Bible in 90 Days
The Lord Destroyed Jerusalem
2 Look how the Lord in his anger
has brought Jerusalem to shame.
He has thrown down the greatness of Israel
from the sky to the earth;
he did not remember the Temple, his footstool,
on the day of his anger.
2 The Lord swallowed up without mercy
all the houses of the people of Jacob;
in his anger he pulled down
the strong places of Judah.
He threw her kingdom and its rulers
down to the ground in dishonor.
3 In his anger he has removed
all the strength of Israel;
he took away his power from Israel
when the enemy came.
He burned against the people of Jacob like a flaming fire
that burns up everything around it.
4 Like an enemy, he prepared to shoot his bow,
and his hand was against us.
Like an enemy, he killed
all the good-looking people;
he poured out his anger like fire
on the tents of Jerusalem.
5 The Lord was like an enemy;
he swallowed up Israel.
He swallowed up all her palaces
and destroyed all her strongholds.
He has caused more moaning and groaning
for Judah.
6 He cut down his Temple like a garden;
he destroyed the meeting place.
The Lord has made Jerusalem forget
the set feasts and Sabbath days.
He has rejected the king and the priest
in his great anger.
7 The Lord has rejected his altar
and abandoned his Temple.
He has handed over to the enemy
the walls of Jerusalem’s palaces.
Their uproar in the Lord’s Temple
was like that of a feast day.
8 The Lord planned to destroy
the wall around Jerusalem.
He measured the wall
and did not stop himself from destroying it.
He made the walls and defenses sad;
together they have fallen.
9 Jerusalem’s gates have fallen to the ground;
he destroyed and smashed the bars of the gates.
Her king and her princes are among the nations.
The teaching of the Lord has stopped,
and the prophets do not have
visions from the Lord.
10 The elders of Jerusalem
sit on the ground in silence.
They throw dust on their heads
and put on rough cloth to show their sadness.
The young women of Jerusalem
bow their heads to the ground in sorrow.
11 My eyes have no more tears,
and I am sick to my stomach.
I feel empty inside,
because my people have been destroyed.
Children and babies are fainting
in the streets of the city.
12 They ask their mothers,
“Where is the grain and wine?”
They faint like wounded soldiers
in the streets of the city
and die in their mothers’ arms.
13 What can I say about you, Jerusalem?
What can I compare you to?
What can I say you are like?
How can I comfort you, Jerusalem?
Your ruin is as deep as the sea.
No one can heal you.
14 Your prophets saw visions,
but they were false and worth nothing.
They did not point out your sins
to keep you from being captured.
They preached what was false
and led you wrongly.
15 All who pass by on the road
clap their hands at you;
they make fun of Jerusalem
and shake their heads.
They ask, “Is this the city that people called
the most beautiful city,
the happiest place on earth?”
16 All your enemies open their mouths
to speak against you.
They make fun and grind their teeth in anger.
They say, “We have swallowed you up.
This is the day we were waiting for!
We have finally seen it happen.”
17 The Lord has done what he planned;
he has kept his word
that he commanded long ago.
He has destroyed without mercy,
and he has let your enemies laugh at you.
He has strengthened your enemies.
18 The people cry out to the Lord.
Wall of Jerusalem,
let your tears flow
like a river day and night.
Do not stop
or let your eyes rest.
19 Get up, cry out in the night,
even as the night begins.
Pour out your heart like water
in prayer to the Lord.
Lift up your hands in prayer to him
for the life of your children
who are fainting with hunger
on every street corner.
20 Jerusalem says: “Look, Lord, and see
to whom you have done this.
Women eat their own babies,
the children they have cared for.
Priests and prophets are killed
in the Temple of the Lord.
21 “People young and old
lie outside on the ground.
My young women and young men
have been killed by the sword.
You killed them on the day of your anger;
you killed them without mercy.
22 “You invited terrors to come against me on every side,
as if you were inviting them to a feast.
No one escaped or remained alive
on the day of the Lord’s anger.
My enemy has killed
those I cared for and brought up.”
The Meaning of Suffering
3 I am a man who has seen the suffering
that comes from the rod of the Lord’s anger.
2 He led me
into darkness, not light.
3 He turned his hand against me
again and again, all day long.
4 He wore out my flesh and skin
and broke my bones.
5 He surrounded me with sadness
and attacked me with grief.
6 He made me sit in the dark,
like those who have been dead a long time.
7 He shut me in so I could not get out;
he put heavy chains on me.
8 I cry out and beg for help,
but he ignores my prayer.
9 He blocked my way with a stone wall
and led me in the wrong direction.
10 He is like a bear ready to attack me,
like a lion in hiding.
11 He led me the wrong way and let me stray
and left me without help.
12 He prepared to shoot his bow
and made me the target for his arrows.
13 He shot me in the kidneys
with the arrows from his bag.
14 I was a joke to all my people,
who make fun of me with songs all day long.
15 The Lord filled me with misery;
he made me drunk with suffering.
16 He broke my teeth with gravel
and trampled me into the dirt.
17 I have no more peace.
I have forgotten what happiness is.
18 I said, “My strength is gone,
and I have no hope in the Lord.”
