Ezekiel 1-4

English Standard Version

Ezekiel in Babylon

1 ^(A)In the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was among the exiles by ^(B)the Chebar canal, ^(C)the heavens were opened, and I saw ^(D)visions of God.^{[a] 2} On the fifth day of the month (it was ^(E)the fifth year of ^(F)the exile of King Jehoiachin), ³ the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel ^(G)the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by ^(H)the Chebar canal, and ^(I)the hand of the Lord was upon him there.

The Glory of the Lord

⁴ As I looked, behold, ^(J)a stormy wind came ^(K)out of the north, and a great cloud, with ^(L)brightness around it, and fire flashing forth continually, and in the midst of the fire, ^(M)as it were gleaming metal.^{[b] 5} And from the midst of it came the likeness of ^(N)four living creatures. ^(O)And this was their appearance: they had a human likeness, ^6 (P)but each had four faces, and each of them had four wings. ⁷ Their legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the sole of a calf's foot. And they sparkled ^(Q)like burnished bronze. ⁸ Under their wings ^(R)on their four sides ^(S)they had human hands. And the four had their faces and their wings thus: ⁹ their wings touched one another. ^(T)Each one of them went straight forward, ^(U)without turning as they went. ¹⁰ As for the likeness of their faces, ^(V)each had a human face. The four had the face of a lion on the right side, the four had the face of an ox on the left side, and the four had the face of an eagle. ¹¹ Such were their faces. And their wings were spread out above. Each creature had two wings, each of which touched the wing of another, while ^(W)two covered their bodies. ^12 (X)And each went straight forward. ^(Y)Wherever the spirit^[c] would go, they went, without turning as they went. ¹³ As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was ^(Z)like burning coals of fire, ^(AA)like the appearance of torches moving to and fro among the living creatures. ^(AB)And the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning. ¹⁴ And the living creatures ^(AC)darted to and fro, ^(AD)like the appearance of a flash of lightning.

^15 (AE)Now as I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the earth beside the living creatures, one for each of the four of them.^{[d] 16 (AF)}As for the appearance of the wheels and their construction: their appearance was like ^(AG)the gleaming of beryl. ^(AH)And the four had the same likeness, their appearance and construction being as it were a wheel within a wheel. ^17 (AI)When they went, they went ^(AJ)in any of their four directions^{[e] (AK)}without turning as they went. ¹⁸ And their rims were tall and awesome, ^(AL)and the rims of all four were full of eyes all around. ^19 (AM)And when the living creatures went, the wheels went beside them; ^(AN)and when the living creatures rose from the earth, the wheels rose. ^20 (AO)Wherever the spirit wanted to go, they went, and the wheels rose along with them, ^(AP)for the spirit of the living creatures^[f] was in the wheels. ^21 (AQ)When those went, these went; and when those stood, these stood; ^(AR)and when those rose from the earth, the wheels rose along with them, ^(AS)for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.

²² Over the heads of the living creatures there was ^(AT)the likeness of an expanse, shining like awe-inspiring ^(AU)crystal, spread out above their heads. ²³ And under the expanse their wings were ^(AV)stretched out straight, one toward another. ^(AW)And each creature had two wings covering its body. ²⁴ And when they went, I heard the sound of their wings ^(AX)like the sound of many waters, like ^(AY)the sound of the ^(AZ)Almighty, a sound of tumult ^(BA)like the sound of an army. When they stood still, they let down their wings. ²⁵ And there came a voice from above ^(BB)the expanse over their heads. When they stood still, they let down their wings.

²⁶ And above the expanse over their heads there was ^(BC)the likeness of a throne, ^(BD)in appearance ^(BE)like sapphire;^[g] and seated above the likeness of a throne was ^(BF)a likeness with a human appearance. ²⁷ And ^(BG)upward from what had the appearance of his waist I saw as it were ^(BH)gleaming metal, like the appearance of fire enclosed all around. And downward from what had the appearance of his waist I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and ^(BI)there was brightness around him.^{[h] 28} Like the appearance of ^(BJ)the bow that is in the cloud on the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness all around.

