Ezekiel here. Priest, son of Buzi. It's the fifth year since King Jehoiachin was taken off to Babylon, and the rest of us with him. We're living by the River Kebar. And today the sky opened and I saw visions of God.
EZEKIEL 1:1–3 · BSB
In the thirtieth year, on the fifth day of the fourth month, while I was among the exiles by the River Kebar, the heavens opened and I saw visions of God. On the fifth day of the month—it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin— the word of the LORD came directly to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the River Kebar. And there the LORD’s hand was upon him.
A storm coming from the north. A huge cloud, fire flashing through it, bright light all round. In the middle, four living creatures. Human shape, but four faces each: a man, a lion, an ox, an eagle. Four wings. Feet like a calf's hooves, shining like polished bronze. Fire darting between them like lightning.
EZEKIEL 1:4–10; EZEKIEL 1:13–14 · BSB
I looked and saw a whirlwind coming from the north, a great cloud with fire flashing back and forth and brilliant light all around it. In the center of the fire was a gleam like amber, and within it was the form of four living creatures. And this was their appearance: They had a human form, but each had four faces and four wings. Their legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the hooves of a calf, gleaming like polished bronze. Under their wings on their four sides they had human hands. All four living creatures had faces and wings, and their wings were touching one another. They did not turn as they moved; each one went straight ahead. The form of their faces was that of a man, and each of the four had the face of a lion on the right side, the face of an ox on the left side, and also the face of an eagle. In the midst of the living creatures was the appearance of glowing coals of fire, or of torches. Fire moved back and forth between the living creatures; it was bright, and lightning flashed out of it. The creatures were darting back and forth as quickly as flashes of lightning.
And the wheels. A wheel on the ground beside each creature, gleaming like beryl. It looked like a wheel inside a wheel. They could go in any direction without turning. The rims were high and terrifying, and full of eyes all round. Wherever the creatures went, the wheels went. The spirit of the creatures was in the wheels.
EZEKIEL 1:15–20 · BSB
When I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the ground beside each creature with its four faces. The workmanship of the wheels looked like the gleam of beryl, and all four had the same likeness. Their workmanship looked like a wheel within a wheel. As they moved, they went in any of the four directions, without pivoting as they moved. Their rims were high and awesome, and all four rims were full of eyes all around. So as the living creatures moved, the wheels moved beside them, and when the creatures rose from the ground, the wheels also rose. Wherever the spirit would go, they would go, and the wheels would rise alongside them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.
Above them, something like a throne, blue as sapphire. On it, a figure like a man. Fire from the waist down, gleaming like amber from the waist up, and brilliant light all round, like a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day.
That is what the glory of the LORD looked like. I fell face down.
EZEKIEL 1:26–28 · BSB
Above the expanse over their heads was the likeness of a throne with the appearance of sapphire, and on the throne high above was a figure like that of a man. From what seemed to be His waist up, I saw a gleam like amber, with what looked like fire within it all around. And from what seemed to be His waist down, I saw what looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded Him. The appearance of the brilliant light all around Him was like that of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell facedown and heard a voice speaking.
He called me son of man and told me to stand up. He's sending me to Israel, a people who have rebelled against him for generations. Whether they listen or not, they'll know a prophet has been among them. And he told me not to be afraid of them, even if it feels like living among scorpions.
EZEKIEL 2:1–7 · BSB
“Son of man,” He said to me, “stand up on your feet and I will speak to you.” And as He spoke to me, the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet, and I heard Him speaking to me. “Son of man,” He said to me, “I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against Me. To this very day they and their fathers have rebelled against Me. They are obstinate and stubborn children. I am sending you to them, and you are to say to them, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says.’ And whether they listen or refuse to listen—for they are a rebellious house—they will know that a prophet has been among them. But you, son of man, do not be afraid of them or their words. Do not be afraid, though briers and thorns surround you, and you dwell among scorpions. Do not be afraid of their words or dismayed by their presence, though they are a rebellious house. But speak My words to them, whether they listen or refuse to listen, for they are rebellious.
A hand held out a scroll to me. Written on the front and the back: grief, mourning and pain. He told me to eat it. So I ate it. It tasted as sweet as honey.
