Now it came about in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, while I was by the river Chebar among those who had been made prisoners, that the heavens were made open and I saw visions of God.

And they had the hands of a man under their wings on their four sides. And those four had their faces and their wings [thus]:

As for the likeness of their faces, they had the face of a man. And those four had the face of a lion on the right side, and those four had the face of an ox on the left side, those four also had the face of an eagle.

The appearance of the wheels and their work was like a beryl. And those four had one likeness, and their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel within a wheel.

As for their rims, they were high and fearful. And those four had their rims full of eyes round about.

When those went, these went; and when those stood, these stood; and when those were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up over against them: for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.

And he said, "Behold, thou son of man: I will send thee to the children of Israel, to those renegades and obstinate people - for they have taken part against me, and are run away from me: both they and their forefathers unto this day.

Not to many nations which have divers speeches and hard languages, whose words thou understandest not. Nevertheless, if I sent thee to those people, they would follow thee:

And go now to those who have been taken away as prisoners, to the children of your people, and say to them, This is what the Lord has said; if they give ear or if they do not.

Then I came to those who had been taken away as prisoners, who were at Telabib by the river Chebar, and I was seated among them full of wonder for seven days.

But when I speak with you, I'll open your mouth so you can say to them, "This is what the Lord GOD says: "As for those who will listen, "Let them listen,' but as for those who refuse, "Let them refuse,' since they're a rebellious group."'"

But take a few strands of hair from those and tie them in the ends of your garment.

When I send against them the deadly arrows of famine which were for the destruction of those whom I will send to destroy you, then I will also intensify the famine upon you and break the staff of bread.

I'll leave a remnant among you those who will escape the sword when I'll have scattered you throughout the earth.

And those of you that escape shall remember me among the nations whither they shall be carried captive, how that I have been broken with their lewd heart, which hath departed from me, and with they eyes, which play the harlot after their idols: and they shall loathe themselves in their own sight for the evils which they have committed in all their abominations.

The sword lurks outside, but pestilence and famine are on the prowl inside the house. Whoever is in the field will die by violence, while famine and pestilence will devour those in the city.

But those of them that escape shall escape, and shall be on the mountains like doves of the valleys, all of them moaning, every one in his iniquity.

And I have brought in the wicked of the nations, And they have possessed their houses, And I have caused to cease the excellency of the strong, And polluted have been those sanctifying them.

Then [in my vision] I heard Him cry out with a thunderous voice, saying, “Approach now, executioners of the city, each with his weapon of destruction in his hand.”

And He said to those in my hearing, Go over in the city after him, and strike. Let not your eye spare, nor have pity.

kill and destroy both old man and young, maidens, children and wives. But as for those, that have the mark upon them: see that ye touch them not. And begin at my Sanctuary." Then they began at the elders, which were in the temple,

And as for their appearance, those four had one likeness, as if a wheel have been within a wheel.

And their whole body, and their backs, and their hands, and their wings, and the wheels, were full of eyes round about, [even] the wheels that those four had.

When the cherubim stood still, the wheels would stand still; and when they rose upward, the wheels would rise with them, for the spirit of the living beings was in these [wheels].

“Son of man, your own relatives, those who have the right to redeem you, and the entire house of Israel, all of them, are those that the residents of Jerusalem have said this to, ‘Stay away from the Lord; this land has been given to us as a possession.’

Therefore say, So says the Lord Jehovah: I will even gather you from the people and assemble you out of the lands, in those where you were scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.

As to those whose heart is going unto the heart Of their detestable and their abominable things, Their way on their head I have put, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah.'

And the wind, lifting me up, took me in the visions of God into Chaldaea, to those who had been taken away as prisoners. So the vision which I had seen went away from me.

Then I gave an account to those who had been taken prisoners of all the things which the Lord had made me see.

Bring your provisions and supplies out during the day as they watch, as provisions and supplies for [going into] exile. Then you shall go out at evening as they watch, as those going into exile.

And I did as I was ordered: I took out my vessels by day, like those of one who is taken away, and in the evening I made a hole through the wall with a tent-pin; and in the dark I went out, taking my things on my back before their eyes.

Then say to the people of the land, ‘Thus says the Lord God concerning the inhabitants of Jerusalem in the land of Israel, “They will eat their bread with anxiety and drink their water with horror, because their land will be stripped and looted of its fullness because of the violence of all those who live in it.

Son of man, behold, those of the house of Israel say, The vision that he sees is for many day to come, and he prophesies of times that are far off.

'Son of man, prophesy concerning the prophets of Israel who are prophesying, and thou hast said to those prophesying from their own heart: Hear ye a word of Jehovah:

Thus sayeth the LORD God: Woe be unto those foolish prophets that follow their own spirit, and speak where they see nothing.

Say to those daubing with chalk -- It falleth, There hath been an overflowing shower, And ye, O hailstones, do fall, And a tempestuous wind doth rend,

And I have completed My wrath on the wall, And on those daubing it with chalk, And I say to you: The wall is not, And those daubing it are not;

those prophets of Israel who prophesied to Jerusalem and saw a vision of peace for her when there was no peace.” This is the declaration of the Lord God.

