Old/New Testament
8 Fourteen months after my first vision, on the fifth day of the sixth month of the sixth year, while I was sitting at my house, the elders of Judah came to me. The hand of the Eternal Lord fell upon me, and I had a vision. 2 I looked, and I saw what appeared to be a human—just as in my first vision. From his waist down I saw something like radiant fire, and from his waist up it was like gleaming metal surrounded by a glowing light. 3 He held out what looked to be a hand and seized me by the hair. The Spirit hoisted me up between heaven and earth and transported me—through a vision of God—to Jerusalem. I was taken just inside the entrance of the gate to the inner court that faces north where the infuriating image sat—the image that arouses God’s jealousy. 4 Right in front of me was the glory of the God of Israel, just as I had seen before in the plain.
Eternal One: 5 Son of man, lift your eyes and look northward.
So I looked to the north, and I couldn’t help noticing the infuriating image that arouses God’s jealousy beside the entrance to the altar’s gate.
Eternal One: 6 Son of man, do you see what they are doing right in front of the temple? The people of Israel are committing shocking actions that drive Me away from My own sanctuary! But you will see them doing things far worse than this.
7 He then led me to the entrance of the temple court. I looked and saw an opening in the wall.
Eternal One: 8 Son of man, dig through this wall.
So I dug through the wall, widening that small hole until I saw another entrance.
Eternal One: 9 Go inside, and witness the shocking sins being committed by the people of Israel.
10 And so I went in and looked around. It was unbelievable! There were engravings all over the wall of every forbidden thing—reptiles, impure animals, and all the lifeless idols worshiped by the people of Israel. 11 In front of the idols stood the 70 elders of Israel’s community, worshiping. Even Jaazaniah, son of Shaphan (a leader of Josiah’s reforms), was standing with them. Each one of the elders held a censer, and a perfumed cloud of incense was ascending from them.
Eternal One: 12 Son of man, are you seeing what each of the elders of Israel is doing in the dark with their carved images? They are foolish enough to say, “The Eternal does not see what we are doing since He abandoned the land to our Babylonian conquerors and their gods.”[a]
13 This isn’t even the worst of it. You will see them doing things far more shocking than this.
14 Then He led me to the entrance of the north-facing gate of the Eternal’s own sanctuary, and on the edge of the holiest ground in Judah, I saw women sitting around weeping for Tammuz.
Tammuz is a Babylonian god who descends every year into the underworld when the vegetation begins to die. Weeping is part of the religious rites performed for him.
Eternal One: 15 Are you seeing this, son of man? You will see things far more shocking than this.
16 Then He led me to the inner court of the Eternal’s temple. There, in that sacred place between the portico and the altar of burnt offerings, were roughly 25 men. They all had their backs to the temple of the Eternal One so they could face the east and bow to the rising sun.
Eternal One: 17 Are you seeing this, son of man? It’s bad enough that the people of Judah partake in the kind of shocking things that are happening here. But do they have to fill the land with violence and continue to arouse My anger with their disgusting acts over and over again? Look, they are putting the branch to their nose![b] 18 This is why I will respond in anger. I will not spare them or shed a single tear of compassion for them. No matter how loudly they plead to Me, I will not listen to them!
9 Then I heard Him exclaim a judgment on the people of Jerusalem.
Eternal One: Heavenly executioners, approach the city! Have your weapons in hand!
2 I then saw six men marching from the direction of the upper gate which faces north. Each of them had a deadly weapon in hand. Another man accompanied God’s executioners. He was clothed in linen and carried a writing kit at his side. All of them entered and stood next to the bronze altar.
3 The glory of the God of Israel rose up from the winged guardian[c] where it had rested and moved to the doorway of the temple. Then the Eternal called to the man who was dressed in linen—the one carrying the writing kit at his side.
Eternal One: 4 Go through this city, yes Jerusalem, and put a mark on the forehead of all those who are grieved by the shocking things going on in the city.
