Old/New Testament

Ezekiel’s Vision of Jerusalem

8 It was the sixth year, on the fifth day of the sixth month of our captivity. I was sitting in my house with the elders of Judah before me. There I felt the power of the Lord God. ² I looked and saw something that looked like a man. From his waist down he looked like fire. From his waist up he looked like bright glowing metal. ³ He stretched out the shape of a hand. And he caught me by the hair on my head. The Spirit lifted me up between the earth and the sky. He took me in the visions of God to Jerusalem. He took me to the entrance to the north gate of the inner courtyard of the Temple. The courtyard was where the idol was that caused God to be jealous. ⁴ The glory of the God of Israel was there. It was like what I had seen on the plain.

⁵ Then God said to me, “Human being, now look toward the north.” So I looked up toward the north. I saw an altar to the north of the gate. The idol that caused God to be jealous was in the entrance.

⁶ The Lord said to me, “Human being, do you see what they are doing? Do you see how many hated things the people of Israel are doing here? This will drive me far away from my Temple. But you will see things more hated than these.”

⁷ Then the Lord brought me to the entry of the courtyard. When I looked, I saw a hole in the wall. ⁸ The Lord said to me, “Human being, dig through the wall.” So I dug through the wall and saw an entrance.

⁹ Then the Lord said to me, “Go in and see the terrible, evil things they are doing here.” ¹⁰ So I entered and looked. And I saw pictures of every kind of crawling thing. I saw awful beasts and all the idols of the people of Israel. They were carved on the wall all around. ¹¹ Seventy of the elders of Israel were standing there. They were in front of these carvings and idols. Jaazaniah son of Shaphan stood with them. Each man had his pan for burning incense in his hand. A sweet-smelling cloud of incense was rising.

¹² Then the Lord said to me, “Human being, have you seen what the elders of Israel are doing in the dark? Have you seen each man in the room of his own idol? They say, ‘The Lord doesn’t see us. The Lord has left the land.’” ¹³ And he said to me, “You will see even more terrible things that they are doing.”

¹⁴ Then the Lord brought me to the opening of the north gate of the Temple. And I saw women sitting there crying for Tammuz.^{[a] 15} The Lord said to me, “Do you see, human being? You will see things even more terrible than these.”

¹⁶ Then the Lord brought me into the inner courtyard of the Temple. And I saw about 25 men. They were at the entrance to the Temple, between the porch and the altar. Their backs were turned to the Temple of the Lord. They faced east. They were worshiping the sun in the east.

¹⁷ The Lord said to me, “Do you see, human being? Is it unimportant that the people of Judah are doing the terrible things they have done here? They have filled the land with violence. They continually make me angry. Look, they are insulting me every way they can. ¹⁸ So I will act in anger. I will have no pity. I will not show mercy. Even if they shout in my ears, I won’t listen to them.”

Vision of the Angels

9 The Lord shouted with a loud voice in my ears. He said, “You who are chosen to punish this city, come near. Bring your weapon in your hand.” ² Then six men came from the direction of the upper gate, which faces north. Each had his powerful weapon in his hand. Among them was a man dressed in linen. At his side he had things to write with. The men went in and stood by the bronze altar.

³ Then the glory of the God of Israel went up. It had been above the creatures with wings. It moved to the place in the Temple where the door opened. Then the Lord called the man dressed in linen. He had the things to write with at his side. ⁴ The Lord said to him, “Go through Jerusalem. Put a mark on the foreheads of the people who groan and cry about all the terrible things being done among them.”

⁵ As I listened, the Lord spoke to the other men. He said, “Go through the city behind the man dressed in linen and kill. Don’t pity anyone. Don’t show mercy. ⁶ Kill and destroy old men, young men and women, little children and older women. But don’t touch anyone who has the mark on him. Start at my Temple.” So they started with the elders who were in front of the Temple.

⁷ And the Lord said to the men, “Make the Temple unclean. Fill the courtyards with those who have been killed. Go out!” Then the men went out and killed the people in the city. ⁸ While the men were killing the people, I was left alone. I bowed facedown on the ground. I cried out, “Oh, Lord God! Will you destroy everyone left alive in Israel when you turn loose your anger on Jerusalem?”

⁹ Then the Lord said to me, “The sin of the people of Israel and Judah is very great. The land is filled with people who murder. And the city is full of people who are not fair. The people say, ‘The Lord has left the land. And the Lord does not see.’ ¹⁰ But I will have no pity. I will show no mercy. But I will bring their evil acts back on their heads.”

¹¹ Then the man dressed in linen reported to the Lord. He was the man who had things to write with at his side. He said, “I have done just as you have commanded me.”

The Coals of Fire

10 Then I looked and saw the sky above the heads of the living creatures. I saw something like a sapphire gem. It looked like a throne. ² The Lord said to the man dressed in linen, “Go in between the wheels under the living creatures. And fill your hands with coals of fire from between the living creatures. Scatter the coals over the city.”

