Ezekiel 7-12

Ezekiel 7

¹Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

²And thou, son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD unto the land of Israel, An end: the end is come upon the four corners of the land.

³Now is the end upon thee, and I will send mine anger upon thee, and will judge thee according to thy ways; and I will bring upon thee all thine abominations.

⁴And mine eye shall not spare thee, neither will I have pity: but I will bring thy ways upon thee, and thine abominations shall be in the midst of thee: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.

⁵Thus saith the Lord GOD: An evil, an only evil; behold, it cometh.

⁶An end is come, the end is come, it awaketh against thee; behold, it cometh.

⁷Thy doom is come unto thee, O inhabitant of the land: the time is come, the day is near; a day of tumult, and not of joyful shouting, upon the mountains.

⁸Now will I shortly pour out my fury upon thee, and accomplish mine anger against thee, and will judge thee according to thy ways; and I will bring upon thee all thine abominations.

⁹And mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: I will bring upon thee according to thy ways, and thine abominations shall be in the midst of thee; and ye shall know that I the LORD do smite.

¹⁰Behold, the day, behold, it cometh: thy doom is gone forth; the rod hath blossomed, pride hath budded.

¹¹Violence is risen up into a rod of wickedness; none of them shall remain, nor of their multitude, nor of their wealth: neither shall there be eminency among them.

¹²The time is come, the day draweth near: let not the buyer rejoice, nor the seller mourn: for wrath is upon all the multitude thereof.

¹³For the seller shall not return to that which is sold, although they be yet alive: for the vision is touching the whole multitude thereof, none shall return; neither shall any strengthen himself in the iniquity of his life.

¹⁴They have blown the trumpet, and have made all ready; but none goeth to the battle: for my wrath is upon all the multitude thereof.

¹⁵The sword is without, and the pestilence and the famine within: he that is in the field shall die with the sword; and he that is in the city, famine and pestilence shall devour him.

¹⁶But they that escape of them shall escape, and shall be on the mountains like doves of the valleys, all of them mourning, every one in his iniquity.

¹⁷All hands shall be feeble, and all knees shall be weak as water.

¹⁸They shall also gird themselves with sackcloth, and horror shall cover them; and shame shall be upon all faces, and baldness upon all their heads.

¹⁹They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be as an unclean thing; their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD; they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels: because it hath been the stumblingblock of their iniquity.

²⁰As for the beauty of his ornament, he set it in majesty: but they made the images of their abominations and their detestable things therein: therefore have I made it unto them as an unclean thing.

²¹And I will give it into the hands of the strangers for a prey, and to the wicked of the earth for a spoil; and they shall profane it.

²²My face will I turn also from them, and they shall profane my secret place: and robbers shall enter into it, and profane it.

²³Make the chain: for the land is full of bloody crimes, and the city is full of violence.

²⁴Wherefore I will bring the worst of the heathen, and they shall possess their houses: I will also make the pride of the strong to cease; and their holy places shall be profaned.

²⁵Destruction cometh; and they shall seek peace, and there shall be none.

²⁶Mischief shall come upon mischief, and rumour shall be upon rumour; and they shall seek a vision of the prophet; but the law shall perish from the priest, and counsel from the ancients.

²⁷The king shall mourn, and the prince shall be clothed with desolation, and the hands of the people of the land shall be troubled: I will do unto them after their way, and according to their deserts will I judge them; and they shall know that I am the LORD.

Ezekiel 8

¹And it came to in the sixth year, in the sixth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I sat in mine house, and the elders of Judah sat before me, that the hand of the Lord GOD fell there upon me.

²Then I beheld, and, lo, a likeness as the appearance of fire; from the appearance of his loins and downward, fire: and from his loins and upward, as the appearance of brightness, as the colour of amber.

³And he put forth the form of an hand, and took me by a lock of mine head; and the spirit lifted me up between the earth and the heaven, and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the gate of the inner court that looketh toward the north; where was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provoketh to jealousy.

