Ezekiel 8–11

Visionary Journey to Jerusalem

8In the sixth year, in the sixth month, on the fifth day of the month, I was sitting in my house and the elders of Judah were sitting in front of me, ^qand there the hand of the Lord God came down on me. ^r2I looked, and there was a form that had the appearance of a man. ^sFrom what seemed to be His waist down was fire, and from His waist up was something that looked bright, ^tlike the gleam of amber. ^u3He stretched out what appeared to be a hand and took me by the hair of my head. Then the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and carried me in visions of God ^vto Jerusalem, to the entrance of the inner gate that faces north, where the offensive statue that provokes jealousy ^wwas located. ⁴I saw the glory of the God of Israel ^xthere, like the vision I had seen in the plain. ^y

Pagan Practices in the Temple

⁵The Lord said to me, “Son of man, look toward the north.” I looked to the north, and there was this offensive statue north of the altar gate, at the entrance. ⁶He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing here, more detestable things that the house of Israel is committing, ^zso that I must depart from My sanctuary? You will see even more detestable things.”

⁷Then He brought me to the entrance of the court, and when I looked there was a hole in the wall. ⁸He said to me, “Son of man, dig through the wall.” So I dug through the wall, and there was a doorway. ⁹He said to me, “Go in and see the terrible and detestable things they are committing here.” ¹⁰I went in and looked, and there engraved all around the wall was every form of detestable thing, crawling creatures and beasts, as well as all the idols of the house of Israel. ^a

¹¹Seventy elders from the house of Israel were standing before them, with Jaazaniah son of Shaphan ^bstanding among them. Each had a firepan in his hand, and a fragrant cloud of incense was rising up. ¹²Then He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the darkness, each at the shrine of his idol? For they are saying, ‘The Lord does not see us. The Lord has abandoned the land.’ ” ^c13Again He said to me, “You will see even more detestable things, which they are committing.”

¹⁴So He brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the Lord’s house, and I saw women sitting there weeping for Tammuz. ¹⁵And He said to me, “Do you see this, son of man? You will see even more detestable things than these.”

¹⁶So He brought me to the inner court of the Lord’s house, and there were about 25 men at the entrance of the Lord’s temple, between the portico and the altar, ^dwith their backs to the Lord’s temple and their faces turned to the east. ^eThey were bowing to the east in worship of the sun. ^f17And He said to me, “Do you see this, son of man? Is it not enough for the house of Judah to commit the detestable things they are practicing here, that they must also fill the land with violence ^gand repeatedly provoke Me to anger, ^heven putting the branch to their nose? ^ij18Therefore I will respond with wrath. ^kI will not show pity or spare them. ^lThough they cry out in My ears with a loud voice, ^mI will not listen to them.”

Vision of Slaughter in Jerusalem

9Then He called to me directly with a loud voice, “Come near, executioners of the city, each of you with a destructive weapon in his hand.” ²And I saw six men coming from the direction of the Upper Gate, ⁿwhich faces north, each with a war club in his hand. There was another man among them, clothed in linen, ^owith writing equipment at his side. They came and stood beside the bronze altar.

³Then the glory of the God of Israel ^prose from above the cherub where it had been, to the threshold of the temple. He called to the man clothed in linen with the writing equipment at his side. ⁴“Pass throughout the city of Jerusalem,” the Lord said to him, “and put a mark on the foreheads ^qof the men who sigh and groan ^rover all the detestable practices committed in it.”

⁵He spoke as I listened to the others, “Pass through the city after him and start killing; do not show pity or spare them! ^s6Slaughter the old men, the young men and women, as well as the older women and little children, ^tbut do not come near anyone who has the mark. ^uNow begin at My sanctuary.” ^vSo 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. ^wGo!” 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! ^xAre 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, ^yand the city full of perversity. For they say, ‘The Lord has abandoned the land; ^zHe does not see.’ ^a10But as for Me, I will not show pity or spare them. ^bI will bring their actions down on their own heads.” ^c11Then the man clothed in linen with the writing equipment at his side reported back, “I have done as You commanded me.”

God’s Glory Leaves the Temple

10Then I looked, and there above the expanse over the heads ^dof the cherubim was something like sapphire ^estone resembling the shape of a throne that appeared above them. ²The Lord spoke to the man clothed in linen and said, “Go inside the wheelwork beneath the cherubim. Fill your hands with hot coals from among the cherubim and scatter them over the city.” ^fSo he went in as I watched.