EZEKIEL 2:9–3:3 · BSB
Then I looked and saw a hand reaching out to me, and in it was a scroll, which He unrolled before me. And written on the front and back of it were words of lamentation, mourning, and woe. “Son of man,” He said to me, “eat what you find here. Eat this scroll, then go and speak to the house of Israel.” So I opened my mouth, and He fed me the scroll. “Son of man,” He said to me, “eat and fill your stomach with this scroll I am giving you.” So I ate, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth.
He says Israel won't listen to me, because they won't listen to him. They're all hard-headed. So he's making my forehead harder than flint.
EZEKIEL 3:7–9 · BSB
But the house of Israel will be unwilling to listen to you, since they are unwilling to listen to Me. For the whole house of Israel is hard-headed and hard-hearted. Behold, I will make your face as hard as their faces, and your forehead as hard as their foreheads. I will make your forehead like a diamond, harder than flint. Do not be afraid of them or dismayed at their presence, even though they are a rebellious house.”
The Spirit lifted me up and took me away. I went bitter and angry, with the LORD's hand heavy on me. Came to the exiles at Tel-abib and sat where they sat for seven days. Overwhelmed.
EZEKIEL 3:14–15 · BSB
So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness and in the anger of my spirit, with the strong hand of the LORD upon me. I came to the exiles at Tel-abib who dwelt by the River Kebar. And for seven days I sat where they sat and remained there among them, overwhelmed.
After seven days the LORD told me he's made me a watchman for Israel. If I don't warn someone and they die in their wrongdoing, he'll hold me responsible for their blood. If I warn them and they don't turn, that's on them.
EZEKIEL 3:16–19 · BSB
At the end of seven days the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from My mouth, give them a warning from Me. If I say to the wicked man, ‘You will surely die,’ but you do not warn him or speak out to warn him from his wicked way to save his life, that wicked man will die in his iniquity, and I will hold you responsible for his blood. But if you warn a wicked man and he does not turn from his wickedness and his wicked way, he will die in his iniquity, but you will have saved yourself.
Told to shut myself inside my house. My tongue will stick to the roof of my mouth and I won't be able to speak, except when he gives me something to say.
EZEKIEL 3:24–27 · BSB
Then the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet. He spoke with me and said, “Go, shut yourself inside your house. And you, son of man, they will tie with ropes, and you will be bound so that you cannot go out among the people. I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth, and you will be silent and unable to rebuke them, though they are a rebellious house. But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you are to tell them, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says.’ Whoever listens, let him listen; and whoever refuses, let him refuse, for they are a rebellious house.
Today: a brick. Drew Jerusalem on it. Then built a siege round it. Siege wall, ramp, camps, battering rams on every side. Put an iron plate between me and it, and turned my face towards it.
EZEKIEL 4:1–3 · BSB
“Now you, son of man, take a brick, place it before you, and draw on it the city of Jerusalem. Then lay siege against it: Construct a siege wall, build a ramp to it, set up camps against it, and place battering rams around it on all sides. Then take an iron plate and set it up as an iron wall between yourself and the city. Turn your face toward it so that it is under siege, and besiege it. This will be a sign to the house of Israel.
“Now you, son of man, take a brick, place it before you, and draw on it the city of Jerusalem. Then lay siege against it: Construct a siege wall, build a ramp to it, set up camps against it, and place battering rams around it on all sides.
Next: lying on my left side. 390 days, a day for every year of Israel's wrongdoing. Then 40 days on my right side for Judah. Tied with ropes so I can't turn over until it's done.
EZEKIEL 4:4–8 · BSB
Then lie down on your left side and place the iniquity of the house of Israel upon yourself. You are to bear their iniquity for the number of days you lie on your side. For I have assigned to you 390 days, according to the number of years of their iniquity. So you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Israel. When you have completed these days, lie down again, but on your right side, and bear the iniquity of the house of Judah. I have assigned to you 40 days, a day for each year. You must turn your face toward the siege of Jerusalem with your arm bared, and prophesy against it. Now behold, I will tie you up with ropes so you cannot turn from side to side until you have finished the days of your siege.
My food while I'm lying here: wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet and spelt, all in one jar, baked into bread. Twenty shekels' weight a day. A little water at set times. That's how it'll be in Jerusalem. Bread by weight, water by measure.
