Old/New Testament
False Gods in the House of God
8 On the fifth day of the sixth month in the sixth year, I was sitting in my house with the leaders of Judah sitting in front of me. And the hand of the Lord God came upon me there. 2 Then I saw what looked like a man. From the center of His body and down to his feet, there was what looked like fire. And from the center of His body and up to his head, there was a bright light which looked like shining brass. 3 He put out what looked like a hand and caught me by the hair on my head. Then the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and brought me to see Jerusalem in a special way. He brought me to the north gate of the open space within its walls, and there was the seat of the false god which causes jealousy. 4 And I saw that the shining-greatness of the God of Israel was there, like what I had seen in the plain.
5 He said to me, “Son of man, look toward the north.” So I looked toward the north, and saw that to the north of the altar gate was this false god of jealousy in the doorway. 6 And the Spirit said to me, “Son of man, do you see what the people of Israel are doing? Do you see the hated sins that they are doing here to drive Me far from My holy place? But you will see even worse sins.”
7 Then He brought me to the gate of the open space, and I looked and saw a hole in the wall. 8 And He said to me, “Son of man, now dig through the wall.” So I dug through the wall and saw a door. 9 He said to me, “Go in and see the hated sins that they are doing here.” 10 So I went in and looked. And I saw that on the wall all around were pictures of every kind of thing which moves along the ground, and wild animals, and hated things, and all the false gods of the people of Israel. 11 Standing in front of these pictures were seventy leaders of the people of Israel, with Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan standing among them. Each man held a dish in his hand from which the smell of special perfume rose up in a cloud. 12 Then He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what the leaders of the people of Israel are doing without anyone seeing them? They are worshiping in a room full of false gods. For they say, ‘The Lord does not see us. The Lord has left the land.’” 13 And He said to me, “You will see even worse sins which they are doing.”
14 Then He brought me to the north gate of the Lord’s house. And I saw women sitting there crying for the false god Tammuz. 15 Then He said to me, “Do you see this, son of man? You will see even worse sins than this.”
16 He brought me into the open space of the Lord’s house. And I saw about twenty-five men at the gate to the house of the Lord, between the porch and the altar. Their backs were toward the Lord’s house, and their faces were toward the east. They were bowing toward the east worshiping the sun. 17 And He said to me, “Do you see this, son of man? Is it a little thing for the people of Judah to do the hated sins which they have done here? They have filled the land with sinful actions and have made Me angry again and again. See, they are doing what I hate. 18 So I will act in My anger. My eye will have no pity, and I will not let any go without punishment. Even if they cry in My ears with a loud voice, I will not listen to them.”
The Sinful Are Killed
9 Then I heard Him call out in a loud voice, “Come near, you who punish the city, each with a destroying ax in his hand.” 2 And I saw six men coming from the upper gate on the north side. Each man had his battle-ax in his hand. Among them was a certain man dressed in linen, with things for writing at his side. And the men went in and stood by the brass altar.
3 Then the shining-greatness of the God of Israel went up from the cherub where it had been, to the door of the Lord’s house. And He called to the man dressed in linen with the things for writing at his side. 4 The Lord said to him, “Go through the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who cry inside themselves over all the hated sins which are being done among them.” 5 But to the others I heard Him say, “Go through the city after him, and destroy. Do not let your eye have pity. And do not let any sinner go without punishment. 6 Kill and destroy old men, young men, young women, little children, and women. But do not touch anyone who has the mark. Begin at My holy house.” So they started with the leaders who were in front of the Lord’s house. 7 He said to them, “Make the house of worship unclean and fill the open spaces with the dead. Go out!” So they went out and killed the people in the city. 8 As they were killing, I alone was left, and I fell on my face and cried out, “It is bad, O Lord God! Are You destroying all the people of Israel who are left, by pouring out Your anger on Jerusalem?”
9 Then He said to me, “The sin of the people of Israel and Judah is very, very bad. The land is filled with blood, and the city is full of wrong-doing. For they say, ‘The Lord has left the land, and the Lord does not see.’ 10 But as for Me, My eye will have no pity, and I will not leave any sinner without punishment. I will bring their wrong-doing upon their own heads.”
11 Then I saw the man dressed in linen, who had the things for writing at his side, come and say, “I have done just as You have told me.”
God’s Shining-Greatness Leaves the House of God
10 Then I looked and saw something like a sapphire stone in the open space that was over the cherubim’s heads. It looked like a throne above them. 2 And the Lord said to the man dressed in linen, “Go in between the wheels under the cherubim. Fill your hands with coals of fire from between the cherubim and throw them over the city.” And as I watched, he went in.