19 Lord, remember my suffering and my misery,
my sorrow and trouble.
20 Please remember me
and think about me.
21 But I have hope
when I think of this:
22 The Lord’s love never ends;
his mercies never stop.
23 They are new every morning;
Lord, your loyalty is great.
24 I say to myself, “The Lord is mine,
so I hope in him.”
25 The Lord is good to those who hope in him,
to those who seek him.
26 It is good to wait quietly
for the Lord to save.
27 It is good for someone to work hard
while he is young.
28 He should sit alone and be quiet;
the Lord has given him hard work to do.
29 He should bow down to the ground;
maybe there is still hope.
30 He should let anyone slap his cheek;
he should be filled with shame.
31 The Lord will not reject
his people forever.
32 Although he brings sorrow,
he also has mercy and great love.
33 He does not like to punish people
or make them sad.
34 He sees if any prisoner of the earth
is crushed under his feet;
35 he sees if someone is treated unfairly
before the Most High God;
36 the Lord sees
if someone is cheated in his case in court.
37 Nobody can speak and have it happen
unless the Lord commands it.
38 Both bad and good things
come by the command of the Most High God.
39 No one should complain
when he is punished for his sins.
40 Let us examine and see what we have done
and then return to the Lord.
41 Let us lift up our hands and pray from our hearts
to God in heaven:
42 “We have sinned and turned against you,
and you have not forgiven us.
43 “You wrapped yourself in anger and chased us;
you killed us without mercy.
44 You wrapped yourself in a cloud,
and no prayer could get through.
45 You made us like scum and trash
among the other nations.
46 “All of our enemies
open their mouths and speak against us.
47 We have been frightened and fearful,
ruined and destroyed.”
48 Streams of tears flow from my eyes,
because my people are destroyed.
49 My tears flow continually,
without stopping,
50 until the Lord looks down
and sees from heaven.
51 I am sad when I see
what has happened to all the women of my city.
52 Those who are my enemies for no reason
hunted me like a bird.
53 They tried to kill me in a pit;
they threw stones at me.
54 Water came up over my head,
and I said, “I am going to die.”
55 I called out to you, Lord,
from the bottom of the pit.
56 You heard me calling, “Do not close your ears
and ignore my gasps and shouts.”
57 You came near when I called to you;
you said, “Don’t be afraid.”
58 Lord, you have taken my case
and given me back my life.
59 Lord, you have seen how I have been wronged.
Now judge my case for me.
60 You have seen how my enemies took revenge on me
and made evil plans against me.
61 Lord, you have heard their insults
and all their evil plans against me.
62 The words and thoughts of my enemies
are against me all the time.
63 Look! In everything they do
they make fun of me with songs.
64 Pay them back, Lord,
for what they have done.
65 Make them stubborn,
and put your curse on them.
66 Chase them in anger, Lord,
and destroy them from under your heavens.
The Attack on Jerusalem
4 See how the gold has lost its shine,
how the pure gold has dulled!
The stones of the Temple are scattered
at every street corner.
2 The precious people of Jerusalem
were more valuable than gold,
but now they are thought of as clay jars
made by the hands of a potter.
3 Even wild dogs give their milk
to feed their young,
but my people are cruel
like ostriches in the desert.
4 The babies are so thirsty
their tongues stick to the roofs of their mouths.
Children beg for bread,
but no one gives them any.
5 Those who once ate fine foods
are now starving in the streets.
People who grew up wearing nice clothes
now pick through trash piles.
6 My people have been punished
more than Sodom was.
Sodom was destroyed suddenly,
and no hands reached out to help her.
7 Our princes were purer than snow,
and whiter than milk.
Their bodies were redder than rubies;
they looked like sapphires.
8 But now they are blacker than coal,
and no one recognizes them in the streets.
Their skin hangs on their bones;
it is as dry as wood.
9 Those who were killed in the war were better off
than those killed by hunger.
They starve in pain and die,
because there is no food from the field.
10 With their own hands kind women
cook their own children.
They became food
when my people were destroyed.
11 The Lord turned loose all of his anger;
he poured out his strong anger.
He set fire to Jerusalem,
burning it down to the foundations.
12 Kings of the earth and people of the world
could not believe
that enemies and foes
could enter the gates of Jerusalem.
13 It happened because her prophets sinned
and her priests did evil.
They killed in the city
those who did what was right.
14 They wandered in the streets
as if they were blind.
They were dirty with blood,
so no one would touch their clothes.
15 “Go away! You are unclean,” people shouted at them.
“Get away! Get away! Don’t touch us!”
So they ran away and wandered.
Even the other nations said, “Don’t stay here.”
16 The Lord himself scattered them
and did not look after them anymore.
No one respects the priests
or honors the elders.
17 Also, our eyes grew tired,
looking for help that never came.
We kept watch from our towers
for a nation to save us.
18 Our enemies hunted us,
so we could not even walk in the streets.
Our end is near. Our time is up.
Our end has come.
19 Those who chased us
were faster than eagles in the sky.
They ran us into the mountains
and ambushed us in the desert.
20 The Lord’s appointed king, who was our very breath,
was caught in their traps.
