Ezekiel 8:1-11:25

Other Translations of Ezekiel 8:1-11:25

King James Version

The Prophet's Vision of the Abominations in Jerusalem

8¹ And it came to pass in the sixth year, in the sixth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I sat in mine house, and the elders of Judah sat before me, that the hand of the Lord GOD fell there upon me. ² Then I beheld, and lo a likeness as the appearance of fire: from the appearance of his loins even downward, fire; and from his loins even upward, as the appearance of brightness, as the colour of amber. ³ And he put forth the form of an hand, and took me by a lock of mine head; and the spirit lifted me up between the earth and the heaven, and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the inner gate that looketh toward the north; where was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provoketh to jealousy. ⁴ And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, according to the vision that I saw in the plain. ⁵ Then said he unto me, Son of man, lift up thine eyes now the way toward the north. So I lifted up mine eyes the way toward the north, and behold northward at the gate of the altar this image of jealousy in the entry. ⁶ He said furthermore unto me, Son of man, seest thou what they do? even the great abominations that the house of Israel committeth here, that I should go far off from my sanctuary? but turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations.

⁷ And he brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, behold a hole in the wall. ⁸ Then said he unto me, Son of man, dig now in the wall: and when I had digged in the wall, behold a door. ⁹ And he said unto me, Go in, and behold the wicked abominations that they do here. ¹⁰ So I went in and saw; and behold every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, pourtrayed upon the wall round about. ¹¹ And there stood before them seventy men of the ancients of the house of Israel, and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan, with every man his censer in his hand; and a thick cloud of incense went up. ¹² Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery? for they say, The Lord seeth us not; the Lord hath forsaken the earth.

¹³ He said also unto me, Turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations that they do. ¹⁴ Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the Lord's house which was toward the north; and, behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz. ¹⁵ Then said he unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations than these. ¹⁶ And he brought me into the inner court of the Lord's house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the Lord, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east. ¹⁷ Then he said unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? for they have filled the land with violence, and have returned to provoke me to anger: and, lo, they put the branch to their nose. ¹⁸ Therefore will I also deal in fury: mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: and though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them.

The Slaughter of the Guilty

9¹ He cried also in mine ears with a loud voice, saying, Cause them that have charge over the city to draw near, even every man with his destroying weapon in his hand. ² And, behold, six men came from the way of the higher gate, which lieth which lieth: Heb. which is turned toward the north, and every man a slaughter weapon in his hand; and one man among them was clothed with linen, with a writer's inkhorn by his side: and they went in, and stood beside the brasen altar. ³ And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub, whereupon he was, to the threshold of the house. And he called to the man clothed with linen, which had the writer's inkhorn by his side; ⁴ And the Lord said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark set a mark: Heb. mark a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.

⁵ And to the others he said in mine hearing, mine hearing: Heb. mine ears Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity: ⁶ Slay utterly utterly: Heb. to destruction old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house. ⁷ And he said unto them, Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain: go ye forth. And they went forth, and slew in the city. ⁸ And it came to pass, while they were slaying them, and I was left, that I fell upon my face, and cried, and said, Ah Lord GOD! wilt thou destroy all the residue of Israel in thy pouring out of thy fury upon Jerusalem? ⁹ Then said he unto me, The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceeding great, and the land is full of blood, full of blood: Heb. filled with, etc and the city full of perverseness: for they say, The Lord hath forsaken the earth, and the Lord seeth not. ¹⁰ And as for me also, mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity, but I will recompense their way upon their head. ¹¹ And, behold, the man clothed with linen, which had the inkhorn by his side, reported reported...: Heb. returned the word the matter, saying, I have done as thou hast commanded me.

God's Glory Departs from the Temple

10¹ Then I looked, and, behold, in the firmament that was above the head of the cherubims there appeared over them as it were a sapphire stone, as the appearance of the likeness of a throne. ² And he spake unto the man clothed with linen, and said, Go in between the wheels, even under the cherub, and fill thine hand thine hand: Heb. the hollow of thine hand with coals of fire from between the cherubims, and scatter them over the city. And he went in in my sight. ³ Now the cherubims stood on the right side of the house, when the man went in; and the cloud filled the inner court. ⁴ Then the glory of the Lord went up went up: Heb. was lifted up from the cherub, and stood over the threshold of the house; and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of the Lord's glory. ⁵ And the sound of the cherubims' wings was heard even to the outer court, as the voice of the Almighty God when he speaketh. ⁶ And it came to pass, that when he had commanded the man clothed with linen, saying, Take fire from between the wheels, from between the cherubims; then he went in, and stood beside the wheels. ⁷ And one cherub stretched forth stretched forth: Heb. sent forth his hand from between the cherubims unto the fire that was between the cherubims, and took thereof, and put it into the hands of him that was clothed with linen: who took it, and went out.

⁸ And there appeared in the cherubims the form of a man's hand under their wings. ⁹ And when I looked, behold the four wheels by the cherubims, one wheel by one cherub, and another wheel by another cherub: and the appearance of the wheels was as the colour of a beryl stone. ¹⁰ And as for their appearances, they four had one likeness, as if a wheel had been in the midst of a wheel. ¹¹ When they went, they went upon their four sides; they turned not as they went, but to the place whither the head looked they followed it; they turned not as they went. ¹² And their whole body, body: Heb. flesh and their backs, and their hands, and their wings, and the wheels, were full of eyes round about, even the wheels that they four had. ¹³ As for the wheels, it was cried unto them in my hearing, O wheel. ¹⁴ And every one had four faces: the first face was the face of a cherub, and the second face was the face of a man, and the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle. ¹⁵ And the cherubims were lifted up. This is the living creature that I saw by the river of Chebar. ¹⁶ And when the cherubims went, the wheels went by them: and when the cherubims lifted up their wings to mount up from the earth, the same wheels also turned not from beside them. ¹⁷ When they stood, these stood; and when they were lifted up, these lifted up themselves also: for the spirit of the living creature was in them. ¹⁸ Then the glory of the Lord departed from off the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubims. ¹⁹ And the cherubims lifted up their wings, and mounted up from the earth in my sight: when they went out, the wheels also were beside them, and every one stood at the door of the east gate of the Lord's house; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above. ²⁰ This is the living creature that I saw under the God of Israel by the river of Chebar; and I knew that they were the cherubims. ²¹ Every one had four faces apiece, and every one four wings; and the likeness of the hands of a man was under their wings. ²² And the likeness of their faces was the same faces which I saw by the river of Chebar, their appearances and themselves: they went every one straight forward.