Such was the appearance of the likeness of ^(BK)the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, ^(BL)I fell on my face, and I heard the voice of one speaking.

Ezekiel's Call

2 And he said to me, ^(BM)“Son of man,^{[i] (BN)}stand on your feet, and I will speak with you.” ² And as he spoke to me, ^(BO)the Spirit entered into me and ^(BP)set me on my feet, and I heard him speaking to me. ³ And he said to me, “Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to ^(BQ)nations of rebels, who have rebelled against me. ^(BR)They and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day. ⁴ The descendants also are ^(BS)impudent and stubborn: I send you to them, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ ⁵ And ^(BT)whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are ^(BU)a rebellious house) ^(BV)they will know that a prophet has been among them. ⁶ And you, son of man, ^(BW)be not afraid of them, nor be afraid of their words, ^(BX)though briers and thorns are with you and you sit on ^(BY)scorpions.^[j] Be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house. ⁷ And you shall speak my words to them, ^(BZ)whether they hear or refuse to hear, for they are a rebellious house.

⁸ “But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. ^(CA)Be not rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and ^(CB)eat what I give you.” ⁹ And when I looked, behold, ^(CC)a hand was stretched out to me, and behold, ^(CD)a scroll of a book was in it. ¹⁰ And he spread it before me. And it had writing ^(CE)on the front and on the back, and there were written on it words of lamentation and mourning and woe.

3 And he said to me, ^(CF)“Son of man, eat whatever you find here. ^(CG)Eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.” ² So I opened my mouth, and he gave me this scroll to eat. ³ And he said to me, “Son of man, feed your belly with this scroll that I give you and fill your stomach with it.” ^(CH)Then I ate it, and it was in my mouth ^(CI)as sweet as honey.

⁴ And he said to me, ^(CJ)“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 foreign speech and a hard language, but to the house of Israel— ⁶ not to many peoples of foreign speech and a hard language, whose words you cannot understand. ^(CK)Surely, if I sent you to such, they would listen to you. ^7 (CL)But the house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you, for they are not willing to listen to me: because all the house of Israel ^(CM)have a hard forehead and a stubborn heart. ^8 (CN)Behold, I have made your face as hard as their faces, and your forehead as hard as their foreheads. ⁹ Like ^(CO)emery harder than flint have I made your forehead. ^(CP)Fear them not, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house.” ¹⁰ Moreover, he said to me, “Son of man, ^(CQ)all my words that I shall speak to you receive ^(CR)in your heart, and hear with your ears. ¹¹ And go to the exiles, ^(CS)to your people, and speak to them and say to them, ^(CT)‘Thus says the Lord God,’ ^(CU)whether they hear or refuse to hear.”

^12 (CV)Then the Spirit^[k] lifted me up, and I heard behind me the voice^[l] of ^(CW)a great earthquake: “Blessed be the glory of the Lord from its place!” ¹³ It was the sound of the wings of ^(CX)the living creatures as they touched one another, and the sound of the wheels beside them, and the sound of ^(CY)a great earthquake. ^14 (CZ)The Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness in the heat of my spirit, the ^(DA)hand of the Lord being strong upon me. ^15 (DB)And I came to the exiles at Tel-abib, who were dwelling ^(DC)by the Chebar canal, and I sat where they were dwelling.^[m] And ^(DD)I sat there ^(DE)overwhelmed among them ^(DF)seven days.

A Watchman for Israel

^16 (DG)And at the end of seven days, the word of the Lord came to me: ^17 (DH)“Son of man, ^(DI)I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall ^(DJ)give them warning from me. ^18 (DK)If I say to the wicked, ^(DL)‘You shall surely die,’ ^(DM)and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person ^(DN)shall die for^[n] his iniquity, ^(DO)but his blood I will require at your hand. ^19 (DP)But if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die for his iniquity, ^(DQ)but you ^(DR)will have delivered your soul. ^20 (DS)Again, if a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits injustice, ^(DT)and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die. ^(DU)Because you have not warned him, he shall die for his sin, ^(DV)and his righteous deeds that he has done shall not be remembered, ^(DW)but his blood I will require at your hand. ²¹ But if you warn the righteous person not to sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live, because he took warning, and you will have delivered your soul.”