We had said about him, “We will be protected by him
among the nations.”
21 Be happy and glad, people of Edom,
you who live in the land of Uz.
The cup of God’s anger will come to you;
then you will get drunk and go naked.
22 Your punishment is complete, Jerusalem.
He will not send you into captivity again.
But the Lord will punish the sins of Edom;
he will uncover your evil.
A Prayer to the Lord
5 Remember, Lord, what happened to us.
Look and see our disgrace.
2 Our land has been turned over to strangers;
our houses have been given to foreigners.
3 We are like orphans with no father;
our mothers are like widows.
4 We have to buy the water we drink;
we must pay for the firewood.
5 Those who chase after us want to catch us by the neck.
We are tired and find no rest.
6 We made an agreement with Egypt
and with Assyria to get enough food.
7 Our ancestors sinned against you, but they are gone;
now we suffer because of their sins.
8 Slaves have become our rulers,
and no one can save us from them.
9 We risk our lives to get our food;
we face death in the desert.
10 Our skin is hot like an oven;
we burn with starvation.
11 The enemy abused the women of Jerusalem
and the girls in the cities of Judah.
12 Princes were hung by the hands;
they did not respect our elders.
13 The young men ground grain at the mill,
and boys stumbled under loads of wood.
14 The elders no longer sit at the city gates;
the young men no longer sing.
15 We have no more joy in our hearts;
our dancing has turned to sadness.
16 The crown has fallen from our head.
How terrible it is because we sinned.
17 Because of this we are afraid,
and now our eyes are dim.
18 Mount Zion is empty,
and wild dogs wander around it.
19 But you rule forever, Lord.
You will be King from now on.
20 Why have you forgotten us for so long?
Have you left us forever?
21 Bring us back to you, Lord, and we will return.
Make our days as they were before,
22 or have you completely rejected us?
Are you so angry with us?
Ezekiel’s Vision of Living Creatures
1 It was the thirtieth year, on the fifth day of the fourth month of our captivity. I was by the Kebar River among the people who had been carried away as captives. The sky opened, and I saw visions of God.
2 It was the fifth day of the month of the fifth year that King Jehoiachin had been a prisoner. 3 The Lord spoke his word to Ezekiel son of Buzi in the land of the Babylonians by the Kebar River. There he felt the power of the Lord.
4 When I looked, I saw a stormy wind coming from the north. There was a great cloud with a bright light around it and fire flashing out of it. Something that looked like glowing metal was in the center of the fire. 5 Inside the cloud was what looked like four living creatures, who were shaped like humans, 6 but each of them had four faces and four wings. 7 Their legs were straight. Their feet were like a calf’s hoofs and sparkled like polished bronze. 8 The living creatures had human hands under their wings on their four sides. All four of them had faces and wings, 9 and their wings touched each other. The living creatures did not turn when they moved, but each went straight ahead.
10 Their faces looked like this: Each living creature had a human face and the face of a lion on the right side and the face of an ox on the left side. And each one also had the face of an eagle. 11 That was what their faces looked like. Their wings were spread out above. Each had two wings that touched one of the other living creatures and two wings that covered its body. 12 Each went straight ahead. Wherever the spirit would go, the living creatures would also go, without turning. 13 The living creatures looked like burning coals of fire or like torches. Fire went back and forth among the living creatures. It was bright, and lightning flashed from it. 14 The living creatures ran back and forth like bolts of lightning.
15 Now as I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the ground by each of the living creatures with its four faces. 16 The wheels and the way they were made were like this: They looked like sparkling chrysolite. All four of them looked the same, like one wheel crossways inside another wheel. 17 When they moved, they went in any one of the four directions, without turning as they went. 18 The rims of the wheels were high and frightening and were full of eyes all around.
19 When the living creatures moved, the wheels moved beside them. When the living creatures were lifted up from the ground, the wheels also were lifted up. 20 Wherever the spirit would go, the living creatures would go. And the wheels were lifted up beside them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. 21 When the living creatures moved, the wheels moved. When the living creatures stopped, the wheels stopped. And when the living creatures were lifted from the ground, the wheels were lifted beside them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.
22 Now, over the heads of the living creatures was something like a dome that sparkled like ice and was frightening. 23 And under the dome the wings of the living creatures were stretched out straight toward one another. Each living creature also had two wings covering its body. 24 I heard the sound of their wings, like the roaring sound of the sea, as they moved. It was like the voice of God Almighty, a roaring sound like a noisy army. When the living creatures stopped, they lowered their wings.
25 A voice came from above the dome over the heads of the living creatures. When the living creatures stopped, they lowered their wings. 26 Now above the dome there was something that looked like a throne. It looked like a sapphire gem. And on the throne was a shape like a human. 27 Then I noticed that from the waist up the shape looked like glowing metal with fire inside. From the waist down it looked like fire, and a bright light was all around. 28 The surrounding glow looked like the rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day. It seemed to look like the glory of the Lord. So when I saw it, I bowed facedown on the ground and heard a voice speaking.