Evil Princes Rebuked

11¹ Moreover the spirit lifted me up, and brought me unto the east gate of the Lord's house, which looketh eastward: and behold at the door of the gate five and twenty men; among whom I saw Jaazaniah the son of Azur, and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people. ² Then said he unto me, Son of man, these are the men that devise mischief, and give wicked counsel in this city: ³ Which say, It is not near; let us build houses: this city is the caldron, and we be the flesh. ⁴ Therefore prophesy against them, prophesy, O son of man. ⁵ And the Spirit of the Lord fell upon me, and said unto me, Speak; Thus saith the Lord; Thus have ye said, O house of Israel: for I know the things that come into your mind, every one of them. ⁶ Ye have multiplied your slain in this city, and ye have filled the streets thereof with the slain. ⁷ Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Your slain whom ye have laid in the midst of it, they are the flesh, and this city is the caldron: but I will bring you forth out of the midst of it. ⁸ Ye have feared the sword; and I will bring a sword upon you, saith the Lord GOD. ⁹ And I will bring you out of the midst thereof, and deliver you into the hands of strangers, and will execute judgments among you. ¹⁰ Ye shall fall by the sword; I will judge you in the border of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the Lord. ¹¹ This city shall not be your caldron, neither shall ye be the flesh in the midst thereof; but I will judge you in the border of Israel: ¹² And ye shall know that I am the Lord: for ye have not walked in my statutes, neither executed my judgments, but have done after the manners of the heathen that are round about you. ¹³ And it came to pass, when I prophesied, that Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died. Then fell I down upon my face, and cried with a loud voice, and said, Ah Lord GOD! wilt thou make a full end of the remnant of Israel?

The Promise of Restoration and Renewal

¹⁴ Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, ¹⁵ Son of man, thy brethren, even thy brethren, the men of thy kindred, and all the house of Israel wholly, are they unto whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, Get you far from the Lord: unto us is this land given in possession. ¹⁶ Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Although I have cast them far off among the heathen, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet will I be to them as a little sanctuary in the countries where they shall come. ¹⁷ Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even gather you from the people, and assemble you out of the countries where ye have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel. ¹⁸ And they shall come thither, and they shall take away all the detestable things thereof and all the abominations thereof from thence. ¹⁹ And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh: ²⁰ That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. ²¹ But as for them whose heart walketh after the heart of their detestable things and their abominations, I will recompense their way upon their own heads, saith the Lord GOD.

²² Then did the cherubims lift up their wings, and the wheels beside them; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above. ²³ And the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city, and stood upon the mountain which is on the east side of the city. ²⁴ Afterwards the spirit took me up, and brought me in a vision by the Spirit of God into Chaldea, to them of the captivity. So the vision that I had seen went up from me. ²⁵ Then I spake unto them of the captivity all the things that the Lord had shewed me.

English Standard Version

The Prophet's Vision of the Abominations in Jerusalem

8¹ In the sixth year, in the sixth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I sat in my house, with the elders of Judah sitting before me, the hand of the Lord GOD fell upon me there. ² Then I looked, and behold, a form that had the appearance of a man.By revocalization (compare Septuagint); Hebrew of fire Below what appeared to be his waist was fire, and above his waist was something like the appearance of brightness, like gleaming metal.Or amber ³ He put out the form of a hand and took me by a lock of my head, and the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and brought me in visions of God to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the gateway of the inner court that faces north, where was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provokes to jealousy. ⁴ And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, like the vision that I saw in the valley. ⁵ Then he said to me, "Son of man, lift up your eyes now toward the north." So I lifted up my eyes toward the north, and behold, north of the altar gate, in the entrance, was this image of jealousy. ⁶ And he said to me, "Son of man, do you see what they are doing, the great abominations that the house of Israel are committing here, to drive me far from my sanctuary? But you will see still greater abominations."

⁷ And he brought me to the entrance of the court, and when I looked, behold, there was a hole in the wall. ⁸ Then he said to me, "Son of man, dig in the wall." So I dug in the wall, and behold, there was an entrance. ⁹ And he said to me, "Go in, and see the vile abominations that they are committing here." ¹⁰ So I went in and saw. And there, engraved on the wall all around, was every form of creeping things and loathsome beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel. ¹¹ And before them stood seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel, with Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan standing among them. Each had his censer in his hand, and the smoke of the cloud of incense went up. ¹² Then he said to me, "Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the dark, each in his room of pictures? For they say, 'The Lord does not see us, the Lord has forsaken the land.'"

¹³ He said also to me, "You will see still greater abominations that they commit." ¹⁴ Then he brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the house of the Lord, and behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz. ¹⁵ Then he said to me, "Have you seen this, O son of man? You will see still greater abominations than these." ¹⁶ And he brought me into the inner court of the house of the Lord. And behold, at the entrance of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men, with their backs to the temple of the Lord, and their faces toward the east, worshiping the sun toward the east. ¹⁷ Then he said to me, "Have you seen this, O son of man? Is it too light a thing for the house of Judah to commit the abominations that they commit here, that they should fill the land with violence and provoke me still further to anger? Behold, they put the branch to theirOr my nose. ¹⁸ Therefore I will act in wrath. My eye will not spare, nor will I have pity. And though they cry in my ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them."

The Slaughter of the Guilty

9¹ Then he cried in my ears with a loud voice, saying, "Bring near the executioners of the city, each with his destroying weapon in his hand." ² And behold, six men came from the direction of the upper gate, which faces north, each with his weapon for slaughter in his hand, and with them was a man clothed in linen, with a writing case at his waist. And they went in and stood beside the bronze altar. ³ Now the glory of the God of Israel had gone up from the cherub on which it rested to the threshold of the house. And he called to the man clothed in linen, who had the writing case at his waist. ⁴ And the Lord said to him, "Pass through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it."

