in my hearing, The Galgal!

¹⁴ And every one had four panim (faces): the first face was the face of a Keruv, and the second face was the face of an Adam, and the third face of an Aryeh, and the fourth the face of a Nesher.

¹⁵ And the Keruvim were lifted up. This is the Chayah (Living Creature) that I saw by the Kevar River.

¹⁶ And when the Keruvim went, the Ofanim went beside them: and when the Keruvim lifted up their kenafayim (wings) to mount up from ha’aretz, the Ofanim turned not away from beside them.

¹⁷ When they stood, these stood; and when they were lifted up, these lifted up themselves also: for the Ruach of the Chayah was in them.

¹⁸ Then the Kavod Hashem departed from off the threshold of the Beis, and stood over the Keruvim.

¹⁹ And the Keruvim lifted up their kenafayim (wings), and mounted up from ha’aretz before my eyes: when they went out, the Ofanim also were beside them, and every one stood at the petach sha’ar Beis Hashem hakadmoni (eastern gate of the Beis HaMikdash of Hashem); and the Kavod Elohei Yisroel was over them from above.

²⁰ This is the Chayah that I saw under Elohei Yisroel by the Kevar River; and I knew that they were the Keruvim.

²¹ Every one had four panim (faces) each, and every one four kenafayim (wings); and the demut (likeness) of the yedei adam (human hand) was under their kenafayim (wings).

²² And the demut (likeness) of their panim (faces) was the same panim which I saw by the Kevar River, their appearances and themselves: they went every one straight forward.