The Lord Speaks to Ezekiel
2 He said to me, “Human, stand up on your feet so I may speak with you.” 2 While he spoke to me, the Spirit entered me and put me on my feet. Then I heard the Lord speaking to me.
3 He said, “Human, I am sending you to the people of Israel. That nation has turned against me and broken away from me. They and their ancestors have sinned against me until this very day. 4 I am sending you to people who are stubborn and who do not obey. You will say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says.’ 5 They may listen, or they may not, since they are a people who have turned against me. But they will know that a prophet has been among them. 6 You, human, don’t be afraid of the people or their words. Even though they may be like thorny branches and stickers all around you, and though you may feel like you live with poisonous insects, don’t be afraid. Don’t be afraid of their words or their looks, because they are a people who turn against me. 7 But speak my words to them. They may listen, or they may not, because they turn against me. 8 But you, human, listen to what I say to you. Don’t turn against me as those people do. Open your mouth and eat what I am giving you.”
9 Then I looked and saw a hand stretched out to me, and a scroll was in it. 10 He opened the scroll in front of me. Funeral songs, sad writings, and words about troubles were written on the front and back.
3 Then the Lord said to me, “Human, eat what you find; eat this scroll. Then go and speak to the people of Israel.” 2 So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat.
3 He said to me, “Human, eat this scroll which I am giving you, and fill your stomach with it.” Then I ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth.
4 Then he said to me, “Human, go to the people of Israel, and speak my words to them. 5 You are not being sent to people whose speech you can’t understand, whose language is difficult. You are being sent to Israel. 6 You are not being sent to many nations whose speech you can’t understand, whose language is difficult, whose words you cannot understand. If I had sent you to them, they would have listened to you. 7 But the people of Israel will not be willing to listen to you, because they are not willing to listen to me. Yes, all the people of Israel are stubborn and will not obey. 8 See, I now make you as stubborn and as hard as they are. 9 I am making you as hard as a diamond, harder than stone. Don’t be afraid of them or be frightened by them, though they are a people who turn against me.”
10 Also, he said to me, “Human, believe all the words I will speak to you, and listen carefully to them. 11 Then go to the captives, your own people, and say to them, ‘The Lord God says this.’ Tell them this whether they listen or not.”
12 Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard a loud rumbling sound behind me, saying, “Praise the glory of the Lord in heaven.” 13 I heard the wings of the living creatures touching each other and the sound of the wheels by them. It was a loud rumbling sound. 14 So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away. I was unhappy and angry, and I felt the great power of the Lord. 15 I came to the captives from Judah, who lived by the Kebar River at Tel Abib. I sat there seven days where these people lived, feeling shocked.
Israel’s Warning
16 After seven days the Lord spoke his word to me again. He said, 17 “Human, I now make you a watchman for Israel. Any time you hear a word from my mouth, warn them for me. 18 When I say to the wicked, ‘You will surely die,’ you must warn them so they may live. If you don’t speak out to warn the wicked to stop their evil ways, they will die in their sin. But I will hold you responsible for their death. 19 If you warn the wicked and they do not turn from their wickedness or their evil ways, they will die because of their sin. But you will have saved your life.
20 “Again, those who do right may turn away from doing good and do evil. If I make something bad happen to them, they will die. Because you have not warned them, they will die because of their sin, and the good they did will not be remembered. But I will hold you responsible for their deaths. 21 But if you have warned those good people not to sin, and they do not sin, they will surely live, because they believed the warning. And you will have saved your life.”
22 Then I felt the power of the Lord there. He said to me, “Get up and go out to the plain. There I will speak to you.” 23 So I got up and went out to the plain. I saw the glory of the Lord standing there, like the glory I saw by the Kebar River, and I bowed facedown on the ground.
24 Then the Spirit entered me and made me stand on my feet. He spoke to me and said, “Go, shut yourself up in your house. 25 As for you, human, the people will tie you up with ropes so that you will not be able to go out among them. 26 Also, I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth so you will be silent. You will not be able to argue with the people, even though they turn against me. 27 But when I speak to you, I will open your mouth, and you will say to them, ‘The Lord God says this.’ Those who will listen, let them listen. Those who refuse, let them refuse, because they are a people who turn against me.
The Map of Jerusalem
4 “Now, human, get yourself a brick, put it in front of you, and draw a map of Jerusalem on it. 2 Then surround it with an army. Build battle works against the city and a dirt road to the top of the city walls. Set up camps around it, and put heavy logs in place to break down the walls. 3 Then get yourself an iron plate and set it up like an iron wall between you and the city. Turn your face toward the city as if to attack it and then attack. This is a sign to Israel.
4 “Then lie down on your left side, and take the guilt of Israel on yourself. Their guilt will be on you for the number of days you lie on your left side. 5 I have given you the same number of days as the years of the people’s sin. So you will have the guilt of Israel’s sin on you for three hundred ninety days.
6 “After you have finished these three hundred ninety days, lie down a second time, on your right side. You will then have the guilt of Judah on you. I will give it to you for forty days, a day for each year of their sin. 7 Then you will look toward Jerusalem, which is being attacked. With your arm bare, you will prophesy against Jerusalem. 8 I will put ropes on you so you cannot turn from one side to the other until you have finished the days of your attack on Jerusalem.
