Ezekiel 1–3

1In the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, while I was among the exiles by the Chebar Canal, ^athe heavens opened ^band I saw visions of God. ^c2On the fifth day of the month—it was the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s exile ^d— ³the word of the Lord came ^edirectly to Ezekiel ^fthe priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans ^gby the Chebar Canal. And the Lord’s hand was on him there. ^h

Vision of the Lord’s Glory

⁴I looked and there was a whirlwind ⁱcoming from the north, ^ja great cloud with fire flashing back and forth and brilliant light all around it. In the center of the fire, there was a gleam like amber. ^k5The form of four living creatures came from it. ^lAnd this was their appearance: They had human form, ⁶but each of them had four faces and four wings. ⁷Their legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the hooves of a calf, sparkling like the gleam of polished bronze. ^m8They had human hands under their wings on their four sides. ⁿAll four of them had faces and wings. ^o9Their wings were touching. The creatures did not turn as they moved; each one went straight ahead. ^p10The form of each of their faces was that of a man, ^qand each of the four had the face of a lion on the right, the face of an ox on the left, and the face of an eagle. ^r11That is what their faces were like. Their wings were spread upward; each had two wings touching that of another and two wings covering its body. ^s12Each creature went straight ahead. ^tWherever the Spirit ^uwanted to go, they went without turning as they moved. ^v

¹³The form of the living creatures was like the appearance of burning coals of fire and torches. ^wFire was moving back and forth between the living creatures; it was bright, with lightning coming out of it. ¹⁴The creatures were darting back and forth ^xlike flashes of lightning. ^y

¹⁵When I looked at the living creatures, there was one wheel on the ground beside each creature that had four faces. ¹⁶The appearance of the wheels ^zand their craftsmanship was like the gleam of beryl, ^aand all four had the same form. Their appearance and craftsmanship was like a wheel within a wheel. ¹⁷When they moved, they went in any of the four directions, without pivoting as they moved. ¹⁸Their rims were large and frightening. Each of their four rims were full of eyes ^ball around. ¹⁹So when the living creatures moved, ^cthe wheels moved beside them, and when the creatures rose from the earth, the wheels also rose. ²⁰Wherever the Spirit ^dwanted to go, the creatures went in the direction the Spirit was moving. The wheels rose alongside them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. ²¹When the creatures moved, the wheels moved; when the creatures stood still, the wheels stood still; and when the creatures rose from the earth, the wheels rose alongside them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.

²²The shape of an expanse, ^ewith a gleam like awe-inspiring crystal, ^fwas spread out over the heads of the living creatures. ^g23And under the expanse their wings extended one toward another. Each of them also had two wings covering their bodies. ²⁴When they moved, I heard the sound of their wings like the roar of mighty waters, ^hlike the voice of the Almighty, ⁱand a sound of commotion like the noise of an army. ^jWhen they stood still, they lowered their wings.

²⁵A voice came from above the expanse over their heads; when they stood still, they lowered their wings. ²⁶The shape of a throne with the appearance of sapphire ^kstone was above the expanse. ^lmThere was a form with the appearance of a human on the throne high above. ⁿ²⁷From what seemed to be His waist up, I saw a gleam like amber, with what looked like fire enclosing it all around. ^oFrom what seemed to be His waist down, I also saw what looked like fire. There was a brilliant light all around Him. ²⁸The appearance of the brilliant light all around was like that of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day. ^pThis was the appearance of the form of the Lord’s glory. ^qWhen I saw it, I fell facedown and heard a voice speaking. ^r

Mission to Rebellious Israel

2He said to me, “Son of man, stand up on your feet ^sand I will speak with you.” ²As He spoke to me, the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet, ^tand I listened to the One who was speaking to me. ³He said to me: “Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to ^uthe rebellious pagans ^vwho have rebelled against Me. The Israelites and their ancestors have transgressed against Me to this day. ^w4The children are obstinate ^xand hardhearted. ^yI am sending you to them, and you must say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says.’ ⁵Whether they listen or refuse to listen ^z—for they are a rebellious house—they will know that a prophet has been among them. ^a

⁶“But you, son of man, do not be afraid of them or their words, ^bthough briers and thorns are beside you and you live among scorpions. ^cDon’t be afraid of their words or be discouraged by the look on their faces, for they are a rebellious house. ⁷But speak My words to them whether they listen or refuse to listen, ^dfor they are rebellious.

