Ezekiel 7 - 12 — Legacy Standard Bible

The Pitiless Wrath of Yahweh

7Moreover, the word of Yahweh came to me saying, ²“Now as for you, son of man, thus says Lord Yahweh to the land of Israel, ‘An ^aend! The end is coming on the four corners of the earth. ³‘Now the end is upon you, and I will send My anger against you; I will judge you according to your ways and put all your abominations upon you. ⁴‘For My eye will have no pity on you, nor will I spare you, but I will ^aput your ways upon you, and your abominations will be among you; then you will ^bknow that I am Yahweh!’

⁵“Thus says Lord Yahweh, ‘A ^acalamitous evil, a unique calamitous evil, behold, it is coming! ⁶‘An end has come; the end has come! It has ^aawakened against you; behold, it is coming! ⁷‘Your doom has come to you, O inhabitant of the land. The ^atime has come; the ^bday is near—confusion rather than joyful shouting on the mountains. ⁸‘Now it is near when I will ^apour out My wrath on you and spend My anger against you and ^bjudge you according to your ways and put on you all your abominations. ⁹‘My eye will show no pity, nor will I spare. I will give to you according to your ways, while your abominations are among you; then you will know that I, Yahweh, do the striking.

¹⁰‘Behold, the day! Behold, it is coming! Your doom has gone forth; the ^arod has blossomed; arrogance has budded. ¹¹‘Violence ¹has grown into a rod of ^awickedness. None of them shall remain, none of their multitude, none of their ^bmoaning, nor anything eminent among them. ¹²‘The ^atime has come; the day has arrived. Let not the ^bbuyer be glad nor the seller mourn; for ^cwrath is against all their multitude. ¹³‘Indeed, the seller will not ^areturn to himself ¹what he sold as long as ²they both live; for the vision regarding all their multitude will not return empty, nor will any of them strengthen his life by his iniquity.

¹⁴‘They have ^ablown the trumpet and made everything ready, but no one is going to the battle, for My wrath is against all ¹their multitude. ¹⁵‘The ^asword is outside, and the plague and the famine are inside. He who is in the field will die by the sword; famine and the plague will also devour those in the city. ¹⁶‘Even when their survivors ^aescape, they will be on the mountains like ^bdoves of the valleys, all of them ^cmoaning, each over his own iniquity. ¹⁷‘All ^ahands will hang limp, and all knees will ¹become like water. ¹⁸‘They will ^agird themselves with sackcloth, and ^bhorror will cover them; and shame will be on all faces and ^cbaldness on all their heads. ¹⁹‘They will ^athrow their silver into the streets, and their gold will become an impure thing; their ^bsilver and their gold will not be able to deliver them in the day of the fury of Yahweh. They cannot satisfy their soul, nor can they fill their stomachs, for their iniquity has become an occasion of stumbling.

The Temple Profaned

²⁰‘They ¹transformed the beauty of His ornaments into pride, and ^athey made the images of their abominations and their detestable things with it; therefore I will make it an impure thing to them. ²¹‘I will give it into the hands of the ^aforeigners as plunder and to the wicked of the earth as spoil, and they will profane it. ²²‘I will also turn My ^aface from them, and they will profane My secret place; then robbers will enter and profane it.

²³‘^aMake the chain, for the land is full of ^bjudgments that promote bloodshed, and the city is ^cfull of violence. ²⁴‘Therefore, I will bring the most evil of the ^anations, and they will possess their houses. I will also make the ^bpride of the strong ones cease, and their ^choly places will be profaned. ²⁵‘Anguish has come, and they will seek ^apeace, but there will be none. ²⁶‘^aDisaster will come upon disaster, and ^breport will be added to report; then they will seek a ^cvision from a prophet, but the ^dlaw will be lost from the priest and ^ecounsel from the elders. ²⁷‘The king will mourn, the prince will be ^aclothed with desolation, and the hands of the people of the land will be dismayed. According to their way I will deal with them, and by their judgments I will judge them. And they will know that I am Yahweh.’”

Visions of Abominations in the Sanctuary

8Now it happened in the sixth year, on the fifth day of the sixth month, as I was sitting in my house with the elders of Judah sitting before me, that the hand of Lord Yahweh fell on me there. ²Then I looked, and behold, a likeness as the appearance of ¹one on fire; from His loins and downward there was the ^aappearance of fire, and from His loins and upward the appearance of brightness, like ^bthe gleam of ²glowing metal. ³He sent forth the form of a hand and took me by a lock of my head; and the ^aSpirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the ¹north gate of the inner court, where the seat of the figure of jealousy, which ^bprovokes to jealousy, was located. ⁴And behold, the ^aglory of the God of Israel was there, like the appearance which I saw in the plain.