9 “Take wheat, barley, beans, small peas, and millet seeds, and put them in one bowl, and make them into bread for yourself. You will eat it the three hundred ninety days you lie on your side. 10 You will eat eight ounces of food every day at set times. 11 You will drink about two-thirds of a quart of water every day at set times. 12 Eat your food as you would eat a barley cake, baking it over human dung where the people can see.” 13 Then the Lord said, “In the same way Israel will eat unclean food among the nations where I force them to go.”
14 But I said, “No, Lord God! I have never been made unclean. From the time I was young until now I’ve never eaten anything that died by itself or was torn by animals. Unclean meat has never entered my mouth.”
15 “Very well,” he said. “Then I will give you cow’s dung instead of human dung to use for your fire to bake your bread.”
16 He also said to me, “Human, I am going to cut off the supply of bread to Jerusalem. They will eat the bread that is measured out to them, and they will worry as they eat. They will drink water that is measured out to them, and they will be in shock as they drink it. 17 This is because bread and water will be hard to find. The people will be shocked at the sight of each other, and they will become weak because of their sin.
Ezekiel Cuts His Hair
5 “Now, human, take a sharp sword, and use it like a barber’s razor to shave your head and beard. Then take scales and weigh and divide the hair. 2 Burn one-third with fire in the middle of the city when the days of the attack on Jerusalem are over. Then take one-third and cut it up with the knife all around the city. And scatter one-third to the wind. This is how I will chase them with a sword. 3 Also take a few of these hairs and tie them in the folds of your clothes. 4 Take a few more and throw them into the fire and burn them up. From there a fire will spread to all the people of Israel.
5 “This is what the Lord God says: This is Jerusalem. I have put her at the center of the nations with countries all around her. 6 But she has refused to obey my laws and has been more evil than the nations. She has refused to obey my rules, even more than nations around her. The people of Jerusalem have rejected my laws and have not lived by my rules.
7 “So this is what the Lord God says: You have caused more trouble than the nations around you. You have not followed my rules or obeyed my laws. You have not even obeyed the laws of the nations around you.
8 “So this is what the Lord God says: I myself am against you, and I will punish you as the nations watch. 9 I will do things among you that I have not done before and that I will never do anything like again, because you do the things I hate. 10 So parents among you will eat their children, and children will eat their parents. I will punish you and will scatter to the winds all who are left alive. 11 So the Lord God says: You have made my Temple unclean with all your evil idols and the hateful things you do. Because of this, as surely as I live, I will cut you off. I will have no pity, and I will show no mercy. 12 A third of you will die by disease or be destroyed by hunger inside your walls. A third will fall dead by the sword outside your walls. And a third I will scatter in every direction as I chase them with a sword. 13 Then my anger will come to an end. I will use it up against them, and then I will be satisfied. Then they will know that I, the Lord, have spoken. After I have carried out my anger against them, they will know how strongly I felt.
14 “I will make you a ruin and a shame among the nations around you, to be seen by all who pass by. 15 Then the nations around you will shame you and make fun of you. You will be a warning and a terror to them. This will happen when I punish you in my great anger. I, the Lord, have spoken. 16 I will send a time of hunger to destroy you, and then I will make your hunger get even worse, and I will cut off your supply of food. 17 I will send a time of hunger and wild animals against you, and they will kill your children. Disease and death will sweep through your people, and I will bring the sword against you to kill you. I, the Lord, have spoken.”
Prophecies Against the Mountains
6 Again the Lord spoke his word to me, saying: 2 “Human, look toward the mountains of Israel, and prophesy against them. 3 Say, ‘Mountains of Israel, listen to the word of the Lord God. The Lord God says this to the mountains, the hills, the ravines, and the valleys: I will bring a sword against you, and I will destroy your places of idol worship. 4 Your altars will be destroyed and your incense altars broken down. Your people will be killed in front of your idols. 5 I will lay the dead bodies of the Israelites in front of their idols, and I will scatter your bones around your altars. 6 In all the places you live, cities will become empty. The places of idol worship will be ruined; your altars will become lonely ruins. Your idols will be broken and brought to an end. Your incense altars will be cut down, and the things you made will be wiped out. 7 Your people will be killed and fall among you. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
8 “‘But I will leave some people alive; some will not be killed by the nations when you are scattered among the foreign lands. 9 Then those who have escaped will remember me, as they live among the nations where they have been taken as captives. They will remember how I was hurt because they were unfaithful to me and turned away from me and desired to worship their idols. They will hate themselves because of the evil things they did that I hate. 10 Then they will know that I am the Lord. I did not bring this terrible thing on them for no reason.
11 “‘This is what the Lord God says: Clap your hands, stamp your feet, and groan because of all the hateful, evil things the people of Israel have done. They will die by war, hunger, and disease. 12 The person who is far away will die by disease. The one who is nearby will die in war. The person who is still alive and has escaped these will die from hunger. So I will carry out my anger on them. 13 Their people will lie dead among their idols around the altars, on every high hill, on all the mountain tops, and under every green tree and leafy oak—all the places where they offered sweet-smelling incense to their idols. Then you will know that I am the Lord. 14 I will use my power against them to make the land empty and wasted from the desert to Diblah, wherever they live. Then they will know that I am the Lord.’”