EZEKIEL 4:9–11; EZEKIEL 4:16 · BSB
But take wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and spelt; put them in a single container and make them into bread for yourself. This is what you are to eat during the 390 days you lie on your side. You are to weigh out twenty shekels of food to eat each day, and you are to eat it at set times. You are also to measure out a sixth of a hin of water to drink, and you are to drink it at set times. Then He told me, “Son of man, I am going to cut off the supply of food in Jerusalem. They will anxiously eat bread rationed by weight, and in despair they will drink water by measure.
He wanted it baked over human dung, in front of everyone. I said: Lord GOD, no. I've never made myself unclean. Nothing that died on its own, nothing torn by animals, no unclean meat, not once in my life.
He let me use cow dung instead.
EZEKIEL 4:12–15 · BSB
And you shall eat the food as you would a barley cake, after you bake it over dried human excrement in the sight of the people.” Then the LORD said, “This is how the Israelites will eat their defiled bread among the nations to which I will banish them.” “Ah, Lord GOD,” I said, “I have never defiled myself. From my youth until now I have not eaten anything found dead or mauled by wild beasts. No unclean meat has ever entered my mouth.” “Look,” He replied, “I will let you use cow dung instead of human excrement, and you may bake your bread over that.”
Shaved my head and beard with a sword. Weighed the hair on scales and split it in three. A third to be burned in the city. A third struck with the sword all round it. A third thrown to the wind. A few strands tucked into the fold of my cloak.
EZEKIEL 5:1–3 · BSB
“As for you, son of man, take a sharp sword, use it as a barber’s razor, and shave your head and beard. Then take a set of scales and divide the hair. When the days of the siege have ended, you are to burn up a third of the hair inside the city; you are also to take a third and slash it with the sword all around the city; and you are to scatter a third to the wind. For I will unleash a sword behind them. But you are to take a few strands of hair and secure them in the folds of your garment.
Sixth year. The elders of Judah were sitting in my house, and the power of the Lord GOD came over me. A figure like fire took me by the hair, and the Spirit lifted me up between earth and sky and carried me, in visions of God, to Jerusalem. To the temple.
EZEKIEL 8:1–3 · BSB
In the sixth year, on the fifth day of the sixth month, I was sitting in my house, and the elders of Judah were sitting before me; and there the hand of the Lord GOD fell upon me. Then I looked and saw a figure like that of a man. From His waist down His appearance was like fire, and from His waist up He was as bright as the gleam of amber. He stretched out what looked like a hand and took me by the hair of my head. Then the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and carried me in visions of God to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the north gate of the inner court, where the idol that provokes jealousy was seated.
We can confirm we were present in the room at the time.
EZEKIEL 8:1 · BSB
In the sixth year, on the fifth day of the sixth month, I was sitting in my house, and the elders of Judah were sitting before me; and there the hand of the Lord GOD fell upon me.
There was a hole in the temple courtyard wall. He told me to dig through it. Behind it, a door. Inside, the walls carved all over with crawling things and unclean animals and idols. Seventy of Israel's elders standing there in the dark, each with an incense burner.
And what they're telling each other: the LORD doesn't see us. The LORD has left the land.
EZEKIEL 8:7–12 · BSB
Then He brought me to the entrance to the court, and I looked and saw a hole in the wall. “Son of man,” He told me, “dig through the wall.” So I dug through the wall and discovered a doorway. Then He said to me, “Go in and see the wicked abominations they are committing here.” So I went in and looked, and engraved all around the wall was every kind of crawling creature and detestable beast, along with all the idols of the house of Israel. Before them stood seventy elders of the house of Israel, with Jaazaniah son of Shaphan standing among them. Each had a censer in his hand, and a fragrant cloud of incense was rising. “Son of man,” He said to me, “do you see what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the darkness, each at the shrine of his own idol? For they are saying, ‘The LORD does not see us; the LORD has forsaken the land.’”
Then women at the north gate, weeping for Tammuz. Then about twenty-five men between the porch and the altar, their backs to the LORD's temple, bowing east to the sun.
EZEKIEL 8:14–16 · BSB
Then He brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the house of the LORD, and I saw women sitting there, weeping for Tammuz. “Son of man,” He said to me, “do you see this? Yet you will see even greater abominations than these.” So He brought me to the inner court of the house of the LORD, and there at the entrance to the temple of the LORD, between the portico and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs to the temple of the LORD and their faces toward the east; and they were bowing to the east in worship of the sun.
The wheels again. The same living creatures I saw by the Kebar. Now I know what they are: cherubim. The glory of the LORD went up from the temple doorway and stood over them. They spread their wings and rose, wheels beside them, and stopped at the east gate.