⁵ And to the others he said in my hearing, "Pass through the city after him, and strike. Your eye shall not spare, and you shall show no pity. ⁶ Kill old men outright, young men and maidens, little children and women, but touch no one on whom is the mark. And begin at my sanctuary." So they began with the elders who were before the house. ⁷ Then he said to them, "Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain. Go out." So they went out and struck in the city. ⁸ And while they were striking, and I was left alone, I fell upon my face, and cried, "Ah, Lord GOD! Will you destroy all the remnant of Israel in the outpouring of your wrath on Jerusalem?" ⁹ Then he said to me, "The guilt of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great. The land is full of blood, and the city full of injustice. For they say, 'The Lord has forsaken the land, and the Lord does not see.' ¹⁰ As for me, my eye will not spare, nor will I have pity; I will bring their deeds upon their heads." ¹¹ And behold, the man clothed in linen, with the writing case at his waist, brought back word, saying, "I have done as you commanded me."

God's Glory Departs from the Temple

10¹ Then I looked, and behold, on the expanse that was over the heads of the cherubim there appeared above them something like a sapphire,Or lapis lazuli in appearance like a throne. ² And he said to the man clothed in linen, "Go in among the whirling wheels underneath the cherubim. Fill your hands with burning coals from between the cherubim, and scatter them over the city."And he went in before my eyes. ³ Now the cherubim were standing on the south side of the house, when the man went in, and a cloud filled the inner court. ⁴ And the glory of the Lord went up from the cherub to the threshold of the house, and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was filled with the brightness of the glory of the Lord. ⁵ And the sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard as far as the outer court, like the voice of God Almighty when he speaks. ⁶ And when he commanded the man clothed in linen, "Take fire from between the whirling wheels, from between the cherubim," he went in and stood beside a wheel. ⁷ And a cherub stretched out his hand from between the cherubim to the fire that was between the cherubim, and took some of it and put it into the hands of the man clothed in linen, who took it and went out.

⁸ The cherubim appeared to have the form of a human hand under their wings. ⁹ And I looked, and behold, there were four wheels beside the cherubim, one beside each cherub, and the appearance of the wheels was like sparkling beryl. ¹⁰ And as for their appearance, the four had the same likeness, as if a wheel were within a wheel. ¹¹ When they went, they went in any of their four directionsHebrew to their four sides without turning as they went, but in whatever direction the front wheelHebrew the head faced, the others followed without turning as they went. ¹² And their whole body, their rims, and their spokes, their wings,Or their whole body, their backs, their hands, and their wings and the wheels were full of eyes all around--the wheels that the four of them had. ¹³ As for the wheels, they were called in my hearing "the whirling wheels." ¹⁴ And every one had four faces: the first face was the face of the cherub, and the second face was a human face, and the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle. ¹⁵ And the cherubim mounted up. These were the living creatures that I saw by the Chebar canal. ¹⁶ And when the cherubim went, the wheels went beside them. And when the cherubim lifted up their wings to mount up from the earth, the wheels did not turn from beside them. ¹⁷ When they stood still, these stood still, and when they mounted up, these mounted up with them, for the spirit of the living creaturesOr spirit of life was in them. ¹⁸ Then the glory of the Lord went out from the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubim. ¹⁹ And the cherubim lifted up their wings and mounted up from the earth before my eyes as they went out, with the wheels beside them. And they stood at the entrance of the east gate of the house of the Lord, and the glory of the God of Israel was over them. ²⁰ These were the living creatures that I saw underneath the God of Israel by the Chebar canal; and I knew that they were cherubim. ²¹ Each had four faces, and each four wings, and underneath their wings the likeness of human hands. ²² And as for the likeness of their faces, they were the same faces whose appearance I had seen by the Chebar canal. Each one of them went straight forward.

Evil Princes Rebuked

11¹ The Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the east gate of the house of the Lord, which faces east. And behold, at the entrance of the gateway there were twenty-five men. And I saw among them Jaazaniah the son of Azzur, and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people. ² And he said to me, "Son of man, these are the men who devise iniquity and who give wicked counsel in this city; ³ who say, 'The time is not nearOr Is not the time near... ? to build houses. This city is the cauldron, and we are the meat.' ⁴ Therefore prophesy against them, prophesy, O son of man." ⁵ And the Spirit of the Lord fell upon me, and he said to me, "Say, Thus says the Lord: So you think, O house of Israel. For I know the things that come into your mind. ⁶ You have multiplied your slain in this city and have filled its streets with the slain. ⁷ Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Your slain whom you have laid in the midst of it, they are the meat, and this city is the cauldron, but you shall be brought out of the midst of it. ⁸ You have feared the sword, and I will bring the sword upon you, declares the Lord GOD. ⁹ And I will bring you out of the midst of it, and give you into the hands of foreigners, and execute judgments upon you. ¹⁰ You shall fall by the sword. I will judge you at the border of Israel, and you shall know that I am the Lord. ¹¹ This city shall not be your cauldron, nor shall you be the meat in the midst of it. I will judge you at the border of Israel, ¹² and you shall know that I am the Lord. For you have not walked in my statutes, nor obeyed my rules, but have acted according to the rules of the nations that are around you." ¹³ And it came to pass, while I was prophesying, that Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died. Then I fell down on my face and cried out with a loud voice and said, "Ah, Lord GOD! Will you make a full end of the remnant of Israel?"

The Promise of Restoration and Renewal

¹⁴ And the word of the Lord came to me: ¹⁵ "Son of man, your brothers, even your brothers, your kinsmen,Hebrew the men of your redemption the whole house of Israel, all of them, are those of whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, 'Go far from the Lord; to us this land is given for a possession.' ¹⁶ Therefore say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: Though I removed them far off among the nations, and though I scattered them among the countries, yet I have been a sanctuary to them for a whileOr in small measure in the countries where they have gone.' ¹⁷ Therefore say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.' ¹⁸ And when they come there, they will remove from it all its detestable things and all its abominations. ¹⁹ And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, ²⁰ that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. ²¹ But as for those whose heart goes after their detestable things and their abominations, I willHebrew To the heart of their detestable things and their abominations their heart goes; I will bring their deeds upon their own heads, declares the Lord GOD."

