1 In the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was among the ^aexiles by the ^bChebar canal, ^cthe heavens were opened, and I ^dsaw ^evisions of God.¹ 2 On the fifth day of the month (it was the fifth year of the ^fexile of King Jehoiachin), 3 the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the Chebar canal, and ^gthe hand of the Lord was upon him there.

4 As I looked, behold, a stormy wind came out of the north, and a great cloud, with brightness around it, and fire flashing forth continually, and in the midst of the fire, as it were ^hgleaming metal.² 5 And from the midst of it came the likeness of ⁱfour living creatures. And this was their appearance: they had a human likeness, 6 but ^jeach had four faces, and each of them had four wings. 7 Their legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the sole of a calf’s foot. And they sparkled like ^kburnished bronze. 8 ^lUnder their wings on their four sides they had human hands. And the four had their faces and their wings thus: 9 ^mtheir wings touched one another. ⁿEach one of them went straight forward, without turning as they went. 10 ^oAs for the likeness of their faces, each had a human face. The four had the face of a lion on the right side, the four had the face of an ox on the left side, and the four had the face of an eagle. 11 Such were their faces. And their wings were spread out above. Each creature had two wings, each of which touched the wing of another, while two ^pcovered their bodies. 12 And each went straight forward. Wherever the spirit³ would go, they went, without turning as they went. 13 As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning ^qcoals of fire, like the appearance of torches moving to and fro among the living creatures. And the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth ^rlightning. 14 And the living creatures darted to and fro, like the appearance of a flash of lightning.

15 Now as I looked at the living creatures, I saw a ^swheel on the earth beside the living creatures, one for each of the four of them.⁴ 16 As for the appearance of the wheels and their construction: their appearance was like the gleaming of beryl. And the four had the same likeness, their appearance and construction being as it were a wheel within a wheel. 17 When they went, they went in any of their four directions⁵ without turning as they went. 18 And their rims were tall and awesome, and the rims of all four were ^tfull of eyes all around. 19 And when the living creatures went, the wheels went beside them; and when the living creatures rose from the earth, the wheels rose. 20 Wherever the spirit wanted to go, they went, and the wheels rose along with them, for the spirit of the living creatures⁶ was in the wheels. 21 When those went, these went; and when those stood, these stood; and when those rose from the earth, the wheels rose along with them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.

22 ^uOver the heads of the living creatures there was the likeness of an ^vexpanse, shining like awe-inspiring ^wcrystal, spread out above their heads. 23 And under the expanse their wings were stretched out straight, one toward another. And each creature had two wings covering its body. 24 And when they went, I heard the ^xsound of their wings ^ylike the sound of many waters, like the sound of the Almighty, a sound of tumult like the sound of an army. When they stood still, they let down their wings. 25 And there came a voice from above the expanse over their heads. When they stood still, they let down their wings.

26 And above the expanse over their heads there was the likeness of a throne, in appearance ^zlike sapphire;⁷ and ^aseated above the likeness of a throne was ^ba likeness with a human appearance. 27 And upward from what had the appearance of his waist I saw as it were ^cgleaming metal, like the appearance of fire enclosed all around. And downward from what had the appearance of his waist I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and there was brightness around him.⁸ 28 ^dLike the appearance of the ^ebow that is in the cloud on the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness all around.

Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, ^fI fell on my face, and I heard the voice of one speaking.

1 And he said to me, “Son of man,^{9 g}stand on your feet, and I will speak with you.” 2 And as he spoke to me, ^hthe Spirit entered into me and ⁱset me on my feet, and I heard him speaking to me. 3 And he said to me, “Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to nations of rebels, who have rebelled against me. ^jThey and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day. 4 The descendants also are impudent and stubborn: I send you to them, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ 5 And ^kwhether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a ^lrebellious house) ^mthey will know that a prophet has been among them. 6 And you, son of man, ⁿbe not afraid of them, nor be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you and you sit on scorpions.¹⁰ Be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house. 7 And you shall speak my words to them, whether they hear or refuse to hear, for they are a rebellious house.

8 “But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. Be not rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and ^oeat what I give you.” 9 And when I looked, behold, a hand was stretched out to me, and behold, a scroll of a book was in it. 10 And he spread it before me. And it had writing on the front and on the back, and there were written on it words of lamentation and mourning and woe.

1 And he said to me, “Son of man, eat whatever you find here. Eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.” 2 So I opened my mouth, and he gave me this scroll to eat. 3 And he said to me, “Son of man, feed your belly with this scroll that I give you and fill your stomach with it.” Then I ate it, and it was in my mouth ^pas sweet as honey.