The elders who come to Ezekiel to hear this vision must be confused. Jerusalem, they think, has already suffered enough. Surely it will not suffer more. But that is wishful thinking, not the prophet’s message. The subjugation of Judah to Babylon takes place over about 20 years. The Babylonians first assaulted Jerusalem in 605 b.c. and took some of the chief citizens into exile. Then in 597 b.c., Nebuchadnezzar laid siege to Jerusalem for 3 months, captured the city, looted the temple and palace, and deported many of the most prominent people to Babylon. The current exiles can hardly imagine anything worse, but it will happen. In 586 b.c., Nebuchadnezzar will return to Jerusalem, and this time he will leave nothing but ashes. After a grueling 18-month siege, Nebuchadnezzar will break through Jerusalem’s wall and level it, take whatever riches he desires, burn every building (including God’s temple) to the ground, and deport what few people survive the battle. This final battle and conquest will decimate God’s home; it will leave Jerusalem in ruins. There will be no place left for the exiles to return.
5 I listened as He addressed the other six, the heavenly executioners.
Eternal One: Follow this man through the city, and kill. Don’t shed a single tear of compassion. 6 Obliterate the old people, young people, even women and children. Slaughter them all! But don’t lay a finger on anyone with the mark on his forehead. Begin at My sanctuary.
So the executioners started by killing the elders in front of the sanctuary.
Eternal One: 7 Defile the sanctuary: fill the courts with the bodies of the slain! Go!
So they continued their slaughter in the city. 8 While they went out to kill the people, I was left alone. I fell down and buried my face in the ground. I cried out to God.
Ezekiel: O Eternal Lord! Do You intend to wipe out everyone left in Israel the way You unleashed Your anger on Jerusalem?
Eternal One: 9 The sins committed by the people of Israel and Judah are very great and serious indeed. The land is saturated with blood. The city has perverted justice. They all say, “The Eternal has abandoned the land to our Babylonian conquerors and their gods, so He doesn’t see anything.” 10 Therefore, I will not spare them or shed tears of compassion. I will set their deeds on their heads. They have done this to themselves.
11 Right then, the man clothed in linen and carrying the writing kit at his side returned and said, “I have done as You commanded.”
10 Then I looked and saw what looked like a throne made of sapphire up above the expanse over the heads of the winged guardians.[d] 2 God spoke to the man clothed in linen.
These fantastic winged creatures are the same living beings Ezekiel encounters in his initial vision (chapter 1). They serve two purposes in Scripture: accompanying the presence of God—as Ezekiel describes twice—and guarding some of God’s holiest places. Creatures like these, of course, strike fear in anyone who sees them; their otherworldly appearance is perfect for decorating the covenant chest in the temple and guarding the way to the garden of Eden (Genesis 3:24). The creatures’ fantastic appearance has inspired artists and craftsmen for generations. Depictions of these heavenly creatures appear all over the temple and the tabernacle; they are sewn into tapestries, engraved on walls, and used to decorate tools of worship.
Eternal One: Go among the spinning wheels beneath the winged guardians; gather the burning charcoal among them into your hands, and then spread the coals over the city.
While I was watching, the man clothed in linen went among the wheels.
3 Now the winged guardians stood on the south side of the temple when the man clothed in linen entered. A great cloud filled the inner court. 4 Then the glory of the Eternal rose above the guardians and moved to the doorway of the temple. The cloud swelled and filled the temple, and the court was full of the blazing presence of the glory of the Eternal. 5 The otherworldly sound made by the guardians’ wings could be heard as far away as the outer court and sounded like the voice of God Almighty.[e]
6 When God instructed the man clothed in linen, “Remove fire from among the wheels that sit next to the winged guardians,” the man went and stood next to a wheel. 7 Then one of those creatures reached into the fire burning among them, grabbed hold of some of the fiery coals, and placed them into the hands of the man wearing linen. The man took them and left the temple court. 8 It was then I noticed that underneath the wings of the creatures were what looked like human hands.
9 Then I looked and saw four wheels, one beside each of the winged guardians. The wheels glittered like sun-kissed jewels. 10 All four wheels looked exactly alike; each wheel appeared to have another one inside it. 11 As the wheels moved, they went in any of the four directions the living creatures faced. They rolled straight ahead, never swerving off to the side. 12 The entire bodies of the living creatures—their hands, backs, and wings—and the wheels belonging to each of them were covered with what appeared to be eyes. 13 I heard someone call the wheels “the spinning wheels.” 14 Each of the winged guardians had four faces: the first was the face of a guardian, the second the face of a human, a third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.
