Ezekiel 8–11

8TH CHAPTER

Idolatry in Jerusalem

¹On the fifth day of the sixth month in the sixth year, I was sitting in my home. Judah’s leaders were sitting in front of me. The power of the Almighty Lord came over me. ²As I looked, I saw something that looked like a human. From the waist down its body looked like fire, and from the waist up its body looked like glowing metal. ³It stretched out what looked like a hand and grabbed me by the hair on my head. In these visions from God, the Spirit carried me between heaven and earth. He took me to Jerusalem, to the entrance to the north gate of the inner courtyard of the temple. That was where an idol that stirs up ⸤God’s⸥ anger was located. ⁴There I saw the glory of Israel’s God as I did in the vision that I saw in the valley. 

⁵God said to me, “Son of man, look toward the north.” So I looked toward the north, and there in the entrance to the north gate beside the altar, I saw the idol that stirs up ⸤God’s⸥ anger. 

⁶He asked me, “Son of man, do you see what the people of Israel are doing? The people of Israel are doing very disgusting things here, things that will force me to go far away from my holy place. But you will see even more disgusting things.” 

⁷Then he took me to the entrance of the courtyard. As I looked, I saw a hole in the wall. ⁸He said to me, “Son of man, dig through the wall.” So I dug through the wall, and I saw a door. 

⁹He said to me, “Go in, and see the wicked, disgusting things that the people of Israel are doing here.” ¹⁰So I went in and looked. I saw that the walls were covered with drawings of every kind of crawling creature, every kind of disgusting animal, and all the idols in the nation of Israel. ¹¹In front of these drawings stood 70 of Israel’s leaders. Jaazaniah, son of Shaphan, was standing with the leaders. Each of them was holding an incense burner in his hand, and a cloud of incense went up. 

¹²God asked me, “Son of man, do you see what the leaders of the nation of Israel are doing in secret? Each of them is in the room where his god is, and each one of them is thinking, ‘The Lord doesn’t see me. The Lord has abandoned this land.’ ” 

¹³Then he said to me, “You will see even more disgusting things that they are doing.” 

¹⁴He brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the Lord’s temple. Women were sitting there and crying for the god Tammuz. ¹⁵He asked me, “Son of man, do you see this? You will see even more disgusting things than these.” 

¹⁶Then he brought me into the inner courtyard of the Lord’s temple. There at the entrance to the Lord’s temple, between the entrance and the altar, were about 25 men who had their backs turned to the Lord’s temple. They were facing east and worshiping the rising sun. ¹⁷He asked me, “Son of man, do you see this? Isn’t it bad enough that the people of Judah have done these disgusting things that you have seen here? Yet, they also fill the land with violence and continue to provoke me even more. Look how they insult me in the worst possible way.¹⁸So I will take action because I’m angry, and I won’t have compassion for them or feel sorry for them. Even if they shout in my ears, I won’t listen to them.” 

9TH CHAPTER

The Lord Orders the Destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem

¹Then I heard the Lord call out with a loud voice. He said, “Come here, those who are going to punish this city. Each of you should bring your weapon with you.” ²So six men came from the upper north gate. Each one brought a deadly weapon with him. Among them was a person dressed in linen who was carrying paper and pen. The men came in and stood by the bronze altar. ³Then the glory of the God of Israel went up from the angels,^awhere it had been, to the temple’s entrance. The Lord called to the person dressed in linen who was carrying paper and pen. 

⁴The Lord said to that person, “Go throughout the city of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of those who sigh and groan about all the disgusting things that are being done in the city.” 

⁵Then he said to the others as I was listening, “Follow him throughout the city and kill. Don’t have any compassion, and don’t feel sorry. ⁶Kill old men, young men, old women, young women, and children. But don’t come near anyone who has a mark on him. Start with my holy place.” So they started with the old men in front of the temple. 

⁷He said to them, “Dishonor the temple! Fill its courtyards with dead people, and then leave.” So they went out and killed the people in the city. 

⁸As they were killing people, I was left alone. So I immediately bowed down. I cried, “Almighty Lord, will you destroy everyone who is left in Israel while you pour out your anger on Jerusalem?” 

⁹He answered me, “The wickedness of the nations of Israel and Judah is terrible. The land is filled with murder, and the city is filled with wrongdoing. They think that the Lord has abandoned the land and that he doesn’t see. ¹⁰But I will not have compassion or feel sorry. I will do to them what they have done to others.” 

