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, that was the fifth year of the captivity of King Jehoiachin,

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,

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

The form of each of their faces was that of a man, and each of the four had the face of a lion on the right, the face of an ox on the left, and the face of an eagle.

That is what their faces were like. Their wings were spread upward; each had two wings touching that of another and two wings covering its body.

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.

And I saw the living creatures, and look! A wheel was on the earth beside {each of the living creatures that had four faces}.

Whenever they moved, they went in any [one] of their four directions without turning as they moved.

As for their rings, they were so high that they were dreadful; and their rings were full of eyes round about them four.

Wherever the spirit was about to go, they would go in that direction. And the wheels rose close beside them; for the spirit of the living beings was in the wheels.

Above over the heads of the beasts there was a firmament, which was fashioned as it had been of the most pure Crystal, and that was spread out above upon their heads:

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

And there was a voice from the firmament that was over their heads, when they stood, and had let down 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.

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 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.

And he said to me, "Son of man, stand on your feet, so that I can speak with you."

And the spirit entered into me when he spake unto me, and set me upon my feet, that I heard him that spake unto me.

And he said unto 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 unto this very day.

and it is unto such sons - of shameless face, and emboldened heart, that I am sending thee, - therefore shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith My Lord, Yahweh.

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.

See that thou speak my words unto them, whether they be obedient or not, for they are obstinate.

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.

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.

And he said unto me, "Thou son of man, get thee soon unto the house of Israel, and show them the words that I command thee.

For I send thee not to a people that hath a strange, unknown, or hard speech, but unto the house of Israel;

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.

so that thy forehead shall be harder than an Adamant or flint stone: that thou mayest fear them the less, and be less afraid of them, for they are a froward household."

Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, all my words that I shall speak unto thee receive in thine heart, and hear with thine ears.

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."

With that, the spirit took me up. And I heard the noise of a great rushing and removing of the most blessed glory of the LORD out of his place.

I heard also the noise of the wings of the living creatures that touched one another, and the noise of the wheels over against them, and a noise of a great rushing.

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,

that there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying, 'Son of man, a watchman I have given thee to the house of Israel, and thou hast heard from My mouth a word, and hast warned them from Me.

When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt certainly die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, that he may live: the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thy hand.

'And in the turning back of the righteous from his righteousness, and he hath done perversity, and I have put a stumbling-block before him, he dieth; because thou hast not warned him, in his sin he dieth, and not remembered is his righteousness that he hath done, and his blood from thy hand I require.

Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he is warned; also thou hast delivered thy soul.

And there came the hand of the LORD upon me, and he said unto me, "Stand up and go into the field, that I may there talk with thee."

And I rise and go forth unto the valley, and lo, there the honour of Jehovah is standing as the honour that I had seen by the river Chebar, and I fall on my face.

And thou - O son of man, lo! they have put upon thee bands, and they will bind thee therewith,-.so that thou go not forth in their midst;

And I will make thy tongue cleave to the roof of thy mouth, that thou shalt be dumb, and shalt not be to them a reprover: for they are a rebellious house.

But when I speak with thee, I will open thy mouth, and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; He that heareth, let him hear; and he that forbeareth, let him forbear: for they are a rebellious house.

"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.

Take an iron plate and set it up as an iron wall between yourself and the city. Turn your face toward it so that it is under siege, and besiege it. This will be a sign for 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.

I have determined that the number of the years of their iniquity are to be the number of days for you -- 390 days. So bear the iniquity 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.

Therefore set now thy face against that besieged Jerusalem, and discover thine arm, that thou mayest prophesy against it.

Be aware that I will put cords on you so you cannot turn from side to side until you have finished the days of your siege.

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 food that thou dost eat is by weight, twenty shekels daily; from time to time thou dost eat 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 with that said the LORD, "Even thus shall the children of Israel eat their defiled bread in the midst of the Gentiles, among whom I will scatter them."

Then said I, Ah Lord GOD! behold, my soul hath not been polluted: for from my youth up even till now have I not eaten of that which dieth of itself, or is torn in pieces; neither came there abominable flesh into my mouth.

He replied to me, “Look, I will let you use cow dung instead of human excrement, and you can make your bread over that.”

And he said unto me, "Behold thou son of man, I will minish all the provision of bread in Jerusalem, so that they shall weigh their bread, and eat it with scarceness. But as for water, they shall have a very little measure thereof, to drink.