Ezekiel Tells of the End
7 Again the Lord spoke his word to me, saying: 2 “Human, the Lord God says this to the land of Israel: An end! The end has come on the four corners of the land. 3 Now the end has come for you, and I will send my anger against you. I will judge you for the way you have lived, and I will make you pay for all your actions that I hate. 4 I will have no pity on you; I will not hold back punishment from you. Instead, I will make you pay for the way you have lived and for your actions that I hate. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
5 “This is what the Lord God says: Disaster on top of disaster is coming. 6 The end has come! The end has come! It has stirred itself up against you! Look! It has come! 7 Disaster has come for you who live in the land! The time has come; the day of confusion is near. There will be no happy shouting on the mountains. 8 Soon I will pour out my anger against you; I will carry out my anger against you. I will judge you for the way you have lived and will make you pay for everything you have done that I hate. 9 I will show no pity, and I will not hold back punishment. I will pay you back for the way you have lived and the things you have done that I hate. Then you will know that I am the Lord who punishes.
10 “Look, the day is here. It has come. Disaster has come, violence has grown, and there is more pride than ever. 11 Violence has grown into a weapon for punishing wickedness. None of the people will be left—none of that crowd, none of their wealth, and nothing of value. 12 The time has come; the day has arrived. Don’t let the buyer be happy or the seller be sad, because my burning anger is against the whole crowd. 13 Sellers will not return to the land they have sold as long as they live, because the vision against all that crowd will not be changed. Because of their sins, they will not save their lives. 14 They have blown the trumpet, and everything is ready. But no one is going to the battle, because my anger is against all that crowd.
15 “The sword is outside, and disease and hunger are inside. Whoever is in the field will die by the sword. Hunger and disease will destroy those in the city. 16 Those who are left alive and who escape will be on the mountains, moaning like doves of the valleys about their own sin. 17 All hands will hang weakly with fear, and all knees will become weak as water. 18 They will put on rough cloth to show how sad they are. They will tremble all over with fear. Their faces will show their shame, and all their heads will be shaved. 19 The people will throw their silver into the streets, and their gold will be like trash. Their silver and gold will not save them from the Lord’s anger. It will not satisfy their hunger or fill their stomachs, because it caused them to fall into sin. 20 They were proud of their beautiful jewelry and used it to make their idols and their evil statues, which I hate. So I will turn their wealth into trash. 21 I will give it to foreigners as loot from war and to the most evil people in the world as treasure, and they will dishonor it. 22 I will also turn away from the people of Israel, and they will dishonor my treasured place. Then robbers will enter and dishonor it.
23 “Make chains for captives, because the land is full of bloody crimes and the city is full of violence. 24 So I will bring the worst of the nations to take over the people’s houses. I will also end the pride of the strong, and their holy places will be dishonored. 25 When the people are suffering greatly, they will look for peace, but there will be none. 26 Disaster will come on top of disaster, and rumor will be added to rumor. Then they will try to get a vision from a prophet; the teachings of God from the priest and the advice from the elders will be lost. 27 The king will cry greatly, the prince will give up hope, and the hands of the people who own land will shake with fear. I will punish them for the way they have lived. The way they have judged others is the way I will judge them. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”
Ezekiel’s Vision of Jerusalem
8 It was the sixth year, on the fifth day of the sixth month of our captivity. I was sitting in my house with the elders of Judah in front of me. There I felt the power of the Lord God. 2 I looked and saw something that looked like a human. From the waist down it looked like fire, and from the waist up it looked like bright glowing metal. 3 It stretched out the shape of a hand and caught me by the hair on my head. The Spirit lifted me up between the earth and the sky. He took me in visions of God to Jerusalem, to the entrance to the north gate of the inner courtyard of the Temple. In the courtyard was the idol that caused God to be jealous. 4 I saw the glory of the God of Israel there, as I had seen on the plain.
5 Then he said to me, “Human, now look toward the north.” So I looked up toward the north, and in the entrance north of the gate of the altar was the idol that caused God to be jealous.
6 He said to me, “Human, do you see what they are doing? Do you see how many hateful things the people of Israel are doing here that drive me far away from my Temple? But you will see things more hateful than these.”
7 Then he brought me to the entry of the courtyard. When I looked, I saw a hole in the wall. 8 He said to me, “Human, dig through the wall.” So I dug through the wall and saw an entrance.
9 Then he said to me, “Go in and see the hateful, evil things they are doing here.” 10 So I entered and looked, and I saw every kind of crawling thing and hateful beast and all the idols of the people of Israel, carved on the wall all around. 11 Standing in front of these carvings and idols were seventy of the elders of Israel and Jaazaniah son of Shaphan. Each man had his pan for burning incense in his hand, and a sweet-smelling cloud of incense was rising.
12 Then he said to me, “Human, have you seen what the elders of Israel are doing in the dark? Have you seen each man in the room of his own idol? They say, ‘The Lord doesn’t see us. The Lord has left the land.’” 13 He also said to me, “You will see even more hateful things that they are doing.”
