Eze 8-11 | ESV | STEP | In the sixth year , in the sixth month, on the fifth day of the month , as I sat in my house , with the elders of Judah sitting before me, the hand of the Lord God fell upon me there .

1 ^aIn the sixth year, in the sixth month, on the fifth day of the month, ^bas I sat in my house, with ^cthe elders of Judah sitting before me, ^dthe hand of the Lord God fell upon me there. 2 Then I looked, and behold, ^ea form that had the appearance of a man. ^{▼▼By revocalization (compare Septuagint); Hebrew of fire} ^gBelow what appeared to be his waist was fire, and above his waist was something like the appearance of brightness, like ^hgleaming metal. ^{▼▼Or amber} 3 He ^jput out the form of a hand and took me by a lock of my head, and the Spirit lifted me up ^kbetween earth and heaven and ^lbrought me in ^mvisions of God to Jerusalem, ⁿto the entrance of the gateway of the inner court that faces north, ^owhere was the seat of the ^pimage of jealousy, ^qwhich provokes to jealousy. 4 And behold, ^rthe glory of the God of Israel was there, like the vision that I saw ^sin the valley.

5 Then he said to me, ^t“Son of man, lift up your eyes now toward the north.” So I lifted up my eyes toward the north, and behold, north of ^uthe altar gate, in the entrance, was this ^vimage of jealousy. 6 And he said to me, “Son of man, ^wdo you see what they are doing, ^xthe great abominations that the house of Israel are committing here, ^yto drive me far from my sanctuary? But you will see still greater abominations.”

7 And he brought me to the entrance of the court, and when I looked, behold, there was a hole in the wall. 8 Then he said to me, “Son of man, ^zdig in the wall.” So I dug in the wall, and behold, there was an entrance. 9 And he said to me, “Go in, and see ^aathe vile abominations that they are committing here.” 10 So I went in and saw. And there, ^abengraved on the wall all around, was ^acevery form of ^adcreeping things and loathsome beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel. 11 And before them stood ^aeseventy men of ^afthe elders of the house of Israel, with Jaazaniah the son of ^agShaphan standing among them. Each had his censer in his hand, and ^ahthe smoke of the 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 are doing ^aiin the dark, each ^ajin his room of pictures? For they say, ^ak‘The Lord does not see us, the Lord has forsaken the land.’” 13 He said also to me, ^al“You will see still greater abominations that they commit.”

14 Then he brought me to ^amthe entrance of the north gate of the house of the Lord, and behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz. 15 Then he said to me, “Have you seen this, O ^anson of man? ^aoYou will see still greater abominations than these.”

16 And he brought me into ^apthe inner court of the house of the Lord. And behold, at the entrance of the temple of the Lord, ^aqbetween the ^arporch and ^asthe altar, were about twenty-five men, ^atwith their backs to the temple of the Lord, and their faces toward the east, worshiping ^authe sun toward the east. 17 Then he said to me, “Have you seen this, O ^avson of man? Is it too light a thing for the house of Judah to commit ^awthe abominations that they commit here, that ^axthey should fill the land with violence and ^ayprovoke me still further to anger? Behold, they put the branch to their ^{▼▼Or my} nose. 18 Therefore ^baI will act in wrath. ^bbMy eye will not spare, nor will I have pity. ^bcAnd though they cry in my ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them.”

Ezekiel 9

Idolaters Killed

1 Then he cried in my ears with a loud voice, saying, “Bring near the executioners of the city, ^bdeach with his destroying weapon in his hand.” 2 And behold, six men came from the direction of ^bethe upper gate, which faces north, each with his weapon for slaughter in his hand, and with them was ^bfa man clothed in linen, with a writing case at his waist. And they went in and stood beside ^bgthe bronze altar.

