Ezekiel 1-6

Ezekiel 1

¹And it cometh to pass, in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth of the month, and I am in the midst of the Removed by the river Chebar, the heavens have been opened, and I see visions of God.

²In the fifth of the month -- it is the fifth year of the removal of the king Jehoiachin --

³hath the word of Jehovah certainly been unto Ezekiel son of Buzi the priest, in the land of the Chaldeans, by the river Chebar, and there is on him there a hand of Jehovah.

⁴And I look, and lo, a tempestuous wind is coming from the north, a great cloud, and fire catching itself, and brightness to it round about, and out of its midst as the colour of copper, out of the midst of the fire.

⁵And out of its midst is a likeness of four living creatures, and this is their appearance; a likeness of man is to them,

⁶and four faces are to each, and four wings are to each of them,

⁷and their feet are straight feet, and the sole of their feet is as a sole of a calf's foot, and they are sparkling as the colour of bright brass;

⁸and hands of man under their wings -- on their four sides, and their faces and their wings -- are to them four;

⁹joining one unto another are their wings, they turn not round in their going, each straight forward they go.

¹⁰As to the likeness of their faces, the face of a man, and the face of a lion, toward the right are to them four, and the face of an ox on the left are to them four, and the face of an eagle are to them four.

¹¹And their faces and their wings are separate from above, to each are two joining together, and two are covering their bodies.

¹²And each straight forward they go, whither the spirit is to go, they go, they turn not round in their going.

¹³As to the likeness of the living creatures, their appearances are as coals of fire -- burning as the appearance of lamps; it is going up and down between the living creatures, and brightness is to the fire, and out of the fire is going forth lightning.

¹⁴And the living creatures are running, and turning back, as the appearance of the flash.

¹⁵And I see the living creatures, and lo, one wheel is in the earth, near the living creatures, at its four faces.

¹⁶The appearance of the wheels and their works is as the colour of beryl, and one likeness is to them four, and their appearances and their works are as it were the wheel in the midst of the wheel.

¹⁷On their four sides, in their going they go, they turn not round in their going.

¹⁸As to their rings, they are both high and fearful, and their rings are full of eyes round about them four.

¹⁹And in the going of the living creatures, the wheels go beside them, and in the living creatures being lifted up from off the earth, lifted up are the wheels.

²⁰Whither the spirit is to go, they go, thither the spirit is to go, and the wheels are lifted up over-against them, for a living spirit is in the wheels.

²¹In their going, they go; and in their standing, they stand; and in their being lifted up from off the earth, lifted up are the wheels over-against them; for a living spirit is in the wheels.

²²And a likeness is over the heads of the living creatures of an expanse, as the colour of the fearful ice, stretched out over their heads from above.

²³And under the expanse their wings are straight, one toward the other, to each are two covering on this side, and to each are two covering on that side -- their bodies.

²⁴And I hear the noise of their wings, as the noise of many waters, as the noise of the Mighty One, in their going -- the noise of tumult, as the noise of a camp, in their standing they let fall their wings.

²⁵And there is a voice from above the expanse, that is above their head: in their standing they let fall their wings.

²⁶And above the expanse that is over their head, as an appearance of a sapphire stone, is the likeness of a throne, and on the likeness of the throne a likeness, as the appearance of man upon it from above.

²⁷And I see as the colour of copper, as the appearance of fire within it round about, from the appearance of his loins and upward, and from the appearance of his loins and downward, I have seen as the appearance of fire, and brightness is to it round about.

²⁸As the appearance of the bow that is in a cloud in a day of rain, so is the appearance of the brightness round about.

Ezekiel 2

¹It is the appearance of the likeness of the honour of Jehovah, and I see, and fall on my face, and I hear a voice speaking, and He saith unto me, ‘Son of man, stand on thy feet, and I speak with thee.'

²And there doth come into me a spirit, when He hath spoken unto me, and it causeth me to stand on my feet, and I hear Him who is speaking unto me.

³And He saith unto Me, ‘Son of man, I am sending thee unto the sons of Israel, unto nations who are rebels, who have rebelled against Me; they and their fathers have transgressed against Me, unto this self-same day.

