Ezekiel 1:26–29:21

26 hAnd above the firmament over their heads was the likeness of a throne, iin appearance like a sapphire stone; on the likeness of the throne was a likeness with the appearance of a man high above jit. 27 Also from the appearance of His waist and upward kI saw, as it were, the color of amber with the appearance of fire all around within it; and from the appearance of His waist and downward I saw, as it were, the appearance of fire with brightness all around. 28 lLike the appearance of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the brightness all around it. mThis was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord.

Ezekiel Sent to Rebellious Israel

So when I saw it, nI fell on my face, and I heard a voice of One speaking.

2 And He said to me, “Son of man, astand on your feet, and I will speak to you.” 2 Then bthe Spirit entered me when He spoke to me, and set me on my feet; and I heard Him who spoke to me. 3 And He said to me: “Son of man, I am sending you to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that has crebelled against Me; dthey and their fathers have transgressed against Me to this very day. 4 eFor they are 1impudent and stubborn children. I am sending you to them, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ 5 fAs for them, whether they hear or whether they refuse—for they are a grebellious house—yet they hwill know that a prophet has been among them.

6 “And you, son of man, ido not be afraid of them nor be afraid of their words, though jbriers and thorns are with you and you dwell among scorpions; kdo not be afraid of their words or dismayed by their looks, lthough they are a rebellious house. 7 mYou shall speak My words to them, whether they hear or whether they refuse, for they are rebellious. 8 But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. Do not be rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and neat what I give you.”

9 Now when I looked, there was oa hand stretched out to me; and behold, pa scroll of a book was in it. 10 Then He spread it before me; and there was writing on the inside and on the outside, and written on it were lamentations and mourning and woe.

3 Moreover He said to me, “Son of man, eat what you find; aeat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.” 2 So I opened my mouth, and He caused me to eat that scroll.

3 And He said to me, “Son of man, feed your belly, and fill your stomach with this scroll that I give you.” So I bate, and it was in my mouth clike honey in sweetness.

4 Then He said to me: “Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak with My words to them. 5 For you are not sent to a people of unfamiliar speech and of hard language, but to the house of Israel, 6 not to many people of unfamiliar speech and of hard language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely, dhad I sent you to them, they would have listened to you. 7 But the house of Israel will not listen to you, ebecause they will not listen to Me; ffor all the house of Israel are 1impudent and hard-hearted. 8 Behold, I have made your face strong against their faces, and your forehead strong against their foreheads. 9 gLike adamant stone, harder than flint, I have made your forehead; hdo not be afraid of them, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they are a rebellious house.”

10 Moreover He said to me: “Son of man, receive into your heart all My words that I speak to you, and hear with your ears. 11 And go, get to the captives, to the children of your people, and speak to them and tell them, i‘Thus says the Lord God,’ whether they hear, or whether they refuse.”

12 Then jthe Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me a great thunderous voice: “Blessed is the kglory of the Lord from His place!” 13 I also heard the lnoise of the wings of the living creatures that touched one another, and the noise of the wheels beside them, and a great thunderous noise. 14 So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness, in the 2heat of my spirit; but mthe hand of the Lord was strong upon me. 15 Then I came to the captives at Tel Abib, who dwelt by the River Chebar; and nI sat where they sat, and remained there astonished among them seven days.

Ezekiel is a Watchman

16 Now it ocame to pass at the end of seven days that the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 17 p“Son of man, I have made you qa watchman for the house of Israel; therefore hear a word from My mouth, and give them rwarning from Me: 18 When I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life, that same wicked man sshall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand. 19 Yet, if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; tbut you have delivered your soul.

20 “Again, when a urighteous man turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die; because you did not give him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered; but his blood I will require at your hand. 21 Nevertheless if you warn the righteous man that the righteous should not sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live because he took warning; also you will have delivered your soul.”

22 vThen the hand of the Lord was upon me there, and He said to me, “Arise, go out winto the plain, and there I shall talk with you.”

23 So I arose and went out into the plain, and behold, xthe glory of the Lord stood there, like the glory which I ysaw by the River Chebar; zand I fell on my face. 24 Then athe Spirit entered me and set me on my feet, and spoke with me and said to me: “Go, shut yourself inside your house. 25 And you, O son of man, surely bthey will put ropes on you and bind you with them, so that you cannot go out among them. 26 cI will make your tongue cling to the roof of your mouth, so that you shall be mute and dnot be 3one to rebuke them, efor they are a rebellious house. 27 fBut when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you shall say to them, g‘Thus says the Lord God.’ He who hears, let him hear; and he who refuses, let him refuse; for they are a rebellious house.

The Siege of Jerusalem Portrayed

4 “You also, son of man, take a clay tablet and lay it before you, and portray on it a city, Jerusalem. 2 aLay siege against it, build a bsiege wall against it, and heap up a mound against it; set camps against it also, and place battering rams against it all around. 3 Moreover take for yourself an iron plate, and set it as an iron wall between you and the city. Set your face against it, and it shall be cbesieged, and you shall lay siege against it. dThis will be a sign to the house of Israel.

4 “Lie also on your left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it. According to the number of the days that you lie on it, you shall bear their iniquity. 5 For I have laid on you the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days; eso you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Israel. 6 And when you have completed them, lie again on your right side; then you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days. I have laid on you a day for each year.

7 “Therefore you shall set your face toward the siege of Jerusalem; your arm shall be uncovered, and you shall prophesy against it. 8 fAnd surely I will 1restrain you so that you cannot turn from one side to another till you have ended the days of your siege.

9 “Also take for yourself wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and spelt; put them into one vessel, and make bread of them for yourself. During the number of days that you lie on your side, three hundred and ninety days, you shall eat it. 10 And your food which you eat shall be by weight, twenty shekels a day; from time to time you shall eat it. 11 You shall also drink water by measure, one-sixth of a hin; from time to time you shall drink. 12 And you shall eat it as barley cakes; and bake it using fuel of human waste in their sight.”

13 Then the Lord said, “So gshall the children of Israel eat their defiled bread among the Gentiles, where I will drive them.”

14 So I said, h“Ah, Lord God! Indeed I have never defiled myself from my youth till now; I have never eaten iwhat died of itself or was torn by beasts, nor has jabominable 2flesh ever come into my mouth.”

15 Then He said to me, “See, I am giving you cow dung instead of human waste, and you shall prepare your bread over it.”

16 Moreover He said to me, “Son of man, surely I will cut off the ksupply of bread in Jerusalem; they shall leat bread by weight and with anxiety, and shall mdrink water by measure and with dread, 17 that they may lack bread and water, and be dismayed with one another, and nwaste away because of their iniquity.

A Sword Against Jerusalem

5 “And you, son of man, take a sharp sword, take it as a barber’s razor, aand pass it over your head and your beard; then take scales to weigh and divide the hair. 2 bYou shall burn with fire one-third in the midst of cthe city, when dthe days of the siege are finished; then you shall take one-third and strike around it with the sword, and one-third you shall scatter in the wind: I will draw out a sword after ethem. 3 fYou shall also take a small number of them and bind them in the edge of your garment. 4 Then take some of them again and gthrow them into the midst of the fire, and burn them in the fire. From there a fire will go out into all the house of Israel.

5 “Thus says the Lord God: ‘This is Jerusalem; I have set her in the midst of the nations and the countries all around her. 6 She has rebelled against My judgments by doing wickedness more than the nations, and against My statutes more than the countries that are all around her; for they have refused My judgments, and they have not walked in My statutes.’ 7 Therefore thus says the Lord God: ‘Because you have 1multiplied disobedience more than the …