3 Now ^bhthe glory of the God of Israel had gone up from the cherub on which it rested to ^bithe threshold of the house. And he called to ^bjthe man clothed in linen, who had the writing case at his waist. 4 And the Lord said to him, “Pass through the city, through Jerusalem, and ^bkput a mark on the foreheads of the men who ^blsigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it.” 5 And to ^bmthe others he said in my hearing, “Pass through the city after him, and strike. ^bnYour eye shall not spare, and you shall show no pity. 6 ^boKill old men outright, young men and maidens, little children and women, but ^bptouch no one on whom is the mark. And ^bqbegin at my sanctuary.” So they began with the elders who were before the house. 7 Then he said to them, ^br“Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain. Go out.” So they went out and struck in the city. 8 And while they were striking, and I was left alone, ^bsI fell upon my face, and cried, ^bt“Ah, Lord God! ^buWill you destroy all the remnant of Israel ^bvin the outpouring of your wrath on Jerusalem?”

9 Then he said to me, ^bw“The guilt of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great. ^bxThe land is full of blood, and the city full of injustice. For ^bythey say, ‘The Lord has forsaken the land, and the Lord does not see.’ 10 As for me, ^bzmy eye will not spare, nor will I have pity; ^caI will bring their deeds upon their heads.”

11 And behold, ^cbthe man clothed in linen, with the writing case at his waist, brought back word, saying, “I have done as you commanded me.”

Ezekiel 10

The Glory of the Lord Leaves the Temple

1 Then I looked, and behold, ^ccon the expanse that was over the heads of the cherubim there appeared above them something ^cdlike a sapphire, ^{▼▼Or lapis lazuli} in appearance like a throne. 2 And he said to ^cfthe man clothed in linen, “Go in among ^cgthe whirling wheels underneath the cherubim. Fill your hands with ^chburning coals from between the cherubim, and ^ciscatter them over the city.”

And he went in ^cjbefore my eyes. 3 Now the cherubim were standing ^ckon the south side of the house, when the man went in, and ^cla cloud filled ^cmthe inner court. 4 And ^cnthe glory of the Lord ^cowent up from the cherub to the threshold of the house, and the house ^cpwas filled with the cloud, and the court was filled with ^cqthe brightness of the glory of the Lord. 5 And ^crthe sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard as far as the outer court, ^cslike the voice of God Almighty when he speaks.

6 And when he commanded ^ctthe man clothed in linen, ^cu“Take fire from between ^cvthe whirling wheels, from between the cherubim,” he went in and stood beside a wheel. 7 And a cherub stretched out his hand from between the cherubim to the fire that was between the cherubim, and took some of it and put it into the hands of the man clothed in linen, who took it and went out. 8 The cherubim appeared to have ^cwthe form of a human hand under their wings.

9 ^cxAnd I looked, and behold, there were four wheels beside the cherubim, one beside each cherub, and ^cythe appearance of the wheels was ^czlike sparkling ^daberyl. 10 And as for their appearance, the four had the same likeness, as if a wheel were within a wheel. 11 ^dbWhen they went, they went in any of their four directions ^{▼▼Hebrew to their four sides} ^ddwithout turning as they went, ^debut in whatever direction the front wheel ^{▼▼Hebrew the head} faced, the others followed without turning as they went. 12 ^dgAnd their whole body, their rims, and their spokes, their wings, ^{▼▼Or their whole body, their backs, their hands, and their wings} and the wheels were full of eyes all around—the wheels that the four of them had. 13 As for the wheels, they were called in my hearing ^di“the whirling wheels.” 14 ^djAnd every one had four faces: ^dkthe first face was the face of the cherub, and the second face was ^dla human face, and the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.

15 ^dmAnd the cherubim mounted up. These were ^dnthe living creatures that I saw by ^dothe Chebar canal. 16 ^dpAnd when the cherubim went, the wheels went beside them. And ^dqwhen the cherubim lifted up their wings to mount up from the earth, the wheels did not turn from beside them. 17 ^drWhen they stood still, these stood still, and when they mounted up, these mounted up with them, for the spirit of the living creatures ^{▼▼Or spirit of life} was in them.

18 ^dtThen ^duthe glory of the Lord went out from the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubim. 19 ^dvAnd the cherubim lifted up their wings and mounted up from the earth ^dwbefore my eyes as they went out, with the wheels beside them. And they stood at the entrance of the ^dxeast gate of the house of the Lord, and ^dythe glory of the God of Israel was over them.

