I was amazed to see a wind storm blow in from the north, consisting of a massive cloud and fire that was flashing back and forth, surrounded by bright light. From deep within the cloud, something was shining that appeared to have a color like bronze that had been placed in fire until it glowed.

except that they each had four faces, four pairs of wings,

That's what their faces were like. Their wings spread out above and around them, one pair overlapping another, with one pair covering themselves.

Now, in the midst of the living beings there was something that appeared to glow like coals kindled by a fire, like torches that moved back and forth between the living beings. The fire was dazzling, and lightning flashed from the fire.

As I observed the living beings, I noticed one wheel on the earth beside each being that is, for the four of them.

Their wheel rims were ornate and terrifying. They were full of eyes that surrounded the four of them.

A sound came from above the canopy that was spread out over their heads. Whenever they stood still, they lowered their wings.

From above the canopy that was spread out over their heads, there appeared to be something reminiscent of a throne, resembling sapphire in form.

There was the likeness of the appearance of a human being seated on the likeness of the throne high above. I noticed that from what appeared to look like his waist upward there was something that looked like metal that glowed as if it were immersed in fire. Below this there was something resembling fire, with a radiant light surrounding him.

The appearance of the radiant light resembled that of a rainbow shining in a cloud on a rainy day. This was what the appearance of the form of the glory of the LORD resembled. When I saw all of this, I fell flat on my face. Then I heard a voice speaking.

Even while he was speaking to me, the Spirit entered me, set me on my feet, and I listened to the voice that had been speaking to me.

"Son of Man, I'm sending you to that rebellious people, the Israelis, who have rebelled against me the same way their ancestors did. And they're still rebels to this very day!

Whether this rebellious group listens to you or not, at least they'll realize that a prophet had appeared in their midst!

Then he told me, "Son of Man, fill your stomach and digest this scroll that I'm giving you." So I ate it, and it was like sweet honey in my mouth.

This isn't a large group of people whose speech is unintelligible to you or whose language is difficult for you to comprehend. Frankly, if I had sent you to that kind of people, they would certainly have listened to you!

But the house of Israel won't listen to you, since they weren't willing to listen to me. That's because the entire house of Israel is hard-headed and hard-hearted.

Next, he told me, "Son of Man, take to heart every word that I'm telling you. Listen carefully,

then go immediately to the exiles; that is, to your people's descendants, and tell them, "This is what the Lord GOD says"' whether they listen or not."

"Son of Man," he said, "I've appointed you to be a watchman over the house of Israel. Therefore when you hear a message that comes from me, you are to warn them for me.

"So when I say to a wicked person, "You're about to die,' if you don't warn or instruct that wicked person that his behavior is wicked so he can live, that wicked person will die in his sin, but I'll hold you responsible for his death.

"When a righteous man abandons his righteousness to practice unrighteousness, I'll set a stumbling block before him. He'll die. If you don't warn him, he'll die in his sin and the righteous deeds that he had practiced won't be remembered, but you'll be held responsible for his death.

If you warn the righteous person, so that he doesn't commit sin, then he'll live, since he had been warned. And you will have saved your life."

Meanwhile, I'll make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth so that you'll be mute and unable to reprove them, since they're a rebellious group.

"And now Son of Man, you are to take a brick, set it in front of you, and inscribe on it the outline of the city that is, Jerusalem.

When you have completed this, you are to sleep on your right side, symbolically bearing the iniquity of Judah for 40 days. Each day that I've assigned to you represents one year.

Look! I'll tie you up so that you're unable to turn from one side to the other until you've completed your siege."

The food that you'll be eating is to consist of portions weighing 20 shekels, to be consumed daily at regular intervals.

"Now, Lord GOD," I replied, "I've never been defiled, ever since I was young until now. I haven't eaten an animal that died on its own or was torn by beasts, and no unclean meat has ever entered my mouth!"

"Okay," he responded. "I'll allow you to substitute cow's dung for human dung. Cook your food over that."

"Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: "Because you're more disrespectful than the nations that surround you, you didn't follow my statutes or follow my ordinances. You didn't even follow the ordinances of the surrounding nations!'

"Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: "Watch out! I that's right, even I am against you. I'll carry out my sentence among you right in front of the nations.

"Only then will I stop being angry my burning in anger. Then they'll know that I've spoken out in my arduous anger. Only then will my burning anger against them be exhausted.

I'm also going to turn you into a waste and an object of insult among the nations that surround you and in front of every person who passes by.

As a result, Jerusalem will become an insult, an object of taunt, an example of chastisement, and a useless waste to all the nations that surround you when I carry out my sentence against you in my anger, my burning rage, and my burning rebukes. I, the LORD, have spoken it.

I'll send arrows of severe famine in their direction, meant for destruction, which I'll shoot, intending to destroy them. I'll make you have more and more famines that will attack you, and I'll disrupt your source of food.