⁵Then He said to me, “Son of man, ^araise your eyes now toward the north.” So I raised my eyes toward the north, and behold, to the north of the altar gate was this ^bfigure of jealousy at the entrance. ⁶And He said to me, “Son of man, are you seeing what they are doing, the great ^aabominations which the house of Israel is doing here, so that I would be far from My sanctuary? But yet you will see still greater abominations.”

⁷Then He brought me to the entrance of the court, and when I looked, behold, a hole in the wall. ⁸He said to me, “Son of man, now ^adig through the wall.” So I dug through the wall, and behold, an entrance. ⁹And He said to me, “Go in and see the evil abominations that they are doing here.” ¹⁰So I entered and looked, and behold, every form of creeping things and beasts and detestable things, with all the idols of the house of Israel, were carved on the wall all around. ¹¹Standing in front of them were ^aseventy ^belders of the house of Israel, with Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan standing among them, each man with his ^ccenser in his hand and the fragrance of the cloud of incense rising. ¹²Then He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the dark, each man in the room of his carved images? For they say, ‘^aYahweh does not see us; Yahweh has ^bforsaken the land.’” ¹³And He said to me, “Yet you will see still greater abominations which they are doing.”

¹⁴Then He brought me to the entrance of the ^agate of the house of Yahweh which was toward the north; and behold, women were sitting there weeping for Tammuz. ¹⁵He said to me, “Do you see this, son of man? Yet you will see still greater abominations than these.”

¹⁶Then He brought me into the inner court of the house of Yahweh. And behold, at the entrance to the temple of Yahweh, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their ^abacks to the temple of Yahweh and their faces toward the east; and ^bthey were ¹prostrating themselves eastward toward the sun. ¹⁷He said to me, “Do you see this, son of man? Is it too light a thing for the house of Judah to do the abominations which they have done here, that they have ^afilled the land with violence and ^bprovoked Me to anger still more? For behold, they are sending forth the twig to their nose. ¹⁸“Therefore, I also will do this in wrath: My eye will have no pity, nor will I spare; and ^athey will cry in My ears with a loud voice, yet I will not listen to them.”

The Vision of Yahweh’s Wrath

9Then He cried out in my hearing with a loud ^avoice saying, “Draw near, ¹O executioners of the city, each with his destroying weapon in his hand.” ²And behold, six men were coming from the direction of the upper gate which faces north, each with his shattering weapon in his hand; and among them was ^aa certain man clothed in linen with a ¹scribe’s case at his loins. And they went in and stood beside the bronze altar.

³Then the ^aglory of the God of Israel went up from the cherub on which it had been, to the threshold of the house of Yahweh. And He called to the man clothed in linen at whose loins was the ¹scribe’s case. ⁴Yahweh said to him, “Go through the midst of the city, even through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a ^amark on the foreheads of the men who ^bsigh and groan over all the abominations which are being done in its midst.” ⁵But to the others He said in my hearing, “Go through the city after him and strike; do not let your eye have pity and do not spare. ⁶“^aKill to utter destruction old men, chosen men, virgins, little ones, and women, but do not ^btouch any man on whom is the mark; and you shall ^cstart from My sanctuary.” So they started with the ¹elders who were before the house. ⁷And He said to them, “^aDefile the house and fill the courts with the slain. Go out!” Thus they went out and struck down the people in the city. ⁸Now it happened as they were striking the people and I alone remained, that I ^afell on my face and cried out and said, “^bAlas, Lord Yahweh! Are You destroying the whole remnant of Israel ¹by pouring out Your wrath on Jerusalem?”

⁹Then He said to me, “The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is very, very great, and the land is ^afilled with bloodshed, and the city is ^bfull of perversion; for ^cthey say, ‘Yahweh has forsaken the land, and Yahweh does not see!’ ¹⁰“But as for Me, ^aMy eye will have no pity, nor will I spare, but ^bI will put their way upon their heads.”

¹¹Then behold, the man clothed in linen at whose loins was the scribe’s ¹case responded with a word, saying, “I have done just as You have commanded me.”

Vision of Yahweh’s Glory Departing the Temple

10Then I looked, and behold, in the ¹^,^aexpanse that was over the heads of the cherubim something like a ^bsapphire stone, in appearance in the likeness of a ^cthrone, appeared above them. ²And He spoke to the man clothed in linen and said, “Enter between the ^awhirling wheels under the ¹cherubim and fill your hands with ^bcoals of fire from between the cherubim and scatter them over the city.” And he entered in my sight.

³Now the cherubim were standing on the right side of the house when the man entered, and the cloud filled the ^ainner court. ⁴Then the ^aglory of Yahweh rose up from the cherub to the threshold of the house, and the ^bhouse was filled with the cloud, and the court was filled with the ^cbrightness of the glory of Yahweh. ⁵Moreover, the sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard as far as the outer court, like the ^avoice of ¹God Almighty when He speaks.

