Old/New Testament
Abominations in the Temple and in Jerusalem
8 And then[a] in the sixth year, in the sixth month, on the fifth day of the month, I was sitting in my house, and the elders of Judah were sitting before me.[b] And the hand of the Lord Yahweh fell on me there, 2 and I saw,[c] and look! A figure like the appearance of a man;[d] from the appearance of his waist and below was fire, and from his waist and upward[e] was like the appearance of brightness,[f] like the outward appearance of[g] amber. 3 And he sent out the form of a hand, and he took me by a lock of hair of my head, and the Spirit lifted me between earth and heaven, and it brought me to Jerusalem in visions of God to the doorway of the inner gate that faced north,[h] at which there was the seat of the image of jealousy, which was making jealous. 4 And look! There was the glory of the God of Israel like the vision that I saw in the valley. 5 And he said to me, “Son of man,[i] lift up now[j] your eyes toward the north.”[k] And I lifted up my eyes toward the north,[l] and, look, there was to the north of the gate of the altar this image of jealousy at the entrance. 6 And he said to me, “Son of man,[m] “Do you see[n] what they are doing—great detestable things that the house of Israel is committing[o] here so as to drive me from[p] my sanctuary, and yet you will see again[q] greater[r] detestable things.” 7 And he brought me to the doorway of the courtyard, and I saw, and look! A hole in the wall. 8 And he said to me, “Son of man,[s] dig now[t] through the wall.” And I dug through the wall, and look! There was a doorway. 9 And he said to me, “Come and see the detestable things, the evil that they are doing[u] here. 10 And I came, and I saw, and look, all kinds of creatures[v] and detestable beasts;[w] and all of the idols of the house of Israel were carved on the wall all around.[x] 11 And seventy men from the elders of the house of Israel, and Jaazaniah, the son of Shaphan, was standing in the midst of them, and they were standing before them.[y] Each one had his censer in his hand, and the fragrance of the cloud of the incense was going up. 12 And he said to me, “Have you seen, son of man,[z] what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the dark, each in the inner rooms of his idol, for they are saying, ‘Yahweh is not seeing us; Yahweh has abandoned the land.’” 13 And he said to me, “Still you will see again[aa] greater detestable things that they are doing.” 14 And he brought me to the doorway of the gate of the house of Yahweh that is toward the north, and look! There were the women sitting weeping for Tammuz. 15 And he said to me, “Have you seen, son of man?[ab] Still you will see again[ac] greater detestable things than these.” 16 And he brought me to the inner courtyard of the house of Yahweh, and look, at the doorway of the temple of Yahweh, between the portico and the altar, there were about twenty-five men with their backs to the temple of Yahweh and their faces toward the east, and they were bowing down toward the east before the sun. 17 And he said to me, “Have you seen, son of man?[ad] Was it too small a thing[ae] for the house of Judah to do[af] the detestable things that they did here? For they filled up the land with violence, and they provoked me to anger again,[ag] and look! They are putting the branch to their nose. 18 And so I will act in rage, and my eye will not take pity, and I will not have compassion, and they will cry in my ear with a loud voice, and I will not hear them.”
Yahweh’s Avenging Messenger Destroys the Wicked in the City
9 And he called in my ears with a loud voice, saying,[ah] “They have come near,[ai] the punishers of the city, and each with his weapon of destruction in his hand. 2 And look! Six men coming from the way of the upper gate[aj] that faced northward,[ak] and each with his weapon for[al] shattering in his hand; and one man was in the midst of them, dressed in linen, and the[am] writing case of the scribe was at his side. And they came and stood beside the bronze altar. 3 And the glory of the God of Israel lifted itself up from upon the cherub that he was on[an] and went to the threshold of the house,[ao] and he called to the man who was clothed in linen with a scribal writing case at his side.[ap] 4 And Yahweh said to him, “Go through in the midst of the city, in the midst of Jerusalem, and you must place a mark on the foreheads of the men who are groaning and lamenting[aq] about all of the detestable things that are being done[ar] in the midst of her.” 5 And to the others he said in my hearing, “Go through the city behind him and kill! Your eyes shall not take pity, and you shall not have compassion. 6 You must kill totally[as] old man, young man and young woman, and little children and women, but concerning[at] every man with the mark on him[au] you must not approach; and from my sanctuary you must begin.” And they began with the old men who were before[av] the house.[aw] 7 And he said to them, “Defile the house[ax] and fill the courtyards with the dead; go out! And they went out, and they killed in the city. 8 And then[ay] as they were striking,[az] and I was left behind, I fell on my face, and I cried out, and I said, “Ah, Lord Yahweh! “Will you be destroying all of the remnant of Israel while you pour out your rage[ba] on Jerusalem?” 9 And he said to me, “The guilt of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly[bb] great, and the land is filled with bloodguilt, and the city is full of injustice. For they say Yahweh abandoned the land, and Yahweh does not see.[bc] 10 And I, my eye will not take pity, and I will not have compassion; their way I will bring on their head.” 11 And look! The man clothed in linen and with a writing case at his side[bd] was bringing back a word, saying,[be] “I have done all that you commanded me.”
