Ezekiel 9:4–11

⁴“Pass throughout the city of Jerusalem,” the Lord said to him, “and put a mark on the foreheads^j of the men who sigh and groan^k over all the detestable practices committed in it.”

⁵He spoke to the others in my hearing: “Pass through the city after him and start killing; do not show pity or spare them!^{l 6}Slaughter the old men, the young men and women, as well as the children and older women,^m but do not come near anyone who has the mark.ⁿ Begin at my sanctuary.”^o So they began with the elders who were in front of the temple. ⁷Then he said to them, “Defile the temple and fill the courts with the slain.^p Go!” So they went out killing people in the city.

⁸While they were killing, I was left alone. And I fell facedown and cried out, “Oh, Lord God!^q Are you going to destroy the entire remnant of Israel when you pour out your wrath on Jerusalem?”

⁹He answered me, “The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is extremely great; the land is full of bloodshed,^r and the city full of perversity. For they say, ‘The Lord has abandoned the land;^s he does not see.’^{t 10}But as for me, I will not show pity or spare them.^u I will bring their conduct down on their own heads.”^v

¹¹Then the man clothed in linen and carrying writing equipment reported back, “I have done all that you commanded me.”