Old/New Testament

Abominations in the Temple

8 In the sixth year, in the sixth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I sat in my house and the elders of Judah sat before me, the hand of the Lord God fell upon me there. ² Then I looked, and there was a likeness as the appearance of a man. From His loins and downward was the appearance of fire. And from His loins and upward was the appearance of brightness, as the appearance of glowing metal. ³ He stretched out the form of a hand and took me by a lock of my head. And the Spirit lifted me up between the earth and the heavens, and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the north gate of the inner court, where the seat of the image of jealousy was, which provokes to jealousy. ⁴ The glory of the God of Israel was there, according to the vision that I saw in the plain.

⁵ Then He said to me, “Son of man, lift up your eyes now toward the north.” So I lifted up my eyes toward the north, and northward at the gate of the altar was this image of jealousy in the entrance.

⁶ He said furthermore to me, “Son of man, do you see what they do, even the great abominations that the house of Israel commits here, so that I should go far off from My sanctuary? But yet you shall see still greater abominations.”

⁷ Then He brought me to the door of the court. And when I looked, there was a hole in the wall. ⁸ So He said to me, “Son of man, now dig in the wall.” And when I had dug in the wall, there was a door.

⁹ He said to me, “Enter and notice the wicked abominations that they do here.” ¹⁰ So I went in and saw every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, portrayed upon the wall all around. ¹¹ There stood before them seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel, and in their midst stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan, with every man his censer in his hand, and a thick cloud of incense went up.

¹² Then He said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his images? For they say, ‘The Lord does not see us. The Lord has forsaken the land.’ ” ¹³ He also said to me, “Yet again you shall see greater abominations that they do.”

¹⁴ Then He brought me to the door of the gate of the house of the Lord which was toward the north. And women sat there weeping for Tammuz. ¹⁵ Then He said to me, “Have you seen this, O son of man? Yet again you shall see greater abominations than these.”

¹⁶ He brought me into the inner court of the house of the Lord, and at the door of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs toward the temple of the Lord and their faces toward the east. And they worshipped the sun toward the east.

¹⁷ Then He said to me, “Have you seen this, O son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? For they have filled the land with violence and have continually provoked Me to anger. And they put the branch to their nose. ¹⁸ Therefore I will indeed deal in fury. My eye shall not spare, nor will I have pity. And though they cry in My ears with a loud voice, yet I will not listen to them.”

The Slaughter of the Wicked

9 He cried out also in my ears with a loud voice, saying, “Cause those who have charge over the city to draw near, even every man with his destroying weapon in his hand.” ² Six men came from the way of the higher gate which lies toward the north, each with his battle weapon in his hand. And one man among them was clothed with linen with a writer’s case by his side. And they went in and stood beside the bronze altar.

³ Then the glory of the God of Israel ascended from the cherub on which it had been, to the threshold of the temple. And He called to the man clothed with linen who had the writer’s case by his side. ⁴ And the Lord said to him, “Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan for all the abominations that are done in its midst.”

⁵ To the others He said in my hearing, “Go after him through the city and strike. Do not let your eye spare or have pity. ⁶ Utterly slay old and young, both maidens and little children, and women. But do not touch any man on whom is the mark. And begin at My sanctuary.” Then they began with the elders who were before the temple.

⁷ Then he said to them, “Defile the temple, and fill the courts with the slain. Go forth!” So they went out and killed in the city. ⁸ While they were killing, I was left alone; and I fell on my face and cried out, “Ah, Lord God! Will You destroy all the rest of Israel by Your pouring out of Your fury upon Jerusalem?”

⁹ Then He said to me, “The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great, and the land is full of blood, and the city is full of perverseness. For they say, ‘The Lord has forsaken the land, and the Lord does not see.’ ¹⁰ But as for Me, My eye shall not spare, nor will I have pity, but I will recompense their way upon their heads.”

¹¹ Then the man clothed with linen who had the case by his side reported the matter, saying, “I have done just as You have commanded me.”

The Glory of God Leaves the Temple

10 Then I looked, and in the expanse that was above the heads of the cherubim there appeared over them, as it were, a sapphire stone, as the appearance of the likeness of a throne. ² And He spoke to the man clothed with linen and said, “Go in between the wheels under the cherubim and fill your hands with coals of fire from among the cherubim and scatter them over the city.” And he entered in my sight.

