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¹Then He called out in my hearing with a loud voice, saying, “Let those who have charge over the city draw near, each with a deadly weapon in his hand.”

²And suddenly six men came from the direction of the upper gate, which faces north, each with his battle-ax in his hand. One man among them was clothed with linen and had a writer’s inkhorn at his side. They went in and stood beside the bronze altar.

³Now the glory of the God of Israel had gone up from the cherub, where it had been, to the threshold of the temple. And He called to the man clothed with linen, who had the writer’s inkhorn at his side;

⁴and the LORD said to him, “Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done within it.”

⁵To the others He said in my hearing, “Go after him through the city and kill; do not let your eye spare, nor have any pity.

⁶Utterly slay old and young men, maidens and little children and women; but do not come near anyone on whom is the mark; and begin at My sanctuary.” So they began with the elders who were before the temple.

⁷Then He said to them, “Defile the temple, and fill the courts with the slain. Go out!” And they went out and killed in the city.

⁸So it was, that while they were killing them, I was left alone; and I fell on my face and cried out, and said, “Ah, Lord GOD! Will You destroy all the remnant of Israel in pouring out Your fury on Jerusalem?”

⁹Then He said to me, “The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great, and the land is full of bloodshed, and the city full of perversity; for they say, ‘The LORD has forsaken the land, and the LORD does not see!’

¹⁰And as for Me also, My eye will neither spare, nor will I have pity, but I will recompense their deeds on their own head.”

¹¹Just then, the man clothed with linen, who had the inkhorn at his side, reported back and said, “I have done as You commanded me.”

¹And I looked, and there in the firmament that was above the head of the cherubim, there appeared something like a sapphire stone, having the appearance of the likeness of a throne.

²Then He spoke to the man clothed with linen, and said, “Go in among the wheels, under the cherub, fill your hands with coals of fire from among the cherubim, and scatter them over the city.” And he went in as I watched.

³Now the cherubim were standing on the south side of the temple when the man went in, and the cloud filled the inner court.

⁴Then the glory of the LORD went up from the cherub, and paused over the threshold of the temple; 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 in the outer court, like the voice of Almighty God when He speaks.

⁶Then it happened, when He commanded the man clothed in linen, saying, “Take fire from among the wheels, from among the cherubim,” that he went in and stood beside the wheels.

⁷And the cherub stretched out his hand from among the cherubim to the fire that was among the cherubim, and took some of it and put it into the hands of the man clothed with linen, who took it and went out.

⁸The cherubim appeared to have the form of a man’s hand under their wings.

⁹And when I looked, there were four wheels by the cherubim, one wheel by one cherub and another wheel by each other cherub; the wheels appeared to have the color of a beryl stone.

¹⁰As for their appearance, all four looked alike—as it were, a wheel in the middle of a wheel.

¹¹When they went, they went toward any of their four directions; they did not turn aside when they went, but followed in the direction the head was facing. They did not turn aside when they went.

¹²And their whole body, with their back, their hands, their wings, and the wheels that the four had, were full of eyes all around.

¹³As for the wheels, they were called in my hearing, “Wheel.”

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

¹⁵And the cherubim were lifted up. This was the living creature I saw by the River Chebar.

¹⁶When the cherubim went, the wheels went beside them; and when the cherubim lifted their wings to mount up from the earth, the same wheels also did not turn from beside them.

¹⁷When the cherubim stood still, the wheels stood still, and when one was lifted up, the other lifted itself up, for the spirit of the living creature was in them.

¹⁸Then the glory of the LORD departed from the threshold of the temple and stood over the cherubim.

¹⁹And the cherubim lifted their wings and mounted up from the earth in my sight. When they went out, the wheels were 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 above them.

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

²¹Each one had four faces and each one four wings, and the likeness of the hands of a man was under their wings.

²²And the likeness of their faces was the same as the faces which I had seen by the River Chebar, their appearance and their persons. They each went straight forward.

¹Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the East Gate of the LORD’s house, which faces eastward; and there at the door of the gate were twenty-five men, among whom I saw Jaazaniah the son of Azzur, and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people.

²And He said to me: “Son of man, these are the men who devise iniquity and give wicked counsel in this city,

³who say, ‘The time is not near to build houses; this city is the caldron, and we are the meat.’

⁴Therefore prophesy against them, prophesy, O son of man!”

⁵Then the Spirit of the LORD fell upon me, and said to me, “Speak! ‘Thus says the LORD: “Thus you have said, O house of Israel; for I know the things that come into your mind.

⁶You have multiplied your slain in this city, and you have filled its streets with the slain.”

⁷Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: “Your slain whom you have laid in its midst, they are the meat, and this city is the caldron; but I shall bring you out of the midst of it.

⁸You have feared the sword; and I will bring a sword upon you,” says the Lord GOD.