14 Then he brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the Temple of the Lord, where I saw women sitting and crying for Tammuz.[a] 15 He said to me, “Do you see, human? You will see things even more hateful than these.”
16 Then he brought me into the inner courtyard of the Temple. There I saw about twenty-five men at the entrance to the Temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar. With their backs turned to the Temple of the Lord, they faced east and were worshiping the sun in the east.
17 He said to me, “Do you see, human? Is it unimportant that the people of Judah are doing the hateful things they have done here? They have filled the land with violence and made me continually angry. Look, they are insulting me every way they can. 18 So I will act in anger. I will have no pity, nor will I show mercy. Even if they shout in my ears, I won’t listen to them.”
Vision of the Angels
9 Then he shouted with a loud voice in my ears, “You who are chosen to punish this city, come near with your weapon in your hand.” 2 Then six men came from the direction of the upper gate, which faces north, each with his powerful weapon in his hand. Among them was a man dressed in linen with a writing case at his side. The men went in and stood by the bronze altar.
3 Then the glory of the God of Israel went up from above the creatures with wings, where it had been, to the place in the Temple where the door opened. He called to the man dressed in linen who had the writing case at his side. 4 He said to the man, “Go through Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of the people who groan and cry about all the hateful things being done among them.”
5 As I listened, he said to the other men, “Go through the city behind the man dressed in linen and kill. Don’t pity anyone, and don’t show mercy. 6 Kill and destroy old men, young men and women, little children, and older women, but don’t touch any who have the mark on them. Start at my Temple.” So they started with the elders who were in front of the Temple.
7 Then he said to the men, “Make the Temple unclean, and fill the courtyards with those who have been killed. Go out!” So the men went out and killed the people in the city. 8 While the men were killing the people, I was left alone. I bowed facedown on the ground and I cried out, “Oh, Lord God! Will you destroy everyone left alive in Israel when you turn loose your anger on Jerusalem?”
9 Then he said to me, “The sin of the people of Israel and Judah is very great. The land is filled with people who murder, and the city is full of people who are not fair. The people say, ‘The Lord has left the land, and the Lord does not see.’ 10 But I will have no pity, nor will I show mercy. I will bring their evil back on their heads.”
11 Then the man dressed in linen with the writing case at his side reported, “I have done just as you commanded me.”
The Coals of Fire
10 Then I looked and saw in the dome above the heads of the living creatures something like a sapphire gem which looked like a throne. 2 The Lord said to the man dressed in linen, “Go in between the wheels under the living creatures, fill your hands with coals of fire from between the living creatures, and scatter the coals over the city.”
As I watched, the man with linen clothes went in. 3 Now the living creatures were standing on the south side of the Temple when the man went in. And a cloud filled the inner courtyard. 4 Then the glory of the Lord went up from the living creatures and stood over the door of the Temple. The Temple was filled with the cloud, and the courtyard was full of the brightness from the glory of the Lord. 5 The sound of the wings of the living creatures was heard all the way to the outer courtyard. It was like the voice of God Almighty when he speaks.
6 When the Lord commanded the man dressed in linen, “Take fire from between the wheels, from between the living creatures,” the man went in and stood by a wheel. 7 One living creature put out his hand to the fire that was among them, took some of the fire, and put it in the hands of the man dressed in linen. Then the man took the fire and went out.
The Wheels and the Creatures
8 Something that looked like a human hand could be seen under the wings of the living creatures. 9 I saw the four wheels by the living creatures, one wheel by each living creature. The wheels looked like shining chrysolite. 10 All four wheels looked alike: Each looked like a wheel crossways inside another wheel. 11 When the wheels moved, they went in any of the directions that the four living creatures faced. The wheels did not turn about, and the living creatures did not turn their bodies as they went. 12 All their bodies, their backs, their hands, their wings, and the wheels were full of eyes all over. Each of the four living creatures had a wheel. 13 I heard the wheels being called “whirling wheels.” 14 Each living creature had four faces. The first face was the face of a creature with wings. The second face was a human face, the third was the face of a lion, and the fourth was the face of an eagle.
15 Then the living creatures flew up. They were the same living creatures I had seen by the Kebar River. 16 When the living creatures moved, the wheels moved beside them. When the living creatures lifted their wings to fly up from the ground, the wheels did not leave their place beside them. 17 When the living creatures stopped, the wheels stopped. When the creatures went up, the wheels went up also, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.
18 Then the glory of the Lord left the door of the Temple and stood over the living creatures. 19 As I watched, the living creatures spread their wings and flew up from the ground, with the wheels beside them. They stood where the east gate of the Temple of the Lord opened, and the glory of the God of Israel was over them.
20 These were the living creatures I had seen under the God of Israel by the Kebar River. I knew they were called cherubim. 21 Each one had four faces and four wings, and under their wings were things that looked like human hands. 22 Their faces looked the same as the ones I had seen by the Kebar River. They each went straight ahead.