⁴And the sons are brazen-faced and hard-hearted to whom I am sending thee, and thou hast said unto them: Thus said the Lord Jehovah:

⁵and they -- whether they hear, or whether they forbear, for a rebellious house they are -- have known that a prophet hath been in their midst.

⁶‘And thou, son of man, thou art not afraid of them, yea, of their words thou art not afraid, for briers and thorns are with thee, and near scorpions thou art dwelling, of their words thou art not afraid, and of their faces thou art not affrighted, for they are a rebellious house,

⁷And thou hast spoken My words unto them, whether they hear or whether they forbear, for they are rebellious.

⁸‘And thou, son of man, hear that which I am speaking unto thee: Thou art not rebellious like the rebellious house, open thy mouth, and eat that which I am giving unto thee.'

⁹And I look, and lo, a hand is sent forth unto me, and lo, in it a roll of a book,

¹⁰and He spreadeth it before me, and it is written in front and behind, and written on it are lamentations, and mourning, and wo!

Ezekiel 3

¹And He saith unto me, ‘Son of man, that which thou findest eat, eat this roll, and go, speak unto the house of Israel.'

²And I open my mouth, and He causeth me to eat this roll.

³And He saith unto me, ‘Son of man, thy belly thou dost feed, and thy bowels thou dost fill with this roll that I am giving unto thee;' and I eat it, and it is in my mouth as honey for sweetness.

⁴And He saith unto me, ‘Son of man, go, enter in unto the house of Israel, and thou hast spoken with My words unto them.

⁵For, not unto a people deep of lip and heavy of tongue art thou sent -- unto the house of Israel;

⁶not unto many peoples, deep of lip and heavy of tongue, whose words thou dost not understand. If I had not sent thee unto them -- they, they do hearken unto thee,

⁷but the house of Israel are not willing to hearken unto thee, for they are not willing to hearken unto Me, for all the house of Israel are brazen-faced and strong-hearted.

⁸‘Lo, I have made thy face strong against their face, and thy forehead strong against their forehead.

⁹As an adamant harder than a rock I have made thy forehead; thou dost not fear them, nor art thou affrighted before them, for a rebellious house are they.'

¹⁰And He saith unto me, ‘Son of man, all My words, that I speak unto thee, receive with thy heart, and with thine ears hear;

¹¹and go, enter in unto the Removed, unto the sons of thy people, and thou hast spoken unto them, and hast said unto them: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: whether they hear, or whether they forbear.'

¹²And lift me up doth a spirit, and I hear behind me a noise, a great rushing -- ‘Blessed is the honour of Jehovah from His place!' --

¹³even a noise of the wings of the living creatures touching one another, and a noise of the wheels over-against them, even a noise of a great rushing.

¹⁴And a spirit hath lifted me up, and doth take me away, and I go bitterly, in the heat of my spirit, and the hand of Jehovah on me is strong.

¹⁵And I come in unto the Removed, at Tel-Ahib, who are dwelling at the river Chebar, and where they are dwelling I also dwell seven days, causing astonishment in their midst.

¹⁶And it cometh to pass, at the end of seven days,

¹⁷that there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying, ‘Son of man, a watchman I have given thee to the house of Israel, and thou hast heard from My mouth a word, and hast warned them from Me.

¹⁸In My saying to the wicked: Thou dost surely die; and thou hast not warned him, nor hast spoken to warn the wicked from his wicked way, so that he doth live; he -- the wicked -- in his iniquity dieth, and his blood from thy hand I require.

¹⁹And thou, because thou hast warned the wicked, and he hath not turned back from his wickedness, and from his wicked way, he in his iniquity dieth, and thou thy soul hast delivered.

²⁰‘And in the turning back of the righteous from his righteousness, and he hath done perversity, and I have put a stumbling-block before him, he dieth; because thou hast not warned him, in his sin he dieth, and not remembered is his righteousness that he hath done, and his blood from thy hand I require.

²¹And thou, because thou hast warned him -- the righteous -- that the righteous sin not, and he hath not sinned, he surely liveth, because he hath been warned; and thou thy soul hast delivered.'