²² Then the cherubim lifted up their wings, with the wheels beside them, and the glory of the God of Israel was over them. ²³ And the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city and stood on the mountain that is on the east side of the city. ²⁴ And the Spirit lifted me up and brought me in the vision by the Spirit of God into Chaldea, to the exiles. Then the vision that I had seen went up from me. ²⁵ And I told the exiles all the things that the Lord had shown me.

The Message

The Prophet's Vision of the Abominations in Jerusalem

8¹ In the sixth year, in the sixth month and the fifth day, while I was sitting at home meeting with the leaders of Judah, it happened that the hand of my Master, God, gripped me. ² When I looked, I was astonished. What I saw looked like a man - from the waist down like fire and from the waist up like highly burnished bronze. ³ He reached out what looked like a hand and grabbed me by the hair. The Spirit swept me high in the air and carried me in visions of God to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the north gate of the Temple's inside court where the image of the sex goddess that makes God so angry had been set up. ⁴ Right before me was the Glory of the God of Israel, exactly like the vision I had seen out on the plain. ⁵ He said to me, "Son of man, look north." I looked north and saw it: Just north of the entrance loomed the altar of the sex goddess, Asherah, that makes God so angry. ⁶ Then he said, "Son of man, do you see what they're doing? Outrageous obscenities! And doing them right here! It's enough to drive me right out of my own Temple. But you're going to see worse yet."

⁷ He brought me to the door of the Temple court. I looked and saw a gaping hole in the wall. ⁸ He said, "Son of man, dig through the wall." I dug through the wall and came upon a door. ⁹ He said, "Now walk through the door and take a look at the obscenities they're engaging in." ¹⁰ I entered and looked. I couldn't believe my eyes: Painted all over the walls were pictures of reptiles and animals and monsters - the whole pantheon of Egyptian gods and goddesses - being worshiped by Israel. ¹¹ In the middle of the room were seventy of the leaders of Israel, with Jaazaniah son of Shaphan standing in the middle. Each held his censer with the incense rising in a fragrant cloud. ¹² He said, "Son of man, do you see what the elders are doing here in the dark, each one before his favorite god-picture? They tell themselves, 'God doesn't see us. God has forsaken the country.'"

¹³ Then he said, "You're going to see worse yet." ¹⁴ He took me to the entrance at the north gate of the Temple of God. I saw women sitting there, weeping for Tammuz, the Babylonian fertility god. ¹⁵ He said, "Have you gotten an eyeful, son of man? You're going to see worse yet." ¹⁶ Finally, he took me to the inside court of the Temple of God. There between the porch and the altar were about twenty-five men. Their backs were to God's Temple. They were facing east, bowing in worship to the sun. ¹⁷ He said, "Have you seen enough, son of man? Isn't it bad enough that Judah engages in these outrageous obscenities? They fill the country with violence and now provoke me even further with their obscene gestures. ¹⁸ That's it. They have an angry God on their hands! From now on, no mercy. They can shout all they want, but I'm not listening."

The Slaughter of the Guilty

9¹ Then I heard him call out loudly, "Executioners, come! And bring your deadly weapons with you." ² Six men came down the road from the upper gate that faces north, each carrying his lethal weapon. With them was a man dressed in linen with a writing case slung from his shoulder. They entered and stood by the bronze altar. ³ The Glory of the God of Israel ascended from his usual place above the cherubim-angels, moved to the threshold of the Temple, and called to the man with the writing case who was dressed in linen: ⁴ "Go through the streets of Jerusalem and put a mark on the forehead of everyone who is in anguish over the outrageous obscenities being done in the city."

⁵ I listened as he went on to address the executioners: "Follow him through the city and kill. Feel sorry for no one. Show no compassion. ⁶ Kill old men and women, young men and women, mothers and children. But don't lay a hand on anyone with the mark. Start at my Temple." They started with the leaders in front of the Temple. ⁷ He told the executioners, "Desecrate the Temple. Fill it with corpses. Then go out and continue the killing." ⁸ So they went out and struck the city. While the massacre went forward, I was left alone. I fell on my face in prayer: "Oh, oh, God, my Master! Are you going to kill everyone left in Israel in this pouring out of your anger on Jerusalem?" ⁹ He said, "The guilt of Israel and Judah is enormous. The land is swollen with murder. The city is bloated with injustice. They all say, 'God has forsaken the country. He doesn't see anything we do.' ¹⁰ Well, I do see, and I'm not feeling sorry for any of them. They're going to pay for what they've done." ¹¹ Just then, the man dressed in linen and carrying the writing case came back and reported, "I've done what you told me."

God's Glory Departs from the Temple

10¹ When I next looked, oh! Above the dome over the heads of the cherubim-angels was what looked like a throne, sky-blue, like a sapphire! ² God said to the man dressed in linen, "Enter the place of the wheels under the cherubim-angels. Fill your hands with burning coals from beneath the cherubim and scatter them over the city." ³ The cherubim were standing on the south side of the Temple when the man entered. A cloud filled the inside courtyard. ⁴ Then the Glory of God ascended from the cherubim and moved to the threshold of the Temple. The cloud filled the Temple. Court and Temple were both filled with the blazing presence of the Glory of God. ⁵ And the sound! The wings of the cherubim were audible all the way to the outer court - the sound of the voice was like The Strong God in thunder. ⁶ When God commanded the man dressed in linen, "Take fire from among the wheels, from between the cherubim," he went in and stood beside a wheel. ⁷ One of the cherubim reached into the fire, took some coals, and put them in the hands of the man dressed in linen. He took them and went out.

