And I looked, and look! A storm wind [was] coming from the north, a great cloud, and fire flashing back and forth, and brightness around [and] {within it}, and from its midst [it was] like [the] outward appearance of amber stone from the midst of the fire.

And from its midst [was] the likeness of four living creatures, and this [was] their appearance: {a human form},

As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance [was] like burning coals of fire, like the appearance of torches. It [was] moving to and fro between the living creatures, and {the fire was very bright} and lightning [was] going out from the fire.

And the living creatures {were speeding to and fro} like the appearance of lightning.

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 there was a sound from above the expanse that [was] above their heads, {and when they stood} they lowered their wings.

And from above the expanse that [was] above their heads [there was] the likeness of a throne, {looking like a sapphire}, and above the likeness of the throne [was] a likeness similar to [the] appearance of a human on it, [but] {above it}.

And I saw [something] like [the] outward appearance of amber, [something] like [the] appearance of fire, [with] a covering around [it], from the likeness of his loins and {upward}. And from the likeness of his loins and {downward} I saw [something] like [the] appearance of fire, and {it was radiant all around}.

And the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me the sound of a great earthquake when the glory of Yahweh rose from its place.

"Son of man, I have appointed you [as] a watchman for the house of Israel. When you hear a word from my mouth, then you must warn them from me.

{When I say} to the wicked, 'Surely you will die,' and you do not warn him and you do not speak to warn [the] wicked from his wicked way {so that he may live}, that wicked [person] will die because of his guilt, and from your hand I will seek his blood.

And you, if you do warn [the] wicked and he does not turn from his wickedness and from his wicked way, on account of his guilt he will die, and you yourself will have saved your life.

And {when the righteous turns from his righteousness} and does injustice, and I place a stumbling block {before him}, he will die, for you did not warn him. Because of his sin he will die, and his righteousness that he did will not be remembered, and his blood I shall seek from your hand.

Now look! I [will] put on you cords, and you may not turn yourself from [one] side to your [other] side until you complete the days of your siege.

And I said, "Ah, Lord Yahweh! Look! I have not been defiling myself, and a dead body and mangled carcass I have not eaten from my childhood until now, and {unclean meat} has not come into my mouth!"

And you must take from these a few in number, and you must tuck them in your hem.

And from them again you shall take [some], and you must throw them in the middle of the fire, and you must burn them with fire; from it a fire will go out to all of the house of Israel.

But I will spare [some], {so there will be} for you fugitives from [the] sword among the nations {when you are scattered} in the countries.

And your fugitives will remember me among the nations [to] which they were taken captive, that I was shattered by {their adulterous heart} which departed from me, and by {their adulterous eyes} which [went] after their idols, and they will feel loathing {for themselves}, for the evil that they did, for all of their detestable things.

And I will stretch out my hand against them, and I will make the land a desolation and a wasteland from the desert to Riblah in all of their dwellings, and they will know that I [am] Yahweh." '"

Violence has grown to [become] a staff of wickedness; {none} from them [will remain], and {none} from their abundance nor from their wealth; and prominence [will] not [be] among them.

And I will turn my face from them, and they will defile my treasured [place], and violent ones will enter and defile it.

Calamity upon calamity will come, and rumor will be upon rumor. And they will seek a vision from a prophet, but instruction will perish from [the] priest and counsel from [the] elders.

and I saw, and look! A figure like [the] appearance of a man; from the appearance of his waist and below [was] fire, and from his waist and {upward} [was] like [the] appearance of brightness, like the {outward appearance of} amber.

And he said to me, "Son of man, "{Do you see} what they [are] doing--great detestable things that the house of Israel [is] committing here [so as] to drive [me] from my sanctuary, and yet {you will see again} greater detestable things."

And seventy men from the elders of the house of Israel, and Jaazaniah, the son of Shaphan, [was] standing in the midst of them, [and] [they were] standing {before them}. Each [one] [had] his censer in his hand, and the fragrance of the cloud of the incense [was] going up.

And look! Six men coming from the way of {the upper gate} that faced {northward}, and each [with] his weapon for shattering in his hand; and one man [was] in the midst of them, dressed in linen, and the writing case of the scribe [was] at his side. And they came and stood beside the bronze altar.

And the glory of the God of Israel lifted itself up from upon the cherub that he was on [and went] to the threshold of the house, and he called to the man who [was] clothed in linen {with a scribal writing case at his side}.

You must kill {totally} old man, young man and young woman, and little children and women, but {concerning} every man {with the mark on him} you must not approach; and from my sanctuary you must begin." And they began with the old men who {were before} the house.

And he spoke to the man clothed in linen and said, "Go {in among the wheel area under the cherubim} and fill the hollow of your hands [with] coals of fire from among the cherubim, and toss [them] on the city." And he went [right] before my eyes.

And the glory of Yahweh rose up from on the cherub toward the threshold of the house, and the house was filled with the cloud, and the courtyard was filled with the brightness of the glory of Yahweh.