EZEKIEL 10:15–20 · BSB
Then the cherubim rose upward. These were the living creatures I had seen by the River Kebar. When the cherubim moved, the wheels moved beside them, and even when they spread their wings to rise from the ground, the wheels did not veer away from their side. When the cherubim stood still, the wheels also stood still, and when they ascended, the wheels ascended with them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. Then the glory of the LORD moved away from the threshold of the temple and stood above the cherubim. As I watched, the cherubim lifted their wings and rose up from the ground, with the wheels beside them as they went. And they stopped at the entrance of the east gate of the house of the LORD, with the glory of the God of Israel above them. These were the living creatures I had seen beneath the God of Israel by the River Kebar, and I knew that they were cherubim.
The LORD knows what's going through your minds. You've filled this city's streets with the dead. They're the meat, and the city's the pot. You won't be in it. He's bringing you out.
EZEKIEL 11:5–7 · BSB
And the Spirit of the LORD fell upon me and told me to declare that this is what the LORD says: “That is what you are thinking, O house of Israel; and I know the thoughts that arise in your minds. You have multiplied those you killed in this city and filled its streets with the dead. Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: The slain you have laid within this city are the meat, and the city is the pot; but I will remove you from it.
While I was prophesying, Pelatiah son of Benaiah, one of those leaders at the gate, died. I threw myself face down and cried out: Lord GOD, are you going to finish off everyone left in Israel?
EZEKIEL 11:1; EZEKIEL 11:13 · BSB
Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the gate of the house of the LORD that faces east. And there at the entrance of the gate were twenty-five men. Among them I saw Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah, who were leaders of the people. Now as I was prophesying, Pelatiah son of Benaiah died. Then I fell facedown and cried out in a loud voice, “Oh, Lord GOD, will You bring the remnant of Israel to a complete end?”
The people in Jerusalem say the exiles are far away from the LORD and the land is theirs now. The LORD says: I sent them far away, but for a little while I've been their sanctuary in the countries where they've gone. And I'll gather them and give them back the land.
EZEKIEL 11:15–17 · BSB
“Son of man, your brothers—your relatives, your fellow exiles, and the whole house of Israel—are those of whom the people of Jerusalem have said, ‘They are far away from the LORD; this land has been given to us as a possession.’ Therefore declare that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Although I sent them far away among the nations and scattered them among the countries, yet for a little while I have been a sanctuary for them in the countries to which they have gone.’ Therefore declare that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you from the countries to which you have been scattered, and I will give back to you the land of Israel.’
The glory of the LORD rose from inside the city and stopped on the mountain east of it.
Then the Spirit carried me back to the exiles in Babylonia, and the vision lifted. I told them everything the LORD had shown me.
EZEKIEL 11:22–25 · BSB
Then the cherubim, with the wheels beside them, spread their wings, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them. And the glory of the LORD rose up from within the city and stood over the mountain east of the city. And the Spirit lifted me up and carried me back to Chaldea, to the exiles in the vision given by the Spirit of God. After the vision had gone up from me, I told the exiles everything the LORD had shown me.
Packed a bag for exile, in broad daylight, where everyone could see. At dusk I dug through the wall with my hands and went out through it, bag on my shoulder, face covered.
EZEKIEL 12:3–7 · BSB
Therefore, son of man, pack your bags for exile. In broad daylight, set out from your place and go to another as they watch. Perhaps they will understand, though they are a rebellious house. Bring out your baggage for exile by day, as they watch. Then in the evening, as they watch, go out like those who go into exile. As they watch, dig through the wall and carry your belongings out through it. And as they watch, lift your bags to your shoulder and take them out at dusk; cover your face so that you cannot see the land. For I have made you a sign to the house of Israel.” So I did as I was commanded. I brought out my bags for exile by day, and in the evening I dug through the wall by hand. I took my belongings out at dusk, carrying them on my shoulder as they watched.
Honestly, whatever he's seeing, it's years off. He's talking about the distant future.
EZEKIEL 12:27 · BSB
“Son of man, take note that the house of Israel is saying, ‘The vision that he sees is for many years from now; he prophesies about the distant future.’
Some of the elders came and sat with me again. The LORD said: these men have set up idols in their hearts. Should I let them ask me anything at all?