²²And there is on me there a hand of Jehovah, and He saith to me, ‘Rise, go forth to the valley, and there I do speak with thee.'

²³And I rise and go forth unto the valley, and lo, there the honour of Jehovah is standing as the honour that I had seen by the river Chebar, and I fall on my face.

²⁴And come into me doth a spirit, and causeth me to stand on my feet, and He speaketh with me, and saith unto me, ‘Go in, be shut up in the midst of thy house.

²⁵‘And thou, son of man, lo, they have put on thee thick bands, and have bound thee with them, and thou goest not forth in their midst;

²⁶and thy tongue I cause to cleave unto thy palate, and thou hast been dumb, and art not to them for a reprover, for a rebellious house are they.

²⁷And in My speaking with thee, I do open thy mouth, and thou hast said unto them: Thus said the Lord Jehovah; the hearer doth hear, and the forbearer doth forbear; for a rebellious house are they.

Ezekiel 4

¹‘And thou, son of man, take to thee a brick, and thou hast put it before thee, and hast graven on it a city -- Jerusalem,

²and hast placed against it a siege, and builded against it a fortification, and poured out against it a mount, and placed against it camps, yea, set thou against it battering-rams round about.

³And thou, take to thee an iron pan, and thou hast made it a wall of iron between thee and the city; and thou hast prepared thy face against it, and it hath been in a siege, yea, thou hast laid siege against it. A sign it is to the house of Israel.

⁴‘And thou, lie on thy left side, and thou hast placed the iniquity of the house of Israel on it; the number of the days that thou liest on it, thou bearest their iniquity.

⁵And I -- I have laid on thee the years of their iniquity, the number of days, three hundred and ninety days; and thou hast borne the iniquity of the house of Israel.

⁶And thou hast completed these, and hast lain on thy right side, a second time, and hast borne the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days -- a day for a year -- a day for a year I have appointed to thee.

⁷‘And unto the siege of Jerusalem thou dost prepare thy face, and thine arm is uncovered, and thou hast prophesied concerning it.

⁸And lo, I have put on thee thick bands, and thou dost not turn from side to side till thy completing the days of thy siege.

⁹‘And thou, take to thee wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentiles, and millet, and spelt, and thou hast put them in one vessel, and made them to thee for bread; the number of the days that thou art lying on thy side -- three hundred and ninety days -- thou dost eat it.

¹⁰And thy food that thou dost eat is by weight, twenty shekels daily; from time to time thou dost eat it.

¹¹‘And water by measure thou dost drink, a sixth part of the hin; from time to time thou dost drink it.

¹²A barley-cake thou dost eat it, and it with dung -- the filth of man -- thou dost bake before their eyes.

¹³And Jehovah saith, ‘Thus do the sons of Israel eat their defiled bread among the nations whither I drive them.'

¹⁴And I say, ‘Ah, Lord Jehovah, lo, my soul is not defiled, and carcase, and torn thing, I have not eaten from my youth, even till now; nor come into my mouth hath abominable flesh.'

¹⁵And He saith unto me, ‘See, I have given to thee bullock's dung instead of man's dung, and thou hast made thy bread by it.'

¹⁶And He saith unto me, ‘Son of man, lo, I am breaking the staff of bread in Jerusalem, and they have eaten bread by weight and with fear; and water by measure and with astonishment, they do drink;

¹⁷so that they lack bread and water, and have been astonished one with another, and been consumed in their iniquity.

Ezekiel 5

¹‘And thou, son of man, take to thee a sharp weapon, the barber's razor thou dost take to thee, and thou hast caused it to pass over thy head, and over thy beard, and thou hast taken to thee weighing scales, and apportioned them.

²A third part with fire thou dost burn in the midst of the city, at the fulness of the days of the siege; and thou hast taken the third part, thou dost smite with a weapon round about it; and the third part thou dost scatter to the wind, and a weapon I draw out after them.

³And thou hast taken thence a few in number -- and hast bound them in thy skirts;

⁴and of them thou dost take again, and hast cast them unto the midst of the fire, and hast burned them in the fire -- out of it cometh forth a fire unto all the house of Israel.

⁵Thus said the Lord Jehovah: this is Jerusalem, In the midst of the nations I have set her, And round about her are the lands.

