In the fifth to the month, this the fifth year to the captivity of king Jehoiachin,

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

Their faces had this appearance: Each of the four had the face of a man, with the face of a lion on the right, the face of an ox on the left and also the face of an eagle.

And under the firmament were their wings straight, the one towards the other: every one had two, which covered on this side, and every one had two, which covered on that side, their bodies.

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.

As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness around. 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 speaking.

And he said to me, Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that hath rebelled against me: they and their fathers have transgressed against me: even to this very day.

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.’

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

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

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

And he said to 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.

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!

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.

At the end of the seven days, this message from the LORD came to me:

In my saying to the unjust, Dying, thou shalt die; and thou admonished him not, and thou spakest not to admonish the unjust from his way of injustice to preserve him alive; this unjust one shall die in his iniquity, and his blood I will seek from thy hand.

The Spirit entered me, rested on me, caused me to stand on my feet, and then he spoke to me. This is what he had to say: "Go barricade yourself in your house.

But when I have talk with you I will make your mouth open, and you are to say to them, This is what the Lord has said: Let the hearer give ear; and as for him who will not, let him keep his ears shut: for they are an uncontrolled people.

Moreover take thou to 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.

I've assigned you to sleep this way for 390 days, representing the years they've been sinning, as you bear symbolically the punishment of the house of Israel.

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.

After this, you are to turn toward the rampart of Jerusalem and oppose it with your bare arms, because I'm going to prophesy about it.

And the meat that thou eatest, shall have a certain weight appointed: namely twenty shekels every day. This appointed meat shalt thou eat daily, from the beginning to the end.

The Lord said, “This is how the Israelites will eat their bread—ceremonially unclean—among the nations where I will banish them.”

Then said I, "O LORD God: Behold, my soul was yet never stained, for from my youth up to this hour. I did never eat of a dead carcass, or that which was slain of wild beasts, neither came there ever any unclean flesh in my mouth."

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

For this cause the Lord has said: Because you have been more uncontrolled than the nations round about you, and have not been guided by my rules or kept my orders, but have kept the orders of the nations round about you;

For this cause the Lord has said: See, I, even I, am against you; and I will be judging among you before the eyes of the nations.

For this cause fathers will take their sons for food among you, and sons will make a meal of their fathers; and I will be judge among you, and all the rest of you I will send away to every wind.

For this cause, by my life, says the Lord, because you have made my holy place unclean with all your hated things and all your disgusting ways, you will become disgusting to me; my eye will have no mercy and I will have no pity.

You mountains of Israel, give ear to the words of the Lord: this is what the Lord has said to the mountains and the hills, to the waterways and the valleys: See, I, even I, am sending on you a sword for the destruction of your high places.

And they shall know that I am the LORD, and that I have not said in vain that I would do this evil to them.

This is what the Lord has said: Give blows with your hand, stamping with your foot, and say, O sorrow! because of all the evil and disgusting ways of the children of Israel: for death will overtake them by the sword and through need of food and by disease.

The one who is far off will die by plague; the one who is near will fall by the sword; and the one who remains and is spared will die of famine. In this way I will exhaust My wrath on them.

This message from the LORD arrived for me:

And you, son of man, say, This is what the Lord has said to the land of Israel: An end has come, the end has come on the four quarters of the land.

This is what the Lord has said: An evil, even one evil; see, it is coming.

While the beauty of his own ornament he had in majesty placed, Then the images, of their abominations. Their detestable things, Made they therein, - For this cause have I delivered it up to them for removal;

For this reason I will send the worst of the nations and they will take their houses for themselves: I will make the pride of their strength come to an end; and their holy places will be made unclean.

When this trouble cometh, they shall seek peace, but they shall have none.

This similitude stretched out a hand, and took me by the hairy locks of my head, and the spirit lift me up betwixt heaven and earth: And God brought me in a vision to Jerusalem, into the court of the inward port that lieth toward the north. There stood an image, with whom he that hath all things in his power was very wroth.

Then said he to me, Son of man, lift up thy eyes now the way towards the north. So I lifted up my eyes the way towards the north, and behold northward at the gate of the altar this image of jealousy in the entry.

And he said furthermore unto me, "Thou son of man, seest thou what these do? Seest thou the great abominations that the house of Israel commit in this place? Which ought not to be done in my sanctuary: But turn thee about, and thou shalt see yet greater abominations."

Then said he to me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations than these.

Then he said to me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? for they have filled the land with violence, and have returned to provoke me to anger: and lo, they put the branch to their nose.

For this reason I will let loose my wrath: my eye will not have mercy, and I will have no pity.

Then I noticed the man dressed in linen who wore the writing case by his side as he brought back this message: "I've done as you have commanded me."

He issued this order to the man who was clothed in white linen: "Take fire from within the whirling wheels, among the cherubim." So he went and stood beside the wheels.

And the cherubim were lifted up. This is the living creature that I saw by the river of Kebar.

This is the living creature that I saw under the God of Israel by the river of Kebar; and I knew that they were the cherubim.

Then said he to me, Son of man, these are the men that devise mischief, and give wicked counsel in this city:

Who say, It is not near; let us build houses: this city is the caldron, and we are the flesh.

For this cause be a prophet against them, be a prophet, O son of man.

And the Spirit of Yahweh fell on me, and he said to me, "Say, 'thus says Yahweh: "This is what you think, house of Israel, and I myself know them, the thoughts of your spirit.