And then at his command to the man clothed in linen, {saying}, "Take fire from among the wheel area from among the cherubim," he went and stood beside the wheel.

Then the cherub stretched out his hand from among the cherubim toward the fire that [was] among the cherubim, and he lifted up and gave [it] into the hollow of the hand of [the man] clothed with linen, and he took [it], and he went out.

And {when the cherubim went}, the wheels beside them went; and {when the cherubim lifted their wings to rise up from the earth}, the wheels also did not turn aside from beside them.

And the glory of Yahweh went out from the threshold of the temple, and it stood above the cherubim.

And the cherubim lifted up their wings, and they rose from the earth before my eyes. At their going out, the wheels [were] beside them. And he stood [at] the doorway of the eastern gate of the temple of Yahweh, and the glory of the God of Israel {was over them}.

Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Your slain ones whom you put in its midst, they [are] the flesh, and it is [the] pot, and I will bring you out from its midst.

"And I will bring you out from its midst, and I will give you into [the] hand of strangers, and I will execute judgments against you.

"Son of man, your brothers, your brothers, the men of your redemption, and all of the house of Israel, all of it, {who said concerning the inhabitants of Jerusalem}, 'They are far from Yahweh, [therefore] to us this land was given as a possession.'

Therefore say, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "And I will assemble you from the peoples, and I will gather you from the countries [to] which you were scattered among them, and I will give the land of Israel to you.

And [when] they come there, then they will remove all of its vile idols and all of its detestable things from it.

And I will give to them one heart, and a new spirit I will give in their inner parts. And I will remove their heart of stone from their body, and I will give to them a heart of flesh,

And the glory of Yahweh went up from the midst of the city, and it stood [still] on the mountain that [is] to the east of the city.

And you, son of man, prepare for yourself [the] baggage of an exile, and go into exile by day before their eyes. And you must go into exile from your place to another place before their eyes; perhaps they will see that they [are] a house of rebellion.

But I will spare from them {a few men} from [the] sword, from [the] famine and from [the] plague, so that they may tell of all their abominations among the nations [to] which they will go, and they will know that I [am] Yahweh."

And you must say to the people of the land, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh to the inhabitants of Jerusalem about the land of Israel: "They will eat their food with anxiety and their water they will drink with horror, because their land will be desolate from its fullness because of all the violence of {those who are dwelling in it}.

"Son of man, look! The house of Israel [is] saying, 'The vision that he [is] seeing [is] for many days [from now], and for distant times he [is] prophesying.'

"And you, son of man, place your face toward the daughters of your people who prophesy from their {imagination}, and prophesy against them!

Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: 'Look! I am against your magic charm bands {with which you are ensnaring persons} as birds; I will tear them from your arms, and I will release the persons that you [are] ensnaring, [treating] persons as birds.

And I will tear off your veils, and I will deliver my people from your hand, and they will not any longer be in your hand as prey, and you will know that I [am] Yahweh.

Because [you] disheartened [the] heart of [the] righteous [by] deception, and I have not caused him pain, and strengthened [the] hands of [the] wicked [so that he did] not turn from his wicked way to save his life.

Therefore falseness you will not see, and divination you will not practice any longer, and I will rescue my people from your hand, and you will know that I [am] Yahweh!'"

And men from the elders of Israel came to me, and they sat {before me}.

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,

so that [I may] take hold of the house of Israel by their heart, [those] who are estranged from me, all of them, through their idols.'

Therefore say to the house of Israel, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Return, and turn away from your idols and from all of your detestable things! Turn away your faces!" '

For {each person} from the house of Israel, and from the alien who dwells as an alien in Israel, who separates himself {from following me} and brings up his idols into his heart and {places before himself} a stumbling block of his guilt, and [yet] he comes to the prophet to consult him concerning me, I Yahweh will answer him myself.

And I will set my face against that person, and I will make him to [be] a sign and [make him] into [the subject of] proverbs; and I will cut him off from the midst of my people, and you will know I [am] Yahweh.

And the prophet, if he is deceived and he speaks a word, I Yahweh, I have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand against him, and I will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel.

so that the house of Israel will not go astray again {from me}, and they will not make themselves unclean again with all of their transgressions, and they will be for me a people, and I will be for them as God," {declares} the Lord Yahweh.

Or, if I bring a sword over that land, and I say, 'Sword, let it cross over into the land!' And I will cut off from it [both] human and animal.

Can wood be taken from it to make anything, or can they take a tent peg from it to hang on it any object?

And I will set my face against them. From the fire they [may]{escape}, but the fire will [yet] consume them, and they will know that I [am] Yahweh {when I set my face against them}.

and you must say, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh to Jerusalem: Your origin and your birth [were] from the land of the Canaanites, your father [was] an Amorite, and your mother [was] a Hittite.

And I washed you with water, and I rinsed off your blood from on you, and I anointed you with oil.