20 ^dzThese were the living creatures that I saw ^eaunderneath the God of Israel by ^ebthe Chebar canal; and I knew that they were cherubim. 21 ^ecEach had four faces, and each four wings, and underneath their wings ^edthe likeness of human hands. 22 ^eeAnd as for the likeness of their faces, they were the same faces whose appearance I had seen by the Chebar canal. ^efEach one of them went straight forward.

Ezekiel 11

Judgment on Wicked Counselors

1 ^egThe Spirit lifted me up and brought me to ^ehthe east gate of the house of the Lord, which faces east. And behold, at the entrance of the gateway there were ^eitwenty-five men. And I saw among them Jaazaniah ^ejthe son of Azzur, and ^ekPelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people. 2 And he said to me, ^el“Son of man, these are the men who devise iniquity and who give wicked counsel in this city; 3 ^emwho say, ^en‘The time is not near ^{▼▼Or Is not the time near . . . ?} to build houses. ^epThis city is the cauldron, and we are the meat.’ 4 Therefore prophesy against them; prophesy, O son of man.”

5 And ^eqthe Spirit of the Lord fell upon me, and he said to me, “Say, Thus says the Lord: So you think, O house of Israel. ^erFor I know the things that come into your mind. 6 ^esYou have multiplied your slain in this city and have filled its streets with the slain. 7 Therefore thus says the Lord God: ^etYour slain whom you have laid in the midst of it, ^euthey are the meat, and ^evthis city is the cauldron, but you shall be brought out of the midst of it. 8 ^ewYou have feared the sword, and I will bring the sword upon you, declares the Lord God. 9 And I will bring you out of the midst of it, and ^exgive you into the hands of foreigners, and ^eyexecute judgments upon you. 10 ^ezYou shall fall by the sword. I will judge you at the border of Israel, ^faand you shall know that I am the Lord. 11 ^fbThis city shall not be your cauldron, nor shall you be the meat in the midst of it. I will judge you at the border of Israel, 12 and you shall know that I am the Lord. For you have not walked in my statutes, nor obeyed my rules, ^fcbut have acted according to the rules of the nations that are around you.”

13 And it came to pass, while I was prophesying, ^fdthat ^fePelatiah the son of Benaiah died. ^ffThen I fell down on my face and cried out with a loud voice and said, ^fg“Ah, Lord God! ^fhWill you make a full end of the remnant of Israel?”

Israel’s New Heart and Spirit

14 And the word of the Lord came to me: 15 ^fi“Son of man, your brothers, even your brothers, your kinsmen, ^{▼▼Hebrew the men of your redemption} the whole house of Israel, all of them, are those of whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, ^fk‘Go far from the Lord; to us this land is given for a possession.’ 16 Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: Though I removed them far off among the nations, and though I scattered them among the countries, yet ^flI have been a sanctuary to them for a while ^{▼▼Or in small measure} in the countries where they have gone.’ 17 Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: ^fnI will gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, ^foand I will give you the land of Israel.’ 18 And when they come there, ^fpthey will remove from it all its ^fqdetestable things and all its abominations. 19 ^frAnd I will give them one heart, and ^fsa new spirit I will put within them. ^ftI will remove the heart of stone from their flesh ^fuand give them a heart of flesh, 20 ^fvthat they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. ^fwAnd they shall be my people, and I will be their God. 21 ^fxBut as for those whose heart goes after their detestable things and their abominations, ^fyI will ^{▼▼Hebrew To the heart of their detestable things and their abominations their heart goes; I will} bring their deeds upon their own heads, declares the Lord God.”

22 ^gaThen the cherubim lifted up their wings, with the wheels beside them, ^gband the glory of the God of Israel was over them. 23 And the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city and ^gcstood on the mountain that is on the east side of the city. 24 ^gdAnd the Spirit lifted me up and brought me ^gein the vision by the Spirit of God ^gfinto Chaldea, to the exiles. Then the vision that I had seen went up from me. 25 And I told the exiles all the things that the Lord had shown me.