Ezekiel 9:4–11

^4*“Go through the whole city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the forehead of everyone who is distressed and troubled because of all the disgusting things being done in the city.”

⁵And I heard God say to the other men, “Follow him through the city, and kill. Spare no one; have mercy on no one. ⁶Kill the old men, young men, young women, mothers, and children. But don’t touch anyone who has the mark on his forehead. Start here at my Temple.” So they began with the leaders who were standing there at the Temple.

⁷God said to them, “Defile the Temple. Fill its courtyards with corpses. Get to work!” So they began to kill the people in the city.^s

⁸While the killing was going on, I was there alone. I threw myself face downwards on the ground and shouted, “Sovereign Lord, are you so angry with Jerusalem that you are going to kill everyone left in Israel?” ⁹God answered, “The people of Israel and Judah are guilty of terrible sins. They have committed murder all over the land and have filled Jerusalem with crime. They say that I, the Lord, have abandoned their country and that I don’t see them. ¹⁰But I will not have pity on them; I will do to them what they have done to others.”

¹¹Then the man wearing linen clothes returned and reported to the Lord, “I have carried out your orders.”