Ezekiel 8; Ezekiel 9; Ezekiel 10; Hebrews 13

1 It was the sixth year, on the fifth day of the sixth month of our captivity. I was sitting in my house with the older leaders of Judah in front of me. There I felt the power of the Lord God.

2 I looked and saw something that looked like a human. From the waist down it looked like fire, and from the waist up it looked like bright glowing metal.

3 It stretched out the shape of a hand and caught me by the hair on my head. The Spirit lifted me up between the earth and the sky. He took me in visions of God to Jerusalem, to the entrance to the north gate of the inner courtyard of the Temple. In the courtyard was the idol that caused God to be jealous.

4 I saw the glory of the God of Israel there, as I had seen on the plain.

5 Then he said to me, "Human, now look toward the north." So I looked up toward the north, and in the entrance north of the gate of the altar was the idol that caused God to be jealous.

6 He said to me, "Human, do you see what they are doing? Do you see how many hateful things the people of Israel are doing here that drive me far away from my Temple? But you will see things more hateful than these."

7 Then he brought me to the entry of the courtyard. When I looked, I saw a hole in the wall.

8 He said to me, "Human, dig through the wall." So I dug through the wall and saw an entrance.

9 Then he said to me, "Go in and see the hateful, evil things they are doing here."

10 So I entered and looked, and I saw every kind of crawling thing and hateful beast and all the idols of the people of Israel, carved on the wall all around.

11 Standing in front of these carvings and idols were seventy of the older leaders of Israel and Jaazaniah son of Shaphan. Each man had his pan for burning incense in his hand, and a sweet-smelling cloud of incense was rising.

12 Then he said to me, "Human, have you seen what the older leaders of Israel are doing in the dark? Have you seen each man in the room of his own idol? They say, 'The Lord doesn't see us. The Lord has left the land.'"

13 He also said to me, "You will see even more hateful things that they are doing."

14 Then he brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the Temple of the Lord, where I saw women sitting and crying for Tammuz.

15 He said to me, "Do you see, human? You will see things even more hateful than these."

16 Then he brought me into the inner courtyard of the Temple. There I saw about twenty-five men at the entrance to the Temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar. With their backs turned to the Temple of the Lord, they faced east and were worshiping the sun in the east.

17 He said to me, "Do you see, human? Is it unimportant that the people of Judah are doing the hateful things they have done here? They have filled the land with violence and made me continually angry. Look, they are insulting me every way they can.

18 So I will act in anger. I will have no pity, nor will I show mercy. Even if they shout in my ears, I won't listen to them."

1 Then he shouted with a loud voice in my ears, "You who are chosen to punish this city, come near with your weapon in your hand."

2 Then six men came from the direction of the upper gate, which faces north, each with his powerful weapon in his hand. Among them was a man dressed in linen with a writing case at his side. The men went in and stood by the bronze altar.

3 Then the glory of the God of Israel went up from above the creatures with wings, where it had been, to the place in the Temple where the door opened. He called to the man dressed in linen who had the writing case at his side.

4 He said to the man, "Go through Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of the people who groan and cry about all the hateful things being done among them."

5 As I listened, he said to the other men, "Go through the city behind the man dressed in linen and kill. Don't pity anyone, and don't show mercy.

6 Kill and destroy old men, young men and women, little children, and older women, but don't touch any who have the mark on them. Start at my Temple." So they started with the older leaders who were in front of the Temple.

7 Then he said to the men, "Make the Temple unclean, and fill the courtyards with those who have been killed. Go out!" So the men went out and killed the people in the city.

8 While the men were killing the people, I was left alone. I bowed facedown on the ground and I cried out, "Oh, Lord God! Will you destroy everyone left alive in Israel when you turn loose your anger on Jerusalem?"

9 Then he said to me, "The sin of the people of Israel and Judah is very great. The land is filled with people who murder, and the city is full of people who are not fair. The people say, 'The Lord has left the land, and the Lord does not see.'

10 But I will have no pity, nor will I show mercy. I will bring their evil back on their heads."

11 Then the man dressed in linen with the writing case at his side reported, "I have done just as you commanded me."

1 Then I looked and saw in the dome above the heads of the living creatures something like a sapphire gem which looked like a throne.

2 The Lord said to the man dressed in linen, "Go in between the wheels under the living creatures, fill your hands with coals of fire from between the living creatures, and scatter the coals over the city." As I watched, the man with linen clothes went in.

3 Now the living creatures were standing on the south side of the Temple when the man went in. And a cloud filled the inner courtyard.