EZEKIEL 14:1–3 · BSB
Then some of the elders of Israel came and sat down before me. And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Son of man, these men have set up idols in their hearts and put wicked stumbling blocks before their faces. Should I consult with them in any way?
When a land turns its back on the LORD and he sends judgement on it, even if Noah, Daniel and Job lived there, their goodness would save only themselves.
EZEKIEL 14:13–14 · BSB
“Son of man, if a land sins against Me by acting unfaithfully, and I stretch out My hand against it to cut off its supply of food, to send famine upon it, and to cut off from it both man and beast, then even if these three men—Noah, Daniel, and Job—were in it, their righteousness could deliver only themselves, declares the Lord GOD.
The Lord GOD says: I'll take a tender shoot from the very top of the cedar and plant it on a high mountain in Israel. It'll become a great cedar, with every kind of bird nesting in its shade. I bring the tall tree down and make the low tree tall.
EZEKIEL 17:22–24 · BSB
This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘I will take a shoot from the lofty top of the cedar, and I will set it out. I will pluck a tender sprig from its topmost shoots, and I will plant it on a high and lofty mountain. I will plant it on the mountain heights of Israel so that it will bear branches; it will yield fruit and become a majestic cedar. Birds of every kind will nest under it, taking shelter in the shade of its branches. Then all the trees of the field will know that I am the LORD. I bring the tall tree down and make the low tree tall. I dry up the green tree and make the withered tree flourish. I, the LORD, have spoken, and I have done it.’”
You know what they say. The parents ate sour grapes, and it's the children's teeth that are on edge.
EZEKIEL 18:2 · BSB
“What do you people mean by quoting this proverb about the land of Israel: ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the teeth of the children are set on edge’?
Not any more. Every life belongs to the LORD, parent and child alike. The one who sins is the one who'll die. A son won't carry his father's guilt, and a father won't carry his son's.
EZEKIEL 18:3–4; EZEKIEL 18:20 · BSB
As surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, you will no longer quote this proverb in Israel. Behold, every soul belongs to Me; both father and son are Mine. The soul who sins is the one who will die. The soul who sins is the one who will die. A son will not bear the iniquity of his father, and a father will not bear the iniquity of his son. The righteousness of the righteous man will fall upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked man will fall upon him.
The king of Babylon is standing at a fork in the road. One way to Rabbah of the Ammonites. The other to Jerusalem. He shakes the arrows, asks his idols, looks at a liver. In his right hand, the lot for Jerusalem. Battering rams, a ramp, a siege wall.
EZEKIEL 21:19–22 · BSB
“Now you, son of man, mark out two roads for the sword of the king of Babylon to take, both starting from the same land. And make a signpost where the road branches off to each city. Mark out one road for the sword to come against Rabbah of the Ammonites, and another against Judah into fortified Jerusalem. For the king of Babylon stands at the fork in the road, at the junction of the two roads, to seek an omen: He shakes the arrows, he consults the idols, he examines the liver. In his right hand appears the portent for Jerusalem, where he is to set up battering rams, to call for the slaughter, to lift a battle cry, to direct the battering rams against the gates, to build a ramp, and to erect a siege wall.
The LORD looked for someone to build up the wall and stand in the gap for the land, so he wouldn't have to destroy it. He found no one.
EZEKIEL 22:30 · BSB
I searched for a man among them to repair the wall and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, so that I should not destroy it. But I found no one.
Ninth year, tenth month, tenth day. The LORD told me to write the date down. Today the king of Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem.
EZEKIEL 24:1–2 · BSB
In the ninth year, on the tenth day of the tenth month, the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Son of man, write down today’s date, for on this very day the king of Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem.
The LORD told me he's about to take away the delight of my eyes. One blow. And I'm not to mourn. No crying. No tears. Groan quietly.
I spoke to the people in the morning. In the evening my wife died.
EZEKIEL 24:15–18 · BSB
Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Son of man, behold, I am about to take away the desire of your eyes with a fatal blow. But you must not mourn or weep or let your tears flow. Groan quietly; do not mourn for the dead. Put on your turban and strap your sandals on your feet; do not cover your lips or eat the bread of mourners.” So I spoke to the people in the morning, and in the evening my wife died. And the next morning I did as I had been commanded.
Next morning I did as I'd been told. Turban on. Sandals on. No mourners' bread.