³Now the cherubim were standing to the south of the temple when the man went in, and the cloud ^gfilled the inner court. ^h4Then the glory of the Lord rose from above the cherub to the threshold of the temple. ⁱThe temple was filled with the cloud, ^jand the court was filled with the brightness of the Lord’s glory. ^k5The sound of the cherubim’s wings could be heard as far as the outer court; it was like the voice of God Almighty when He speaks.

⁶After the Lord commanded the man clothed in linen, saying, “Take fire from inside the wheelwork, from among the cherubim,” the man went in and stood beside a wheel. ⁷Then the cherub reached out his hand to the fire that was among them. He took some, and put it into the hands of the man clothed in linen, who took it and went out. ⁸The cherubim appeared to have the form of human hands under their wings. ^l

⁹I looked, and there were four wheels beside the cherubim, ^mone wheel beside each cherub. The luster of the wheels was like the gleam of beryl. ⁿ¹⁰In appearance, all four had the same form, like a wheel within a wheel. ¹¹When they moved, they would go in any of the four directions, ^owithout pivoting as they moved. But wherever the head faced, they would go in that direction, ^pwithout pivoting as they went. ¹²Their entire bodies, ^qincluding their backs, hands, wings, and the wheels that the four of them had, were full of eyes all around. ^r13As I listened the wheels were called “the wheelwork.” ¹⁴Each one had four faces: ^sthe first face was that of a cherub, the second that of a man, the third that of a lion, and the fourth that of an eagle.

¹⁵The cherubim ascended; these were the living creatures I had seen by the Chebar Canal. ^t16When the cherubim moved, the wheels moved beside them, and when they lifted their wings to rise from the earth, even then the wheels did not veer away from them. ¹⁷When the cherubim stood still, ^uthe wheels stood still, and when they ascended, the wheels ascended with them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in them.

¹⁸Then the glory of the Lord moved away from the threshold of the temple ^vand stood above the cherubim. ^w19The cherubim lifted their wings and ascended from the earth right before my eyes; ^xthe wheels were beside them as they went. The glory of the God of Israel was above them, and it stood at the entrance to the eastern gate of the Lord’s house.

²⁰These were the living creatures I had seen ^ybeneath the God of Israel by the Chebar Canal, ^zand I recognized that they were cherubim. ²¹Each had four faces and each had four wings, ^awith the form of human hands under their wings. ²²Their faces looked like the same faces I had seen ^bby the Chebar Canal. Each creature went straight ahead.

Vision of Israel’s Corrupt Leaders

11The Spirit then lifted me up ^cand brought me to the eastern gate of the Lord’s house, which faces east, and at the gate’s entrance were 25 men. Among them I saw Jaazaniah son of Azzur, and Pelatiah son of Benaiah, leaders of the people. ²The Lord said to me, “Son of man, these are the men who plan evil ^dand give wicked advice in this city. ³They are saying, ‘Isn’t the time near to build houses? ^efThe city is the pot, ^gand we are the meat.’ ⁴Therefore, prophesy against them. Prophesy, son of man!”

⁵Then the Spirit of the Lord came on me, and He told me, “You are to say: This is what the Lord says: That is what you are thinking, house of Israel; and I know the thoughts that arise in your mind. ^h6You have multiplied your slain in this city, ⁱfilling its streets with the dead.

⁷“Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: The slain you have put within it are the meat, ^jand the city is the pot, but I ^kwill remove you from it. ^l8You fear the sword, ^mso I will bring the sword against you.” ⁿThis is the declaration of the Lord God. ⁹“I will bring you out of the city and hand you over to foreigners; I will execute judgments against you. ^o10You will fall by the sword, ^pand I will judge you at the border of Israel. ^qThen you will know that I am Yahweh. ¹¹The city will not be a pot for you, ^rand you will not be the meat within it. I will judge you at the border of Israel, ¹²so you will know that I am Yahweh, whose statutes you have not followed and whose ordinances you have not practiced. Instead, you have acted according to the ordinances of the nations around you.” ^s

¹³Now while I was prophesying, Pelatiah son of Benaiah died. ^tThen I fell facedown and…