15 Then the winged guardians ascended. These were the same living creatures I had seen earlier near the Chebar Canal. 16 When they moved, the wheels stayed right beside them. When the guardians stretched out their wings to rise from the ground, the wheels followed after them. 17 When the guardians stood still, so did the wheels. And when they flew up, so did the wheels, because the spirit of the four living creatures was in the wheels.
18 Then the glory of the Eternal departed from the temple doorway and hovered above the winged guardians. 19 I continued to watch the creatures stretch out their wings and rise up from the ground, and as they rose, the wheels went along with them. The creatures and the wheels stopped at the entrance to the east gate of the Eternal’s temple. There, the glory of the God of Israel hovered above them.
20 These were the same living creatures I had seen beneath the God of Israel near the Chebar Canal. I understood that they were the heavenly winged guardians. 21 Each of the living creatures had four faces and four wings, and beneath each wing was what looked like human hands. 22 Their faces looked exactly like the faces I had seen near the Chebar Canal. Each of them went straight ahead.
13 Let love continue among you. 2 Don’t forget to extend your hospitality to all—even to strangers—for as you know, some have unknowingly shown kindness to heavenly messengers in this way. 3 Remember those imprisoned for their beliefs as if you were their cellmate; and care for any who suffer harsh treatment, as you are all one body.
4 Hold marriage in high esteem, all of you, and keep the marriage bed pure because God will judge those who commit sexual sins.
5 Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have because He has said, “I will never leave you; I will always be by your side.”[a] 6 Because of this promise, we may boldly say,
The Lord is my help—
I won’t be afraid of anything.
How can anyone harm me?[b]
7 Listen to your leaders, who have spoken God’s word to you. Notice the fruits of their lives and mirror their faith.
8 Jesus the Anointed One is always the same: yesterday, today, and forever. 9 Do not be carried away by diverse and strange ways of believing or worshiping. It is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by regulations about what you can eat (which do no good even for those who observe them). 10 We approach an altar from which those who stand before the altar in the tent have no right to eat. 11 In the past, the bodies of those animals whose blood was carried into the sanctuary by the high priest to take away sin were all burned outside the camp. 12 (In the same way, Jesus suffered and bled outside the city walls of Jerusalem to sanctify the people.)
If we are honest, we have to admit that coming to Jesus and entering into His church ruins us—at least as far as this world is concerned. If we identify with Him in His suffering and rejection, we become a reproachful irritation to the powers that rule this culture. If we ever felt at home in this world—if we ever sensed that we belonged—then we would wake up one day to discover that we will never be at home again until we enter the city of God. By entering through Jesus, we become citizens of another city, subjects of another king. As long as we are here, we should live as resident aliens longing to go home.
13 Let’s then go out to Him and resolve to bear the insult and abuse that He endured. 14 For as long as we are here, we do not live in any permanent city, but are looking for the city that is to come.
15 Through Jesus, then, let us keep offering to God our own sacrifice, the praise of lips that confess His name without ceasing. 16 Let’s not neglect what is good and share what we have, for these sacrifices also please God.
17 Listen to your leaders and submit to their authority over the community, for they are on constant watch to protect your souls and someday they must give account. Give them reason to be joyful and not to regret their duty, for that will be of no good to you.
18-19 Pray for us, for we have no doubt that our consciences are clean and that we seek to live honestly in all things. But please pray for me that I may be restored to you even more quickly.
20 Now may the God of peace, who brought the great Shepherd of the sheep, our Lord Jesus, back from the dead through the blood of the new everlasting covenant, 21 perfect you in every good work as you work God’s will. May God do in you only those things that are pleasing in His sight through Jesus the Anointed, our Liberating King, to whom we give glory always and forever. Amen.
22 Please, brothers and sisters, pay attention to this word of exhortation, for I have written only a few words to you.
23 I want to tell you that our brother Timothy has been set free; and if he arrives soon, he will come with me when I see you next.
24 Give my greetings to your leaders and to all of God’s people. Those of Italy greet you.
25 May grace always be with you.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.