EZEKIEL 24:17–18 · BSB
Groan quietly; do not mourn for the dead. Put on your turban and strap your sandals on your feet; do not cover your lips or eat the bread of mourners.” So I spoke to the people in the morning, and in the evening my wife died. And the next morning I did as I had been commanded.
I am a god. I sit on the throne of a god in the heart of the sea.
EZEKIEL 28:2 · BSB
“Son of man, tell the ruler of Tyre that this is what the Lord GOD says: Your heart is proud, and you have said, ‘I am a god; I sit in the seat of gods in the heart of the sea.’ Yet you are a man and not a god, though you have regarded your heart as that of a god.
You're a man, not a god. Wiser than Daniel, sure. No secret's hidden from you. Your trading made you rich and your riches made you proud. Will you still say you're a god to the ones who come to kill you?
EZEKIEL 28:2–5; EZEKIEL 28:9 · BSB
“Son of man, tell the ruler of Tyre that this is what the Lord GOD says: Your heart is proud, and you have said, ‘I am a god; I sit in the seat of gods in the heart of the sea.’ Yet you are a man and not a god, though you have regarded your heart as that of a god. Behold, you are wiser than Daniel; no secret is hidden from you! By your wisdom and understanding you have gained your wealth and amassed gold and silver for your treasuries. By your great skill in trading you have increased your wealth, but your heart has grown proud because of it. Will you still say, ‘I am a god,’ in the presence of those who slay you? You will be only a man, not a god, in the hands of those who wound you.
Speak to him and tell him that this is what the Lord GOD says: Behold, I am against you, O Pharaoh king of Egypt, O great monster who lies among his rivers, who says, ‘The Nile is mine; I made it myself.’
The Lord GOD says he's against you, Pharaoh. A great monster lying in the middle of your rivers.
EZEKIEL 29:3 · BSB
Speak to him and tell him that this is what the Lord GOD says: Behold, I am against you, O Pharaoh king of Egypt, O great monster who lies among his rivers, who says, ‘The Nile is mine; I made it myself.’
Everything we've done wrong is weighing on us. We're wasting away. How are we supposed to live?
EZEKIEL 33:10 · BSB
Now as for you, son of man, tell the house of Israel that this is what they have said: ‘Our transgressions and our sins are heavy upon us, and we are wasting away because of them! How can we live?’
As surely as I live, the Lord GOD says, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked. I'd rather they turned from their ways and lived. Turn round! Turn from your evil ways! Why should you die, Israel?
EZEKIEL 33:11 · BSB
Say to them: ‘As surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked should turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?’
The evening before he got here, the LORD's power came on me. By the time he reached me in the morning, my mouth was open. I can speak again.
EZEKIEL 33:22 · BSB
Now the evening before the fugitive arrived, the hand of the LORD was upon me, and He opened my mouth before the man came to me in the morning. So my mouth was opened and I was no longer mute.
Look, Abraham was one guy, and he got the whole land. There's a ton of us. The land's been given to us.
EZEKIEL 33:24 · BSB
“Son of man, those living in the ruins in the land of Israel are saying, ‘Abraham was only one man, yet he possessed the land. But we are many; surely the land has been given to us as a possession.’
You eat meat with the blood still in it. You look to your idols. You shed blood. You rely on your swords. And you think you'll own the land?
EZEKIEL 33:25–26 · BSB
Therefore tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘You eat meat with the blood in it, lift up your eyes to your idols, and shed blood. Should you then possess the land? You have relied on your swords, you have committed detestable acts, and each of you has defiled his neighbor’s wife. Should you then possess the land?’
Come on, let's pop round to Ezekiel's and hear the latest message from the LORD.
EZEKIEL 33:30 · BSB
As for you, son of man, your people are talking about you near the city walls and in the doorways of their houses. One speaks to another, each saying to his brother, ‘Come and hear the message that has come from the LORD!’
They come and sit in front of me like always, and listen, and don't do any of it. To them I'm a singer of love songs with a lovely voice who plays well. They hear the words. They don't do them. When it happens, and it will, they'll know a prophet was among them.
So My people come to you as usual, sit before you, and hear your words; but they do not put them into practice. Although they express love with their mouths, their hearts pursue dishonest gain. Indeed, you are to them like a singer of love songs with a beautiful voice, who skillfully plays an instrument. They hear your words but do not put them into practice. So when it comes to pass—and surely it will come—then they will know that a prophet has been among them.”