Ye have multiplied your slain in this city, and ye have filled its streets with the slain.

Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Your slain whom ye have laid in the midst of it, they are the flesh, and this city is the caldron: but I will bring you forth out of the midst of it.

You fear the sword, so I will bring the sword against you.” This is the declaration of the Lord God.

I will drive you out of this city and deliver you into your enemies' hand, and will condemn you.

This city shall not be your caldron, neither shall ye be the flesh in the midst of it; but I will judge you in the border of Israel:

Then this message came to me from the LORD:

Son of man, thy brethren, even thy brethren, the men of thy kindred, and all the house of Israel wholly, are they to whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, Retire far from the LORD: to us is this land given in possession.

For this reason say, This is what the Lord has said: Though I have had them moved far off among the nations, and though I have sent them wandering among the countries, still I have been a safe place for them for a little time in the countries where they have come.

Then say, This is what the Lord has said: I will get you together from the peoples, and make you come out of the countries where you have been sent in flight, and I will give you the land of Israel.

But as for those whose hearts pursue their desire for detestable things and practices, I will bring their actions down on their own heads.” This is the declaration of the Lord God.

After this did the Cherubims lift up their wings, and the wheels went with them, and the glory of God was upon them.

This message came to me from the LORD:

"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.

I did just as I was commanded. I brought out the luggage as if it were luggage for exile. I did this during the day. Then in the evening I dug a hole in the wall with my hand and brought the luggage out in total darkness and carried it out on my shoulder while they were watching.

The next morning, this message came to me from the LORD:

Say thou to them, Thus saith the Lord GOD, This burden concerneth the prince in Jerusalem, and all the house of Israel that are among them.

This message came to me from the LORD:

And say to the people of the land, This is what the Lord has said about the people of Jerusalem and the land of Israel: They will take their food with care and their drink with wonder, so that all the wealth of their land may be taken from it because of the violent ways of the people living in it.

Later, this message came to me from the LORD:

Son of man What is this proverb ye have, concerning the so of Israel, saying, - The days, are prolonged, Therefore shall every vision come to nought?

Tell them therefore, Thus saith the Lord GOD: I will make this proverb to cease, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel; but say to them, The days are at hand, and the effect of every vision.

But I, Yahweh, will speak whatever message I will speak, and it will be done. It will no longer be delayed. For in your days, rebellious house, I will speak a message and bring it to pass.” This is the declaration of the Lord God.

Later, this message came to me from the LORD:

"Behold, thou son of man: The house of Israel say in this manner, 'Tush, as for the vision that he hath seen, it will be many a day or it come to pass: It is far off yet, the thing that he prophesieth.'

Say to them then, This is what the Lord has said: Not one of my words will be put off any longer, but what I say I will do, says the Lord.

This message came to me from the LORD:

This is what the Lord has said: A curse on the foolish prophets who go after the spirit which is in them and have seen nothing!

They see false visions and speak lying divinations. They claim, ‘This is the Lord’s declaration,’ when the Lord did not send them, yet they wait for the fulfillment of their message.

Didn’t you see a false vision and speak a lying divination when you proclaimed, ‘This is the Lord’s declaration,’ even though I had not spoken?

So this is what the Lord has said: Because your words are without substance and your visions are false, see, I am against you, says the Lord.

"'This is because they have led my people astray saying, "All is well," when things are not well. When anyone builds a wall without mortar, they coat it with whitewash.

For this reason, the Lord has said: I will have it broken in two by a storm-wind in my passion; and there will be an overflowing shower in my wrath, and you, O ice-drops, will come raining angrily down.

Thus will I perform my wrath upon this wall, and upon them that have daubed it with untempered mortar, and then will I say unto you: The wall is gone, and the daubers are away.

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.

This is what the Lord has said: A curse is on the women who are stitching bands on all arms and putting veils on the heads of those of every size, so that they may go after souls! Will you go after the souls of my people and keep yourselves safe from death?

For this cause the Lord has said: See, I am against your bands with which you go after souls, and I will violently take them off their arms; and I will let loose the souls, even the souls whom you go after freely.

This is because you have disheartened the righteous person with lies (although I have not grieved him), and because you have encouraged the wicked person not to turn from his evil conduct and preserve his life.

For this cause you will see no more foolish visions or make false use of secret arts: and I will make my people free from your power; and you will be certain that I am the Lord.

this message came to me from the LORD.

Therefore speak with them, and you must say to them, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Every person from the house of Israel who brings up his idols into his heart and {places before himself} a stumbling block of his guilt and [yet] he comes to the prophet, I Yahweh, I will respond to him through this act with [respect to] the multitude of his idols,

I'll do this in order to capture the hearts of Israel's house who have become alienated from me due to all of their idols."'"

For this cause say to the children of Israel, These are the words of the Lord: Come back and give up your false gods and let your faces be turned from your disgusting things.

in order that the house of Israel may no longer stray from following Me and no longer defile themselves with all their transgressions. Then they will be My people and I will be their God.” This is the declaration of the Lord God.

This message came to me from the LORD:

even if these three men—Noah, Daniel, and Job—were in it, they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness.” This is the declaration of the Lord God.

For this is what the Lord has said: How much more when I send my four bitter punishments on Jerusalem, the sword and need of food and evil beasts and disease, cutting off from it man and beast?