"I'll send famine and wild beasts against you that will rob you of your children. Pestilence and bloodshed will devastate you when I'll declare war on you. I, the LORD, have spoken."

In all the places where you live, the cities will be desolate. The high places will also be desolate so that your altars will be laid waste, bearing the punishment appropriate to them. Your idols will be shattered, your sun pillars will be hewn down, and your works will be obliterated.

The fatally wounded among you will fall, and at that time you'll know that I am the LORD.

Your survivors will remember me among the nations where they'll be taken captives. I've been crushed by their unfaithful hearts that have turned against me.

Then they'll know that I am the LORD. I didn't declare this evil that's intended for them without a reason.'"

This is what the Lord GOD says: "Clap your hands and stamp your feet! Say, "Oh, no!' Because of all the detestable evil that has come from Israel's house, they'll fall by the sword, famine, and pestilence.

"You'll learn that I am the LORD, when the fatally wounded will be among their idols, around their altars, on every hill, on top of the mountains, under every luxuriant tree, and under all the full-grown foliage every place where they've offered fragrant aromas to all their idols.

I'll stretch out my hands to strike them and send devastation to the land, from the wilderness of Diblah, throughout all their dwelling places. Then they'll know that I am the LORD."

I won't be showing pity on you and I won't be showing compassion. I'm going to turn your own lifestyles against you while your detestable practices remain among you. Then you'll learn that I am the LORD.'"

I won't be showing pity or compassion. I'll repay you according to your behavior while your detestable practices remain among you. And you'll know that I, the LORD, have been attacking you.'"

"Violence has matured into a branch that is wicked. No one will survive from that vast crowd, from their wealthy people, or from the famous among them.

I'll turn my face away from them so that they'll defile my treasured place. Robbers will enter and profane it!

"The king will mourn, the prince will be clothed with desolation, and the hands of the people of the land will tremble. I'll deal with them according to their behavior and I will judge them by how they've judged. Then they'll learn that I am the LORD."

and I saw a likeness comparable to the appearance of a man. From his thighs downward there was the appearance of fire, and from his waist upward, there was the appearance of brightness that looked like brass.

The form of a hand reached out and took me by the hair of my head. Then the Spirit lifted me up between the earth and sky, brought me toward Jerusalem, and in visions that came from God took me through the doors of the inner gate that faced north, where an image that provoked God's jealous anger had been erected.

Then he told me, "Son of Man, look up toward the north." So I looked off toward the north. Suddenly, off toward the north, facing the gate that led to the altar, the image that provoked God's jealousy was standing near the entrance.

Then he told me, "Son of Man, dig through the wall!" So I dug into the wall. That's when I uncovered an entrance!

Then he told me, "Go on through that entrance, so you may see the wicked, detestable things that they're committing here."

Then the Spirit told me, "You're about to see even more detestable practices that they're doing!"

Then he brought me to the entrance of the gate to the LORD's Temple, which faced the north. That's where I saw women seated, weeping for Tammuz.

"Do you see this, Son of Man?" he asked me. "Is it an insignificant thing for Judah's house to commit the detestable things that they're doing here? They've filled the land with violence and turned away from me, causing me to become angry again. Look how they're sniffing with their noses!

Then the glory that is Israel's God arose from the cherubim on which he had been seated and settled on the threshold of the Temple. He called out to the man dressed in linen who wore the writing case at his side.

The LORD told him, "Go throughout the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of everyone who sighs and moans over all of the loathsome things that are happening in it."

"The house of Israel and Judah is guilty and theirs is a stubborn guilt, at that!" he replied to me. "The land is filled with blood, and the city overflows with injustice, because they keep saying, "The LORD has abandoned the land,' and "The LORD isn't watching.'

As I continued to watch, there on the expanse above the heads of the cherubim was a massive sapphire stone that resembled a throne in form and appearance.

The cherubim arose. These were the same beings that I had seen at the Chebar River.

These were the living beings that I had seen under the God of Israel on the bank of the Chebar River. I knew that they were cherubim.

Just then the Spirit of the LORD took control of me and told me, "You are to say, "This is what the LORD says: "You've said, O house of Israel, that I know what goes through your mind.

"Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says, "The corpses that you've laid out in your midst are the meat, and this city is the cooking pot. But you'll be taken out from the middle of it.

You're going to die violently, and I'll judge you as far as the borders of Israel. Then you'll learn that I am the LORD.

Then you'll learn that I am the LORD, because you didn't live by my statues or obey my ordinances. Instead, you obeyed the ordinances of the nations around you."'"

"Therefore you are to say, "This is what the Lord GOD says, "Although I've removed them far away to live among the nations, and although I've scattered them throughout the earth, yet I've continued to be their sanctuary, even for the short time that they will be living in the lands to which they've gone."'

then I'll give them a united heart, placing a new spirit within them. I'll remove their stubborn heart and give them a heart that's sensitive to me.