⁴And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, according to the appearance that I saw in the plain.

⁵Then said he unto me, Son of man, lift up thine eyes now the way toward the north. So I lifted up mine eyes the way toward the north, and behold northward of the gate of the altar this image of jealousy in the entry.

⁶And he said unto me, Son of man, seest thou what they do? even the great abominations that the house of Israel do commit here, that I should go far off from my sanctuary? but thou shalt again see yet other great abominations.

⁷And he brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, behold a hole in the wall.

⁸Then said he unto me, Son of man, dig now in the wall: and when I had digged in the wall, behold a door.

⁹And he said unto me, Go in, and see the wicked abominations that they do here.

¹⁰So I went in and saw; and behold every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, pourtrayed upon the wall round about.

¹¹And there stood before them seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel, and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan, with every man his censer in his hand; and the odour of the cloud of incense went up.

¹²Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in his chambers of imagery? for they say, the LORD seeth us not; the LORD hath forsaken the earth.

¹³He said also unto me, Thou shalt again see yet other great abominations which they do.

¹⁴Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the LORD’S house which was toward the north; and behold, there sat the women weeping for Tammuz.

¹⁵Then said he unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? thou shalt again see yet greater abominations than these.

¹⁶And he brought me into the inner court of the LORD’S house, and behold, at the door of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the LORD, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east.

¹⁷Then he said unto me, Hast thou 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 turned again to provoke me to anger: and, lo, they put the branch to their nose.

¹⁸Therefore will I also deal in fury: mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: and though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them.

Ezekiel 9

¹Then he cried in mine ears with a loud voice, saying, Cause ye them that have charge over the city to draw near, every man with his destroying weapon in his hand.

²And behold, six men came from the way of the upper gate, which lieth toward the north, every man with his slaughter weapon in his hand; and one man in the midst of them clothed in linen, with a writer’s inkhorn by his side. And they went in, and stood beside the brasen altar.

³And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub, whereupon it was, to the threshold of the house: and he called to the man clothed in linen, which had the writer’s inkhorn by his side.

⁴And 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.

⁵And to the others he said in mine hearing, Go ye through the city after him, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity:

⁶slay utterly the old man, the young man and the maiden, 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.

⁷And he said unto them, Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain: go ye forth. And they went forth, and smote in the city.

⁸And it came to pass, while they were smiting, 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?

⁹Then 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 wresting of judgment: for they say, The LORD hath forsaken the earth, and the LORD seeth not.

¹⁰And as for me also, mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity, but I will bring their way upon their head.

¹¹And behold, the man clothed in linen, which had the inkhorn by his side, reported the matter, saying, I have done as thou hast commanded me.

Ezekiel 10

¹Then I looked, and behold, in the firmament that was over the head of the cherubim, there appeared above them as it were a sapphire stone, as the appearance of the likeness of a throne.

²And he spake unto the man clothed in linen, and said, Go in between the whirling wheels, even under the cherub, and fill both thine hands with coals of fire from between the cherubim, and scatter them over the city. And he went in in my sight.

³Now the cherubim stood on the right side of the house, when the man went in; and the cloud filled the inner court.

⁴And the glory of the LORD mounted up from the cherub, and stood over the threshold of the house; and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of the LORD’S glory.

⁵And the sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard even to the outer court, as the voice of God Almighty when he speaketh.

⁶And it came to pass, when he commanded the man clothed in linen, saying, Take fire from between the whirling wheels, from between the cherubim, that he went in, and stood beside a wheel.

⁷And the cherub stretched forth his hand from between the cherubim unto the fire that was between the cherubim, and took thereof, and put it into the hands of him that was clothed in linen, who took it and went out.

⁸And there appeared in the cherubim the form of a man’s hand under their wings.