⁶Now it happened that when He commanded the man clothed in linen, saying, “Take fire from between the whirling wheels, from between the cherubim,” he entered and stood beside a wheel. ⁷Then the cherub sent forth his hand from between the cherubim to the fire which was between the cherubim, took some up, and put it into the hands of the one clothed in linen, who took it and went out. ⁸And the cherubim appeared to have the form of a man’s hand under their wings.

⁹Then I looked, and behold, ^afour wheels beside the cherubim, one wheel beside each cherub; and the appearance of the wheels was like the gleam of a ¹^,^bTarshish stone. ¹⁰As for their appearance, all four of them had the same likeness, as if one wheel were within another wheel. ¹¹As they went, they went ^ain any of their four ¹directions without turning as they went; but they went in the direction which ²they faced, without turning as they went. ¹²And their ^awhole body, their backs, their hands, their wings, and the ^bwheels were full of eyes all around, the wheels belonging to all four of them. ¹³The wheels were called in my hearing, the whirling wheels. ¹⁴And ^aeach 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.

¹⁵Then the cherubim rose up. They are the ^aliving creatures that I saw by the river Chebar. ¹⁶Now as the cherubim went, the wheels went beside them; also when the cherubim lifted up their wings to rise from the ground, the wheels would not turn from beside them. ¹⁷When ¹the cherubim ^astood still, ²the wheels would stand still; and when they rose up, ³the wheels would rise with them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in them.

¹⁸Then the glory of Yahweh departed from the threshold of the house and stood ^aover the cherubim. ¹⁹When ^athe cherubim departed, they lifted their wings and rose up from the earth in my sight with the wheels beside them; and they stood still at the entrance of the east gate of the house of Yahweh, and the glory of the God of Israel ¹hovered over them.

²⁰These are the ^aliving creatures that I saw beneath the God of Israel by ^bthe river Chebar; so I knew that they were cherubim. ²¹^aEach one had four faces and each one four wings, and beneath their wings was the likeness of human hands. ²²As for the likeness of their faces, they were the same faces whose appearance I had seen by the river Chebar. Each one went straight ahead.

Judgment on Evil Counselors

11Moreover, the ^aSpirit lifted me up and brought me to the east gate of the house of Yahweh which faced eastward. And behold, at the entrance of the gate, there were twenty-five men, and I saw among them Jaazaniah son of Azzur and ^bPelatiah son of Benaiah, officials of the people. ²He said to me, “Son of man, these are the men who devise wickedness and ^agive evil counsel in this city, ³who say, ‘The time is not near to build houses. ¹This ^acity is the pot, and we are the flesh.’ ⁴“Therefore, ^aprophesy against them, son of man, prophesy!”

⁵Then the Spirit of Yahweh fell upon me, and He said to me, “Say, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “So you say, house of Israel, for ^aI know what comes up in your ^bspirit. ⁶“You have ^amultiplied your slain in this city, and you have filled its streets with ¹them.” ⁷‘Therefore, thus says Lord Yahweh, “Your ^aslain whom you have laid in the midst of ¹the city are the flesh, and this city is the pot; but ²I will ^bbring you out of it. ⁸“You have ^afeared a sword; so a sword I will ^bbring upon you,” Lord Yahweh declares. ⁹“And I will bring you out of the midst of ¹the city and give you into the hands of ^astrangers and ^bexecute judgments against you. ¹⁰“You will ^afall by the sword. I will judge you to the ^bborder of Israel; so you shall know that I am Yahweh. ¹¹“This city will ^anot be a pot for you, nor will you be flesh in the midst of it, but I will judge you to the border of Israel. ¹²“Thus you will know that I am Yahweh; for you have not walked in My statutes, nor have you ^aexecuted My judgments, but have executed according to the judgments of the ^bnations around you.”’”

¹³Now it happened as I prophesied, that ^aPelatiah son of Benaiah died. Then I fell on my face and cried out with a loud voice and said, “^bAlas, Lord Yahweh! Will You bring the remnant of Israel to complete destruction?”

Yahweh Will Gather the Exiles

¹⁴Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ¹⁵“Son of man, your brothers, your ¹relatives, ²your fellow exiles, and the whole house of Israel, all of them, are those to whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, ‘Go far from Yahweh; this land has been given to ^aus as a possession.’ ¹⁶“Therefore say, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “Though I had removed them far away among the nations, and though I had scattered them among the countries, yet I was a ^asanctuary for them a little while in the countries where they had gone.”’ ¹⁷“Therefore say, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “I will ^agather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries among which you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.”’ ¹⁸“When they come there, they will ^aremove all its ^bdetestable things and all its abominations from it. ¹⁹“And I will ^agive them one heart and give within ¹them a new spirit. And I will take the ^bheart of stone out of their flesh and give them a ^cheart of flesh, ²⁰that they may ^awalk in My statutes and keep My judgments and do them. Then they will be ^bMy people, and I shall be their God. ²¹“¹But as for those whose hearts walk after their ^adetestable things and abominations, I will ^bgive what is due for their way on their heads,” declares Lord Yahweh.

