the word of the Lord came directly to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the Chebar Canal. And the Lord’s hand was on him there.

From what seemed to be His waist up, I saw a gleam like amber, with what looked like fire enclosing it all around. From what seemed to be His waist down, I also saw what looked like fire. There was a brilliant light all around Him.

If I say to the wicked person, ‘You will surely die,’ but you do not warn him—you don’t speak out to warn him about his wicked way in order to save his life—that wicked person will die for his iniquity. Yet I will hold you responsible for his blood.

Now if a righteous person turns from his righteousness and practices iniquity, and I put a stumbling block in front of him, he will die. If you did not warn him, he will die because of his sin and the righteous acts he did will not be remembered. Yet I will hold you responsible for his blood.

“Pass throughout the city of Jerusalem,” the Lord said to him, “and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the detestable practices committed in it.”

He spoke as I listened to the others, “Pass through the city after him and start killing; do not show pity or spare them!

The prince who is among them will lift his bags to his shoulder in the dark and go out. They will dig through the wall to bring him out through it. He will cover his face so he cannot see the land with his eyes.

But I will spread My net over him, and he will be caught in My snare. I will bring him to Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans, yet he will not see it, and he will die there.

I will also scatter all the attendants who surround him and all his troops to every direction of the wind, and I will draw a sword to chase after them.

Because you have disheartened the righteous person with lies, even though I have not caused him grief, and because you have encouraged the wicked person not to turn from his evil way to save his life,

“Therefore, speak to them and tell them: This is what the Lord God says: When anyone from the house of Israel sets up idols in his heart, puts a sinful stumbling block before his face, and then comes to the prophet, I, Yahweh, will answer him appropriately. I will answer him according to his many idols,

For when anyone from the house of Israel or from the foreigners who reside in Israel separates himself from Me, setting up idols in his heart and putting a sinful stumbling block before his face, and then comes to the prophet to inquire of Me, I, Yahweh, will answer him Myself.

I will turn against that one and make him a sign and a proverb; I will cut him off from among My people. Then you will know that I am Yahweh.

“But if the prophet is deceived and speaks a message, it was I, Yahweh, who deceived that prophet. I will stretch out My hand against him and destroy him from among My people Israel.

It sprouted and became a spreading vine,
low in height with its branches turned toward him,
yet its roots stayed under it.
So it became a vine,
produced branches, and sent out shoots.

But there was another great eagle
with great wings and thick plumage.
And this vine bent its roots toward him!
It stretched out its branches to him
from its planting bed,
so that he might water it.

“Now say to that rebellious house: Don’t you know what these things mean? Tell them: The king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, took its king and officials, and brought them back with him to Babylon.

He took one of the royal family and made a covenant with him, putting him under oath. Then he took away the leading men of the land,

However, this king revolted against him by sending his ambassadors to Egypt so they might give him horses and a large army. Will he flourish? Will the one who does such things escape? Can he break a covenant and still escape?

“As I live”—this is the declaration of the Lord God—“he will die in Babylon, in the land of the king who put him on the throne, whose oath he despised and whose covenant he broke.

Pharaoh will not help him with his great army and vast horde in battle, when ramps are built and siege walls constructed to destroy many lives.

I will spread My net over him, and he will be caught in My snare. I will bring him to Babylon and execute judgment on him there for the treachery he committed against Me.

and lends at interest or for profit, will he live? He will not live! Since he has committed all these detestable acts, he will certainly die. His blood will be on him.

The person who sins is the one who will die. A son won’t suffer punishment for the father’s iniquity, and a father won’t suffer punishment for the son’s iniquity. The righteousness of the righteous person will be on him, and the wickedness of the wicked person will be on him.

None of the transgressions he has committed will be held against him. He will live because of the righteousness he has practiced.

When the nations heard about him,
he was caught in their pit.
Then they led him away with hooks
to the land of Egypt.

When she saw that she waited in vain,
that her hope was lost,
she took another of her cubs
and made him a young lion.

Then the nations from the surrounding provinces
set out against him.
They spread their net over him;
he was caught in their pit.

They put a wooden yoke on him with hooks
and led him away to the king of Babylon.
They brought him into the fortresses
so his roar could no longer be heard
on the mountains of Israel.

A ruin, a ruin,
I will make it a ruin!
Yet this will not happen
until He comes;
I have given the judgment to Him.

On that day your mouth will be opened to talk with him; you will speak and no longer be mute. So you will be a sign for them, and they will know that I am Yahweh.’”

“Son of man, lament for the king of Tyre and say to him: This is what the Lord God says:

You were the seal of perfection,
full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.

“Son of man, turn your face toward Pharaoh king of Egypt and prophesy against him and against all of Egypt.

Speak to him and say: This is what the Lord God says:

Look, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt,
the great monster lying in the middle of his Nile,
who says, ‘My Nile is my own;
I made it for myself.’

I have given him the land of Egypt as the pay he labored for, since they worked for Me.” This is the declaration of the Lord God.

I will strengthen the arms of Babylon’s king and place My sword in his hand. But I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan before him as a mortally wounded man.

“Son of man, lament for Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him:

You compare yourself to a lion of the nations,
but you are like a monster in the seas.
You thrash about in your rivers,
churn up the waters with your feet,
and muddy the rivers.”

Warrior leaders will speak
from the middle of Sheol
about him and his allies:
They have come down;
the uncircumcised lie
slain by the sword.

“Son of man, speak to your people and tell them: Suppose I bring the sword against a land, and the people of that land select a man from among them, appointing him as their watchman,

Then, if anyone hears the sound of the trumpet but ignores the warning, and the sword comes and takes him away, his blood will be on his own head.

If I say to the wicked, ‘Wicked one, you will surely die,’ but you do not speak out to warn him about his way, that wicked person will die for his iniquity, yet I will hold you responsible for his blood.

“Now, son of man, say to your people: The righteousness of the righteous person will not save him on the day of his transgression; neither will the wickedness of the wicked person cause him to stumble on the day he turns from his wickedness. The righteous person won’t be able to survive by his righteousness on the day he sins.

None of the sins he committed will be held against him. He has done what is just and right; he will certainly live.

“Son of man, take a single stick and write on it: Belonging to Judah and the Israelites associated with him. Then take another stick and write on it: Belonging to Joseph—the stick of Ephraim—and all the house of Israel associated with him.

tell them: This is what the Lord God says: I am going to take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel associated with him, and put them together with the stick of Judah. I will make them into a single stick so that they become one in My hand.

“Son of man, turn your face toward Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. Prophesy against him

I will call for a sword against him on all My mountains”—the declaration of the Lord God—“and every man’s sword will be against his brother.

I will execute judgment on him with plague and bloodshed. I will pour out torrential rain, hailstones, fire, and brimstone on him, as well as his troops and the many peoples who are with him.

The chamber that faces north is for the priests who keep charge of the altar. These are the sons of Zadok, the ones from the sons of Levi who may approach the Lord to serve Him.”

“When the prince makes a freewill offering, whether a burnt offering or a fellowship offering as a freewill offering to the Lord, the gate that faces east must be opened for him. He is to offer his burnt offering or fellowship offering just as he does on the Sabbath day. Then he will go out, and the gate must be closed after he leaves.