That they may want bread and water, and be astonied one with another, and consume away for their iniquity.

O Thou son of man, take thee then a sharp knife, namely a razor. Take that, and shave the hair of thy head and beard: Then take the scales and weight, and divide the hair asunder.

And burn the third part thereof in the fire in the midst of the city, and cut the other third part in pieces with a knife. As for the third part that remaineth, cast it in the wind, and then show the bare knife.

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.

And she hath changed my judgments into wickedness more than the nations, and my statutes more than the countries that are round about her: for they have refused my judgments and my statutes, they have not walked in them.

Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye multiplied more than the nations that are round about you, and have not walked in my statutes, neither have kept my judgments, neither have done according to the judgments of the nations that are round about you;

"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.

And I will do in thee that which I have not done, and whereunto I will not do any more the like, because of all thine abominations.

So, as I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘surely, because you have defiled My sanctuary with all your detestable idols and with all your abominations, therefore I will also diminish you and withdraw, and My eye will have no pity and I will not spare [you].

One third part within thee shall die of the pestilence and of hunger: Another third part shall be slain down round about thee with the sword: The other third part, that remaineth, will I scatter abroad toward all the winds, and draw out the 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.

Moreover I will make thee waste, and a reproach among the nations that are round about thee, in the sight of all that pass by.

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 shall send upon them the evil arrows of famine, that are for destruction, which I will send to destroy you: and I will increase the famine upon you, and will break your staff of bread;

"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."

"Thou son of man, turn thy face to the mountains of Israel, that thou mayest prophesy unto them,

In all your dwellingplaces the cities shall be laid waste, and the high places shall be desolate; that your altars may be laid waste and made desolate, and your idols may be broken and cease, and your images may be cut down, and your works may be abolished.

And the slain shall fall in the midst of you, and ye shall 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 of you shall remember me among the nations whither they shall be carried captives, because I am broken with their whorish heart, which hath departed from me, and with their eyes, which go a whoring after their idols: and they shall lothe themselves for the evils which they have committed in all their abominations.

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

Thus saith My Lord. Yahweh, Smite with thy hand, and stamp with thy foot and say, Alas! regarding all the wicked abominations of the house of Israel, - in that by sword, by famine, and by pestilence, shall they fall:

He that is far off shall die of the pestilence; and he that is near shall fall by the sword; and he that remaineth and is besieged shall die by the famine: thus will I accomplish my fury upon them.

Then shall ye know that I am the LORD, when their slain men shall be among their idols round about their altars, upon every high hill, in all the tops of the mountains, and under every green tree, and under every thick oak, the place where they did offer sweet savour to all 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 mine eye shall not spare thee, neither will I have pity: but I will recompense thy ways upon thee, and thine abominations shall be in the midst of thee: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.

“Thus says the Lord God, ‘A disaster is coming, [one so destructive and injurious, so sudden and violent, that it stands alone,] a unique disaster, look it is coming!

The end is here: The end, I say, that waiteth for thee is come already.

The morning is come unto thee, O thou that dwellest in the land: the time is come, the day of trouble is near, and not the sounding again of the mountains.

And mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: I will recompense thee according to thy ways and thine abominations that are in the midst of thee; and ye shall know that I am the LORD that smiteth.

"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.

The time cometh, the day draweth nigh. Whoso buyeth, let him not rejoice: he that selleth, let him not be sorry. For why? Trouble shall come in the midst of all rest:

For the seller shall not return to that which is sold, although they were yet alive: for the vision is touching the whole multitude thereof, which shall not return; neither shall any strengthen himself in the iniquity of his life.

The sword is without, and the pestilence and the famine within: he that is in the field shall die with the sword; and he that is in the city, famine and pestilence shall devour him.

But they that escape of them shall escape, and shall be on the mountains like doves of the valleys, all of them mourning, every one for his iniquity.

They will throw their silver into the streets,
and their gold will seem like something filthy.
Their silver and gold will be unable to save them
in the day of the Lord’s wrath.
They will not satisfy their appetites
or fill their stomachs,
for these were the stumbling blocks
that brought about their iniquity.

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

The king shall mourn, and the prince shall be clothed with desolation, and the hands of the people of the land shall be troubled: I will do unto them after their way, and according to their deserts will I judge them; and they shall know that I am the LORD.