The Glory of Yahweh Leaves Jerusalem

²²Then the cherubim ^alifted up their wings with the wheels beside them, and ^bthe glory of the God of Israel ¹hovered over them. ²³The ^aglory of Yahweh went up from the midst of the city and ^bstood over the mountain which is east of the city. ²⁴Now the ^aSpirit lifted me up and brought me in a vision by the Spirit of God to the exiles in ¹Chaldea. So the vision that I had seen ^bwent up and away from me. ²⁵Then I ^atold the exiles all the things that Yahweh had shown me.

The Vision of Captivity

12Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ²“Son of man, you live in the ^amidst of the ^brebellious house, who ^chave eyes to see but do not see, ears to hear but do not hear; for they are a rebellious house. ³“Now as for you, son of man, prepare for yourself baggage for exile and go into exile by day in their sight; even go into exile from your place to another place in their sight. ^aPerhaps they will see, though they are a rebellious house. ⁴“Bring your baggage out by day in their sight, as baggage for exile. Then you will go out ^aat evening in their sight, as those going into exile. ⁵“In their sight, dig a hole through the wall and ¹go out through it. ⁶“In their sight, carry the baggage on your shoulder and bring it out in the dark. You shall ^acover your face so that you cannot see the land, for I have set you as a ^bwondrous sign to the house of Israel.”

⁷I ^adid so, as I had been commanded. By day I ^bbrought out my baggage like the baggage of an exile. Then in the evening I dug through the wall with my hands; I went out in the dark and carried the baggage on my shoulder in their sight.

⁸And in the morning the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ⁹“Son of man, has not the house of Israel, the ^arebellious house, said to you, ‘^bWhat are you doing?’ ¹⁰“Say to them, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “This ¹^,^aoracle concerns the prince in Jerusalem as well as all the house of Israel who are ²in it.”’ ¹¹“Say, ‘I am ¹a ^awondrous sign to you. As I have done, so it will be done to them; they will ^bgo into exile, into captivity.’ ¹²“The ^aprince who is among them will carry his baggage on his shoulder in the dark and go out. ¹They will dig a hole through the wall to bring it out. He will cover his face so that he cannot see the land with his eyes. ¹³“I will also spread My ^anet over him, and he will be caught in My snare. And I will bring him to Babylon in the land of the Chaldeans; yet he will ^bnot see it, though he will die there. ¹⁴“And I will ^ascatter to every wind all who are around him, his helpers and all his troops; and I will draw out a sword after them. ¹⁵“So they will ^aknow that I am Yahweh when I scatter them among the nations and spread them among the countries. ¹⁶“But I will ¹spare a few of them from ^asword, famine, and pestilence that they may recount all their abominations among the nations where they go, and ²may ^bknow that I am Yahweh.”

¹⁷Moreover, the word of Yahweh came to me saying, ¹⁸“Son of man, ^ayou shall eat your bread with trembling and drink your water with quivering and anxiety. ¹⁹“Then you will say to the people of the land, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh concerning the inhabitants of Jerusalem in the land of Israel, “They will eat their bread with anxiety and drink their water with desolation because ¹their very soil will be ^amade desolate of its fullness on account of the violence of all who inhabit it. ²⁰“The inhabited ^acities will be laid waste, and the ^bland will be a desolation. So you will know that I am Yahweh.”’”

²¹Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ²²“Son of man, what is this ^aproverb you people have concerning the land of Israel, saying, ‘The ^bdays are long, and every ^cvision fails’? ²³“Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “I will make this proverb cease so that they will no longer use it as a proverb in Israel.” But speak to them, “^aThe days draw near as well as the ¹fulfillment of every vision. ²⁴“For there will no longer be any ^aworthless vision or flattering divination in the midst of the house of Israel. ²⁵“For I, Yahweh, will speak, and whatever ^aword I speak will be done. It will no longer be delayed, for in ^byour days, O ^crebellious house, I will speak the word and do it,” declares Lord Yahweh.’”

²⁶Furthermore, the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ²⁷“Son of man, behold, the house of Israel is saying, ‘The vision that he beholds is for ^amany ¹years from now, and he prophesies of times far off.’ ²⁸“Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “None of My words will be delayed any longer. Whatever word I speak will be done,”’” declares Lord Yahweh.