Ezekiel 9

Judgment on the Idolaters

9Then I heard him call out in a loud voice, “Bring near those who are appointed to execute judgment on the city, each with a weapon in his hand.” ²And I saw six men coming from the direction of the upper gate, which faces north, each with a deadly weapon in his hand. With them was a man clothed in linen^e who had a writing kit at his side. They came in and stood beside the bronze altar.

³Now the glory^f of the God of Israel went up from above the cherubim,^g where it had been, and moved to the threshold of the temple. Then the Lord called to the man clothed in linen who had the writing kit at his side ⁴and said to him, “Go throughout the city of Jerusalem^h and put a markⁱ on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament^j over all the detestable things that are done in it.^k”

⁵As I listened, he said to the others, “Follow him through the city and kill, without showing pity^l or compassion.^{m 6}Slaughterⁿ the old men, the young men and women, the mothers and children,^o but do not touch anyone who has the mark.^p Begin at my sanctuary.” So they began with the old men^q who were in front of the temple.^r

⁷Then he said to them, “Defile the temple and fill the courts with the slain.^s Go!” So they went out and began killing throughout the city. ⁸While they were killing and I was left alone, I fell facedown,^t crying out, “Alas, Sovereign Lord!^u Are you going to destroy the entire remnant of Israel in this outpouring of your wrath^v on Jerusalem?^w”

⁹He answered me, “The sin of the people of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great; the land is full of bloodshed and the city is full of injustice.^x They say, ‘The Lord has forsaken the land; the Lord does not see.’^{y 10}So I will not look on them with pity^z or spare them, but I will bring down on their own heads what they have done.^a”

¹¹Then the man in linen with the writing kit at his side brought back word, saying, “I have done as you commanded.”