Ezekiel 8-11

Contemporary English Version

Ezekiel Sees the Terrible Sins of Jerusalem

8 Six years after King Jehoiachin and the rest of us had been led away as prisoners to Babylonia, the leaders of Judah were meeting with me in my house. On the fifth day of the sixth month,^[a] the Lord God suddenly took control of me, ^2 (A) and I saw something in the shape of a human.^[b] This figure was like fire from the waist down, and it was bright as polished metal from the waist up. ³ It reached out what seemed to be a hand and grabbed my hair. Then in my vision the Lord's Spirit lifted me into the sky and carried me to Jerusalem.

The Spirit took me to the north gate of the temple's inner courtyard, where there was an idol that disgusted the Lord and made him furious. ^4 (B) Then I saw the brightness of the glory of the God of Israel, just as I had seen it near the Chebar River.

⁵ God said to me, “Ezekiel, son of man, look north.” And when I did, I saw that repulsive idol by the altar near the gate.

⁶ God then said, “Do you see the terrible sins of the people of Israel? Their sins are making my holy temple unfit as a place to worship me. Yet you will see even worse things than this.”

⁷ Next, I was taken to the entrance of the courtyard, where I saw a hole in the wall.

⁸ God said, “Make this hole bigger.” And when I did, I realized it was a doorway. ⁹ “Go in,” God said, “and see what horrible and evil things the people are doing.”

¹⁰ Inside, I saw that the walls were covered with pictures of reptiles and disgusting, unclean animals,^[c] as well as with idols that the Israelites were worshiping. ¹¹ Seventy Israelite leaders were standing there, including Jaazaniah son of Shaphan. Each of these leaders was holding an incense burner, and the smell of incense filled the room.

¹² God said, “Ezekiel, do you see what horrible things Israel's leaders are doing in secret? They have filled their rooms with idols. And they say I can't see them, because they think I have already deserted Israel. ¹³ But I will show you something even worse than this.”

¹⁴ He took me to the north gate of the temple, where I saw women mourning for the god Tammuz.^{[d] 15} God asked me, “Can you believe what these women are doing? But now I want to show you something even worse.”

¹⁶ I was then led into the temple's inner courtyard, where I saw about 25 men standing near the entrance, between the porch and the altar. Their backs were to the Lord's temple, and they were bowing down to the rising sun.

¹⁷ God said, “Ezekiel, it's bad enough that the people of Judah are doing these disgusting things. But they have also spread violence and injustice everywhere in Israel and have made me very angry. They have disgraced and insulted me in the worst possible way.^{[e] 18} So in my fierce anger, I will punish them without mercy and refuse to help them when they cry out to me.”

The Lord Gives the Command To Punish Jerusalem

9 After that, I heard the Lord shout, “Come to Jerusalem, you men chosen to destroy the city. And bring your weapons!”

² I saw six men come through the north gate of the temple, each one holding a deadly weapon. A seventh man dressed in a linen robe was with them, and he was carrying things to write with. The men went into the temple and stood by the bronze altar.

³ The brightness of God's glory then left its place above the statues of the winged creatures^[f] inside the temple and moved to the entrance. The Lord said to the man in the linen robe, ^4 (C) “Walk through the city of Jerusalem and mark the forehead of anyone who is truly upset and sad about the terrible things that are being done here.”

^5-6 He turned to the other six men and said, “Follow him and put to death everyone who doesn't have a mark on their forehead. Show no mercy or pity! Kill men and women, parents and children. Begin here at my temple, but be sure not to harm those who are marked.”

The men immediately killed the leaders who were standing there.

⁷ Then the Lord said, “Pollute the temple by piling the dead bodies in the courtyards. Now get busy!” They left and started killing the people of Jerusalem.

⁸ I was then alone, so I bowed down and cried out to the Lord, “Why are you doing this? Are you so angry with the people of Jerusalem that everyone must die?”

⁹ The Lord answered, “The people of Israel and Judah have done horrible things. Their country is filled with murderers, and Jerusalem itself is filled with violence. They think that I have deserted them, and that I can't see what they are doing. ¹⁰ And so I will not have pity on them or forgive them. They will be punished for what they have done.”

¹¹ Just then, the man in the linen robe returned and said, “I have done what you commanded.”

The Lord's Glory Leaves the Temple

10 ^(D) I saw the dome that was above the four winged creatures,^[g] and on it was the sapphire^[h] throne.^{[i] 2 (E)} The Lord said to the man in the linen robe, “Walk among the four wheels beside the creatures and pick up as many hot coals as you can carry. Then scatter them over the city of Jerusalem.” I watched him as he followed the Lord's instructions.