And thou, Son of man Set thy face against the daughters of thy people, Those who are prophesying out of their own heart, - And prophesy thou against them;

And thou hast said: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Woe to those sowing pillows for all joints of the arm, And to those making the kerchiefs For the head of every stature -- to hunt souls, The souls do ye hunt of My people? And the souls ye have do ye keep alive?

You have profaned Me among My people [in payment] for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, killing people who should not die and giving [a guarantee of] life to those who should not live, because of your lies to My people who pay attention to lies.”’”

""Therefore, this is what the Lord GOD says, "Watch out! I'm opposing your amulets with which you hunt souls as one would swat at a flying insect. I'll tear them off your arms and then deliver those people, whom you've hunted like birds.

so that [I may] take hold of the house of Israel by their heart, [those] who are estranged from me, all of them, through their idols.'

When any one of the men of Israel, or of those from other lands who are living in Israel, who has become strange to me, and takes his false gods into his heart, and puts before his face the sin which is the cause of his fall, comes to the prophet to get directions from me; I the Lord will give him an answer by myself:

"If I were to make wild animals pass throughout the land, so that they kill its residents and it were to become desolate because no one will travel through it due to those wild animals,

But behold, there shall be left in it those that escape, who shall be brought out of it, sons and daughters. Behold, they shall come forth unto you, and ye shall see their way and their doings; and ye shall be comforted concerning the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem, as to all that I have brought upon it.

"Not only that, you took the food I gave you my fine flour, olive oil, and honey with which I fed you, and you offered them to those gods in order to appease them. That's exactly what happened," says the Lord GOD.

And lo, I have stretched out My hand against thee, And I diminish thy portion, And give thee to the desire of those hating thee, The daughters of the Philistines, Who are ashamed of thy wicked way.

Thus you are different from those women in your harlotries, in that no one plays the harlot as you do, because you give money and no money is given you; thus you are different.”

Thus said the Lord Jehovah Because thy brass was poured out, and thy nakedness will be uncovered in thy fornications to those loving thee, and to all the blocks of thine abominations, and according to the bloods of thy sons which thou gavest to them;

therefore, listen, I will gather all your lovers (pagan allies) with whom you took pleasure, and all those whom you loved with all those whom you hated; I will even gather them against you from every direction and will expose your nakedness to them that they may see all your nakedness [making you, Israel, an object of loathing and of mockery, a spectacle among the nations].

I will judge you the way adulteresses and those who shed blood are judged. Then I will bring about your bloodshed in wrath and jealousy.

I will also hand you over to your lovers, and they will tear down your shrines, demolish your high places, strip you of your clothing, take away your jewels, and they will leave you naked and bare.

Yet you have not merely walked in their ways or behaved in accordance with their pagan practices; but, as if that were too little, you [soon] acted more corruptly in all your ways than they.

Truly, this was the sin of your sister Sodom: pride, a full measure of food, and the comforts of wealth in peace, were seen in her and her daughters, and she gave no help to the poor or to those in need.

So now, bear your disgrace, because you have given your sisters reason to justify their behavior. Because the sins you have committed were more abominable than those of your sisters; they have become more righteous than you. So now, be ashamed and bear the disgrace of making your sisters appear righteous.

“I will restore their fortunes, the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters and those of Samaria and her daughters. I will also restore your fortunes among them,

before your [own] wickedness was uncovered. Now you have become an object of reproach and a byword for the daughters of Aram and of Edom and all who are around her, and for the daughters of the Philistines—those surrounding you who despise you.

And thou shalt remember thy ways, and be confounded, when thou shalt receive thy sisters who are older than thou, together with those who are younger than thou; for I will give them unto thee for daughters, but not by virtue of thy covenant.

And all his fugitives, with all his bands, By sword do fall, and those remaining, To every wind they are spread out, And ye have known that I, Jehovah, have spoken.

if he doesn't oppress anyone, but instead returns the debtor's security for his debt, if he doesn't rob anyone, but instead shares his food with the hungry and gives clothes to those who are naked,

And that doeth not any of those duties, but even hath eaten upon the mountains, and defiled his neighbour's wife,

doesn't oppress anyone, doesn't take possession of a debtor's pledge, or doesn't steal, but instead shares his food with the hungry, gives clothes to those who are naked,

And {when the righteous turns} from his righteousness, so that he does injustice, and does all of the detestable things that the wicked do, then will he live [because of] all of his righteousness that he did? [Those things] will not be remembered because of his infidelity that he displayed, and because of his {sin that he committed}. Through them he shall die.

When a righteous man shall turn away from his righteousness and do that which is perverse and die because of those things In his own perversity which he hath done, shall he die.

‘And it had strong branches for the scepters of rulers,
And its height was raised above the thick branches and into the clouds
So that it was seen [easily] in its height with the mass of its branches.

