Ezekiel 9
Wycliffe Bible
9 And he cried in mine ears with great voice, and said, The visitings of the city have nighed, and each man hath in his hand an instrument of slaying. (And he cried in my ears with a loud voice, and said, The punishment of the city hath arrived, and each man have in his hand an instrument for killing, that is, a weapon.)
2 And lo! six men came from the way of the higher gate, that beholdeth to the north, and the instrument of death of each man was in his hand; also one man in the midst of them was clothed with linen clothes, and a penner of a writer at his reins; and they entered, and stood beside the brazen altar. (And lo! six men came from the way of the upper northern gate, and each man had an instrument of death in his hand; and one man in their midst was clothed in linen clothes, and had a writer’s inkhorn at his side; and they entered, and stood beside the bronze altar.)
3 And the glory of the Lord of Israel was taken up from cherub[im], which glory was on it, to the threshold of the house (of the Lord); and the Lord called the man that was clothed with linen clothes, and had a penner of a writer in his loins. (Then the glory of the Lord of Israel was taken up from above the cherubim, which glory was upon them, to the threshold of the House of the Lord; and the Lord called to the man who was clothed in linen clothes, and had a writer’s inkhorn at his side.)
4 And the Lord said to him, Pass thou by the midst of the city, in the midst of Jerusalem, and mark thou Tau on the foreheads of men wailing and sorrowing on all [the] abominations that be done in the midst thereof.
5 And he said to them in mine hearing, Go ye through the city, and follow ye him, and smite ye; your eye spare not, neither do ye mercy. (And he said to the others in my hearing, Go ye through the city, and follow ye him, and strike ye them down; do not let your eye spare them, nor have ye any mercy on them.)
6 Slay ye till to death, an eld man, a young man, and a virgin, a little child, and women; but slay ye not any man, on whom ye see Tau; and begin ye at my saintuary. Therefore they began at the elder men, that were before the face of the house (And so they began with the elders, who were in front of the House of the Lord).
7 And he said to them, Defoul ye the house (of the Lord), and fill ye the foreyards with slain men; go ye out. And they went out, and killed them that were in the city. (And he said to them, Defile ye the House of the Lord, and fill ye the courtyards with the slain; go ye out. And they went out, and killed those who were in the city.)
8 And lo! when the slaying was [ful]filled, I was left (alone). And I fell down on my face, and I cried, and said, Alas! alas! alas! Lord God, therefore whether thou shalt lose all the remnants of Israel, and shalt shed out thy strong vengeance on Jerusalem? (And I fell down on my face, and I cried, and said, Alas! alas! alas! Lord God, and so shalt thou destroy all the remnants of Israel, and shalt thou pour out thy strong vengeance upon Jerusalem?)
9 And he said to me, The wickedness of the house of Israel and of Judah is full great, and the land is filled of bloods, and the city is filled with turning away; for they said, The Lord hath forsaken the land, and the Lord seeth not. (And he said to me, The wickedness of the house of Israel and Judah is very great, and the land is filled with bloodshed, or of murder, and the city is filled with turning away from righteousness; for they said, The Lord hath abandoned the land, and the Lord seeth not.)
10 Therefore and mine eye shall not spare, neither I shall do mercy; I shall yield the way of them on the head of them. (And so my eye shall not spare them, nor shall I have any mercy on them; I shall yield their ways back upon their own heads.)
11 And lo! the man that was clothed in linen clothes, that had a penner in his back (who had an inkhorn at his side), answered a word, and said, I have done, as thou commandedest to me.
Ezekiel 9
New English Translation
The Execution of Idolaters
9 Then he shouted in my ears, “Approach,[a] you who are to visit destruction on the city, each with his destructive weapon in his hand!” 2 Next I noticed[b] six men[c] coming from the direction of the upper gate[d] that faces north, each with his war club in his hand. Among them was a man dressed in linen with a writing kit[e] at his side. They came and stood beside the bronze altar.
3 Then the glory of the God of Israel went up from the cherub where it had rested to the threshold of the temple.[f] He called to the man dressed in linen who had the writing kit at his side. 4 The Lord said to him, “Go through the city of Jerusalem[g] and put a mark[h] on the foreheads of the people who moan and groan over all the abominations practiced in it.”
5 While I listened, he said to the others,[i] “Go through the city after him and strike people down; do not let your eye pity nor spare[j] anyone! 6 Old men, young men, young women, little children, and women—wipe them out! But do not touch anyone who has the mark. Begin at my sanctuary!” So they began with the elders who were at the front of the temple.
7 He said to them, “Defile the temple and fill the courtyards with corpses. Go!” So they went out and struck people down throughout the city. 8 While they were striking them down, I was left alone, and I threw myself face down and cried out, “Ah, Sovereign Lord! Will you destroy the entire remnant of Israel when you pour out your fury on Jerusalem?”
9 He said to me, “The sin of the house of Israel and Judah is extremely great; the land is full of murder, and the city is full of corruption,[k] for they say, ‘The Lord has abandoned the land, and the Lord does not see!’[l] 10 But as for me, my eye will not pity them nor will I spare[m] them; I hereby repay them for what they have done.”[n]
11 Next I noticed the man dressed in linen with the writing kit at his side bringing back word: “I have done just as you commanded me.”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 9:1 tc Heb “they approached.” Reading the imperative assumes the same consonantal text but different vowels.
- Ezekiel 9:2 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
- Ezekiel 9:2 sn The six men plus the scribe would equal seven, which was believed by the Babylonians to be the number of planetary deities.
- Ezekiel 9:2 sn The upper gate was built by Jotham (2 Kgs 15:35).
- Ezekiel 9:2 tn Or “a scribe’s inkhorn.” The Hebrew term occurs in the OT only in Ezek 9 and is believed to be an Egyptian loanword.
- Ezekiel 9:3 tn Heb “house.”
- Ezekiel 9:4 tn Heb “through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem.”
- Ezekiel 9:4 tn The word translated “mark” is in Hebrew the letter ת (tav). Outside this context the only other occurrence of the word is in Job 31:35. In ancient Hebrew script this letter was written like the letter X.sn For a similar concept in the Bible, see Rev 7:2-4; 13:16; 14:9, 11; 20:4; 22:4.
- Ezekiel 9:5 tn Heb “to these he said in my ears.”
- Ezekiel 9:5 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term is primarily emotional: “to pity,” which in context implies an action, as in being moved by pity in order to spare them from the horror of their punishment.
- Ezekiel 9:9 tn Or “lawlessness” (NAB); “perversity” (NRSV). The Hebrew word occurs only here in the OT, and its meaning is uncertain. The similar phrase in 7:23 has a common word for “violence.”
- Ezekiel 9:9 sn The saying is virtually identical to that of the elders in Ezek 8:12.
- Ezekiel 9:10 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term is primarily emotional: “to pity,” which in context implies an action, as in being moved by pity in order to spare them from the horror of their punishment.
- Ezekiel 9:10 tn Heb “their way on their head I have placed.” The same expression occurs in 1 Kgs 8:32; Ezek 11:21; 16:43; 22:31.
Ezekiel 9
King James Version
9 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 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 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, Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity:
6 Slay utterly 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, 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 the matter, saying, I have done as thou hast commanded me.
2001 by Terence P. Noble
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