³ The winged creatures were standing south of the temple when the man walked among them. A cloud filled the inner courtyard, ⁴ and the brightness of the Lord's glory moved from above the creatures and stopped at the entrance of the temple. The entire temple was filled with his glory, and the courtyard was dazzling bright. ⁵ The sound of the creatures' wings was as loud as the voice of God All-Powerful and could even be heard in the outer courtyard.

⁶ The man in the robe was now standing beside a wheel. ⁷ One of the four creatures reached its hand into the fire among them and gave him some of the hot coals. The man took the coals and left.

⁸ I noticed again that each of the four winged creatures had what looked like human hands under their wings, ^9 (F) and I saw the four wheels near the creatures. These wheels were shining like chrysolite.^{[j] 10} Each wheel was exactly the same and had a second wheel that cut through the middle of it,^{[k] 11} so that they could move in any direction without turning. The wheels moved together whenever the creatures moved. ^12 (G) I also noticed that the wheels and the creatures' bodies, including their backs, their hands, and their wings, were covered with eyes. ¹³ And I heard a voice calling these “the wheels that spin.”

^14 (H) Each of the winged creatures had four faces: the face of a bull,^[l] the face of a human, the face of a lion, and the face of an eagle. ^15-17 These were the same creatures I had seen near the Chebar River. They controlled when and where the wheels moved—the wheels went wherever the creatures went and stopped whenever they stopped. Even when the creatures flew in the air, the wheels stayed beside them.

¹⁸ Then I watched the brightness of the Lord's glory move from the entrance of the temple and stop above the winged creatures. ¹⁹ They spread their wings and flew into the air with the wheels at their side. They stopped at the east gate of the temple, and the Lord's glory was above them.

²⁰ I knew for sure that these were the same creatures I had seen beneath the Lord's glory near the Chebar River. ^21-22 They had four wings with hands beneath them, and they had the same four faces as those near the River. Each creature moved straight ahead without turning.

Ezekiel Condemns Jerusalem's Wicked Leaders

11 The Lord's Spirit^[m] lifted me up and took me to the east gate of the temple, where I saw 25 men, including the two leaders, Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah. ² The Lord said, “Ezekiel, son of man, these men are making evil plans and giving dangerous advice to the people of Jerusalem. ³ They say things like, ‘Let's build more houses.^[n] This city is like a cooking pot over a fire, and we are the meat, but at least the pot keeps us from being burned in the fire.’^{[o] 4} So, Ezekiel, condemn them!”

⁵ The Lord's Spirit took control of me and told me to tell these leaders:

I, the Lord God, know what you leaders are saying. ⁶ You have murdered so many people that the city is filled with dead bodies! ⁷ This city is indeed a cooking pot, but the bodies of those you killed are the meat. And so I will force you to leave Jerusalem, ⁸ and I'll send armies to attack you, just as you fear. ⁹ Then you will be captured and punished by foreign enemies.^{[p] 10} You will be killed in your own country, but not before you realize that I, the Lord, have done these things.

¹¹ You leaders claim to be meat in a cooking pot, but you won't be protected by this city. No, you will die at the border of Israel. ¹² You will realize that while you were following the laws of nearby nations, you were disobeying my laws and teachings. And I am the Lord!

¹³ Before I finished speaking, Pelatiah dropped dead. I bowed down and cried out, “Please, Lord God, don't kill everyone left in Israel.”

A Promise of Hope

¹⁴ The Lord replied:

¹⁵ Ezekiel, son of man, the people living in Jerusalem claim that you and the other Israelites who were taken to Babylonia are too far away to worship me. They also claim that the land of Israel now belongs only to them. ¹⁶ But here is what I want you to tell the Israelites in Babylonia:

It's true that I, the Lord God, have forced you out of your own country and made you live among foreign nations. But for now, I will be with you wherever you are, so that you can worship me. ¹⁷ And someday, I will gather you from the nations where you are scattered and let you live in Israel again. ¹⁸ When that happens, I want you to clear the land of all those idols I hate so much. ^19 (I) Then I will take away your stubbornness and make you eager to be completely faithful to me. You will want to obey me ²⁰ and all my laws and teachings. You will be my people, and I will be your God. ²¹ But those who worship idols will be punished and get what they deserve. I, the Lord God, have spoken.

The Lord's Glory Leaves Jerusalem

^22 (J) After the Lord had finished speaking, the winged creatures spread their wings and flew into the air, and the wheels were beside them. The brightness of the Lord's glory above them ²³ left Jerusalem and stopped at a hill east of the city.

²⁴ Then in my vision, the Lord's Spirit^[q] lifted me up and carried me back to the other exiles in Babylonia. The vision faded away, ²⁵ and I told them everything the Lord had shown me.