⁸ Something that looked like a human hand could be seen under the wings of the cherubim. ⁹ And then I saw four wheels beside the cherubim, one beside each cherub. The wheels radiating were sparkling like diamonds in the sun. ¹⁰ All four wheels looked alike, each like a wheel within a wheel. ¹¹ When they moved, they went in any of the four directions but in a perfectly straight line. Where the cherubim went, the wheels went straight ahead. ¹² The cherubim were full of eyes in their backs, hands, and wings. The wheels likewise were full of eyes. ¹³ I heard the wheels called "wheels within wheels." ¹⁴ Each of the cherubim had four faces: the first, of an angel; the second, a human; the third, a lion; the fourth, an eagle. ¹⁵ Then the cherubim ascended. They were the same living creatures I had seen at the Kebar River. ¹⁶ When the cherubim moved, the wheels beside them moved. When the cherubim spread their wings to take off from the ground, the wheels stayed right with them. ¹⁷ When the cherubim stopped, the wheels stopped. When the cherubim rose, the wheels rose, because the spirit of the living creatures was also in the wheels. ¹⁸ Then the Glory of God left the Temple entrance and hovered over the cherubim. ¹⁹ I watched as the cherubim spread their wings and left the ground, the wheels right with them. They stopped at the entrance of the east gate of the Temple. The Glory of the God of Israel was above them. ²⁰ These were the same living creatures I had seen previously beneath the God of Israel at the Kebar River. I recognized them as cherubim. ²¹ Each had four faces and four wings. Under their wings was what looked like human hands. ²² Their faces looked exactly like those I had seen at the Kebar River. Each went straight ahead.

Evil Princes Rebuked

11¹ Then the Spirit picked me up and took me to the gate of the Temple that faces east. There were twenty-five men standing at the gate. I recognized the leaders, Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah. ² God said, "Son of man, these are the men who draw up blueprints for sin, who think up new programs for evil in this city. ³ They say, 'We can make anything happen here. We're the best. We're the choice pieces of meat in the soup pot.' ⁴ "Oppose them, son of man. Preach against them." ⁵ Then the Spirit of God came upon me and told me what to say: "This is what God says: 'That's a fine public speech, Israel, but I know what you are thinking. ⁶ You've murdered a lot of people in this city. The streets are piled high with corpses.' ⁷ "Therefore this is what God, the Master, says: 'The corpses that you've piled in the streets are the meat and this city is the soup pot, and you're not even in the pot! I'm throwing you out! ⁸ You fear war, but war is what you're going to get. I'm bringing war against you. ⁹ I'm throwing you out of this city, giving you over to foreigners, and punishing you good. ¹⁰ You'll be killed in battle. I'll carry out judgment on you at the borders of Israel. Then you'll realize that I am God. ¹¹ This city will not be your soup pot and you won't be the choice pieces of meat in it either. Hardly. I will carry out judgment on you at the borders of Israel ¹² and you'll realize that I am God, for you haven't followed my statutes and ordinances. Instead of following my ways, you've sunk to the level of the laws of the nations around you.'" ¹³ Even while I was preaching, Pelatiah son of Benaiah died. I fell down, face to the ground, and prayed loudly, "O Master, God! Will you completely wipe out what's left of Israel?"

The Promise of Restoration and Renewal

¹⁴ The answer from God came back: ¹⁵ "Son of man, your brothers - I mean the whole people of Israel who are in exile with you - are the people of whom the citizens of Jerusalem are saying, 'They're in the far country, far from God. This land has been given to us to own.' ¹⁶ "Well, tell them this: 'This is your Message from God, the Master. True, I sent you to the far country and scattered you through other lands. All the same, I've provided you a temporary sanctuary in the countries where you've gone. ¹⁷ I will gather you back from those countries and lands where you've been scattered and give you back the land of Israel. ¹⁸ You'll come back and clean house, throw out all the rotten images and obscene idols. ¹⁹ I'll give you a new heart. I'll put a new spirit in you. I'll cut out your stone heart and replace it with a red-blooded, firm-muscled heart. ²⁰ Then you'll obey my statutes and be careful to obey my commands. You'll be my people! I'll be your God! ²¹ "'But not those who are self-willed and addicted to their rotten images and obscene idols! I'll see that they're paid in full for what they've done.' Decree of God, the Master."

²² Then the cherubim spread their wings, with the wheels beside them and the Glory of the God of Israel hovering over them. ²³ The Glory of God ascended from within the city and rested on the mountain to the east of the city. ²⁴ Then, still in the vision given me by the Spirit of God, the Spirit took me and carried me back to the exiles in Babylon. And then the vision left me. ²⁵ I told the exiles everything that God had shown me.

New King James Version

The Prophet's Vision of the Abominations in Jerusalem

8¹ And it came to pass in the sixth year, in the sixth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I sat in my house with the elders of Judah sitting before me, that the hand of the Lord God fell upon me there. ² Then I looked, and there was a likeness, like the appearance of fire--from the appearance of His waist and downward, fire; and from His waist and upward, like the appearance of brightness, like the color of amber. ³ He stretched out the form of a hand, and took me by a lock of my hair; and the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven, and brought me in visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the north gate of the inner court, where the seat of the image of jealousy was, which provokes to jealousy. ⁴ And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, like the vision that I saw in the plain. ⁵ Then He said to me, "Son of man, lift your eyes now toward the north." So I lifted my eyes toward the north, and there, north of the altar gate, was this image of jealousy in the entrance. ⁶ Furthermore He said to me, "Son of man, do you see what they are doing, the great abominations that the house of Israel commits here, to make Me go far away from My sanctuary? Now turn again, you will see greater abominations."