3 Now the cherubim were standing on the right side of the house of the Lord when the man went in. And the cloud filled the open space inside. 4 Then the shining-greatness of the Lord went up from above the cherubim to the door of the Lord’s house. The house of the Lord was filled with the cloud. And the open space was filled with the bright and shining-greatness of the Lord. 5 The sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard as far as the outside open space. It was like the voice of God All-powerful when He speaks.
6 When He told the man dressed in linen, “Take fire from between the wheels, from between the cherubim,” the man went in and stood beside a wheel. 7 Then one of the cherubim put out his hand to the fire which was among them. He took some and put it into the hands of the one dressed in linen, who took it and went out. 8 (The cherubim had what looked like a man’s hands under their wings.)
9 Then I looked and saw four wheels beside the cherubim, one wheel beside each cherub. The wheels looked like they were made of shining chrysolite stone. 10 All four of them looked the same. Each looked like they had one wheel inside another wheel. 11 When they moved, they went in any of their four ways without turning as they went, but followed the way the head was facing without turning as they went. 12 And their whole body, their backs, their hands, their wings, and the wheels were full of eyes all around, the wheels belonging to all four of them. 13 The wheels were called in my hearing, “the turning wheels.” 14 Each one of the cherubim had four faces. The first face was the face of a cherub. 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 Then the cherubim rose up. They were the living beings that I saw by the Chebar River. 16 Now when the cherubim moved, the wheels went beside them. And when the cherubim lifted up their wings to rise from the ground, the wheels did not leave their side. 17 When the cherubim stood still, the wheels stood still. When they rose up, the wheels rose with them. For the spirit of the living beings was in them.
18 Then the shining-greatness of the Lord left the door of the Lord’s house and stood over the cherubim. 19 When the cherubim left, they lifted their wings and rose up from the earth in front of my eyes, with the wheels beside them. And they stood still at the door of the east gate of the Lord’s house. The shining-greatness of the God of Israel was over them.
20 These are the living beings that I saw under the God of Israel by the Chebar River, so I knew that they were cherubim. 21 Each one had four faces and four wings, and under their wings were what looked like human hands. 22 Their faces looked the same as those I had seen by the Chebar River. Each one went straight ahead.
Christian Living
13 Keep on loving each other as Christian brothers. 2 Do not forget to be kind to strangers and let them stay in your home. Some people have had angels in their homes without knowing it. 3 Remember those in prison. Think of them as if you were in prison with them. Remember those who are suffering because of what others have done to them. You may suffer in the same way.
4 Marriage should be respected by everyone. God will punish those who do sex sins and are not faithful in marriage.
5 Keep your lives free from the love of money. Be happy with what you have. God has said, “I will never leave you or let you be alone.” (A) 6 So we can say for sure, “The Lord is my Helper. I am not afraid of anything man can do to me.” (B)
7 Remember your leaders who first spoke God’s Word to you. Think of how they lived, and trust God as they did. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
9 Do not let the many strange teachings lead you in the wrong way. Our hearts are made strong by God’s loving-favor. Food does not make our hearts strong. Those who obey laws about eating certain foods are not helped by them. 10 We have an altar from which those who work in the place of worship have no right to eat.
11 The head religious leader takes the blood of animals into the holy place to give it on the altar for sins. But the bodies of the animals are burned outside the city. 12 It was the same with Jesus. He suffered and died outside the city so His blood would make the people clean from sin. 13 So let us go to Him outside the city to share His shame. 14 For there is no city here on earth that will last forever. We are looking for the one that is coming. 15 Let us give thanks all the time to God through Jesus Christ. Our gift to Him is to give thanks. Our lips should always give thanks to His name. 16 Remember to do good and help each other. Gifts like this please God.
17 Obey your leaders and do what they say. They keep watch over your souls. They have to tell God what they have done. They should have joy in this and not be sad. If they are sad, it is no help to you.
18 Pray for us. Our hearts tell us we are right. We want to do the right thing always. 19 Pray for me all the more so that I will be able to come to you soon.
20 God is a God of peace. He raised our Lord Jesus from the dead. Jesus is the Good Shepherd of the sheep. His blood made the New Way of Worship which will last forever. 21 May God give you every good thing you need so you can do what He wants. May He do in us what pleases Him through Jesus Christ. May Christ have all the shining-greatness forever! Let it be so. 22 Christian brothers, I beg of you to listen to these words that will help you. This has been a short letter. 23 I want you to know that Timothy is out of prison. If he comes soon, I will bring him with me when I come to see you. 24 Greet all of your leaders and to all those who belong to Christ. The Christians from the country of Italy greet you. 25 May all of you have God’s loving-favor. Let it be so.
Copyright © 1969, 2003 by Barbour Publishing, Inc.