^22 (DX)And the hand of the Lord was upon me there. And he said to me, “Arise, go out into ^(DY)the valley,^[o] and ^(DZ)there I will speak with you.” ²³ So I arose and went out into the valley, and behold, ^(EA)the glory of the Lord stood there, like the glory that I had seen ^(EB)by the Chebar canal, ^(EC)and I fell on my face. ^24 (ED)But the Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and he spoke with me and said to me, “Go, shut yourself within your house. ²⁵ And you, O son of man, behold, ^(EE)cords will be placed upon you, and you shall be bound with them, so that you cannot go out among the people. ²⁶ And I will make your tongue cling to the roof of your mouth, so that ^(EF)you shall be mute and unable to reprove them, ^(EG)for they are a rebellious house. ^27 (EH)But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you shall say to them, ^(EI)‘Thus says the Lord God.’ ^(EJ)He who will hear, let him hear; and he who will refuse to hear, let him refuse, for they are a rebellious house.

The Siege of Jerusalem Symbolized

4 “And you, ^(EK)son of man, ^(EL)take a brick and lay it before you, and engrave on it a city, even Jerusalem. ^2 (EM)And put siegeworks against it, ^(EN)and build a siege wall against it, ^(EO)and cast up a mound against it. Set camps also against it, ^(EP)and plant battering rams against it all around. ³ And you, take an iron griddle, and place it as an iron wall between you and the city; ^(EQ)and set your face toward it, ^(ER)and let it be in a state of siege, and press the siege against it. This is ^(ES)a sign for the house of Israel.

⁴ “Then lie on your left side, and place the punishment^[p] of the house of Israel upon it. For the number of the days that you lie on it, ^(ET)you shall bear their punishment. ⁵ For I assign to you a number of days, ^(EU)390 days, ^(EV)equal to the number of the years of their punishment. ^(EW)So long shall you bear ^(EX)the punishment of the house of Israel. ⁶ And when you have completed these, you shall lie down a second time, but on your right side, and ^(EY)bear ^(EZ)the punishment of the house of Judah. ^(FA)Forty days I assign you, a day for each year. ^7 (FB)And you shall set your face toward the siege of Jerusalem, ^(FC)with your arm bared, and you shall prophesy against the city. ⁸ And behold, ^(FD)I will place cords upon you, so that you cannot turn from one side to the other, till you have completed ^(FE)the days of your siege.

⁹ “And you, take wheat and barley, beans and lentils, millet and emmer,^[q] and put them into a single vessel and make your ^(FF)bread from them. ^(FG)During the number of days that you lie on your side, ^(FH)390 days, you shall eat it. ¹⁰ And your food that you eat shall be ^(FI)by weight, ^(FJ)twenty shekels^[r] a day; from day to day^[s] you shall eat it. ¹¹ And water you shall drink ^(FK)by measure, the sixth part of a hin;^[t] from day to day you shall drink. ¹² And you shall eat it as a barley cake, baking it ^(FL)in their sight on human dung.” ¹³ And the Lord said, “Thus shall the people of Israel eat ^(FM)their bread unclean, among the nations where I will drive them.” ¹⁴ Then I said, ^(FN)“Ah, Lord God! Behold, I have never defiled myself.^{[u] (FO)}From my youth up till now I have never eaten ^(FP)what died of itself or was torn by beasts, nor has ^(FQ)tainted meat come into my mouth.” ¹⁵ Then he said to me, “See, I assign to you cow's dung instead of human dung, on which you may prepare your bread.” ¹⁶ Moreover, he said to me, ^(FR)“Son of man, behold, ^(FS)I will break the supply^[v] of bread in Jerusalem. They shall eat bread ^(FT)by weight and with anxiety, and they shall drink water ^(FU)by measure and in dismay. ¹⁷ I will do this that they may lack bread and water, and ^(FV)look at one another in dismay, and ^(FW)rot away because of their punishment.