And I will separate from you the rebels and those who transgress against Me; I will bring them out of the land where they temporarily live, but they will not enter the land of Israel. Thus you will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord.

For in My holy mountain, in the mountain height of Israel, says the Lord Jehovah, there all the house of Israel, all of those in the land, shall serve Me. There will I receive them, and there will I ask for your offerings and the firstfruits of your offerings, with all your holy things.

“Therefore, son of man, prophesy and strike your hands together; and let the sword be doubled the third time [in intensity], the sword for the slain. It is the sword for the great slaughter which surrounds them [so that no one can escape, even by hiding in their inner rooms],

In order that hearts may become soft, and the number of those who are falling may be increased, I have sent death by the sword against all their doors: you are made like a flame, you are polished for death.

Thou, therefore son of man. Appoint thee two ways For the sword of the king of Babylon to enter, Out of one land shall those two ways come, - And a hand, engrave thou, At the head of the way to the city, engrave it.;

It will seem like a false divination in their eyes, those who have sworn solemn oaths [of allegiance to Nebuchadnezzar]. But he will remind them of their guilt [by rebelling and violating their oath], that they may be caught.

while they (Ammonite prophets) see false visions [of peace] for you, while they divine lies [of escape] for you—to place you [of Ammon] on the headless bodies of the wicked who are slain, whose day has come, whose time of the final punishment is here.

You shall say, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “A city that sheds blood in her midst, so that her time [of doom] will come, and makes idols to defile her, contrary to her interest!

Those that be near, and those that be far from thee, shall mock thee, which art infamous and much vexed.

Slanderous men shed blood within you. Those who live within you eat pagan sacrifices on the mountains; they commit obscene acts among you.

They've revealed the nakedness of their father in your midst. They've humiliated those among you who were unclean due to their impurity.

The people of the land have been acting cruelly, taking men's goods by force; they have been hard on the poor and those in need, and have done wrong to the man from a strange land.

And Aholah will commit fornication under me; and she will desire after those loving her, after Assur, they being near.

She offered her sexual favors to them; all of them were the elite of Assyria. She defiled herself with all those she lusted after and with all their idols.

For this I delivered her into the hand of those loving her, into the hand of the sons of Assur whom she desired after them.

“Now her sister Oholibah saw this, but she was even more depraved in her lust than Oholah, and made her promiscuous acts worse than those of her sister.

and lusted after their lovers, whose sexual members were like those of donkeys and whose emission was like that of stallions.

Thus you longed for the lewdness and vulgarity of your youth, when the Egyptians handled your bosom on account of the breasts of your youth.

“Therefore Oholibah, this is what the Lord God says: I am going to incite your lovers against you, those you turned away from in disgust. I will bring them against you from every side:

I will set My jealous indignation against you [demanding what is rightfully and uniquely mine], and they will deal with you in fury. They will remove your nose and your ears, and your survivors will fall by the sword. They will take your sons and your daughters; and the survivors will be devoured by the fire.

For thus says the Lord God, ‘Behold, I will place you into the hands of those whom you hate, into the hands of those from whom you turned away in disgust.

“Furthermore, you have even sent a messenger for men to come from far away; and behold, they came—those for whom you bathed, painted your eyes, and decorated yourself with ornaments;

And the voice of a multitude being at ease was with her. And with men of the common sort, were brought drunkards from the wilderness, and they put bracelets upon the hands of those [two women], and beautiful crowns upon their heads

Yet they had sex with her as one does with a prostitute. This is how they had sex with Oholah and Oholibah, those obscene women.

But righteous men will judge them the way adulteresses and those who shed blood are judged, for they are adulteresses and blood is on their hands.

Pile up the wood! Make the fire burn hot. Boil the meat! Mix the seasonings. Burn those bones to a crisp!

Let there be no sound of sorrow; make no weeping for your dead, put on your head-dress and your shoes on your feet, let not your lips be covered, and do not take the food of those in grief.

And you will do as I have done, not covering your lips or taking the food of those in grief.

"And now, Son of Man, on the day that I take their strength, joy, and glory from them, those whom they love to watch, the focus of their affection their sons and daughters

therefore you'd better watch out! I'm raising a clenched fist in your direction! I'm about to feed you to the surrounding nations as war plunder. I'm going to eliminate you as a nation and kill off those of you who survive to live in other countries. I'm going to destroy you, and that's how you'll learn that I am the LORD.'"

So this is what the sovereign Lord says: Take note, I am about to stretch out my hand against the Philistines. I will kill the Cherethites and destroy those who remain on the seacoast.

He will cover you with the dust kicked up by his many horses. Your walls will shake from the noise of the horsemen, wheels, and chariots when he enters your gates like those who invade through a city's broken walls.

And I have caused thee to go down, With those going down to the pit, Unto the people of old, And I have caused thee to dwell in the land, The lower parts -- in wastes of old, With those going down to the pit, So that thou art not inhabited, And I have given beauty in the land of the living.

Those from Beth-togarmah exchanged horses, war horses, and mules for your merchandise.