⁹“And I will bring you out of its midst, and deliver you into the hands of strangers, and execute judgments on you.

¹⁰You shall fall by the sword. I will judge you at the border of Israel. Then you shall know that I am the LORD.

¹¹This city shall not be your caldron, nor shall you be the meat in its midst. I will judge you at the border of Israel.

¹²And you shall know that I am the LORD; for you have not walked in My statutes nor executed My judgments, but have done according to the customs of the Gentiles which are all around you.” ’ ”

¹³Now it happened, while I was prophesying, that Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died. Then I fell on my face and cried with a loud voice, and said, “Ah, Lord GOD! Will You make a complete end of the remnant of Israel?”

¹⁴Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

¹⁵“Son of man, your brethren, your relatives, your countrymen, and all the house of Israel in its entirety, are those about whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, ‘Get far away from the LORD; this land has been given to us as a possession.’

¹⁶Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Although I have cast them far off among the Gentiles, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet I shall be a little sanctuary for them in the countries where they have gone.” ’

¹⁷Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “I will gather you from the peoples, assemble you from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.” ’

¹⁸And they will go there, and they will take away all its detestable things and all its abominations from there.

¹⁹Then I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them, and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh,

²⁰that they may walk in My statutes and keep My judgments and do them; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God.

²¹But as for those whose hearts follow the desire for their detestable things and their abominations, I will recompense their deeds on their own heads,” says the Lord GOD.

²²So the cherubim lifted up their wings, with the wheels beside them, and the glory of the God of Israel was high above them.

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

²⁴Then the Spirit took me up and brought me in a vision by the Spirit of God into Chaldea, to those in captivity. And the vision that I had seen went up from me.

²⁵So I spoke to those in captivity of all the things the LORD had shown me.

¹Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying:

²“Son of man, you dwell in the midst of a rebellious house, which has eyes to see but does not see, and ears to hear but does not hear; for they are a rebellious house.

³“Therefore, son of man, prepare your belongings for captivity, and go into captivity by day in their sight. You shall go from your place into captivity to another place in their sight. It may be that they will consider, though they are a rebellious house.

⁴By day you shall bring out your belongings in their sight, as though going into captivity; and at evening you shall go in their sight, like those who go into captivity.

⁵Dig through the wall in their sight, and carry your belongings out through it.

⁶In their sight you shall bear them on your shoulders and carry them out at twilight; you shall cover your face, so that you cannot see the ground, for I have made you a sign to the house of Israel.”

⁷So I did as I was commanded. I brought out my belongings by day, as though going into captivity, and at evening I dug through the wall with my hand. I brought them out at twilight, and I bore them on my shoulder in their sight.

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

⁹“Son of man, has not the house of Israel, the rebellious house, said to you, ‘What are you doing?’

¹⁰Say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “This burden concerns the prince in Jerusalem and all the house of Israel who are among them.” ’

¹¹Say, ‘I am a sign to you. As I have done, so shall it be done to them; they shall be carried away into captivity.’

¹²And the prince who is among them shall bear his belongings on his shoulder at twilight and go out. They shall dig through the wall to carry them out through it. He shall cover his face, so that he cannot see the ground with his eyes.

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

¹⁴I will scatter to every wind all who are around him to help him, and all his troops; and I will draw out the sword after them.

¹⁵“Then they shall know that I am the LORD, when I scatter them among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries.

¹⁶But I will spare a few of their men from the sword, from famine, and from pestilence, that they may declare all their abominations among the Gentiles wherever they go. Then they shall know that I am the LORD.”

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

¹⁸“Son of man, eat your bread with quaking, and drink your water with trembling and anxiety.

¹⁹And say to the people of the land, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the land of Israel: “They shall eat their bread with anxiety, and drink their water with dread, so that her land may be emptied of all who are in it, because of the violence of all those who dwell in it.

²⁰Then the cities that are inhabited shall be laid waste, and the land shall become desolate; and you shall know that I am the LORD.” ’ ”

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

²²“Son of man, what is this proverb that you people have about the land of Israel, which says, ‘The days are prolonged, and every vision fails’?

²³Tell them therefore, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “I will lay this proverb to rest, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel.” ’ But say to them, ‘ “The days are at hand, and the fulfillment of every vision.

²⁴For no more shall there be any false vision or flattering divination within the house of Israel.

²⁵For I am the LORD. I speak, and the word which I speak will come to pass; it will no more be postponed; for in your days, O rebellious house, I will say the word and perform it,” says the Lord GOD.’ ”

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

²⁷“Son of man, look, the house of Israel is saying, ‘The vision that he sees is for many days from now, and he prophesies of times far off.’

²⁸Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “None of My words will be postponed any more, but the word which I speak will be done,” says the Lord GOD.’ ”