Prophecies Against Evil Leaders
11 The Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the front gate of the Temple of the Lord, which faces east. I saw twenty-five men where the gate opens, among them Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah, who were leaders of the people. 2 Then the Lord said to me, “Human, these are the men who plan evil and give wicked advice in this city of Jerusalem. 3 They say, ‘It is almost time for us to build houses. This city is like a cooking pot, and we are like the best meat.’ 4 So prophesy against them, prophesy, human.”
5 Then the Spirit of the Lord entered me and told me to say: “This is what the Lord says: You have said these things, people of Israel, and I know what you are thinking. 6 You have killed many people in this city, filling its streets with their bodies.
7 “So this is what the Lord God says: Those people you have killed and left in the middle of the city are like the best meat, and this city is like the cooking pot. But I will force you out of the city. 8 You have feared the sword, but I will bring a sword against you, says the Lord God. 9 I will force you out of the city and hand you over to strangers and punish you. 10 You will die by the sword. I will punish you at the border of Israel so you will know that I am the Lord. 11 This city will not be your cooking pot, and you will not be the best meat in the middle of it. I will punish you at the border of Israel. 12 Then you will know that I am the Lord. You did not live by my rules or obey my laws. Instead, you did the same things as the nations around you.”
13 As I prophesied, Pelatiah son of Benaiah died. Then I bowed facedown on the ground and shouted with a loud voice, “Oh no, Lord God! Will you completely destroy the Israelites who are left alive?”
Promise to Those Remaining
14 The Lord spoke his word to me, saying, 15 “Human, the people still in Jerusalem have spoken about your own relatives and all the people of Israel who are captives with you, saying, ‘They are far from the Lord. This land has been given to us as our property.’
16 “So say, ‘This is what the Lord God says: I sent the people far away among the nations and scattered them among the countries. But for a little while I have become a Temple to them in the countries where they have gone.’
17 “So say: ‘This is what the Lord God says: I will gather you from the nations and bring you together from the countries where you have been scattered. Then I will give you back the land of Israel.’
18 “When they come to this land, they will remove all the evil idols and all the hateful images. 19 I will give them a desire to respect me completely, and I will put inside them a new way of thinking. I will take out the stubborn heart of stone from their bodies, and I will give them an obedient heart of flesh. 20 Then they will live by my rules and obey my laws and keep them. They will be my people, and I will be their God. 21 But those who want to serve their evil statues and hateful idols, I will pay back for their evil ways, says the Lord God.”
Ezekiel’s Vision Ends
22 Then the living creatures lifted their wings with the wheels beside them, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them. 23 The glory of the Lord went up from inside Jerusalem and stopped on the mountain on the east side of the city. 24 The Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the captives who had been taken from Judah to Babylonia. This happened in a vision given by the Spirit of God, and then the vision I had seen ended. 25 And I told the captives from Judah all the things the Lord had shown me.
Ezekiel Moves Out
12 Again the Lord spoke his word to me, saying: 2 “Human, you are living among a people who refuse to obey. They have eyes to see, but they do not see, and they have ears to hear, but they do not hear, because they are a people who refuse to obey.
3 “So, human, pack your things as if you will be taken away captive, and walk away like a captive in the daytime with the people watching. Move from your place to another with the people watching. Maybe they will understand, even though they are a people who refuse to obey. 4 During the day when the people are watching, bring out the things you would pack as captive. At evening, with the people watching, leave your place like those who are taken away as captives from their country. 5 Dig a hole through the wall while they watch, and bring your things out through it. 6 Lift them onto your shoulders with the people watching, and carry them out in the dark. Cover your face so you cannot see the ground, because I have made you a sign to the people of Israel.”
7 I did these things as I was commanded. In the daytime I brought what I had packed as if I were being taken away captive. Then in the evening I dug through the wall with my hands. I brought my things out in the dark and carried them on my shoulders as the people watched.
8 Then in the morning the Lord spoke his word to me, saying: 9 “Human, didn’t Israel, who refuses to obey, ask you, ‘What are you doing?’
10 “Say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says: This message is about the king in Jerusalem and all the people of Israel who live there.’ 11 Say, ‘I am a sign to you.’
“The same things I have done will be done to the people in Jerusalem. They will be taken away from their country as captives. 12 The king among them will put his things on his shoulder in the dark and will leave. The people will dig a hole through the wall to bring him out. He will cover his face so he cannot see the ground. 13 But I will spread my net over him, and he will be caught in my trap. Then I will bring him to Babylon in the land of the Babylonians. He will not see that land, but he will die there. 14 All who are around the king—his helpers and all his army—I will scatter in every direction, and I will chase them with a sword.
15 “They will know that I am the Lord when I scatter them among the nations and spread them among the countries. 16 But I will save a few of them from the sword and from hunger and disease. Then they can tell about their hateful actions among the nations where they go. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”
The Lesson of Ezekiel’s Shaking
17 The Lord spoke his word to me, saying: 18 “Human, tremble as you eat your food, and shake with fear as you drink your water. 19 Then say to the people of the land: ‘This is what the Lord God says about the people who live in Jerusalem in the land of Israel: They will eat their food with fear and drink their water in shock, because their land will be stripped bare because of the violence of the people who live in it. 20 The cities where people live will become ruins, and the land will become empty. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.