⁸“And you, son of man, listen to what I tell you: Do not be rebellious like that rebellious house. Open your mouth and eat what I am giving you.” ^e9So I looked and saw a hand reaching out to me, ^fand there was a written scroll in it. ^g10When He unrolled it before me, it was written on the front and back; words of lamentation, mourning, and woe were written on it.

3He said to me: “Son of man, eat what you find here. Eat this scroll, ^hthen go and speak to the house of Israel.” ²So I opened my mouth, and He fed me the scroll. ³“Son of man,” He said to me, “eat ⁱand fill your stomach with this scroll I am giving you.” So I ate it, ^jand it was as sweet as honey in my mouth. ^k

⁴Then He said to me: “Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak My words to them. ⁵For you are not being sent to a people of unintelligible speech or difficult language but to the house of Israel. ⁶You are not being sent to many peoples of unintelligible speech or difficult language, whose words you cannot understand. No doubt, if I sent you to them, they would listen to you. ^l7But the house of Israel will not want to listen to you because they do not want to listen to Me. ^mFor the whole house of Israel is hardheaded and hardhearted. ⁸Look, I have made your face as hard as their faces and your forehead as hard as their foreheads. ⁿ⁹I have made your forehead like a diamond, harder than flint. Don’t be afraid of them or discouraged by the look on their faces, even though they are a rebellious house.”

¹⁰Next He said to me: “Son of man, listen carefully to all My words that I speak to you and take them to heart. ¹¹Go to your people, the exiles, and speak to them. Tell them, ‘This is what the Lord God says,’ whether they listen or refuse to listen.” ^o

¹²The Spirit then lifted me up, ^pand I heard a great rumbling sound behind me—praise the glory of the Lord in His place!— ¹³with the ^qsound of the living creatures’ wings brushing against each other ^rand the sound of the wheels beside them, ^sa great rumbling sound. ¹⁴So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away. I left in bitterness and in an angry spirit, and the Lord’s hand was on me powerfully. ^t15I came to the exiles at Tel-abib, who were living by the Chebar Canal, and I sat there among them stunned for seven days. ^u

Ezekiel as a Watchman

¹⁶Now at the end of seven days the word of the Lord came to me: ^v17“Son of man, I have made you a watchman over the house of Israel. ^wWhen you hear a word from My mouth, give them a warning from Me. ^x18If I say to the wicked person, ^y‘You will surely die,’ but you do not warn him—you don’t speak out to warn him about his wicked way in order to save his life—that wicked person will die for his iniquity. Yet I will hold you responsible for his blood. ¹⁹But if you warn a wicked person and he does not turn from his wickedness or his wicked way, he will die for his iniquity, but you will have saved your life. ^z20Now if a righteous person turns from his righteousness and practices iniquity, ^aand I put a stumbling block in front of him, he will die. ^bIf you did not warn him, he will die because of his sin and the righteous acts he did will not be remembered. Yet I will hold you responsible for his blood. ²¹But if you warn the righteous person that he should not sin, and he does not sin, he will indeed live because he listened to your warning, and you will have saved your life.”

²²Then the hand of the Lord was on me there, and He said to me, “Get up, go out to the plain, ^cand I will speak with you there.” ^d23So I got up and went out to the plain. The Lord’s glory was present there, ^elike the glory I had seen by the Chebar Canal, ^fand I fell facedown. ²⁴The Spirit entered me and set me on my feet. ^gHe spoke with me and said: “Go, shut yourself inside your house. ²⁵And you, son of man, they will put ropes on you ^hand bind you with them so you cannot go out among them. ²⁶I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth, ⁱand you will be mute ^jand unable to rebuke them, for they are a rebellious house. ²⁷But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, ^kand you will say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says.’ Let the one who listens, listen, and let the one who refuses, refuse—for they are a rebellious house.