11 Yahweh's fury has accomplished his purpose.

He unleashed his burning anger.

He started a fire in Zion that even burned its foundations.

12 Neither the kings of the earth nor anyone living on earth could believe that enemies or invaders would ever get through the gates of Jerusalem.

13 They got through because of the sins of Jerusalem's prophets and the crimes of its priests, who spilled the blood of righteous people within it.

14 My people staggered blindly through the streets.

They were so contaminated with bloodstains that no one would touch their clothes.

15 'Get away! You're unclean,'a people yelled at them.

'Get away! Get away! Don't touch anyone.'

When they fled and wandered around, the people of the nations said, 'They can't stay here any longer.'

16 Yahweh himself has scattered them.

He will no longer look favorably on them.

They no longer respected the priests, nor did they honor their older leaders."

The People of Zion Speak Out 17 "We are still straining our eyes, trying in vain to find help.

We waited and waited for a nation that didn't save us.

18 The enemy kept tracking us down, so we couldn't even go out into the streets.

Our end was near.

Our time was up.

Our end had come.

19 Those who were hunting us were faster than eagles in the sky.

They chased us in the mountains and ambushed us in the wilderness.

20 The person Yahweh anointed as king, who is the breath of our life, was caught in their pits.

We had thought that we would live in our king's shadow among the nations."

The Prophet Speaks Out: Be Warned about Edom's Impending Doom 21 "Rejoice and be glad, people of Edom, inhabitants of the country of Uz.

The cup of the LORD's fury will be passed to you next.

You'll get drunk and take off all your clothes.

22 People of Zion, the punishment for your wickedness will end.

Yahweh will not let you remain in exile.

People of Edom, he will punish you for your wickedness.

He will expose your sins."

A Prayer of the Prophet 5 1 "Remember, O Yahweh, what has happened to us.

Take a look at our disgrace!

2 "The land we inherited has been turned over to strangers.

Our homes have been turned over to foreigners.

3 We are orphans without a father.

Our mothers are like widows.

4 We have to pay to drink our own water.

We have to pay to chop our own wood.

5 Our enemies are breathing down our necks.

We are worn out and not permitted to rest.

6 We had to beg Egypt and Assyria for food.a 7 Our ancestors sinned.

Now they are gone, but we have to take the punishment for their wickedness.

8 Slaves rule us.

There is no one to rescue us from them.

9 To get our food, we have to risk our lives in the heatb of the desert.

10 Our skin is as hot as an oven from the burning heat of starvation.

11 Women in Zion are raped, so are the girls in the cities of Judah.

12 Our leaders are hung by their hands.

Our older leaders are shown no respect.

13 Our young men work at the mill, and our boys stagger under loads of wood.

14 Our older leaders have stopped meeting at the city gate, and our young men no longer play their music.

15 There is no joy left in our hearts.

Our dancing has turned into mourning.

16 The crown has fallen from our head.

Because we have sinned, it has been disastrous for us.

17 This is why we feel sick.

This is why our eyes see less and less.

18 Foxes roam around on Mount Zion, which lies in ruins.

19 "But you, O Yahweh, sit enthroned forever, and your reign continues throughout every generation.

20 Why have you completely forgotten us?

Why have you abandoned us for such a long time?

21 O Yahweh , bring us back to you, and we'll come back.

Give us back the life we had long ago, 22 unless you have completely rejected us and are very angry with us."

a 1:1 Chapter 1 is a poem in Hebrew alphabetical order.

b 1:4 Or "are in mourning."

c 1:4 Or "All its gates are in despair."

a 1:14 Hebrew meaning of this verse uncertain.

a 1:21 Hebrew meaning of this verse uncertain.

b 2:1 Chapter 2 is a poem in Hebrew alphabetical order.

a 3:1 Chapter 3 is a poem in Hebrew alphabetical order.

a 3:51 Hebrew meaning of this verse uncertain.

a 4:1 Chapter 4 is a poem in Hebrew alphabetical order.

a 4:15 "Unclean" refers to anything that Moses' Teachings say is not presentable to God.

a 5:6 Or "We made a pledge to Egypt and Assyria in order to get enough food."

b 5:9 Hebrew meaning of "in the heat" uncertain.

Introduction to EZEKIEL.

Ezekiel was thirty when he had his first vision. Five years earlier he-along with thousands of the leading citizens of Judah-had been taken captive to Babylon. Suddenly he was beholding indescribable creatures, great rolling wheels, and God's sapphire throne. Bowing down in awe, he heard God's voice call out: "Son of man, I am sending you to the people of Israel" (2:3).

That was how Ezekiel became a prophet. For twenty years he would speak God's words and act out God's messages. He would announce Nebuchadnezzar's siege of Jerusalem (chapter 24) followed by the city's capture (33:21). He would startle his fellow exiles with his public pantomimes: building and attacking a model city, lying on his side for months, shaving his head and beard and then burning the hair. His surreal visions would inspire writers, musicians, and artists through the centuries. The author of the book of Revelation would, like Ezekiel, write about four living creatures and the New Jerusalem.