4 And he said to me, “Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak with my words to them. 5 For you are not sent to a people of foreign speech and a hard language, but to the house of Israel— 6 not to many peoples of foreign speech and a hard language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely, ^qif I sent you to such, they would listen to you. 7 But the house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you, for they are not willing to listen to me: because all the house of Israel have a ^rhard forehead and a stubborn heart. 8 Behold, ^sI have made your face as hard as their faces, and your forehead as hard as their foreheads. 9 ^tLike emery harder than flint have I made your forehead. ^uFear them not, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house.” 10 Moreover, he said to me, “Son of man, all my words that I shall speak to you receive in your heart, and hear with your ears. 11 And go to the exiles, to your people, and speak to them and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God,’ ^vwhether they hear or refuse to hear.”

12 Then ^wthe Spirit¹¹ lifted me up, and I heard behind me the voice¹² of a great earthquake: “Blessed be the ^xglory of the Lord from its place!” 13 It was the ^ysound of the wings of the living creatures as they touched one another, and the sound of the ^zwheels beside them, and the sound of a great earthquake. 14 The Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness in the heat of my spirit, ^athe hand of the Lord being strong upon me. 15 And I came to the exiles at Tel-abib, who were dwelling ^bby the Chebar canal, and I ^csat where they were dwelling.¹³ And I sat there overwhelmed among them ^dseven days.

16 And ^eat the end of seven days, the word of the Lord came to me: 17 ^f“Son of man, I have made you a ^gwatchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. 18 If I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person shall ^hdie for¹⁴ his iniquity, ⁱbut his blood I will ^jrequire at your hand. 19 But if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die for his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul. 20 Again, ^kif a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits injustice, and I lay a ^lstumbling block before him, he shall die. Because you have not warned him, he shall die for his sin, and his righteous deeds that he has done shall not be remembered, but his blood I will require at your hand. 21 But if you warn the righteous person not to sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live, because he took warning, and you will have delivered your soul.”

22 And the hand of the Lord was upon me there. And he said to me, “Arise, go out into the valley,¹⁵ and there I will speak with you.” 23 So I arose and went out into the valley, and behold, the glory of the Lord stood there, ^mlike the glory that I had seen by the Chebar canal, and ⁿI fell on my face. 24 But ^othe Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and he spoke with me and said to me, “Go, shut yourself within your house. 25 And you, O son of man, behold, ^pcords will be placed upon you, and you shall be bound with them, so that you cannot go out among the people. 26 And I will make your tongue cling to the roof of your mouth, so that you shall be ^qmute and unable to reprove them, for they are a rebellious house. 27 But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ ^rHe who will hear, let him hear; and he who will refuse to hear, ^slet him refuse, for they are a rebellious house.

1 In the sixth year, in the sixth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I sat in my house, with the ^eelders of Judah sitting before me, ^fthe hand of the Lord God fell upon me there. 2 Then I looked, and behold, ^ga form that had the appearance of a man.¹ Below what appeared to be his waist was fire, and above his waist was something like the appearance of brightness, like gleaming metal.² 3 He put out the form of a hand and took me by a lock of my head, and ^hthe Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and brought me in ⁱvisions of God to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the gateway of the inner court that faces north, where was the seat of the image of jealousy, which ^jprovokes to jealousy. 4 And behold, the ^kglory of the God of Israel was there, ^llike the vision that I saw in the valley.

5 Then he said to me, “Son of man, lift up your eyes now toward the north.” So I lifted up my eyes toward the north, and behold, north of the altar gate, in the entrance, was this image of jealousy. 6 And he said to me, “Son of man, ^mdo you see what they are doing, the great abominations that the house of Israel are committing here, to drive me far from my sanctuary? But you will see still greater abominations.”

7 And he brought me to the entrance of the court, and when I looked, behold, there was a hole in the wall. 8 Then he said to me, “Son of man, dig in the wall.” So I dug in the wall, and behold, there was an entrance. 9 And he said to me, “Go in, and see the vile abominations that they are committing here.” 10 So I went in and saw. And there, engraved on the wall all around, was ⁿevery form of creeping things and loathsome beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel. 11 And before them stood ^oseventy men of the elders of the house of Israel, with Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan standing among them. Each had his ^pcenser in his hand, and the smoke of the cloud of incense went up. 12 Then he said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel are doing ^qin the dark, each in his room of pictures? For they say, ^r‘The Lord does not see us, the Lord has forsaken the land.’” 13 He said also to me, “You will see still greater abominations that they commit.”

14 Then he brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the house of the Lord, and behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz. 15 Then he said to me, “Have you seen this, O son of man? You will see still greater abominations than these.”