Shepherds of Israel, you only look after yourselves. You eat the fat, you wear the wool, and you don't feed the flock. You haven't built up the weak, healed the sick, bandaged the injured, brought back the strays or gone looking for the lost. So they scattered, and nobody went looking.
EZEKIEL 34:2–6 · BSB
“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Woe to the shepherds of Israel, who only feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed their flock? You eat the fat, wear the wool, and butcher the fattened sheep, but you do not feed the flock. You have not strengthened the weak, healed the sick, bound up the injured, brought back the strays, or searched for the lost. Instead, you have ruled them with violence and cruelty. They were scattered for lack of a shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild beasts. My flock went astray on all the mountains and every high hill. They were scattered over the face of all the earth, with no one to search for them or seek them out.’
So the Lord GOD says: I'll search for my sheep myself. I'll look for the lost, bring back the strays, bandage the injured and build up the weak. I'll make them lie down in good pasture. And I'll put one shepherd over them, my servant David.
For this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Behold, I Myself will search for My flock and seek them out. I will feed them in good pasture, and the lofty mountains of Israel will be their grazing land. There they will lie down in a good grazing land; they will feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. I will tend My flock and make them lie down, declares the Lord GOD. I will seek the lost, bring back the strays, bind up the broken, and strengthen the weak; but the sleek and strong I will destroy. I will shepherd them with justice.’ I will appoint over them one shepherd, My servant David, and he will feed them. He will feed them and be their shepherd.
The Lord GOD says: I'll sprinkle clean water on you and you'll be clean. I'll give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you. I'll take out your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I'll put my Spirit in you.
EZEKIEL 36:25–27 · BSB
I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes and to carefully observe My ordinances.
And people will say: this land that was a wasteland has become like the garden of Eden.
EZEKIEL 36:35 · BSB
Then they will say, ‘This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden. The cities that were once ruined, desolate, and destroyed are now fortified and inhabited.’
Our bones are dried up. Our hope is gone. We're finished.
EZEKIEL 37:11 · BSB
Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Look, they are saying, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope has perished; we are cut off.’
The LORD's power came on me, and his Spirit set me down in the middle of a valley full of bones. He led me all round them. So many. And very dry.
He asked me: son of man, can these bones live? I said, Lord GOD, only you know.
EZEKIEL 37:1–3 · BSB
The hand of the LORD was upon me, and He brought me out by His Spirit and set me down in the middle of the valley, and it was full of bones. He led me all around among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, and indeed, they were very dry. Then He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones come to life?” “O Lord GOD,” I replied, “only You know.”
He told me to prophesy to them. Dry bones, listen to the word of the LORD. So I did. And as I was speaking, a noise. A rattling. The bones came together, bone to bone. Then tendons. Then flesh. Then skin. But there was no breath in them.
EZEKIEL 37:4–8 · BSB
And He said to me, “Prophesy concerning these bones and tell them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! This is what the Lord GOD says to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh grow upon you and cover you with skin. I will put breath within you so that you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’” So I prophesied as I had been commanded. And as I prophesied, there was suddenly a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to bone. As I looked on, tendons appeared on them, flesh grew, and skin covered them; but there was no breath in them.
These bones are the whole people of Israel. They're saying their bones are dry and their hope is gone. The Lord GOD says: my people, I'm going to open your graves and bring you up out of them, and bring you home to the land of Israel. I'll put my Spirit in you, and you'll live.
Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Look, they are saying, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope has perished; we are cut off.’ Therefore prophesy and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘O My people, I will open your graves and bring you up from them, and I will bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you, My people, will know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. I will put My Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I, the LORD, have spoken, and I will do it, declares the LORD.’”
Two sticks. On one I wrote Judah. On the other, Joseph, the stick of Ephraim. Held them together so they were one stick in my hand, where everyone could see.
EZEKIEL 37:16–17; EZEKIEL 37:20 · BSB
“And you, son of man, take a single stick and write on it: ‘Belonging to Judah and to the Israelites associated with him.’ Then take another stick and write on it: ‘Belonging to Joseph—the stick of Ephraim—and to all the house of Israel associated with him.’ Then join them together into one stick, so that they become one in your hand. When the sticks on which you write are in your hand and in full view of the people,
Twenty-fifth year of our exile, fourteen years since Jerusalem fell. In visions God took me to the land of Israel and set me on a very high mountain, with something like a city on it. A man who looked like bronze was standing in the gateway with a linen cord and a measuring rod. He told me to look carefully, listen, and tell Israel everything I saw.