⁷ So He brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, there was a hole in the wall. ⁸ Then He said to me, "Son of man, dig into the wall"; and when I dug into the wall, there was a door. ⁹ And He said to me, "Go in, and see the wicked abominations which they are doing there." ¹⁰ So I went in and saw, and there--every sort of creeping thing, abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, portrayed all around on the walls. ¹¹ And there stood before them seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel, and in their midst stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan. Each man had a censer in his hand, and a thick cloud of incense went up. ¹² Then He said to me, "Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the room of his idols? For they say, 'The Lord does not see us, the Lord has forsaken the land.' "

¹³ And He said to me, "Turn again, and you will see greater abominations that they are doing." ¹⁴ So He brought me to the door of the north gate of the Lord's house; and to my dismay, women were sitting there weeping for Tammuz. ¹⁵ Then He said to me, "Have you seen this, O son of man? Turn again, you will see greater abominations than these." ¹⁶ So He brought me into the inner court of the Lord's house; and there, at the door of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs toward the temple of the Lord and their faces toward the east, and they were worshiping the sun toward the east. ¹⁷ And He said to me, "Have you seen this, O son of man? Is it a trivial thing to the house of Judah to commit the abominations which they commit here? For they have filled the land with violence; then they have returned to provoke Me to anger. Indeed they put the branch to their nose. ¹⁸ Therefore I also will act in fury. My eye will not spare nor will I have pity; and though they cry in My ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them."

The Slaughter of the Guilty

9¹ Then He called out in my hearing with a loud voice, saying, "Let those who have charge over the city draw near, each with a deadly weapon in his hand." ² And suddenly six men came from the direction of the upper gate, which faces north, each with his battle-ax in his hand. One man among them was clothed with linen and had a writer's inkhorn at his side. They went in and stood beside the bronze altar. ³ Now the glory of the God of Israel had gone up from the cherub, where it had been, to the threshold of the temple. And He called to the man clothed with linen, who had the writer's inkhorn at his side; ⁴ and the Lord said to him, "Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done within it."

⁵ To the others He said in my hearing, "Go after him through the city and kill; do not let your eye spare, nor have any pity. ⁶ Utterly slay old and young men, maidens and little children and women; but do not come near anyone on whom is the mark; and begin at My sanctuary." So they began with the elders who were before the temple. ⁷ Then He said to them, "Defile the temple, and fill the courts with the slain. Go out!" And they went out and killed in the city. ⁸ So it was, that while they were killing them, I was left alone; and I fell on my face and cried out, and said, "Ah, Lord God! Will You destroy all the remnant of Israel in pouring out Your fury on Jerusalem?" ⁹ Then He said to me, "The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great, and the land is full of bloodshed, and the city full of perversity; for they say, 'The Lord has forsaken the land, and the Lord does not see!' ¹⁰ And as for Me also, My eye will neither spare, nor will I have pity, but I will recompense their deeds on their own head." ¹¹ Just then, the man clothed with linen, who had the inkhorn at his side, reported back and said, "I have done as You commanded me."

God's Glory Departs from the Temple

10¹ And I looked, and there in the firmament that was above the head of the cherubim, there appeared something like a sapphire stone, having the appearance of the likeness of a throne. ² Then He spoke to the man clothed with linen, and said, "Go in among the wheels, under the cherub, fill your hands with coals of fire from among the cherubim, and scatter them over the city." And he went in as I watched. ³ Now the cherubim were standing on the south side of the temple when the man went in, and the cloud filled the inner court. ⁴ Then the glory of the Lord went up from the cherub, and paused over the threshold of the temple; and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of the Lord's glory. ⁵ And the sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard even in the outer court, like the voice of Almighty God when He speaks. ⁶ Then it happened, when He commanded the man clothed in linen, saying, "Take fire from among the wheels, from among the cherubim," that he went in and stood beside the wheels. ⁷ And the cherub stretched out his hand from among the cherubim to the fire that was among the cherubim, and took some of it and put it into the hands of the man clothed with linen, who took it and went out.

⁸ The cherubim appeared to have the form of a man's hand under their wings. ⁹ And when I looked, there were four wheels by the cherubim, one wheel by one cherub and another wheel by each other cherub; the wheels appeared to have the color of a beryl stone. ¹⁰ As for their appearance, all four looked alike--as it were, a wheel in the middle of a wheel. ¹¹ When they went, they went toward any of their four directions; they did not turn aside when they went, but followed in the direction the head was facing. They did not turn aside when they went. ¹² And their whole body, with their back, their hands, their wings, and the wheels that the four had, were full of eyes all around. ¹³ As for the wheels, they were called in my hearing, "Wheel." ¹⁴ Each one had four faces: the first face was the face of a cherub, the second face the face of a man, the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle. ¹⁵ And the cherubim were lifted up. This was the living creature I saw by the River Chebar. ¹⁶ When the cherubim went, the wheels went beside them; and when the cherubim lifted their wings to mount up from the earth, the same wheels also did not turn from beside them. ¹⁷ When the cherubim stood still, the wheels stood still, and when one was lifted up, the other lifted itself up, for the spirit of the living creature was in them. ¹⁸ Then the glory of the Lord departed from the threshold of the temple and stood over the cherubim. ¹⁹ And the cherubim lifted their wings and mounted up from the earth in my sight. When they went out, the wheels were beside them; and they stood at the door of the east gate of the Lord's house, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them. ²⁰ This is the living creature I saw under the God of Israel by the River Chebar, and I knew they were cherubim. ²¹ Each one had four faces and each one four wings, and the likeness of the hands of a man was under their wings. ²² And the likeness of their faces was the same as the faces which I had seen by the River Chebar, their appearance and their persons. They each went straight forward.