As I watched, the man with linen clothes went in. ³ Now the living creatures were standing on the south side of the Temple when the man went in. And the cloud from the Lord filled the inner courtyard. ⁴ Then the glory of the Lord went up from the living creatures. And it stood over the door of the Temple. The Temple was filled with the cloud. And the courtyard was full of the brightness from the glory of the Lord. ⁵ The sound of the wings of the living creatures was heard all the way to the outer courtyard. It was like the voice of God All-Powerful when he speaks.

⁶ The Lord commanded the man dressed in linen, “Take fire from between the wheels, from between the living creatures.” Then the man went in and stood by a wheel. ⁷ One living creature put out his hand to the fire that was among them. The living creature took some of the fire. And he put it in the hands of the man dressed in linen. The man took the fire and went out.

The Wheels and the Creatures

⁸ Something that looked like a man’s hand appeared under the wings of the living creatures. ⁹ I saw the four wheels by the living creatures. One wheel was by each living creature. The wheels looked like shining chrysolite. ¹⁰ All four wheels looked alike. Each looked like a wheel crossways inside another wheel. ¹¹ When the wheels moved, they went in any of the directions that the four living creatures faced. The wheels did not turn about. The living creatures did not turn their bodies as they went. But they followed wherever their faces pointed. ¹² All their bodies, their backs, hands, wings and the wheels were full of eyes all over. Now each of the four living creatures had a wheel. ¹³ I heard the wheels being called “whirling wheels.” ¹⁴ Each living creature had four faces. The first face was the face of a creature with wings. The second face was the face of a man. The third was the face of a lion. And the fourth was the face of an eagle.

¹⁵ The living creatures flew up. They were the same living creatures I had seen by the Kebar River. ¹⁶ And when the living creatures moved, the wheels moved by their sides. The living creatures lifted their wings to fly up from the ground. And the wheels did not leave their sides. ¹⁷ When the living creatures stopped, the wheels stopped. When the creatures went up, the wheels went up also. This was because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.

¹⁸ Then the glory of the Lord left the door of the Temple and stood over the living creatures. ¹⁹ The living creatures spread their wings. And they flew up from the ground while I watched. As they went up, the wheels stayed by their sides. They stood where the east gate of the Temple of the Lord opened. The glory of the God of Israel was over them.

²⁰ These are the living creatures I had seen under the God of Israel. This was by the Kebar River. I knew they were called cherubim. ²¹ Each one had four faces. Each one had four wings. Things that looked like a man’s hands were under their wings. ²² Their faces looked the same as the ones I had seen by the Kebar River. They each went straight ahead.

13 Keep on loving each other as brothers in Christ. ² Remember to welcome strangers into your homes. Some people have done this and have welcomed angels without knowing it. ³ Do not forget those who are in prison. Remember them as if you were in prison with them. Remember those who are suffering as if you were suffering with them.

⁴ Marriage should be honored by everyone. Husband and wife should keep their marriage pure. God will judge guilty those who are sexually immoral and commit adultery. ⁵ Keep your lives free from the love of money. And be satisfied with what you have. God has said,

⁶ So we can feel sure and say,

⁷ Remember your leaders. They taught God’s message to you. Remember how they lived and died, and copy their faith. ⁸ Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

⁹ Do not let all kinds of strange teachings lead you into the wrong way. Your hearts should be strengthened by God’s grace, not by obeying rules about foods. Obeying such rules does not help anyone.

¹⁰ We have a sacrifice. But the priests who serve in the Holy Tent cannot eat from it. ¹¹ The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place. There he offers this blood for sins. But the bodies of the animals are burned outside the camp. ¹² So Jesus also suffered outside the city. He died to make his people holy with his own blood. ¹³ So let us go to Jesus outside the camp. We should accept the same shame that Jesus had.

¹⁴ Here on earth we do not have a city that lasts forever. But we are looking for the city that we will have in the future. ¹⁵ So through Jesus let us always offer our sacrifice to God. This sacrifice is our praise, coming from lips that speak his name. ¹⁶ Do not forget to do good to others. And share with them what you have. These are the sacrifices that please God.

¹⁷ Obey your leaders and be under their authority. These men are watching you because they are responsible for your souls. Obey them so that they will do this work with joy, not sadness. It will not help you to make their work hard.

¹⁸ Continue praying for us. We feel sure about what we are doing, because we always want to do the right thing. ¹⁹ And I beg you to pray that God will send me back to you soon.

^20-21 I pray that the God of peace will give you every good thing you need so that you can do what he wants. God is the One who raised from death our Lord Jesus, the Great Shepherd of the sheep. God raised him because of the blood of his death. His blood began the agreement that God made with his people. And this agreement is eternal. I pray that God, through Christ, will do in us what pleases him. And to Jesus Christ be glory forever and ever. Amen.

²² My brothers, I beg you to listen patiently to this message I have written to encourage you. This letter is not very long. ²³ I want you to know that our brother Timothy has been let out of prison. If he arrives soon, we will both come to see you.

²⁴ Greet all your leaders and all of God’s people. Those from Italy send greetings to you.

²⁵ God’s grace be with you all.