- And it came to pass in the sixth year, in the sixth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I sat in my house and the elders of Judah sat before me, that the hand of the Lord God fell there upon me. Then I beheld, and behold, a likeness as the appearance of fire: from the appearance of his loins even downward, fire, and from his loins even upward, as the appearance of brightness as the color of amber. And he put forth 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 heaven and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the inner gate that looks toward the north, where was the seat of the image of jealousy which provokes to jealousy. And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, according to the vision that I saw in the plain.
- Then said he unto me, Son of man, lift up your eyes now the way toward the north. So I lifted up my eyes the way toward the north, and behold, northward at the gate of the altar, this image of jealousy in the entry. He said furthermore unto me, Son of man, do you see what they do — even the great abominations that the house of Israel commits here, that I should go far off from my sanctuary? But turn yet again and you shall see greater abominations.
- And he brought me to the door of the court, and when I looked, behold, a hole in the wall. Then said he unto me, Son of man, dig now in the wall. And when I had dug in the wall, behold, a door. And he said unto me, Go in and behold the wicked abominations that they do here.
- So I went in and saw, and behold, every form of creeping things and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, portrayed upon the wall round about. And 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 a thick cloud of incense went up. Then said he unto 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 imagery? For they say, The Lord sees us not, the Lord has forsaken the earth. He said also unto me, Turn yet again and you shall see greater abominations that they do.
- Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the Lord’s house which was toward the north, and behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz. Then said he unto me, Have you seen this, O son of man? Turn yet again and you shall see greater abominations than these.
- And 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 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. Then he said unto 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 returned to provoke me to anger, and behold, they put the branch to their nose. Therefore will I also deal in fury. My eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity, and though they cry in my ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them.
- He cried also in my ears with a loud voice, saying, Cause them that have charge over the city to draw near, even every man with his destroying weapon in his hand! And behold, six men came from the way of the higher gate which lies toward the north, and every man a slaughter weapon in his hand — and one man among them was clothed with linen, with a writer’s inkwell by his side — and they went in and stood beside the brazen altar. And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub, whereupon he was, to the threshold of the house. And he called to the man clothed with linen who had the writer’s inkwell by his side, and 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 are done in the midst thereof. And to the others he said in my hearing, Go after him through the city, and smite. Let not your eye spare, neither have pity. Slay utterly old and young, both virgins, 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 old men who were before the house. And he said unto them, Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain; go forth. And they went forth and slew in the city.
- And it came to pass, while they were slaying them and I was left, that I fell upon my face and cried, and said, Ah Lord God, will you destroy all the residue of Israel in your pouring out of your fury upon Jerusalem? Then said he unto me, The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great, and the land is full of blood, and the city full of perverseness; for they say, The Lord has forsaken the earth and the Lord sees not. And as for me also, my eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity, but I will recompense their way upon their head. And behold, the man clothed with linen, who had the inkwell by his side, reported the matter, saying, I have done as you have commanded me.
- Then I looked, and behold, in the firmament that was above the head of the cherubim, there appeared over them, as it were, a sapphire stone, as the appearance of the likeness of a throne. And he spoke unto the man clothed with linen and said, Go in between the wheels, even under the cherub, and fill your hand with coals of fire from between the cherubim and scatter them over the city. And he went in, in my sight. Now the cherubim stood on the right side of the house when the man went in, and the cloud filled the inner court. Then the glory of the Lord went 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. And the sound of the cherubim’s wings was heard even to the outer court, as the voice of the Almighty God when he speaks.
- And it came to pass that when he had commanded the man clothed with linen, saying, Take fire from between the wheels, from between the cherubim — then he went in and stood beside the wheels. And one 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 with linen, who took it and went out.
- And there appeared in the cherubim the form of a man’s hand under their wings. And when I looked, behold, 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. And as for their appearances, they four had one likeness, as if a wheel had been in the middle of a wheel. When they went, they went upon their four sides. They turned not as they went, but to the place where the head looked, they followed it; they turned not as they went. And 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.
- As for the wheels, it was cried unto them in my hearing, O wheel! And every one had four faces: the first face was the face of a 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. And the cherubim were lifted up. This is the living creature that I saw by the river of Chebar.
- And 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 turned not from beside them. When they stood, these stood; and when they were lifted up, these lifted up themselves also; for the spirit of the living creature was in them.
- Then the glory of the Lord departed from off the threshold of the house and stood over the cherubim. And the cherubim lifted up their wings and mounted up from the earth in my sight. When they went out, the wheels also were beside them. And every one 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. This is the living creature that I saw under the God of Israel by the river of Chebar, and I knew that they were the cherubim. Every one had four faces apiece, and every one four wings, and the likeness of the hands of a man was under their wings. And the likeness of their faces was the same faces which I saw by the river of Chebar; their appearances and themselves, they went every one straight forward.
- Moreover, the spirit lifted me up and brought me unto the east gate of the Lord’s house which looks eastward. And behold, at the door of the gate, twenty-five men, among whom I saw Jaazaniah the son of Azzur, and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people. Then said he unto me, Son of man, these are the men that devise mischief and give wicked counsel in this city, who say, It is not near, let us build houses, this city is the cauldron and we are the flesh.
- Therefore, prophesy against them; prophesy, O son of man. And the spirit of the Lord fell upon me and said unto me, Speak, Thus says the Lord: Thus have you said, O house of Israel, for I know the things that come into your mind, every one of them. You have multiplied your slain in this city, and you have filled the streets thereof with the slain. Therefore, thus says the Lord God: Your slain whom you have laid in the midst of it, they are the flesh and this city is the cauldron, but I will bring you forth out of the midst of it. You have feared the sword, and I will bring a sword upon you, says the Lord God. And I will bring you out of the midst thereof and deliver you into the hands of strangers, and will execute judgments among you. You shall fall by the sword. I will judge you in the border of Israel, and you shall know that I am the Lord. This city shall not be your cauldron, neither shall you be the flesh in the midst thereof, but I will judge you in the border of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord, for you have not walked in my statutes, neither executed my judgments, but have done after the manners of the heathen that are round about you.
- And it came to pass, when I prophesied, that Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died. Then I fell down upon my face and cried with a loud voice, and said, Ah Lord God, will you make a full end of the remnant of Israel? Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, your brethren — even your brethren the men of your kindred, and all the house of Israel wholly — are they unto whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, Go far from the Lord; unto us is this land given in possession.
- Therefore, say, Thus says the Lord God: Although I have cast them far off among the heathen, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet will I be to them as a little sanctuary in the countries where they shall come. Therefore, say, Thus says the Lord God: I will even gather you from the people, and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel. And they shall come there, and they shall take away all the detestable things thereof, and all the abominations thereof from there. And 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 a heart of flesh, that they may walk in my statutes, and keep my ordinances, and do them. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. But as for them whose heart walks after the heart of their detestable things and their abominations, I will recompense their way upon their own heads, says the Lord God.
- Then did the cherubim lift up their wings, and the wheels beside them, and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above. And 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. Afterward, the spirit took me up and brought me in a vision by the spirit of God into Chaldea, to them of the captivity. So the vision that I had seen went up from me. Then I spoke unto them of the captivity all the things that the Lord had shown me.
Chapter 3