⁶And she changeth My judgments into wickedness more than the nations, And My statutes more than the lands that are round about her, For against My judgments they have kicked, And My statutes -- they have not walked in them.

⁷Therefore, thus said the Lord Jehovah: Because of your multiplying above the nations that are around you, In My statutes ye have not walked, And My judgments ye have not done, According to the judgments of the nations That are round about you ye have not done.

⁸Therefore, thus said the Lord Jehovah: Lo, I am against thee, even I, And I have done in thy midst judgments, Before the eyes of the nations.

⁹And I have done in thee that which I have not done, And that which I do not its like again, Because of all thine abominations.

¹⁰Therefore fathers do eat sons in thy midst, And sons eat their fathers, And I have done in thee judgments, And have scattered all thy remnant to every wind.

¹¹Therefore, I live -- an affirmation of the Lord Jehovah: Because My sanctuary thou hast defiled, With all thy detestable things, And with all thine abominations, Mine eye pitieth not, and I also spare not. Do not even I also diminish?

¹²Thy third part -- by pestilence they die, And by famine are consumed in thy midst, And the third part, by sword they fall round about thee, And the third part, to every wind I scatter, And a sword I draw out after them.

¹³And completed hath been Mine anger, And I have caused My fury to rest on them, And I have been comforted, And they have known that I, Jehovah, have spoken in My zeal, In My completing My fury on them.

¹⁴And I give thee for a waste, And for a reproach among nations that are round about thee, Before the eyes of every passer by.

¹⁵And it hath been a reproach and a reviling, An instruction and an astonishment, To nations that are round about thee, In My doing in thee judgments, In anger and fury, and in furious reproofs, I, Jehovah, have spoken.

¹⁶In My sending the evil arrows of famine among them, That have been for destruction, That I send to destroy you, And famine I am adding upon you, And I have broken to you the staff of bread.

¹⁷And I have sent on you famine and evil beasts, And they have bereaved thee, And pestilence and blood pass over on thee, And a sword I do bring in against thee, I, Jehovah, have spoken!'

Ezekiel 6

¹And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying:

²‘Son of man, set thy face unto mountains of Israel, and prophesy concerning them:

³And thou hast said: Mountains of Israel, Hear ye a word of the Lord Jehovah: Thus said the Lord Jehovah To the mountains, and to the hills, To the streams, and to the valleys, Lo, I, I am bringing in against you a sword, And I have destroyed your high places.

⁴And desolated have been your altars, And broken your images, And I have caused your wounded to fall before your idols,

⁵And put the carcases of the sons of Israel before their idols, And scattered your bones round about your altars.

⁶In all your dwellings the cities are laid waste, And the high places are desolate, So that waste and desolate are your altars, And broken and ceased have your idols, And cut down have been your images, And blotted out have been your works.

⁷And fallen hath the wounded in your midst, And ye have known that I am Jehovah.

⁸And I have caused some to remain, In their being to you the escaped of the sword among nations, In your being scattered through lands.

⁹And remembered Me have your escaped among nations, Whither they have been taken captive, Because I have been broken with their heart that is going a-whoring, That hath turned aside from off Me, And with their eyes they are going a-whoring after their idols, And they have been loathsome in their own faces, For the evils that they have done -- all their abominations.

¹⁰And they have known that I am Jehovah, Not for nought have I spoken to do to them this evil.

¹¹Thus said the Lord Jehovah: ‘Smite with thy palm, and stamp with thy foot, And say: Alas, for all the evil abominations of the house of Israel, Who by sword, by famine, and by pestilence do fall.

¹²The far-off by pestilence dieth, And the near by sword falleth, And the left and the besieged by famine dieth, And I have completed my fury upon them.

¹³And ye have known that I am Jehovah, In their wounded being in the midst of their idols, Round about their altars, On every high hill, on all tops of mountains, And under every green tree, and under every thick oak, The place where they gave sweet fragrance to all their idols.

¹⁴And I have stretched out my hand against them, And have made the land a desolation, Even a desolation from the wilderness to Diblath, In all their dwellings, And they have known that I am Jehovah!'