4 Then the glory of the Lord went up from the living creatures and stood over the door of the Temple. The Temple was filled with the cloud, and the courtyard was full of the brightness from the glory of the Lord.

5 The sound of the wings of the living creatures was heard all the way to the outer courtyard. It was like the voice of God Almighty when he speaks.

6 When the Lord commanded the man dressed in linen, "Take fire from between the wheels, from between the living creatures," the man went in and stood by a wheel.

7 One living creature put out his hand to the fire that was among them, took some of the fire, and put it in the hands of the man dressed in linen. Then the man took the fire and went out.

8 Something that looked like a human hand could be seen under the wings of the living creatures.

9 I saw the four wheels by the living creatures, one wheel by each living creature. The wheels looked like shining chrysolite.

10 All four wheels looked alike: Each looked like a wheel crossways inside another wheel.

11 When the wheels moved, they went in any of the directions that the four living creatures faced. The wheels did not turn about, and the living creatures did not turn their bodies as they went.

12 All their bodies, their backs, their hands, their wings, and the wheels were full of eyes all over. Each of the four living creatures had a wheel.

13 I heard the wheels being called "whirling wheels."

14 Each living creature had four faces. The first face was the face of a creature with wings. The second face was a human face, the third was the face of a lion, and the fourth was the face of an eagle.

15 Then the living creatures flew up. They were the same living creatures I had seen by the Kebar River.

16 When the living creatures moved, the wheels moved beside them. When the living creatures lifted their wings to fly up from the ground, the wheels did not leave their place beside them.

17 When the living creatures stopped, the wheels stopped. When the creatures went up, the wheels went up also, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.

18 Then the glory of the Lord left the door of the Temple and stood over the living creatures.

19 As I watched, the living creatures spread their wings and flew up from the ground, with the wheels beside them. They stood where the east gate of the Temple of the Lord opened, and the glory of the God of Israel was over them.

20 These were the living creatures I had seen under the God of Israel by the Kebar River. I knew they were called cherubim.

21 Each one had four faces and four wings, and under their wings were things that looked like human hands.

22 Their faces looked the same as the ones I had seen by the Kebar River. They each went straight ahead.

1 Keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters.

2 Remember to welcome strangers, because some who have done this have welcomed angels without knowing it.

3 Remember those who are in prison as if you were in prison with them. Remember those who are suffering as if you were suffering with them.

4 Marriage should be honored by everyone, and husband and wife should keep their marriage pure. God will judge as guilty those who take part in sexual sins.

5 Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be satisfied with what you have. God has said, "I will never leave you; I will never forget you."

6 So we can be sure when we say, "I will not be afraid, because the Lord is my helper. People can't do anything to me."

7 Remember your leaders who taught God's message to you. Remember how they lived and died, and copy their faith.

8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

9 Do not let all kinds of strange teachings lead you into the wrong way. Your hearts should be strengthened by God's grace, not by obeying rules about foods, which do not help those who obey them.

10 We have a sacrifice, but the priests who serve in the Holy Tent cannot eat from it.

11 The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place where he offers this blood for sins. But the bodies of the animals are burned outside the camp.

12 So Jesus also suffered outside the city to make his people holy with his own blood.

13 So let us go to Jesus outside the camp, holding on as he did when we are abused.

14 Here on earth we do not have a city that lasts forever, but we are looking for the city that we will have in the future.

15 So through Jesus let us always offer to God our sacrifice of praise, coming from lips that speak his name.

16 Do not forget to do good to others, and share with them, because such sacrifices please God.

17 Obey your leaders and act under their authority. They are watching over you, because they are responsible for your souls. Obey them so that they will do this work with joy, not sadness. It will not help you to make their work hard.

18 Pray for us. We are sure that we have a clear conscience, because we always want to do the right thing.

19 I especially beg you to pray so that God will send me back to you soon.

20

21 I pray that the God of peace will give you every good thing you need so you can do what he wants. God raised from the dead our Lord Jesus, the Great Shepherd of the sheep, because of the blood of his death. His blood began the eternal agreement that God made with his people. I pray that God will do in us what pleases him, through Jesus Christ, and to him be glory forever and ever. Amen.

22 My brothers and sisters, I beg you to listen patiently to this message I have written to encourage you, because it is not very long.

23 I want you to know that our brother Timothy has been let out of prison. If he arrives soon, we will both come to see you.

24 Greet all your leaders and all of God's people. Those from Italy send greetings to you.

25 Grace be with you all.