Lamentations 4 - Ezekiel 1

English Standard Version

The Holy Stones Lie Scattered

4 ^(A)How the gold has grown dim,
how the pure gold is changed!
The holy stones lie scattered
^(B)at the head of every street.

²The precious sons of Zion,
worth their weight in ^(C)fine gold,
how they are regarded as ^(D)earthen pots,
the work of a potter's hands!

³Even jackals offer the breast;
they nurse their young;
but the daughter of my people has become cruel,
like the ostriches in the wilderness.

⁴The tongue of the nursing infant ^(E)sticks
to the roof of its mouth for thirst;
^(F)the children beg for food,
but no one gives to them.

⁵Those who once feasted on delicacies
perish in the streets;
^(G)those who were brought up in purple
embrace ash heaps.

⁶^(H)For the chastisement^[a] of the daughter of my people has been greater
than the punishment^[b] of Sodom,
^(I)which was overthrown in a moment,
and no hands were wrung for her.^[c]

⁷Her princes were purer than snow,
whiter than milk;
their bodies were more ruddy than coral,
the beauty of their form^[d] was like sapphire.^[e]

⁸^(J)Now their face is blacker than soot;
they are not recognized in the streets;
their skin has shriveled on their bones;
it has become as dry as wood.

⁹Happier were the victims of the sword
than the victims of hunger,
who wasted away, pierced
by lack of the fruits of the field.

¹⁰^(K)The hands of ^(L)compassionate women
^(M)have boiled their own children;
^(N)they became their food
during the destruction of the daughter of my people.

¹¹^(O)The Lord gave full vent to his wrath;
he poured out his hot anger,
and ^(P)he kindled a fire in Zion
that consumed its foundations.

¹²^(Q)The kings of the earth did not believe,
nor any of the inhabitants of the world,
that foe or enemy could enter
the gates of Jerusalem.

¹³This was for ^(R)the sins of her prophets
and ^(S)the iniquities of her priests,
who shed in the midst of her
the blood of the righteous.

¹⁴^(T)They wandered, blind, through the streets;
they were so defiled with blood
^(U)that no one was able to touch
their garments.

¹⁵“Away! ^(V)Unclean!” people cried at them.
    “Away! Away! Do not touch!”
So they became fugitives and wanderers;
    people said among the nations,
    “They shall stay with us no longer.”

¹⁶^(W)The Lord himself^[f] has scattered them;
he will regard them no more;
^(X)no honor was shown to the priests,
^(Y)no favor to the elders.

¹⁷^(Z)Our eyes failed, ever watching
^(AA)vainly for help;
in our watching we watched
for ^(AB)a nation which could not save.

¹⁸^(AC)They dogged our steps
so that we could not walk in our streets;
^(AD)our end drew near; our days were numbered,
for our end had come.

¹⁹Our pursuers were ^(AE)swifter
than the eagles in the heavens;
they chased us on the mountains;
they lay in wait for us in the wilderness.

²⁰^(AF)The breath of our nostrils, ^(AG)the Lord's anointed,
was captured ^(AH)in their pits,
of whom we said, ^(AI)“Under his shadow
we shall live among the nations.”

²¹^(AJ)Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom,
you who dwell in ^(AK)the land of Uz;
but to you also ^(AL)the cup shall pass;
you shall become drunk and strip yourself bare.

²²^(AM)The punishment of your iniquity, O daughter of Zion, is accomplished;
he will keep you in exile no longer;^[g]
but ^(AN)your iniquity, O daughter of Edom, he will punish;
he will uncover your sins.

Restore Us to Yourself, O Lord

5 ^(AO)Remember, O Lord, what has befallen us;
    look, and see ^(AP)our disgrace!
²^(AQ)Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers,
    our homes to foreigners.
³We have become orphans, fatherless;
    our mothers are like widows.
⁴We must pay for the water we drink;
    the wood we get must be bought.
⁵^(AR)Our pursuers are at our necks;
    we are weary; we are given no rest.
⁶We have given the hand to ^(AS)Egypt, and to ^(AT)Assyria,
    to get bread enough.
⁷Our fathers sinned, and are no more;
    ^(AU)and we bear their iniquities.
⁸^(AV)Slaves rule over us;
    there is none to deliver us from their hand.
⁹^(AW)We get our bread at the peril of our lives,
    because of the sword in the wilderness.
¹⁰^(AX)Our skin is hot as an oven
    with ^(AY)the burning heat of famine.
¹¹Women are raped in Zion,
    young women in the towns of Judah.
¹²^(AZ)Princes are hung up by their hands;
    ^(BA)no respect is shown to the elders.
¹³Young men are compelled to ^(BB)grind at the mill,
    and boys stagger ^(BC)under loads of wood.
¹⁴^(BD)The old men have left the city gate,
    the young men ^(BE)their music.
¹⁵^(BF)The joy of our hearts has ceased;
    ^(BG)our dancing has been turned to mourning.
¹⁶^(BH)The crown has fallen from our head;
    woe to us, for we have sinned!
¹⁷For this ^(BI)our heart has become sick,
    for these things ^(BJ)our eyes have grown dim,
¹⁸for Mount Zion which lies desolate;
    ^(BK)jackals prowl over it.
¹⁹^(BL)But you, O Lord, reign forever;
    your throne endures to all generations.
²⁰^(BM)Why do you forget us forever,
    why do you forsake us for so many days?
²¹^(BN)Restore us to yourself, O Lord, that we may be restored!
    Renew our days as of old—
²²^(BO)unless you have utterly rejected us,
    and you remain exceedingly angry with us.