³ Now the cherubim stood on the right side of the temple when the man went in, and the cloud filled the inner court. ⁴ Then the glory of the Lord went up from the cherub and stood over the threshold of the temple. And the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of the glory of the Lord. ⁵ The sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard even in the outer court, like the voice of the Almighty God when He speaks.

⁶ When He had commanded the man clothed with linen, saying, “Take fire from between the wheels, from among the cherubim,” he went in and stood beside the wheel. ⁷ One cherub stretched out his hand from among the cherubim to the fire that was between the cherubs, and took some, and put it into the hands of him who was clothed with linen, who took it and went out. ⁸ There appeared among the cherubim the form of a man’s hand under their wings.

⁹ Then I looked, and there were the four wheels by the cherubim, one wheel by one cherub, and another wheel by another cherub. And the appearance of the wheels was as the color of a beryl stone. ¹⁰ As for their appearances, all four had one likeness, as if one wheel had been in the middle of a wheel. ¹¹ When they went, they went on their four sides. They did not turn as they went, but they followed to the place wherever the head looked. They did not turn as they went. ¹² Their whole body, and their backs, and their hands, and their wings, and the wheels that the four had were full of eyes all round. ¹³ As for the wheels, they were called in my hearing the whirling wheels. ¹⁴ Each one had four faces. The first face was the face of a cherub, the second face was the face of a man, the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.

¹⁵ Then the cherubim rose up. They are the living creatures that I saw by the River Kebar. ¹⁶ When the cherubim went, the wheels went by them. And when the cherubim lifted up their wings to mount up from the earth, the same wheels also would not turn from beside them. ¹⁷ When the cherubim stood, the wheels stood. And when they rose up, the wheels also rose up with them. For the spirit of the living creatures was in them.

¹⁸ Then the glory of the Lord departed from off the threshold of the temple and stood over the cherubim. ¹⁹ The cherubim lifted up their wings and mounted up from the earth in my sight. When they went out, the wheels were beside them. They stood at the door of the east gate of the house of the Lord; and the glory of the God of Israel was above them.

²⁰ These are the living creatures that I saw under the God of Israel by the River Kebar. So I knew that they were cherubim. ²¹ Every one had four faces apiece, and every one four wings. And the likeness of the hands of a man was under their wings. ²² The likeness of their faces was the same faces which I saw by the River Kebar, their appearances and themselves. Each went straight forward.

Service That Pleases God

13 Let brotherly love continue. ² Do not forget to entertain strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unknowingly. ³ Remember those who are in chains, as if imprisoned with them, and those who are ill treated, since you are also in the body.

⁴ Marriage is to be honored among everyone, and the bed undefiled. But God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers. ⁵ Let your lives be without love of money, and be content with the things you have. For He has said:

⁶ So we may boldly say:

⁷ Remember those who rule over you, who have proclaimed to you the word of God. Follow their faith, considering the results it has produced in their lives. ⁸ Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and forever.

⁹ Do not be carried away with diverse and strange doctrines. It is a good thing that the heart be strengthened with grace, not with foods, which have not profited those who have been occupied with them. ¹⁰ We have an altar from which those who serve in the tabernacle have no right to eat.

¹¹ For the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest on account of sin, are burned outside the camp. ¹² Therefore Jesus also, so that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate. ¹³ Therefore let us go forth to Him outside the camp, bearing the reproach that He bore. ¹⁴ For here we have no continuing city, but we seek one to come.

¹⁵ Through Him, then, let us continually offer to God the sacrifice of praise, which is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. ¹⁶ But do not forget to do good and to share. For with such sacrifices God is well pleased.

¹⁷ Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they watch over your souls as those who must give an account. Let them do this with joy and not complaining, for that would not be profitable to you.

¹⁸ Pray for us. For we trust that we have a good conscience and in all things are willing to live honestly. ¹⁹ But I implore you to pray, that I may be restored to you very soon.

Benediction and Final Greetings

²⁰ Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the Great Shepherd of the sheep, ²¹ make you perfect in every good work to do His will, working in you that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

²² I implore you, brothers, to heed this word of exhortation, for I have written to you in few words.

²³ Know that our brother Timothy has been set free, with whom I shall see you if he comes soon.

²⁴ Greet all those who rule over you and all the saints. Those from Italy greet you.

²⁵ Grace be with you all. Amen.