Isaiah Called to Be a Prophet

6 In the year that aKing Uzziah died, I bsaw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. 2 Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, cwith two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one cried to another and said:

d“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;

eThe whole earth is full of His glory!”

4 And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.

5 So I said:

“Woe is me, for I am 1undone!

Because I am a man of funclean lips,

And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips;

For my eyes have seen the King,

The Lord of hosts.”

6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from gthe altar. 7 And he htouched my mouth with it, and said:

“Behold, this has touched your lips;

Your iniquity is taken away,

And your sin 2purged.”

8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying:

“Whom shall I send,

And who will go for iUs?”

Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”

9 And He said, “Go, and jtell this people:

‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand;

Keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’

10 “Make kthe heart of this people dull,

And their ears heavy,

And shut their eyes;

lLest they see with their eyes,

And hear with their ears,

And understand with their heart,

And return and be healed.”

11 Then I said, “Lord, how long?”

And He answered:

m“Until the cities are laid waste and without inhabitant,

The houses are without a man,

The land is utterly desolate,

12 nThe Lord has removed men far away,

And the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land.

13 But yet a tenth will be in it,

And will return and be for consuming,

As a terebinth tree or as an oak,

Whose stump remains when it is cut down.

So othe holy seed shall be its stump.”

Ezekiel’s Vision of God

1 Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by athe River Chebar, that bthe heavens were opened and I saw cvisions 1of God. 2 On the fifth day of the month, which was in the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity, 3 the word of the Lord came expressly to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the 2Chaldeans by the River Chebar; and dthe hand of the Lord was upon him there.

4 Then I looked, and behold, ea whirlwind was coming fout of the north, a great cloud with raging fire engulfing itself; and brightness was all around it and radiating out of its midst like the color of amber, out of the midst of the fire. 5 gAlso from within it came the likeness of four living creatures. And hthis was their appearance: they had ithe likeness of a man. 6 Each one had four faces, and each one had four wings. 7 Their 3legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the soles of calves’ feet. They sparkled jlike the color of burnished bronze. 8 kThe hands of a man were under their wings on their four sides; and each of the four had faces and wings. 9 Their wings touched one another. The creatures did not turn when they went, but each one went straight lforward.

10 As for mthe likeness of their faces, each nhad the face of a man; each of the four had othe face of a lion on the right side, peach of the four had the face of an ox on the left side, qand each of the four had the face of an eagle. 11 Thus were their faces. Their wings stretched upward; two wings of each one touched one another, and rtwo covered their bodies. 12 And seach one went straight forward; they went wherever the spirit wanted to go, and they did not turn when they went.

13 As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, tlike the appearance of torches going back and forth among the living creatures. The fire was bright, and out of the fire went lightning. 14 And the living creatures ran back and forth, uin appearance like a flash of lightning.

15 Now as I looked at the living creatures, behold, va wheel was on the earth beside each living creature with its four faces. 16 wThe appearance of the wheels and their workings was xlike the color of beryl, and all four had the same likeness. The appearance of their workings was, as it were, a wheel in the middle of a wheel. 17 When they moved, they went toward any one of four directions; they did not turn aside when they went. 18 As for their rims, they were so high they were awesome; and their rims were yfull of eyes, all around the four of them. 19 zWhen the living creatures went, the wheels went beside them; and when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up. 20 Wherever the spirit wanted to go, they went, because there the spirit went; and the wheels were lifted together with them, afor the spirit of the 4living creatures was in the wheels. 21 When those went, these went; when those stood, these stood; and when those were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up together with them, for the spirit of the 5living creatures was in the wheels.

22 bThe likeness of the 6firmament above the heads of the 7living creatures was like the color of an awesome ccrystal, …

The River of Life

22 And he showed me aa 1pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. 2 bIn the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was cthe tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were dfor the healing of the nations. 3 And ethere shall be no more curse, fbut the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His gservants shall serve Him. 4 hThey shall see His face, and iHis name shall be on their foreheads. 5 jThere shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor klight of the sun, for lthe Lord God gives them light. mAnd they shall reign forever and ever.

The Time is Near

6 Then he said to me, n“These words are faithful and true.” And the Lord God of the 2holy prophets osent His angel to show His servants the things which must pshortly take place.

7 q“Behold, I am coming quickly! rBlessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”

8 Now I, John, 3saw and heard these things. And when I heard and saw, sI fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things.

9 Then he said to me, t“See that you do not do that. 4For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.” 10 uAnd he said to me, “Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, vfor the time is at hand. 11 He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him 5be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still.”

Jesus Testifies to the Churches

12 “And behold, I am coming quickly, and wMy reward is with Me, xto give to every one according to his work. 13 yI am the Alpha and the Omega, the 6Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.”

14 zBlessed are those who 7do His commandments, that they may have the right ato the tree of life, band may enter through the gates into the city. 15 8But coutside are ddogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.

16 e“I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. fI am the Root and the Offspring of David, gthe Bright and Morning Star.”

17 And the Spirit and hthe bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” iAnd let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.

A Warning

18 9For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: jIf anyone adds to these things, 1God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; 19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, kGod 2shall take away his part from the 3Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

I Am Coming Quickly

20 He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.”

Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be 4with you all. Amen.