Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river of Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.

On the fifth of the month, (it was the fifth year of king Jehoiachin's captivity,)

the word of Yahweh {came} clearly to Ezekiel the son of Buzi, the priest, in the land of [the] Chaldeans at the {Kebar River}, and the hand of Yahweh was on him there.

And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber, out of the midst of the fire.

Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man.

Their legs were straight; But their feet were like bullock's feet, and they glistered, as it had been fair scoured metal.

yet were the wings so, that one ever touched another. When they went, they turned them not about: but each one went straight forward.

Regarding the form and appearance of their faces: they [each] had the face of a man [in front], and each had the face of a lion on the right side, and the face of an ox on the left side; all four also had the face of an eagle [at the back of their heads].

Such were their faces. Their wings were stretched out upward; two [wings] of each one were touching another [the wings of the beings on either side of it], and [the remaining] two [wings of each being] were covering their bodies.

Every one, when it went, it went straight forward. Whereas the spirit led them, thither they went; and turned not about in their going.

As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, and like the appearance of lamps: it went up and down among the living creatures; and the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning.

And the living beings went out and came back as quickly as a thunder-flame.

And I looked at the living creatures, and behold, one wheel upon the earth beside the living creatures, toward their four faces.

The appearance of the wheels and their work was like unto the colour of a beryl: and they four had one likeness: and their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel.

When they moved, they went toward their four sides; they did not {veer at all as they went}.

And at the going of the living creatures, the wheels next to them [also] went, and {when the creatures were lifted from the ground} the wheels [also] rose.

At their going, they go, and at their standing, they stood, and at their being lifted up from on the earth, the wheels rose, for the spirit of the living creatures [was] in the wheels.

And a likeness is over the heads of the living creatures of an expanse, as the colour of the fearful ice, stretched out over their heads from above.

Under the expanse their wings were stretched out straight, one toward another. Every living being had two wings which covered its body on one side and on the other side.

When they moved, I heard the sound of their wings -- it was like the sound of rushing waters, or the voice of the Almighty, or the tumult of an army. When they stood still, they lowered their wings.

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

And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it.

And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about.

As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake.

It is the appearance of the likeness of the honour of Jehovah, and I see, and fall on my face, and I hear a voice speaking, and He saith unto me, 'Son of man, stand on thy feet, and I speak with thee.'

And there doth come into me a spirit, when He hath spoken unto me, and it causeth me to stand on my feet, and I hear Him who is speaking unto me.

The children are obstinate and hardhearted. I am sending you to them, and you must say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says.’

And they, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, (for they are a rebellious house,) yet shall know that there hath been a prophet among them.

And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns be with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house.

But thou, son of man, hear what I say unto thee; Be not thou rebellious like that rebellious house: open thy mouth, and eat that I give thee.

And I look, and lo, a hand is sent forth unto me, and lo, in it a roll of a book,

And he spread it before me; and it was written within and without: and there was written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe.

Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel.

So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that roll.

And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness.

Then he told me, "Son of Man, go to the house of Israel and tell them what I have to say to them,

yet the house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you, since they are not willing to listen to Me. Surely the whole house of Israel is stubborn and obstinate.

As an adamant harder than flint have I made thy forehead: fear them not, neither be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house.

Go to your people, the exiles, and speak to them. Tell them, ‘This is what the Lord God says,’ whether they listen or refuse to listen.”

Then I was lifted up by the wind, and at my back the sound of a great rushing came to my ears when the glory of the Lord was lifted up from his place.

And [it was] the sound of the wings of the living creatures touching lightly {one against the other}, and the sound of the wheels beside them and [the] sound of a great earthquake.

And the spirit lifted me up, and it will take me and I shall go bitter, in the heat of my spirit; and the hand of Jehovah was strong upon me.

Then I came to them of the captivity at Telabib, that dwelt by the river of Chebar, and I sat where they sat, and remained there astonished among them seven days.

And it came to pass at the end of seven days, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.

When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.

Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.

Again, When a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumblingblock before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand.

And the hand of Yahweh was on me there, and he said to me, "Rise up, go out to the valley, and there I will speak with you."

So I got up and went out to the plain. The Lord’s glory was present there, like the glory I had seen by the Chebar Canal, and I fell facedown.

And [the] Spirit came into me, and it made me stand on my feet, and he spoke with me and said to me, "Come, shut yourself {inside your house},

But thou, O son of man, behold, they shall put bands upon thee, and shall bind thee with them, and thou shalt not go out among them:

And I will make thy tongue cleave so to the roof of thy mouth, that thou shalt be dumb, and not be as a chider with them: for it is an obstinate household.

But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you will say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says.’ Let the one who listens, listen, and let the one who refuses, refuse—for they are a rebellious house.

Thou also, son of man, take thee a tile, and lay it before thee, and pourtray upon it the city, even Jerusalem:

And lay siege against it, and build a fort against it, and cast a mount against it; set the camp also against it, and set battering rams against it round about.

Moreover take thou unto thee an iron pan, and set it for a wall of iron between thee and the city: and set thy face against it, and it shall be besieged, and thou shalt lay siege against it. This shall be a sign to the house of Israel.

Lie thou also upon thy left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it: according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon it thou shalt bear their iniquity.

Nevertheless, I will appoint thee a time to put out their sins and the number of the days: Three hundred and ninety days must thou bear the wickedness of the house of Israel.

And again, when thou hast accomplished these, thou shalt lie on thy right side, and shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah: forty days, each day for a year, have I appointed it unto thee.

Therefore thou shalt set thy face toward the siege of Jerusalem, and thine arm shall be uncovered, and thou shalt prophesy against it.