Evil Princes Rebuked

11¹ Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the East Gate of the Lord's house, which faces eastward; and there at the door of the gate were twenty-five men, among whom I saw Jaazaniah the son of Azzur, and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people. ² And He said to me: "Son of man, these are the men who devise iniquity and give wicked counsel in this city, ³ who say, 'The time is not near to build houses; this city is the caldron, and we are the meat.' ⁴ Therefore prophesy against them, prophesy, O son of man!" ⁵ Then the Spirit of the Lord fell upon me, and said to me, "Speak! 'Thus says the Lord: "Thus you have said, O house of Israel; for I know the things that come into your mind. ⁶ You have multiplied your slain in this city, and you have filled its streets with the slain." ⁷ Therefore thus says the Lord God: "Your slain whom you have laid in its midst, they are the meat, and this city is the caldron; but I shall bring you out of the midst of it. ⁸ You have feared the sword; and I will bring a sword upon you," says the Lord God. ⁹ "And I will bring you out of its midst, and deliver you into the hands of strangers, and execute judgments on you. ¹⁰ You shall fall by the sword. I will judge you at the border of Israel. Then you shall know that I am the Lord. ¹¹ This city shall not be your caldron, nor shall you be the meat in its midst. I will judge you at the border of Israel. ¹² And you shall know that I am the Lord; for you have not walked in My statutes nor executed My judgments, but have done according to the customs of the Gentiles which are all around you." ' " ¹³ Now it happened, while I was prophesying, that Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died. Then I fell on my face and cried with a loud voice, and said, "Ah, Lord God! Will You make a complete end of the remnant of Israel?"

The Promise of Restoration and Renewal

¹⁴ Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹⁵ "Son of man, your brethren, your relatives, your countrymen, and all the house of Israel in its entirety, are those about whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, 'Get far away from the Lord; this land has been given to us as a possession.' ¹⁶ Therefore say, 'Thus says the Lord God: "Although I have cast them far off among the Gentiles, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet I shall be a little sanctuary for them in the countries where they have gone." ' ¹⁷ Therefore say, 'Thus says the Lord God: "I will gather you from the peoples, assemble you from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel." ' ¹⁸ And they will go there, and they will take away all its detestable things and all its abominations from there. ¹⁹ Then I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them, and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh, ²⁰ that they may walk in My statutes and keep My judgments and do them; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God. ²¹ But as for those whose hearts follow the desire for their detestable things and their abominations, I will recompense their deeds on their own heads," says the Lord God.

²² So the cherubim lifted up their wings, with the wheels beside them, and the glory of the God of Israel was high above them. ²³ And the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city and stood on the mountain, which is on the east side of the city. ²⁴ Then the Spirit took me up and brought me in a vision by the Spirit of God into Chaldea, to those in captivity. And the vision that I had seen went up from me. ²⁵ So I spoke to those in captivity of all the things the Lord had shown me.

New Living Translation

The Prophet's Vision of the Abominations in Jerusalem

8¹ Then on September 17, during the sixth year of King Jehoiachin's captivity, while the leaders of Judah were in my home, the Sovereign Lord took hold of me. ² I saw a figure that appeared to be a man. From what appeared to be his waist down, he looked like a burning flame. From the waist up he looked like gleaming amber. ³ He reached out what seemed to be a hand and took me by the hair. Then the Spirit lifted me up into the sky and transported me to Jerusalem in a vision from God. I was taken to the north gate of the inner courtyard of the Temple, where there is a large idol that has made the Lord very jealous. ⁴ Suddenly, the glory of the God of Israel was there, just as I had seen it before in the valley. ⁵ Then the Lord said to me, "Son of man, look toward the north." So I looked, and there to the north, beside the entrance to the gate near the altar, stood the idol that had made the Lord so jealous. ⁶ "Son of man," he said, "do you see what they are doing? Do you see the detestable sins the people of Israel are committing to drive me from my Temple? But come, and you will see even more detestable sins than these!"

⁷ Then he brought me to the door of the Temple courtyard, where I could see a hole in the wall. ⁸ He said to me, "Now, son of man, dig into the wall." So I dug into the wall and found a hidden doorway. ⁹ "Go in," he said, "and see the wicked and detestable sins they are committing in there!" ¹⁰ So I went in and saw the walls covered with engravings of all kinds of crawling animals and detestable creatures. I also saw the various idols worshiped by the people of Israel. ¹¹ Seventy leaders of Israel were standing there with Jaazaniah son of Shaphan in the center. Each of them held an incense burner, from which a cloud of incense rose above their heads. ¹² Then the Lord said to me, "Son of man, have you seen what the leaders of Israel are doing with their idols in dark rooms? They are saying, 'The Lord doesn't see us; he has deserted our land!'"

¹³ Then the Lord added, "Come, and I will show you even more detestable sins than these!" ¹⁴ He brought me to the north gate of the Lord 's Temple, and some women were sitting there, weeping for the god Tammuz. ¹⁵ "Have you seen this?" he asked. "But I will show you even more detestable sins than these!" ¹⁶ Then he brought me into the inner courtyard of the Lord 's Temple. At the entrance to the sanctuary, between the entry room and the bronze altar, there were about twenty-five men with their backs to the sanctuary of the Lord . They were facing east, bowing low to the ground, worshiping the sun! ¹⁷ "Have you seen this, son of man?" he asked. "Is it nothing to the people of Judah that they commit these detestable sins, leading the whole nation into violence, thumbing their noses at me, and provoking my anger? ¹⁸ Therefore, I will respond in fury. I will neither pity nor spare them. And though they cry for mercy, I will not listen."

The Slaughter of the Guilty

9¹ Then the Lord thundered, "Bring on the men appointed to punish the city! Tell them to bring their weapons with them!" ² Six men soon appeared from the upper gate that faces north, each carrying a deadly weapon in his hand. With them was a man dressed in linen, who carried a writer's case at his side. They all went into the Temple courtyard and stood beside the bronze altar. ³ Then the glory of the God of Israel rose up from between the cherubim, where it had rested, and moved to the entrance of the Temple. And the Lord called to the man dressed in linen who was carrying the writer's case. ⁴ He said to him, "Walk through the streets of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of all who weep and sigh because of the detestable sins being committed in their city."

⁵ Then I heard the Lord say to the other men, "Follow him through the city and kill everyone whose forehead is not marked. Show no mercy; have no pity! ⁶ Kill them all-old and young, girls and women and little children. But do not touch anyone with the mark. Begin right here at the Temple." So they began by killing the seventy leaders. ⁷ "Defile the Temple!" the Lord commanded. "Fill its courtyards with corpses. Go!" So they went and began killing throughout the city. ⁸ While they were out killing, I was all alone. I fell face down on the ground and cried out, "O Sovereign Lord ! Will your fury against Jerusalem wipe out everyone left in Israel?" ⁹ Then he said to me, "The sins of the people of Israel and Judah are very, very great. The entire land is full of murder; the city is filled with injustice. They are saying, 'The Lord doesn't see it! The Lord has abandoned the land!' ¹⁰ So I will not spare them or have any pity on them. I will fully repay them for all they have done." ¹¹ Then the man in linen clothing, who carried the writer's case, reported back and said, "I have done as you commanded."

