Then there came a voice from above the vault over their heads as they stood with lowered wings.

Above the vault over their heads was what looked like a throne of lapis lazuli, and high above on the throne was a figure like that of a man.

I saw that from what appeared to be his waist up he looked like glowing metal, as if full of fire, and that from there down he looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded him.

Ezekiel’s Call to Be a Prophet

He said to me, “Son of man, stand up on your feet and I will speak to you.”

He said: “Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me; they and their ancestors have been in revolt against me to this very day.

And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them or their words. Do not be afraid, though briers and thorns are all around you and you live among scorpions. Do not be afraid of what they say or be terrified by them, though they are a rebellious people.

But you, son of man, listen to what I say to you. Do not rebel like that rebellious people; open your mouth and eat what I give you.”

And he said to me, “Son of man, eat what is before you, eat this scroll; then go and speak to the people of Israel.”

Then he said to me, “Son of man, eat this scroll I am giving you and fill your stomach with it.” So I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth.

He then said to me: “Son of man, go now to the people of Israel and speak my words to them.

not to many peoples of obscure speech and strange language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely if I had sent you to them, they would have listened to you.

And he said to me, “Son of man, listen carefully and take to heart all the words I speak to you.

“Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me.

And you, son of man, they will tie with ropes; you will be bound so that you cannot go out among the people.

Siege of Jerusalem Symbolized

“Now, son of man, take a block of clay, put it in front of you and draw the city of Jerusalem on it.

“Very well,” he said, “I will let you bake your bread over cow dung instead of human excrement.”

He then said to me: “Son of man, I am about to cut off the food supply in Jerusalem. The people will eat rationed food in anxiety and drink rationed water in despair,

God’s Razor of Judgment

“Now, son of man, take a sharp sword and use it as a barber’s razor to shave your head and your beard. Then take a set of scales and divide up the hair.

“Son of man, set your face against the mountains of Israel; prophesy against them

And they will know that I am the Lord, when their people lie slain among their idols around their altars, on every high hill and on all the mountaintops, under every spreading tree and every leafy oak—places where they offered fragrant incense to all their idols.

“Son of man, this is what the Sovereign Lord says to the land of Israel: “‘The end! The end has come upon the four corners of the land!

The fugitives who escape will flee to the mountains. Like doves of the valleys, they will all moan, each for their own sins.

Every hand will go limp; every leg will be wet with urine.

They will put on sackcloth and be clothed with terror. Every face will be covered with shame, and every head will be shaved.

The king will mourn, the prince will be clothed with despair, and the hands of the people of the land will tremble. I will deal with them according to their conduct, and by their own standards I will judge them. “‘Then they will know that I am the Lord.’”