the word of the Lord came expressly to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the River Chebar; and the hand of the Lord came upon him there.)

Then He said to me, “Son of man, stand on your feet and I will speak to you.”

“And you [Ezekiel], son of man, take a sharp sword and use it as a barber’s razor and shave your head and your beard. Then take scales for weighing and divide the hair [into three parts].

“Son of man, behold, the house of Israel is saying, ‘The vision that Ezekiel sees is for many years from now, and he prophesies of the times that are far off.’

In the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth of the month [after the beginning of the exile in Babylon], certain of the elders of Israel came to inquire of the Lord and sat down before me.

Will you judge them, son of man, will you judge them? Then make them know [accurately] and understand fully the repulsive acts of their fathers;

“And you, son of man [Ezekiel], will you judge, will you judge the city of bloodshed? Then make her recognize all her repulsive acts.

“Son of man, listen carefully, I am about to take away from you the desire of your eyes [your wife] with a single stroke. Yet you shall not mourn and you shall not weep, and your tears shall not flow.

You will do as I [Ezekiel] have done; you shall not cover your mustache nor eat the bread of [mourning brought to you by other] men.

So Ezekiel will be a sign to you; in accordance with all that he has done you will do. And when this [destruction of the temple] comes, then you will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord God.’”

In the twelfth year of our exile [in Babylon], on the fifth of the tenth month, a survivor from Jerusalem came to me, saying, “The city has been captured.”