God’s Presence Leaves the Temple
10 And I looked, and look! On the expanse that was above the head of the cherubim something like a stone of sapphire,[bf] and like the appearance of the shape of a throne it appeared above them. 2 And he spoke[bg] to the man clothed in linen and said, “Go in among the wheel area under the cherubim[bh] and fill the hollow of your hands with coals of fire from among the cherubim, and toss them on the city.” And he went right before my eyes. 3 Now[bi] the cherubim were standing on the south of the temple when the man went,[bj] and the cloud filled the inner courtyard. 4 And the glory of Yahweh rose up from on the cherub toward[bk] the threshold of the house,[bl] and the house[bm] was filled with the cloud, and the courtyard was filled with the brightness of the glory of Yahweh. 5 And the sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard as far as[bn] the outer courtyard; it was like the voice of God Shaddai[bo] when he speaks.[bp]
6 And then at his command[bq] to the man clothed in linen, saying,[br] “Take fire from among the wheel area from among the cherubim,” he went and stood beside the wheel. 7 Then the cherub stretched out his hand from among[bs] the cherubim toward the fire that was among[bt] the cherubim, and he lifted up and gave[bu] it into the hollow of the hand of the man clothed with linen, and he took it, and he went out.
8 And there appeared for[bv] the cherubim the form of a human hand[bw] under their wings. 9 And I saw, and look, four wheels beside the cherubim, one wheel beside each cherub,[bx] and the appearance of the wheels was like the outward appearance of turquoise stone.[by] 10 Their appearance[bz] was the same for each of the four of them,[ca] as if the wheel was in the midst of a wheel. 11 When they went[cb] to the four of their directions that they went, they did not change direction when they went,[cc] for the place to which the head[cd] turned, they went behind him; they did not change direction at their going. 12 And their whole body,[ce] and their rims, and their spokes, and their wings, and the wheels were full of eyes all around—the wheels for the four of them.[cf] 13 Concerning the wheels, he was calling them “the wheelwork” in my hearing.[cg] 14 And each one had four faces;[ch] the face of the one was the face of a cherub, and the face of the second was the face of a human, and the face of the third was the face of a lion, and the fourth was the face of an eagle.
15 And the cherubim rose; that is, the living creatures[ci] that I saw at the Kebar River.[cj] 16 And when the cherubim went,[ck] the wheels beside them went; and when the cherubim lifted their wings to rise up from the earth,[cl] the wheels also did not turn aside from beside them. 17 When they stood,[cm] they stood, and at their rising, they rose with them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in them. 18 And the glory of Yahweh went out from[cn] the threshold of the temple, and it stood above the cherubim. 19 And the cherubim lifted up their wings, and they rose from the earth before my eyes. At their going out, the wheels were[co] beside them. And he stood at the doorway of the eastern gate of the temple[cp] of Yahweh, and the glory of the God of Israel was over them.[cq]
20 This was[cr] the living creature that I saw under the God of Israel at the Kebar River,[cs] and I knew that they were cherubim. 21 Each one had four faces,[ct] and there were four wings for each, and the likeness of human hands[cu] was under their wings. 22 And the likeness of their faces, they were the faces that I saw at the Kebar River;[cv] thus was their appearance, and they each went straight ahead.[cw]
Concluding Ethical Instructions
13 Brotherly love must continue. 2 Do not neglect hospitality, because through this some have received angels as guests without knowing it. 3 Remember the prisoners, as though you were fellow-prisoners; remember[a] the mistreated, as though you yourselves also are being mistreated[b] in the body. 4 Marriage must be held in honor by all, and the marriage bed be undefiled, because God will judge sexually immoral people and adulterers. 5 Your lifestyle must be free from the love of money, being content with what you have. For he himself has said, “I will never desert you, and I will never abandon you.”[c] 6 So then, we can say with confidence,
7 Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you; considering the outcome of their way of life[f], imitate their faith. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever[g]. 9 Do not be carried away by various and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods by which those who participate have not benefited. 10 We have an altar from which those who serve in the tabernacle do not have the right to eat. 11 For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sins are burned up outside the camp. 12 Therefore Jesus also suffered outside the gate, in order that he might sanctify the people by his own blood. 13 So we must go out to him outside the camp, bearing his reproach. 14 For here we do not have a permanent city, but we seek the city that is to come. 15 Therefore through him let us offer up a sacrifice of praise continually[h] to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name. 16 And do not neglect doing good and generosity, for God is pleased with such sacrifices.
17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account, so that they can do this with joy and not with groaning, for this would be unprofitable for you.
18 Pray for us, for we are convinced that we have a good conscience, and want to conduct ourselves commendably in every way. 19 And I especially urge you to do this, so that I may be restored to you more quickly.
Benediction
20 Now may the God of peace, who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, 21 equip you with every good thing to do his will, carrying out in us what is pleasing before him through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever[i].[j] Amen.
Conclusion
22 Now I urge you, brothers, bear with my word of exhortation, for indeed I have written to you briefly[k]. 23 Know that our brother Timothy has been released, with whom I will see you, if he comes quickly enough. 24 Greet all your leaders and all the saints. Those from Italy greet you. 25 Grace be with all of you.
2012 by Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software