And see, I will put bands on you; and you will be stretched out without turning from one side to the other till the days of your attack are ended.

Take thou also unto thee wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentiles, and millet, and fitches, and put them in one vessel, and make thee bread thereof, according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon thy side, three hundred and ninety days shalt thou eat thereof.

And thy meat which thou shalt eat shall be by weight, twenty shekels a day: from time to time shalt thou eat it.

And water by measure thou dost drink, a sixth part of the hin; from time to time thou dost drink it.

And thou shalt eat it as barley cakes, and thou shalt bake it with dung that cometh out of man, in their sight.

And the LORD said, Even thus shall the children of Israel eat their defiled bread among the Gentiles, whither I will drive them.

Then said, I, Ah! My Lord. Yahweh, lo! my person, hath not been defiled: neither of what hath died of itself nor of what hath been torn in pieces: have I eaten, from my youthful days even unto now, neither hath come into my mouth the flesh of a foul thing.

And He saith unto me, 'See, I have given to thee bullock's dung instead of man's dung, and thou hast made thy bread by it.'

Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, behold, I will break the staff of bread in Jerusalem: and they shall eat bread by weight, and with care; and they shall drink water by measure, and with astonishment:

because bread and water will be scarce; and they will look at one another in dismay and waste away [in punishment] for their wickedness.

And thou, son of man, take thee a sharp knife, take thee a barber's rasor, and cause it to pass upon thine head and upon thy beard: then take thee balances to weigh, and divide the hair.

Thou shalt burn with fire a third part in the midst of the city, when the days of the siege are fulfilled: and thou shalt take a third part, and smite about it with a knife: and a third part thou shalt scatter in the wind; and I will draw out a sword after them.

You shall take of it a few in number, and bind them in your skirts.

and thou shalt take of these again, and cast them into the midst of the fire, and burn them in the fire: from it shall a fire come forth against all the house of Israel.

Thus saith the Lord GOD; This is Jerusalem: I have set it in the midst of the nations and countries that are round about her.

but she hath despised my judgments more than the Gentiles themselves, and broken my commandments more than the nations that lie round about her. For they have cast out mine ordinances, and not walked in my laws.

“Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: Because you have been more insubordinate than the nations around you—you have not walked in My statutes or kept My ordinances; you have not even kept the ordinances of the nations around you—

therefore, this is what the Lord God says: See, I am against you, Jerusalem, and I will execute judgments within you in the sight of the nations.

Because of all your detestable practices, I will do to you what I have never done before and what I will never do again.

Therefore the fathers shall eat the sons in the midst of thee, and the sons shall eat their fathers; and I will execute judgments in thee, and the whole remnant of thee will I scatter into all the winds.

Wherefore, as I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, verily because thou hast defiled my sanctuary with all thy detestable things, and with all thine abominations, therefore will I also withdraw mine eye, and it shall not spare, nor will I have any pity.

A third part of thee shall die with the pestilence, and with famine shall they be consumed in the midst of thee: and a third part shall fall by the sword round about thee; and I will scatter a third part into all the winds, and I will draw out a sword after them.

Thus shall mine anger be accomplished, and I will cause my fury to rest upon them, and I will be comforted: and they shall know that I the LORD have spoken it in my zeal, when I have accomplished my fury in them.

So it shall be a reproach and a taunt, an instruction and an astonishment unto the nations that are round about thee, when I shall execute judgments in thee in anger and in fury and in furious rebukes. I the LORD have spoken it.

When I shoot deadly arrows of famine at them, arrows for destruction that I will send to destroy you, inhabitants of Jerusalem, I will intensify the famine against you and cut off your supply of bread.

So will I send upon you famine and evil beasts, and they shall bereave thee; and pestilence and blood shall pass through thee; and I will bring the sword upon thee. I the LORD have spoken it.

And it happened, the Word of Jehovah came to me, saying,

You are to say: Mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God! This is what the Lord God says to the mountains and the hills, to the ravines and the valleys: I am about to bring a sword against you, and I will destroy your high places.

In all your dwellings the cities are laid waste, And the high places are desolate, So that waste and desolate are your altars, And broken and ceased have your idols, And cut down have been your images, And blotted out have been your works.

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

Yet will I leave a remnant, that ye may have some that shall escape the sword among the nations, when ye shall be scattered through the countries.

And they that escape from you, shall think upon me among the Heathen, where they shall be in captivity. As for that whorish and unfaithful heart of theirs, wherewith they run away from me, I will break it: Yea, and put out those eyes of theirs, that committed fornication with their idols. Then shall they be ashamed, and displeased with their selves, for the wickedness and abominations, which they have done:

and shall learn to know how that it is not in vain, that I, the LORD, spake to bring such misery upon them.'"

“This is what the Lord God says: Clap your hands, stamp your feet, and cry out over all the evil and detestable practices of the house of Israel, who will fall by the sword, famine, and plague.

Whoso is far off, shall die of the pestilence; he that is nigh at hand shall perish with the sword; and the others that are besieged shall die of hunger. Thus will I satisfy my wrathful displeasure upon them.

And you will know that I [am] Yahweh {when their slain ones are in the midst of their idols} around their altars at every high hill, on the tops of all the mountains and under every green tree and under every leafy oak--the place [at] which they gave pleasing scent for all of their idols.

So will I stretch out my hand upon them, and make the land desolate, yea, more desolate than the wilderness toward Diblath, in all their habitations: and they shall know that I am the LORD.

And it happened, the Word of Jehovah came to me, saying,

“Son of man, this is what the Lord God says to the land of Israel:

An end! The end has come
on the four corners of the land.