Ezekiel 9-12

Ezekiel 9

¹Then I heard Him call out in a loud voice, saying, “Draw near, O executioners of the city, each with a weapon of destruction in hand.”

²And I saw six men coming from the direction of the Upper Gate, which faces north, each with a weapon of slaughter in his hand. With them was another man clothed in linen who had a writing kit at his side. And they came in and stood beside the bronze altar.

³Then the glory of the God of Israel rose from above the cherubim, where it had been, and moved to the threshold of the temple. And He called to the man clothed in linen who had the writing kit at his side.

⁴“Go throughout the city of Jerusalem,” said the LORD, “and put a mark on the foreheads of the men sighing and groaning over all the abominations committed there.”

⁵And as I listened, He said to the others, “Follow him through the city and start killing; do not show pity or spare anyone!

⁶Slaughter the old men, the young men and maidens, the women and children; but do not go near anyone who has the mark. Now begin at My sanctuary.” So they began with the elders who were before the temple.

⁷Then He told them, “Defile the temple and fill the courts with the slain. Go forth!” So they went out and began killing throughout the city.

⁸While they were killing, I was left alone. And I fell facedown and cried out, “Oh, Lord GOD, when You pour out Your wrath on Jerusalem, will You destroy the entire remnant of Israel?”

⁹He replied, “The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great. The land is full of bloodshed, and the city is full of perversity. For they say, ‘The LORD has forsaken the land; the LORD does not see.’

¹⁰But as for Me, I will not look on them with pity, nor will I spare them. I will bring their deeds down upon their own heads.”

¹¹Then the man clothed in linen with the writing kit at his side reported back, “I have done as You commanded.”

Ezekiel 10

¹And I looked and saw above the expanse, above the heads of the cherubim, the likeness of a throne of sapphire.

²And the LORD said to the man clothed in linen, “Go inside the wheelwork beneath the cherubim. Fill your hands with burning coals from among the cherubim and scatter them over the city.” And as I watched, he went in.

³Now when the man went in, the cherubim were standing on the south side of the temple, and a cloud filled the inner court.

⁴Then the glory of the LORD rose from above the cherubim and stood over the threshold of the temple. The temple was filled with the cloud, and the court was filled with the brightness of the glory of the LORD.

⁵The sound of the wings of the cherubim could be heard as far as the outer court, like the voice of God Almighty when He speaks.

⁶When the LORD commanded the man clothed in linen, saying, “Take fire from within the wheelwork, from among the cherubim,” the man went in and stood beside a wheel.

⁷Then one of the cherubim reached out his hand and took some of the fire that was among them. And he put it into the hands of the man clothed in linen, who received it and went out.

⁸(The cherubim appeared to have the form of human hands under their wings.)

⁹Then I looked and saw four wheels beside the cherubim, one wheel beside each cherub. And the wheels gleamed like a beryl stone.

¹⁰As for their appearance, all four had the same form, like a wheel within a wheel.

¹¹When they moved, they would go in any of the four directions, without turning as they moved. For wherever the head faced, the cherubim would go in that direction, without turning as they moved.

¹²Their entire bodies, including their backs, hands, and wings, were full of eyes all around, as were their four wheels.

¹³I heard the wheels being called “the whirling wheels.”

¹⁴Each of the cherubim had four faces: the first face was that of a cherub, the second that of a man, the third that of a lion, and the fourth that of an eagle.

¹⁵Then the cherubim rose upward. These were the living creatures I had seen by the River Kebar.

¹⁶When the cherubim moved, the wheels moved beside them, and even when they spread their wings to rise from the ground, the wheels did not veer away from their side.

¹⁷When the cherubim stood still, the wheels also stood still, and when they ascended, the wheels ascended with them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.

¹⁸Then the glory of the LORD moved away from the threshold of the temple and stood above the cherubim.

¹⁹As I watched, the cherubim lifted their wings and rose up from the ground, with the wheels beside them as they went. And they stopped at the entrance of the east gate of the house of the LORD, with the glory of the God of Israel above them.

²⁰These were the living creatures I had seen beneath the God of Israel by the River Kebar, and I knew that they were cherubim.

²¹Each had four faces and four wings, with what looked like human hands under their wings.

²²Their faces looked like the faces I had seen by the River Kebar. Each creature went straight ahead.

Ezekiel 11

¹Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the gate of the house of the LORD that faces east. And there at the entrance of the gate were twenty-five men. Among them I saw Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah, who were leaders of the people.

²And the LORD said to me, “Son of man, these are the men who plot evil and give wicked counsel in this city.

³They are saying, ‘Is not the time near to build houses? The city is the cooking pot, and we are the meat.’

⁴Therefore prophesy against them; prophesy, O son of man!”

⁵And the Spirit of the LORD fell upon me and told me to declare that this is what the LORD says: “That is what you are thinking, O house of Israel; and I know the thoughts that arise in your minds.

⁶You have multiplied those you killed in this city and filled its streets with the dead.

⁷Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: The slain you have laid within this city are the meat, and the city is the pot; but I will remove you from it.