¹¹Then the person dressed in linen who was carrying paper and pen reported, “I did everything you commanded.” 

10TH CHAPTER

The Glory of the Lord Leaves His Temple

¹As I looked at the dome over the heads of the angels,^aI saw something that looked like a throne made of sapphire. ²The Lord said to the person dressed in linen, “Go between the wheels under the angels, and fill your hands with burning coals. Then scatter them over the city.” So he went between the wheels as I watched. 

³The angels were standing on the south side of the temple as the person went. A cloud filled the inner courtyard. ⁴The Lord’s glory rose from the angels to the entrance of the temple, the cloud filled the temple, and the brightness of the Lord’s glory filled the courtyard. ⁵The sound of the angels’ wings was heard as far as the outer courtyard. It was like the sound of the Almighty God when he speaks. 

⁶After the Lord had commanded the person dressed in linen to take burning coals from between the wheels beside the angels, the person went in and stood beside one of the wheels. ⁷One of the angels reached into the fire that was between the angels and took out some coals. This angel put them in the hands of the person dressed in linen. The person took them and left. 

⁸The angels appeared to have what looked like human hands under their wings. ⁹As I looked, I saw four wheels beside the angels, one wheel beside each of the angels. The wheels looked like beryl. ¹⁰All four wheels looked the same. Each was like a wheel within a wheel. ¹¹Whenever the angels moved, they moved in any of the four directions without turning as they moved. They always moved in the direction they faced without turning as they moved. ¹²Their entire bodies, their backs, hands, wings, and wheels were covered with eyes. Each of the angels had a wheel. ¹³I heard that the wheels were called the whirling wheels. ¹⁴Each of the angels had four faces. The first was the face of an angel, the second was the face of a human, the third was the face of a lion, and the fourth was the face of an eagle. 

¹⁵The angels rose. These were the living creatures that I saw at the Chebar River. ¹⁶When the angels moved, the wheels moved beside them. When the angels lifted their wings to rise from the ground, the wheels didn’t leave their side. ¹⁷When the angels stood still, the wheels stood still. When the angels rose, the wheels rose with them. The spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. ¹⁸Then the glory of the Lord left the temple’s entrance and stood over the angels. ¹⁹The angels lifted their wings and rose from the ground. I was watching them as they left with the wheels beside them. The angels stood at the door to the east gate of the Lord’s temple, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them. 

²⁰These are the living creatures that I saw under the God of Israel at the Chebar River. I realized that they were angels. ²¹Each had four faces and four wings, and under their wings were what looked like human hands. ²²Their faces looked exactly like the faces that I saw by the Chebar River. Each one went straight ahead. 

11TH CHAPTER

Judgment on the Rulers of Israel

¹Then the Spirit lifted me and took me to the east gate of the Lord’s temple. (It’s the gate that faces east.) Twenty-five men were at the entrance of the gate. I saw among them Azzur’s son Jaazaniah and Benaiah’s son Pelatiah. They were leaders of the people. 

²Then the Lord said to me, “Son of man, these are the men who plan evil and give bad advice in this city. ³They say, ‘It’s almost time to rebuild homes. This city is a cooking pot, and we’re the meat.’ ⁴So prophesy against them. Prophesy, son of man.” 

⁵The Lord’s Spirit came to me and told me to say, “This is what the Lord says: You are saying these things, nation of Israel. But I know what’s going through your mind. ⁶You have killed many people in this city and have filled its streets with corpses. 

⁷“So this is what the Almighty Lord says: The corpses that you put in the middle of the city are the meat, and the city is the cooking pot. I will force you out of the city. ⁸You are afraid of swords, so I will bring swords to attack you, declares the Almighty Lord. ⁹I will force you out of the city. I will hand you over to foreigners, and I will punish you. ¹⁰You will die in battle. I will judge you at Israel’s borders. Then you will know that I am the Lord. ¹¹The city will not be your cooking pot, and you will not be the meat in it. I will judge you at Israel’s borders. ¹²Then you will know that I am the Lord. You haven’t lived by my laws, and you haven’t obeyed my rules. You have followed the standards set by the nations around you.” 

¹³While I was prophesying, Benaiah’s son Pelatiah died. 

I immediately bowed down and cried out, “Almighty Lord, will you completely destroy all the remaining people in Israel?” 

The Lord’s Promise to Gather Israel from the Nations

¹⁴Then the Lord spoke his word to me. He said, ¹⁵“Son of man, the people…