16 And he brought me into the ^sinner court of the house of the Lord. And behold, ^tat the entrance of the temple of the Lord, ^ubetween the porch and the altar, were about ^vtwenty-five men, with their backs to the temple of the Lord, and their faces toward the east, ^wworshiping the sun toward the east. 17 Then he said to me, “Have you seen this, O son of man? Is it too light a thing for the house of Judah to commit the abominations that they commit here, that they should fill the land with ^xviolence and provoke me still further to anger? Behold, they put the branch to their³ nose. 18 Therefore I will act in wrath. ^yMy eye will not spare, nor will I have pity. And though they cry in my ears with a loud voice, ^zI will not hear them.”

1 Then he cried in my ears with a loud voice, saying, “Bring near the executioners of the city, each with his destroying weapon in his hand.” 2 And behold, six men came from the direction of the upper gate, which faces north, each with his weapon for slaughter in his hand, and with them was a ^aman clothed in linen, with a writing case at his waist. And they went in and stood beside the bronze altar.

3 Now the ^bglory of the God of Israel had gone up from the cherub on which it rested to the ^cthreshold of the house. And he called to the man clothed in linen, who had the writing case at his waist. 4 And the Lord said to him, “Pass through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark ^don the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it.” 5 And to the others he said in my hearing, “Pass through the city after him, and strike. ^eYour eye shall not spare, and you shall show no pity. 6 ^fKill old men outright, young men and maidens, little children and women, but touch no one on whom is the mark. And ^gbegin at my sanctuary.” So they began with the elders who were before the house. 7 Then he said to them, “Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain. Go out.” So they went out and struck in the city. 8 And while they were striking, and I was left alone, ^hI fell upon my face, and cried, ⁱ“Ah, Lord God! Will you destroy all the remnant of Israel in the ^joutpouring of your wrath on Jerusalem?”

9 Then he said to me, “The guilt of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great. ^kThe land is full of blood, and the city full of injustice. For they say, ^l‘The Lord has forsaken the land, and the Lord does not see.’ 10 As for me, my eye will not spare, nor will I have pity; I will bring their deeds ^mupon their heads.”

11 And behold, the man clothed in linen, with the writing case at his waist, brought back word, saying, “I have done as you commanded me.”

1 Then I looked, and behold, on the ⁿexpanse that was over the heads of the cherubim there appeared above them something ^olike a sapphire,⁴ in appearance like a throne. 2 And he said to the ^pman clothed in linen, “Go in among the whirling ^qwheels underneath the cherubim. Fill your hands with burning ^rcoals from between the cherubim, and ^sscatter them over the city.”

And he went in before my eyes. 3 Now the cherubim were standing on the south side of the house, when the man went in, and ^ta cloud filled the ^uinner court. 4 And the glory of the Lord went up from the cherub to the ^vthreshold of the house, and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was filled with the ^wbrightness of the glory of the Lord. 5 And the sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard as far as the outer court, ^xlike the voice of God Almighty when he speaks.

6 And when he commanded the man clothed in linen, “Take fire from between the whirling wheels, from between the cherubim,” he went in and stood beside a wheel. 7 And a cherub stretched out his hand from between the cherubim to the fire that was between the cherubim, and took some of it and put it into the hands of the man clothed in linen, who took it and went out. 8 The cherubim appeared to have the form of a ^yhuman hand under their wings.

9 And I looked, and behold, there were ^zfour wheels beside the cherubim, one beside each cherub, and the appearance of the wheels was like sparkling beryl. 10 And as for their appearance, the four had the same likeness, as if a wheel were within a wheel. 11 ^aWhen they went, they went in any of their four directions⁵ without turning as they went, but in whatever direction the front wheel⁶ faced, the others followed without turning as they went. 12 And their whole body, their rims, and their spokes, their wings,⁷ and the wheels were full of eyes all around—the wheels that the four of them had. 13 As for the wheels, they were called in my hearing “the whirling wheels.” 14 And every one had four faces: the first face was the face of the cherub, and the second face was a human face, and the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.

15 And the cherubim mounted up. These were the ^bliving creatures that I saw by the Chebar canal. 16 And when the cherubim went, the wheels went beside them. And when the cherubim lifted up their wings to mount up from the earth, the wheels did not turn from beside them. 17 When they stood still, these stood still, and when they mounted up, these mounted up with them, for the spirit of the living creatures⁸ was in them.

18 Then the glory of the Lord went out from the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubim. 19 And the cherubim lifted up their wings and mounted up from the earth before my eyes as they went out, with the wheels beside them. And they stood at the entrance of the east gate of the house of the Lord, and the glory of the God of Israel was over them.

20 These were the living creatures that I saw underneath the God of Israel by the Chebar canal; and I knew that they were cherubim. 21 ^cEach had four faces, and each four wings, and underneath their wings the likeness of human hands. 22 And as for the likeness of their faces, they were the same faces whose appearance I had seen by the Chebar canal. Each one of them went straight forward.