Then in a vision from the Spirit of God, the Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the exiles in Chaldea. At that point, the vision that I had been observing ended.

Later, I spoke to the exiles concerning everything the LORD had spoken that I had witnessed.

"Son of Man, you live in a rebellious house that has eyes to see, but they can't see, and ears to hear, but they can't hear, since they're a rebellious house.

"So now, Son of Man, you are to prepare your luggage for a trip into exile, and then you are to leave during the daytime so they see you leaving. Leave from your place to another while they're watching. Then perhaps they'll realize that they're a rebellious house.

"Bring out your luggage, like you're packing to go into exile, and do this during the daytime while they're watching you. Later that evening, leave while they're watching you like someone heading into exile.

"While they're watching, carry your luggage on your shoulder and go out in total darkness. Cover your face so that you won't see the land, because I'm using you as a sign to Israel's house."

"Son of Man, didn't the house of Israel, that rebellious house, ask you, "What are you doing?'

Answer them, "This is what the Lord GOD says, "This oracle concerns the prince of Jerusalem and the whole of Israel's house that is in their midst.

Then the prince, who will be one of them, will carry his luggage on his shoulder in the dark and will go out. They'll dig a hole in the wall for him to go through. His face will be covered so that he won't be able to see the land with his eyes.

they'll learn that I am the LORD, when I've dispersed them among the nations and scattered them throughout the earth."'"

"But I'll preserve a few people out of the violent death, famine, and pestilence, so they can recount their detestable practices among the nations when they'll go there. Then they'll know that I am the LORD."

The towns that are inhabited will lie in ruins, because the land will be devastated. Then they'll learn that I am the LORD."'"

"Son of Man, what's this proverb you have concerning Israel's land that says, "The days pass slowly and every vision ends in nothing.'?

Therefore you are to tell them, "This is what the Lord GOD says, "I'm about to put an end to use of this proverb in Israel. It will never be used again as a proverb in Israel. Instead, tell them that the days are drawing near when every vision will be fulfilled.

Because I am the LORD, I'll speak and the message that I communicate will be accomplished without delay. While you continue to be a rebellious house, I'll speak the message and then fulfill it," declares the Lord GOD.'"

"Son of Man, pay attention! The house of Israel keeps on saying, "The vision that he's talking about concerns the distant future. He's prophesying concerning times that are far in the future!'

Therefore tell them, "This is what the Lord GOD says, "None of my messages will be delayed any longer. Any message that I speak will be fulfilled," declares the Lord GOD.'"

"Son of Man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel, who even now are prophesying, and tell those prophets that keep on prophesying according to what they wish would happen, "Listen to what the LORD says.'"

My hand will oppose the prophets who see false visions and speak deceptive divinations. They won't be included with the council of my people, nor will they be entered into the registry of Israel's house or enter Israel's land. Then you'll know that I am the Lord GOD,

"When someone builds a wall, they coat it with whitewash. Tell those who coat it with whitewash that it will fall. It will be washed off by the rain. Great hailstones will fall and a stormy wind will strip it off.

Look! When the wall collapses, won't it be said of you, "Where's the coat of paint that you spread all over the wall?'

I'll tear down the wall that you've smeared with whitewash, level it to the ground, and tear out its foundation. Then it will collapse and you'll perish with it! Then you'll know that I am the LORD.

""That's how I'll vent my anger on the wall and on the ones who coated it with whitewash. And I'll say to you, "The wall is gone and so are those who coated it."

I'll also tear off your headbands and deliver my people from your grip so that they won't be under your control anymore. Then you'll know that I am the LORD.

"""Because you've dismayed the heart of the righteous whom I never intended to dismay with lies, and because you've encouraged the wicked so that he wouldn't abandon his evil behavior and by doing so live,

you'll no longer see false visions or again practice divination, because I'm going to deliver my people from your power. Then you'll know that I am the LORD."'"

"Son of Man, these men have taken idols into their hearts. They've placed the stumbling block that is their own iniquity right in front of their faces. Should I be consulted by them at all?

Therefore, speak up and tell them, "This is what the Lord GOD says, "Every person from Israel's house who follows his idols and sets the stumbling block that is his own sin in front of his face, and then consults a prophet, I the LORD will answer him according to how many idols he embraces.

I'm determined to oppose that person and make him an example. Proverbs will be written about him when I eliminate him from my people. Then you'll know that I am the LORD."'"

"Now as to the prophet, if through deceit he delivers a message, I the LORD have deceived that prophet! I'll reach out in opposition to him and exterminate him from among my people Israel.

They'll bear the consequences of their guilt, and the prophet will be just as guilty as the one who seeks that prophet's guidance.

Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job lived in that land, they would only save their own lives on account of their righteousness," declares the Lord GOD.