Ezekiel 9; Ezekiel 10; Ezekiel 11; Ezekiel 12

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 The Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the front gate of the Temple of the Lord, which faces east. I saw twenty-five men where the gate opens, among them Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah, who were leaders of the people.

2 Then the Lord said to me, "Human, these are the men who plan evil and give wicked advice in this city of Jerusalem.

3 They say, 'It is almost time for us to build houses. This city is like a cooking pot, and we are like the best meat.'

4 So prophesy against them, prophesy, human."

5 Then the Spirit of the Lord entered me and told me to say: "This is what the Lord says: You have said these things, people of Israel, and I know what you are thinking.

6 You have killed many people in this city, filling its streets with their bodies.

7 "So this is what the Lord God says: Those people you have killed and left in the middle of the city are like the best meat, and this city is like the cooking pot. But I will force you out of the city.

8 You have feared the sword, but I will bring a sword against you, says the Lord God.

9 I will force you out of the city and hand you over to strangers and punish you.

10 You will die by the sword. I will punish you at the border of Israel so you will know that I am the Lord.

11 This city will not be your cooking pot, and you will not be the best meat in the middle of it. I will punish you at the border of Israel.

12 Then you will know that I am the Lord. You did not live by my rules or obey my laws. Instead, you did the same things as the nations around you."

13 As I prophesied, Pelatiah son of Benaiah died. Then I bowed facedown on the ground and shouted with a loud voice, "Oh no, Lord God! Will you completely destroy the Israelites who are left alive?"

14 The Lord spoke his word to me, saying,

15 "Human, the people still in Jerusalem have spoken about your own relatives and all the people of Israel who are captives with you, saying, 'They are far from the Lord. This land has been given to us as our property.'

16 "So say, 'This is what the Lord God says: I sent the people far away among the nations and scattered them among the countries. But for a little while I have become a Temple to them in the countries where they have gone.'

17 "So say: 'This is what the Lord God says: I will gather you from the nations and bring you together from the countries where you have been scattered. Then I will give you back the land of Israel.'

18 "When they come to this land, they will remove all the evil idols and all the hateful images.

19 I will give them a desire to respect me completely, and I will put inside them a new way of thinking. I will take out the stubborn heart of stone from their bodies, and I will give them an obedient heart of flesh.

20 Then they will live by my rules and obey my laws and keep them. They will be my people, and I will be their God.

21 But those who want to serve their evil statues and hateful idols, I will pay back for their evil ways, says the Lord God."

22 Then the living creatures lifted their wings with the wheels beside them, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them.

23 The glory of the Lord went up from inside Jerusalem and stopped on the mountain on the east side of the city.

24 The Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the captives who had been taken from Judah to Babylonia. This happened in a vision given by the Spirit of God, and then the vision I had seen ended.

25 And I told the captives from Judah all the things the Lord had shown me.

1 Again the Lord spoke his word to me, saying:

2 "Human, you are living among a people who refuse to obey. They have eyes to see, but they do not see, and they have ears to hear, but they do not hear, because they are a people who refuse to obey.

3 "So, human, pack your things as if you will be taken away captive, and walk away like a captive in the daytime with the people watching. Move from your place to another with the people watching. Maybe they will understand, even though they are a people who refuse to obey.

4 During the day when the people are watching, bring out the things you would pack as captive. At evening, with the people watching, leave your place like those who are taken away as captives from their country.

5 Dig a hole through the wall while they watch, and bring your things out through it.

6 Lift them onto your shoulders with the people watching, and carry them out in the dark. Cover your face so you cannot see the ground, because I have made you a sign to the people of Israel."

7 I did these things as I was commanded. In the daytime I brought what I had packed as if I were being taken away captive. Then in the evening I dug through the wall with my hands. I brought my things out in the dark and carried them on my shoulders as the people watched.

8 Then in the morning the Lord spoke his word to me, saying:

9 "Human, didn't Israel, who refuses to obey, ask you, 'What are you doing?'

10 "Say to them, 'This is what the Lord God says: This message is about the king in Jerusalem and all the people of Israel who live there.'

11 Say, 'I am a sign to you.' "The same things I have done will be done to the people in Jerusalem. They will be taken away from their country as captives.

12 The king among them will put his things on his shoulder in the dark and will leave. The people will dig a hole through the wall to bring him out. He will cover his face so he cannot see the ground.

13 But I will spread my net over him, and he will be caught in my trap. Then I will bring him to Babylon in the land of the Babylonians. He will not see that land, but he will die there.

14 All who are around the king -- his helpers and all his army -- I will scatter in every direction, and I will chase them with a sword.

15 "They will know that I am the Lord when I scatter them among the nations and spread them among the countries.

16 But I will save a few of them from the sword and from hunger and disease. Then they can tell about their hateful actions among the nations where they go. Then they will know that I am the Lord."

17 The Lord spoke his word to me, saying:

18 "Human, tremble as you eat your food, and shake with fear as you drink your water.

19 Then say to the people of the land: 'This is what the Lord God says about the people who live in Jerusalem in the land of Israel: They will eat their food with fear and drink their water in shock, because their land will be stripped bare because of the violence of the people who live in it.

20 The cities where people live will become ruins, and the land will become empty. Then you will know that I am the Lord.'"

21 The Lord spoke his word to me, saying:

22 "Human, what is this saying you have in the land of Israel: 'The days go by and every vision comes to nothing'?

23 So say to them, 'This is what the Lord God says: I will make them stop saying this, and nobody in Israel will use this saying anymore.' But tell them, 'The time is near when every vision will come true.

24 There will be no more false visions or pleasing prophecies inside the nation of Israel,

25 but I, the Lord, will speak. What I say will be done, and it will not be delayed. You refuse to obey, but in your time I will say the word and do it, says the Lord God.'"

26 The Lord spoke his word to me, saying:

27 "Human, the people of Israel are saying, 'The vision that Ezekiel sees is for a time many years from now. He is prophesying about times far away.'

28 "So say to them: 'The Lord God says this: None of my words will be delayed anymore. What I have said will be done, says the Lord God.'"