And you took from your clothes and you made for yourself colorful shrines, and you prostituted on them; {this had not happened before}, and it {will not continue to happen}.

And you took {your beautiful jewelry} [made] from my gold and from my silver that I had given to you, and you made for yourself {male images}, and you prostituted with them.

To all prostitutes they give a fee, but you, you gave your gifts to all of your lovers, and you bribed them to come to you from all around in your whorings!

And it was the opposite with you from the [other] women in your whorings; {no one solicited you as a prostitute}. {You gave} a harlot's wages, and harlot's wages [were] not given to you, and [so] it was [just] the opposite.

therefore, look! I [am] gathering all of your lovers {whom you were pleased about}, and all of whom you loved in addition to all of whom you hated, and I will gather them against you from {everywhere}, and I [will] uncover your nakedness to them, and they will see all of your nakedness.

And they will burn your houses with fire, and they will execute against you judgments {before} many women, and I will stop you from prostitution, and also a harlot's wages you will not give again.

And I will satisfy my rage on you, and my jealousy will turn away from you, and I will be calm, and I will not be angry [any] longer.

and he took from the seed of the land and placed it in {fertile soil} on many waters; [like] a willow he planted it.

" '"And there was another great eagle, great of wings and [with] abundant plumage, and look! This vine stretched out its roots toward him and extended its branches to him to water it from the garden bed {where it was planted}.

Say, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Will it prosper? Will he not tear out its roots, and will he not make its fruit scaly, and it will wither, and all of the freshness of its vegetation will dry up? And to lift it from its roots {will not require great strength or many people}.

And he took from the seed of the kingship, and he made with him a covenant, and {he brought him under oath}, and he took the rulers of the land,

Thus says the Lord Yahweh: 'And I will take, [even] I, from the treetop of the high cedar, and I will plant [it], from the head of its new plant shoot I will pluck a tender one, and I will plant [it], [even] I, on a high and lofty mountain.

[and] {he does not charge interest} and he takes no usury, [and] he holds back his hand from injustice [and] he executes judgment of fairness between {persons},

He brings back his hand from iniquity; he does not take interest and usury; he does my regulations; he goes in my statutes. He will not die because of the guilt of his father; he will surely live!

Because his father {oppressed severely}; {he stole from his brother}; [that] which [is] not good he did in the midst of his people, and look! He will die through his guilt.

But if the wicked returns from all of his sins that he has done and he keeps all of my statutes and he does justice and righteousness, he shall surely live; he shall not die!

Have I delight by any means [in the] death of [the] wicked, {declares} the Lord Yahweh, [and] not at his turning from his way, {so that} he lives?

And {when the righteous turns} from his righteousness, so that he does injustice, and does all of the detestable things that the wicked do, then will he live [because of] all of his righteousness that he did? [Those things] will not be remembered because of his infidelity that he displayed, and because of his {sin that he committed}. Through them he shall die.

When the righteous turns from his righteousness, and he does injustice, then he will die because of them; because of his injustice that he did he will die!

And when the wicked turns from his wickedness that he did and he does justice and righteousness, {he will preserve his life}.

And if he sees and he returns from all of his transgressions that he did, surely he will live; he will not die!

"Therefore I will judge you, house of Israel, each one according to his ways," {declares} the Lord Yahweh. "Repent and turn around from all of your transgression, and it will not be as a stumbling block of iniquity to you.

Throw {away from yourselves} all of your transgressions that you committed, and make {for yourselves} a new heart and new spirit, and [so] why will you die, house of Israel?

And she raised up one from her cubs; he became a fierce lion, and he learned to tear prey; he ate humans.

And she saw that she was waiting [in vain]; her hope was destroyed, and she took one from her cubs, [and] she made him a fierce lion.

And nations set out against him {from the surrounding provinces}, and they spread their net over him, and he was caught in their pit.

Your mother [was] like the vine in your vineyard; planted {fruitfully} beside water, and it was full of branches from many waters.

And [so] fire has gone out from the stem of its branches; its fruit it has consumed, and [there] was not in it {a strong branch}, a scepter for ruling.'" This [is] a lament, and {it will be used as a lament}.

And then in the seventh year, in the fifth [month], on the tenth [day] of the month, men from the elders of Israel came to consult Yahweh, and they sat {before me}.

On that day {I swore} to them to bring them out from the land of Egypt to [the] land that I had searched out for them, flowing with milk and honey--it [is the most] beautiful of all of the lands.

"But I acted for the sake of my name {to keep it from being profaned} before the eyes of the nations {among whom they lived}, where I made known to them before their eyes, to bring them out from the land of Egypt.

And I brought them out from the land of Egypt, and I brought them to the desert,

And I will bring you from the peoples, and I will gather you from the countries [to] which you were scattered with strong hand and with an outstretched arm and with rage poured out.

And I will purge the rebels from [among] you and the [ones] transgressing against me; I will bring them out from the land {where they are living as aliens}, but into the land of Israel they will not come, and [then] you will know that I [am] Yahweh.