Ezekiel 9–12

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 cried out with a loud voice: “Oh, Lord God! ^uWill You bring to an end the remnant of Israel?”

Promise of Israel’s Restoration

¹⁴The word of the Lord came to me again: ¹⁵“Son of man, your own relatives, those who have the right to redeem you, ^vwand the entire house of Israel, all of them, are those that the residents of Jerusalem have said this to, ‘Stay away from the Lord; this land has been given to us as a possession.’

¹⁶“Therefore say: This is what the Lord God says: Though I sent them far away among the nations and scattered them among the countries, yet for a little while I have been a sanctuary for them ^xin the countries where they have gone.

¹⁷“Therefore say: This is what the Lord God says: I will gather you from the peoples ^yand assemble you from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.

¹⁸“When they arrive there, they will remove all its ^zdetestable things ^aand practices from it. ¹⁹And I will give them one heart ^band put a new spirit within them; I will remove their heart of stone ^cfrom their bodies ^dand give them a heart of flesh, ^e20so they may follow My statutes, ^fkeep My ordinances, and practice them. Then they will be My people, and I will be their God. ^g21But as for those whose hearts pursue their desire for detestable things and practices, I will bring their actions down on their own heads.” ^hThis is the declaration of the Lord God.

God’s Glory Leaves Jerusalem

²²Then the cherubim, with the wheels beside them, lifted their wings, ⁱand the glory of the God of Israel was above them. ²³The glory of the Lord ^jrose up from within the city and stood on the mountain ^keast of the city. ^lm24The Spirit lifted me up ⁿand brought me to Chaldea and to the exiles in a vision from the Spirit of God. After the vision I had seen left me, ²⁵I spoke to the exiles about all the things the Lord had shown me.

Ezekiel Dramatizes the Exile

12The word of the Lord came to me: ²“Son of man, you are living among a rebellious house. ^oThey have eyes to see but do not see, and ears to hear but do not hear, ^pfor they are a rebellious house. ^q

³“Son of man, get your bags ready for exile and go into exile in their sight during the day. You will go into exile from your place to another place while they watch; perhaps they will understand, though they are a rebellious house. ⁴During the day, bring out your bags like an exile’s bags while they look on. Then in the evening go out in their sight like those going into exile. ⁵As they watch, dig through the wall and take the bags out through it. ⁶And while they look on, lift the bags to your shoulder and take them out in the dark; cover your face so that you cannot see the land. For I have made you a sign to the house of Israel.” ^r

⁷So I did just as I was commanded. In the daytime I brought out my bags like an exile’s bags. In the evening I dug through the wall by hand; I took them out in the dark, carrying them on my shoulder in their sight.

⁸Then the word of the Lord came to me in the morning: ⁹“Son of man, hasn’t the house of Israel, that rebellious house, ^sasked you, ‘What are you doing?’ ^t10Say to them: This is what the Lord God says: This…