⁸You fear the sword, so I will bring the sword against you, declares the Lord GOD.

⁹I will bring you out of the city and deliver you into the hands of foreigners, and I will execute judgments against you.

¹⁰You will fall by the sword, and I will judge you even to the borders of Israel. Then you will know that I am the LORD.

¹¹The city will not be a pot for you, nor will you be the meat within it. I will judge you even to the borders of Israel.

¹²Then you will know that I am the LORD. For you have neither followed My statutes nor practiced My ordinances, but you have conformed to the ordinances of the nations around you.”

¹³Now as I was prophesying, Pelatiah son of Benaiah died. Then I fell facedown and cried out in a loud voice, “Oh, Lord GOD, will You bring the remnant of Israel to a complete end?”

¹⁴Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

¹⁵“Son of man, your brothers—your relatives, your fellow exiles, and the whole house of Israel—are those of whom the people of Jerusalem have said, ‘They are far away from the LORD; this land has been given to us as a possession.’

¹⁶Therefore declare that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Although I sent them far away among the nations and scattered them among the countries, yet for a little while I have been a sanctuary for them in the countries to which they have gone.’

¹⁷Therefore declare that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you from the countries to which you have been scattered, and I will give back to you the land of Israel.’

¹⁸When they return to it, they will remove all its detestable things and all its abominations.

¹⁹And I will give them singleness of heart and put a new spirit within them; I will remove their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh,

²⁰so that they may follow My statutes, keep My ordinances, and practice them. Then they will be My people, and I will be their God.

²¹But as for those whose hearts pursue detestable things and abominations, I will bring their conduct down upon their own heads, declares the Lord GOD.”

²²Then the cherubim, with the wheels beside them, spread their wings, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them.

²³And the glory of the LORD rose up from within the city and stood over the mountain east of the city.

²⁴And the Spirit lifted me up and carried me back to Chaldea, to the exiles in the vision given by the Spirit of God. After the vision had gone up from me,

²⁵I told the exiles everything the LORD had shown me.

Ezekiel 12

¹Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

²“Son of man, you are living in a rebellious house. They have eyes to see but do not see, and ears to hear but do not hear, for they are a rebellious house.

³Therefore, son of man, pack your bags for exile. In broad daylight, set out from your place and go to another as they watch. Perhaps they will understand, though they are a rebellious house.

⁴Bring out your baggage for exile by day, as they watch. Then in the evening, as they watch, go out like those who go into exile.

⁵As they watch, dig through the wall and carry your belongings out through it.

⁶And as they watch, lift your bags to your shoulder and take them out at dusk; cover your face so that you cannot see the land. For I have made you a sign to the house of Israel.”

⁷So I did as I was commanded. I brought out my bags for exile by day, and in the evening I dug through the wall by hand. I took my belongings out at dusk, carrying them on my shoulder as they watched.

⁸And in the morning the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

⁹“Son of man, hasn’t the rebellious house of Israel asked you, ‘What are you doing?’

¹⁰Tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘This burden concerns the prince in Jerusalem and all the house of Israel who are there.’

¹¹You are to say, ‘I am a sign to you.’ Just as it happened here, so will it be done to them; they will go into exile as captives.

¹²And at dusk the prince among them will lift his bags to his shoulder and go out. They will dig through the wall to bring him out. He will cover his face so he cannot see the land.

¹³But I will spread My net over him, and he will be caught in My snare. I will bring him to Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans; yet he will not see it, and there he will die.

¹⁴And I will scatter to every wind all the attendants around him and all his troops, and I will draw a sword to chase after them.

¹⁵And they will know that I am the LORD, when I disperse them among the nations and scatter them throughout the countries.

¹⁶But I will spare a few of them from sword and famine and plague, so that in the nations to which they go, they can recount all their abominations. Then they will know that I am the LORD.”

¹⁷Moreover, the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

¹⁸“Son of man, eat your bread with trembling, and drink your water with quivering and anxiety.

¹⁹Then tell the people of the land that this is what the Lord GOD says about those living in Jerusalem and in the land of Israel: ‘They will eat their bread with anxiety and drink their water in dread, for their land will be stripped of everything in it because of the violence of all who dwell in it.

²⁰The inhabited cities will be laid waste, and the land will become desolate. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’”

²¹Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

²²“Son of man, what is this proverb that you have in the land of Israel: ‘The days go by, and every vision fails’?

²³Therefore tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘I will put an end to this proverb, and in Israel they will no longer recite it.’ But say to them: ‘The days are at hand when every vision will be fulfilled.

²⁴For there will be no more false visions or flattering divinations within the house of Israel,

²⁵because I, the LORD, will speak whatever word I speak, and it will be fulfilled without delay. For in your days, O rebellious house, I will speak a message and bring it to pass, declares the Lord GOD.’”

²⁶Furthermore, the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

²⁷“Son of man, take note that the house of Israel is saying, ‘The vision that he sees is for many years from now; he prophesies about the distant future.’

²⁸Therefore tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘None of My words will be delayed any longer. The message I speak will be fulfilled, declares the Lord GOD.’”