EZEKIEL 40:1–4 · BSB
In the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth day of the month—in the fourteenth year after Jerusalem had been struck down—on that very day the hand of the LORD was upon me, and He took me there. In visions of God He took me to the land of Israel and set me on a very high mountain, on whose southern slope was a structure that resembled a city. So He took me there, and I saw a man whose appearance was like bronze. He was standing in the gateway with a linen cord and a measuring rod in his hand. “Son of man,” he said to me, “look with your eyes, hear with your ears, and pay attention to everything I am going to show you, for that is why you have been brought here. Report to the house of Israel everything you see.”
He measured everything. Every gate, every wall, every room. I'll spare you the numbers.
EZEKIEL 40:5; EZEKIEL 42:20 · BSB
And I saw a wall surrounding the temple area. Now the length of the measuring rod in the man’s hand was six long cubits (each measuring a cubit and a handbreadth), and he measured the wall to be one rod thick and one rod high. So he measured the area on all four sides. It had a wall all around, five hundred cubits long and five hundred cubits wide, to separate the holy from the common.
He brought me to the gate that faces east. And the glory of the God of Israel was coming from the east, with a sound like roaring water, and the whole land shining. The same as I saw by the Kebar. I fell face down. The glory of the LORD came into the temple through the east gate and filled it.
Then the man brought me back to the gate that faces east, and I saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east. His voice was like the roar of many waters, and the earth shone with His glory. The vision I saw was like the vision I had seen when He came to destroy the city and like the visions I had seen by the River Kebar. I fell facedown, and the glory of the LORD entered the temple through the gate facing east. Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple.
Then a voice from inside the temple: this is the place of my throne. I will live here among the Israelites for ever.
EZEKIEL 43:6–7 · BSB
While the man was standing beside me, I heard someone speaking to me from inside the temple, and He said to me, “Son of man, this is the place of My throne and the place for the soles of My feet, where I will dwell among the Israelites forever. The house of Israel will never again defile My holy name—neither they nor their kings—by their prostitution and by the funeral offerings for their kings at their deaths.
The east gate is shut now, and stays shut. Nobody goes in through it. The LORD, the God of Israel, has come in that way.
EZEKIEL 44:1–2 · BSB
The man then brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary that faced east, but it was shut. And the LORD said to me, “This gate is to remain shut. It shall not be opened, and no man shall enter through it, because the LORD, the God of Israel, has entered through it. Therefore it will remain shut.
Water trickling out from under the temple doorway, flowing east. The man walked a thousand cubits and led me through it. Ankle-deep. Another thousand: knee-deep. Another thousand: up to my waist. Another thousand, and it was a river I couldn't cross. Deep enough to swim in.
EZEKIEL 47:1–5 · BSB
Then the man brought me back to the entrance of the temple, and I saw water flowing from under the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was coming down from under the south side of the temple, south of the altar. Next he brought me out through the north gate and led me around the outside to the outer gate facing east, and there I saw the water trickling out from the south side. As the man went eastward with a measuring line in his hand, he measured off a thousand cubits and led me through ankle-deep water. Then he measured off a thousand cubits and led me through knee-deep water. Again he measured a thousand cubits and led me through waist-deep water. Once again he measured off a thousand cubits, but now it was a river that I could not cross, because the water had risen and was deep enough for swimming—a river that could not be crossed on foot.
He asked, son of man, do you see this? Then took me back to the bank, and there were trees everywhere, on both sides. This water, he said, flows down into the Dead Sea and makes the water fresh. Wherever the river goes, things live. Fish of every kind. Fishermen along the shore from En-gedi to En-eglaim, spreading their nets.
EZEKIEL 47:6–10 · BSB
“Son of man, do you see this?” he asked. Then he led me back to the bank of the river. When I arrived, I saw a great number of trees along both banks of the river. And he said to me, “This water flows out to the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah. When it empties into the Dead Sea, the water there becomes fresh. Wherever the river flows, there will be swarms of living creatures and a great number of fish, because it flows there and makes the waters fresh; so wherever the river flows, everything will flourish. Fishermen will stand by the shore; from En-gedi to En-eglaim they will spread their nets to catch fish of many kinds, like the fish of the Great Sea.
David