⁹And I looked, and behold, four wheels beside the cherubim, one wheel beside one cherub, and another wheel beside another cherub: and the appearance of the wheels was as the colour of a beryl stone.

¹⁰And as for their appearance, they four had one likeness, as if a wheel had been within a wheel.

¹¹When they went, they went upon their four sides: they turned not as they went, but to the place whither the head looked they followed it; they turned not as they went.

¹²And their whole body, and their backs, and their hands, and their wings, and the wheels, were full of eyes round about, even the wheels that they four had.

¹³As for the wheels, they were called in my hearing, the whirling wheels.

¹⁴And every one had four faces: the first face was the face of the cherub, and the second face was the face of a man, and the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.

¹⁵And the cherubim mounted up: this is the living creature that I saw by the river Chebar.

¹⁶And when the cherubim went, the wheels went beside them: and when the cherubim lifted up their wings to mount up from the earth, the wheels also turned not from beside them.

¹⁷When they stood, these stood; and when they mounted up, these mounted up with them: for the spirit of the living creature was in them.

¹⁸And the glory of the LORD went forth from over the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubim.

¹⁹And the cherubim lifted up their wings, and mounted up from the earth in my sight when they went forth, and the wheels beside them: and they stood at the door of the east gate of the LORD’S house; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above.

²⁰This is the living creature that I saw under the God of Israel by the river Chebar; and I knew that they were cherubim.

²¹Every one had four faces apiece, and every one four wings; and the likeness of the hands of a man was under their wings.

²²And as for the likeness of their faces, they were the faces which I saw by the river Chebar, their appearances and themselves; they went every one straight forward.

Ezekiel 11

¹Moreover the spirit lifted me up, and brought me unto the east gate of the LORD’S house, which looketh eastward: and behold, at the door of the gate five and twenty men; and I saw in the midst of them Jaazaniah the son of Azzur, and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people.

²And he said unto me, Son of man, these are the men that devise iniquity, and that give wicked counsel in this city.

³which say, The time is not near to build houses: this city is the caldron, and we be the flesh.

⁴Therefore prophesy against them, prophesy, O son of man.

⁵And the spirit of the LORD fell upon me, and he said unto me, Speak, Thus saith the LORD: Thus have ye said, O house of Israel; for I know the things that come into your mind.

⁶Ye have multiplied your slain in this city, and ye have filled the streets thereof with the slain.

⁷Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD: Your slain whom ye have laid in the midst of it, they are the flesh, and this city is the caldron: but ye shall be brought forth out of the midst of it.

⁸Ye have feared the sword; and I will bring the sword upon you, saith the Lord GOD.

⁹And I will bring you forth out of the midst thereof, and deliver you into the hands of strangers, and will execute judgments among you.

¹⁰Ye shall fall by the sword; I will judge you in the border of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.

¹¹This city shall not be your caldron, neither shall ye be the flesh in the midst thereof; I will judge you in the border of Israel;

¹²and ye shall know that I am the LORD: for ye have not walked in my statutes, neither have ye executed my judgments, but have done after the ordinances of the nations that are round about you.

¹³And it came to pass, when I prophesied, that Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died. Then fell I down upon my face, and cried with a loud voice, and said, Ah Lord GOD! wilt thou make a full end of the remnant of Israel?

¹⁴And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

¹⁵Son of man, thy brethren, even thy brethren, the men of thy kindred, and all the house of Israel, all of them, are they unto whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, Get you far from the LORD; unto us is this land given for a possession:

¹⁶Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord GOD: Whereas I have removed them far off among the nations, and whereas I have scattered them among the countries, yet will I be to them a sanctuary for a little while in the countries where they are come.

¹⁷Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord GOD: I will gather you from the peoples, and assemble you out of the countries where ye have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.

¹⁸And they shall come thither, and they shall take away all the detestable things thereof and all the abominations thereof from thence.

¹⁹And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh:

²⁰that they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.