Ezekiel in Babylon

1 ^(BP)In the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was among the exiles by ^(BQ)the Chebar canal, ^(BR)the heavens were opened, and I saw ^(BS)visions of God.^[h] ²On the fifth day of the month (it was ^(BT)the fifth year of ^(BU)the exile of King Jehoiachin), ³the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel ^(BV)the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by ^(BW)the Chebar canal, and ^(BX)the hand of the Lord was upon him there.

The Glory of the Lord

⁴As I looked, behold, ^(BY)a stormy wind came ^(BZ)out of the north, and a great cloud, with ^(CA)brightness around it, and fire flashing forth continually, and in the midst of the fire, ^(CB)as it were gleaming metal.^[i] ⁵And from the midst of it came the likeness of ^(CC)four living creatures. ^(CD)And this was their appearance: they had a human likeness, ⁶^(CE)but each had four faces, and each of them had four wings. ⁷Their legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the sole of a calf's foot. And they sparkled ^(CF)like burnished bronze. ⁸Under their wings ^(CG)on their four sides ^(CH)they had human hands. And the four had their faces and their wings thus: ⁹their wings touched one another. ^(CI)Each one of them went straight forward, ^(CJ)without turning as they went. ¹⁰As for the likeness of their faces, ^(CK)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. ¹¹Such were their faces. And their wings were spread out above. Each creature had two wings, each of which touched the wing of another, while ^(CL)two covered their bodies. ¹²^(CM)And each went straight forward. ^(CN)Wherever the spirit^[j] would go, they went, without turning as they went. ¹³As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was ^(CO)like burning coals of fire, ^(CP)like the appearance of torches moving to and fro among the living creatures. ^(CQ)And the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning. ¹⁴And the living creatures ^(CR)darted to and fro, ^(CS)like the appearance of a flash of lightning.

¹⁵^(CT)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.^[k] ¹⁶^(CU)As for the appearance of the wheels and their construction: their appearance was like ^(CV)the gleaming of beryl. ^(CW)And the four had the same likeness, their appearance and construction being as it were a wheel within a wheel. ¹⁷^(CX)When they went, they went ^(CY)in any of their four directions^[l] ^(CZ)without turning as they went. ¹⁸And their rims were tall and awesome, ^(DA)and the rims of all four were full of eyes all around. ¹⁹^(DB)And when the living creatures went, the wheels went beside them; ^(DC)and when the living creatures rose from the earth, the wheels rose. ²⁰^(DD)Wherever the spirit wanted to go, they went, and the wheels rose along with them, ^(DE)for the spirit of the living creatures^[m] was in the wheels. ²¹^(DF)When those went, these went; and when those stood, these stood; ^(DG)and when those rose from the earth, the wheels rose along with them, ^(DH)for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.

²²Over the heads of the living creatures there was ^(DI)the likeness of an expanse, shining like awe-inspiring ^(DJ)crystal, spread out above their heads. ²³And under the expanse their wings were ^(DK)stretched out straight, one toward another. ^(DL)And each creature had two wings covering its body. ²⁴And when they went, I heard the sound of their wings ^(DM)like the sound of many waters, like ^(DN)the sound of the ^(DO)Almighty, a sound of tumult ^(DP)like the sound of an army. When they stood still, they let down their wings. ²⁵And there came a voice from above ^(DQ)the expanse over their heads. When they stood still, they let down their wings.

²⁶And above the expanse over their heads there was ^(DR)the likeness of a throne, ^(DS)in appearance ^(DT)like sapphire;^[n] and seated above the likeness of a throne was ^(DU)a likeness with a human appearance. ²⁷And ^(DV)upward from what had the appearance of his waist I saw as it were ^(DW)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 ^(DX)there was brightness around him.^[o] ²⁸Like the appearance of ^(DY)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 ^(DZ)the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, ^(EA)I fell on my face, and I heard the voice of one speaking.