God's Glory Departs from the Temple

10¹ In my vision I saw what appeared to be a throne of blue lapis lazuli above the crystal surface over the heads of the cherubim. ² Then the Lord spoke to the man in linen clothing and said, "Go between the whirling wheels beneath the cherubim, and take a handful of burning coals and scatter them over the city." He did this as I watched. ³ The cherubim were standing at the south end of the Temple when the man went in, and the cloud of glory filled the inner courtyard. ⁴ Then the glory of the Lord rose up from above the cherubim and went over to the entrance of the Temple. The Temple was filled with this cloud of glory, and the courtyard glowed brightly with the glory of the Lord . ⁵ The moving wings of the cherubim sounded like the voice of God Almighty and could be heard even in the outer courtyard. ⁶ The Lord said to the man in linen clothing, "Go between the cherubim and take some burning coals from between the wheels." So the man went in and stood beside one of the wheels. ⁷ Then one of the cherubim reached out his hand and took some live coals from the fire burning among them. He put the coals into the hands of the man in linen clothing, and the man took them and went out.

⁸ (All the cherubim had what looked like human hands under their wings.) ⁹ I looked, and each of the four cherubim had a wheel beside him, and the wheels sparkled like beryl. ¹⁰ All four wheels looked alike and were made the same; each wheel had a second wheel turning crosswise within it. ¹¹ The cherubim could move in any of the four directions they faced, without turning as they moved. They went straight in the direction they faced, never turning aside. ¹² Both the cherubim and the wheels were covered with eyes. The cherubim had eyes all over their bodies, including their hands, their backs, and their wings. ¹³ I heard someone refer to the wheels as "the whirling wheels." ¹⁴ Each of the four cherubim had four faces: the first was the face of an ox, the second was a human face, the third was the face of a lion, and the fourth was the face of an eagle. ¹⁵ Then the cherubim rose upward. These were the same living beings I had seen beside the Kebar River. ¹⁶ When the cherubim moved, the wheels moved with them. When they lifted their wings to fly, the wheels stayed beside them. ¹⁷ When the cherubim stopped, the wheels stopped. When they flew upward, the wheels rose up, for the spirit of the living beings was in the wheels. ¹⁸ Then the glory of the Lord moved out from the entrance of the Temple and hovered above the cherubim. ¹⁹ And as I watched, the cherubim flew with their wheels to the east gate of the Lord 's Temple. And the glory of the God of Israel hovered above them. ²⁰ These were the same living beings I had seen beneath the God of Israel when I was by the Kebar River. I knew they were cherubim, ²¹ for each had four faces and four wings and what looked like human hands under their wings. ²² And their faces were just like the faces of the beings I had seen at the Kebar, and they traveled straight ahead, just as the others had.

Evil Princes Rebuked

11¹ Then the Spirit lifted me and brought me to the east gateway of the Lord 's Temple, where I saw twenty-five prominent men of the city. Among them were Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah, who were leaders among the people. ² The Spirit said to me, "Son of man, these are the men who are planning evil and giving wicked counsel in this city. ³ They say to the people, 'Is it not a good time to build houses? This city is like an iron pot. We are safe inside it like meat in a pot. ' ⁴ Therefore, son of man, prophesy against them loudly and clearly." ⁵ Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon me, and he told me to say, "This is what the Lord says to the people of Israel: I know what you are saying, for I know every thought that comes into your minds. ⁶ You have murdered many in this city and filled its streets with the dead. ⁷ "Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: This city is an iron pot all right, but the pieces of meat are the victims of your injustice. As for you, I will soon drag you from this pot. ⁸ I will bring on you the sword of war you so greatly fear, says the Sovereign Lord . ⁹ I will drive you out of Jerusalem and hand you over to foreigners, who will carry out my judgments against you. ¹⁰ You will be slaughtered all the way to the borders of Israel. I will execute judgment on you, and you will know that I am the Lord . ¹¹ No, this city will not be an iron pot for you, and you will not be like meat safe inside it. I will judge you even to the borders of Israel, ¹² and you will know that I am the Lord . For you have refused to obey my decrees and regulations; instead, you have copied the standards of the nations around you." ¹³ While I was still prophesying, Pelatiah son of Benaiah suddenly died. Then I fell face down on the ground and cried out, "O Sovereign Lord, are you going to kill everyone in Israel?"

The Promise of Restoration and Renewal

¹⁴ Then this message came to me from the Lord : ¹⁵ "Son of man, the people still left in Jerusalem are talking about you and your relatives and all the people of Israel who are in exile. They are saying, 'Those people are far away from the Lord, so now he has given their land to us!' ¹⁶ "Therefore, tell the exiles, 'This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Although I have scattered you in the countries of the world, I will be a sanctuary to you during your time in exile. ¹⁷ I, the Sovereign Lord, will gather you back from the nations where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel once again.' ¹⁸ "When the people return to their homeland, they will remove every trace of their vile images and detestable idols. ¹⁹ And I will give them singleness of heart and put a new spirit within them. I will take away their stony, stubborn heart and give them a tender, responsive heart, ²⁰ so they will obey my decrees and regulations. Then they will truly be my people, and I will be their God. ²¹ But as for those who long for vile images and detestable idols, I will repay them fully for their sins. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!"

²² Then the cherubim lifted their wings and rose into the air with their wheels beside them, and the glory of the God of Israel hovered above them. ²³ Then the glory of the Lord went up from the city and stopped above the mountain to the east. ²⁴ Afterward the Spirit of God carried me back again to Babylonia, to the people in exile there. And so ended the vision of my visit to Jerusalem. ²⁵ And I told the exiles everything the Lord had shown me.