²¹But as for them whose heart walketh after the heart of their detestable things and their abominations, I will bring their way upon their own heads, saith the Lord GOD.

²²Then did the cherubim lift up their wings, and the wheels were beside them; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above.

²³And the glory of the LORD went up from the midst of the city, and stood upon the mountain which is on the east side of the city.

²⁴And the spirit lifted me up, and brought me in the vision by the spirit of God into Chaldea, to them of the captivity. So the vision that I had seen went up from me.

²⁵Then I spake unto them of the captivity all the things that the LORD had shewed me.

Ezekiel 12

¹The word of the LORD also came unto me, saying,

²Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of the rebellious house, which have eyes to see, and see not, which have ears to hear, and hear not; for they are a rebellious house.

³Therefore, thou son of man, prepare thee stuff for removing, and remove by day in their sight; and thou shalt remove from thy place to another place in their sight: it may be they will consider, though they be a rebellious house.

⁴And thou shalt bring forth thy stuff by day in their sight, as stuff for removing: and thou shalt go forth thyself at even in their sight, as when men go forth into exile.

⁵Dig thou through the wall in their sight, and carry out thereby.

⁶In their sight shalt thou bear it upon thy shoulder, and carry it forth in the dark; thou shalt cover thy face, that thou see not the ground: for I have set thee for a sign unto the house of Israel.

⁷And I did so as I was commanded: I brought forth my stuff by day, as stuff for removing, and in the even I digged through the wall with mine hand; I brought it forth in the dark, and bare it upon my shoulder in their sight.

⁸And in the morning came the word of the LORD unto me, saying,

⁹Son of man, hath not the house of Israel, the rebellious house, said unto thee, What doest thou?

¹⁰Say thou unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD: This burden concerneth the prince in Jerusalem, and all the house of Israel among whom they are.

¹¹Say, I am your sign: like as I have done, so shall it be done unto them: they shall go into exile, into captivity.

¹²And the prince that is among them shall bear upon his shoulder in the dark, and shall go forth: they shall dig through the wall to carry out thereby: he shall cover his face, because he shall not see the ground with his eyes.

¹³My net also will I spread upon him, and he shall be taken in my snare: and I will bring him to Babylon to the land of the Chaldeans; yet shall he not see it, though he shall die there.

¹⁴And I will scatter toward every wind all that are round about him to help him, and all his bands; and I will draw out the sword after them.

¹⁵And they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall disperse them among the nations, and scatter them through the countries.

¹⁶But I will leave a few men of them from the sword, from the famine, and from the pestilence; that they may declare all their abominations among the nations whither they come; and they shall know that I am the LORD.

¹⁷Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

¹⁸Son of man, eat thy bread with quaking, and drink thy water with trembling and with carefulness;

¹⁹and say unto the people of the land, Thus saith the Lord GOD concerning the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the land of Israel: They shall eat their bread with carefulness, and drink their water with astonishment, that her land may be desolate from all that is therein, because of the violence of all them that dwell therein.

²⁰And the cities that are inhabited shall be laid waste, and the land shall be a desolation; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.

²¹And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

²²Son of man, what is this proverb that ye have in the land of Israel, saying, The days are prolonged, and every vision faileth?

²³Tell them therefore, Thus saith the Lord GOD: I will make this proverb to cease, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel; but say unto them, The days are at hand, and the effect of every vision.

²⁴For there shall be no more any vain vision, nor flattering divination within the house of Israel.

²⁵For I am the LORD; I will speak, and the word that I shall speak shall be performed; it shall be no more deferred: for in your days, O rebellious house, will I speak the word, and will perform it, saith the Lord GOD.

²⁶Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

²⁷Son of man, behold, they of the house of Israel say, The vision that he seeth is for many days to come, and he prophesieth of times that are far off.

²⁸Therefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD: There shall none of my words be deferred any more, but the word which I shall speak shall be performed, saith the Lord GOD.