Many prophets before Ezekiel had warned Israel and Judah to repent or face destruction. Now Jerusalem was being invaded. You deserve this, Ezekiel says in the first part of the book: you have worshiped idols, sacrificed your children, committed murder, and oppressed widows and orphans. God is holy and just, and he will no longer put up with your sins. His glory has left the temple. The time for God's judgment has come-not only on Israel, but also on the nations that have hurt God's people.

But once Jerusalem is in ruins, Ezekiel's tone changes. "As I live, declares Adonay Yahweh, I don't want wicked people to die. Rather, I want them to turn from their ways and live" (33:11). Unlike the faithless shepherds who led Israel to destruction, God will search for his sheep, rescuing, feeding, healing, and bringing them to safe pasture. He will breathe new life into Israel's dry bones. He will bring his people back to their homeland. He will give them a new heart and a new spirit. He will renew the ancient covenant: "You will be my people, and I will be your Elohim" (36:28). He will do all this, not because Israel deserves it, but to "reveal the holiness of [his] great name" (36:23)-that is, to show the nations that he is a God of holiness, justice, mercy, and compassion.

Key Names of God in Ezekiel Elohim God Yahweh LORD Shadday Almighty Ruach Spirit Adonay Lord, Master EZEKIEL.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10.

11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20.

21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30.

31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40.

41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48.

Ezekiel Sees the LORD'S Throne 1 1 On the fifth day of the fourth month in the thirtieth year, while I was living among the exiles by the Chebar River, the sky opened, and I saw visions from Elohim . 2 On the fifth day of the month, during the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiakin, 3 Yahweh spoke his word to the priest Ezekiel, son of Buzi, in Babylon by the Chebar River. The power of Yahweh came over Ezekiel.

4 As I looked, I saw a storm coming from the north. There was an immense cloud with flashing lightning surrounded by a bright light. The middle of the lightning looked like glowing metal. 5 In the center of the cloud I saw what looked like four living creatures. They were shaped like humans, 6 but each of them had four faces and four wings. 7 Their legs were straight, their feet were like those of calves, and they glittered like polished bronze. 8 They had human hands under their wings on each of their four sides. All four of them had faces and wings. 9 Their wings touched each other. The creatures went straight ahead, and they did not turn as they moved.

10 Their faces looked like this: From the front, each creature had the face of a human. From the right, each one had the face of a lion. From the left, each one had the face of a bull. And from the back, each one had the face of an eagle. 11 That is what their faces looked like. Their wings were spread out, pointing upward. Each creature had two wings with which they touched each other. The other two wings covered their bodies. 12 Each of the creatures went straight ahead. They went wherever their spirit wanted to go, and they didn't turn as they moved. 13 The living creatures looked like burning coals and torches. Fire moved back and forth between the living creatures. The fire was bright, and lightning came out of the fire. 14 The living creatures ran back and forth like lightning.

15 As I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the ground beside each of them. 16 This is how the wheels looked and how they were made: They looked like beryl. All four wheels looked the same. They looked like a wheel within a wheel. 17 Whenever they moved, they moved in any of the four directions without turning as they moved. 18 The rims of the wheels were large and frightening. They were covered with eyes.

19 When the living creatures moved, the wheels moved with them. When the living creatures rose from the earth, the wheels rose. 20 Wherever their spirit wanted to go, the creatures went. The wheels rose with them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. 21 So whenever the creatures moved, the wheels moved. Whenever the creatures stood still, the wheels stood still. And whenever the creatures rose from the earth, the wheels rose with them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.

22 Something like a dome was spread over the heads of the living creatures. It looked like dazzling crystal. 23 Under the dome, each creature had two wings that were stretched out straight, touching one another. Each creature had two wings that covered its body. 24 When the creatures moved, I heard the sound of their wings. The sound was like the noise of rushing water, like the thunder of Shadday , like the commotion in an army camp. When the creatures stood still, they lowered their wings.

25 A voice came from above the dome over their heads as they stood still with their wings lowered. 26 Above the dome over their heads was something that looked like a throne made of sapphire. On the throne was a figure that looked like a human. 27 Then I saw what he looked like from the waist up. He looked like glowing bronze with fire all around it. From the waist down, he looked like fire. A bright light surrounded him. 28 The brightness all around him looked like a rainbow in the clouds. It was like Yahweh's glory. When I saw it, I immediately bowed down, and I heard someone speaking.

Ezekiel's Vision of a Scroll 2 1 He said to me, "Son of man, stand up, and I will speak to you." 2 As he spoke to me, the Ruach entered me, stood me on my feet, and I heard him speaking to me.

3 He said to me, "Son of man, I am sending you to the people of Israel. They are people from a nation that has rebelled against me. They and their ancestors have rebelled against me to this day. 4 I am sending you to these defiant and stubborn children. Tell them, 'This is what Adonay Yahweh says.' 5 Whether these rebellious people listen or not, they will realize that a prophet has been among them. 6 Son of man, don't be afraid of them or the things they say. Don't be afraid, even though thorns and thistles are around you and you live among scorpions. Don't let the things they say frighten you. Don't be terrified in their presence, even though they are rebellious people. 7 Speak my words to them whether they listen or not, because they are rebellious. 8 But you, son of man, listen to what I say. Don't be rebellious like those rebellious people. Open your mouth, and eat what I am giving to you."