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Ezekiel 1-3
New American Bible (Revised Edition)

I. Call of the Prophet

Chapter 1

The Vision: God on the Cherubim. 1 In the thirtieth year,[a] on the fifth day of the fourth month, while I was among the exiles by the river Chebar, the heavens opened, and I saw divine visions.(A)— 2 On the fifth day of the month—this was the fifth year[b] of King Jehoiachin’s exile(B)— 3 the word of the Lord came to the priest Ezekiel, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar. There the hand of the Lord came upon him.(C)

4 As I watched, a great stormwind came from the North,[c] a large cloud with flashing fire, a bright glow all around it, and something like polished metal gleamed at the center of the fire.(D) 5 From within it figures in the likeness of four living creatures[d] appeared. This is what they looked like:(E) 6 They were in human form, but each had four faces and four wings,(F) 7 and their legs were straight, the soles of their feet like the hooves of a bull, gleaming like polished brass.(G) 8 Human hands were under their wings, and the wings of one touched those of another.(H) 9 Their faces and their wings looked out on all their four sides; they did not turn when they moved, but each went straight ahead.(I)

10 [e]Their faces were like this:(J) each of the four had a human face, and on the right the face of a lion, and on the left, the face of an ox, and each had the face of an eagle. 11 Such were their faces. Their wings were spread out above. On each one, two wings touched one another, and the other two wings covered the body.(K) 12 Each went straight ahead. Wherever the spirit would go, they went; they did not change direction when they moved.(L) 13 [f]And the appearance of the living creatures seemed like burning coals of fire. Something indeed like torches moved back and forth among the living creatures. The fire gleamed intensely, and from it lightning flashed. 14 The creatures darting back and forth flashed like lightning.

15 [g]As I looked at the living creatures, I saw wheels on the ground, one alongside each of the four living creatures.(M) 16 The wheels and their construction sparkled like yellow topaz, and all four of them looked the same: their construction seemed as though one wheel was inside the other. 17 When they moved, they went in any of the four directions without veering as they moved. 18 (N)The four of them had rims, high and fearsome—eyes filled the four rims all around. 19 When the living creatures moved, the wheels moved with them; and when the living creatures were raised from the ground, the wheels also were raised. 20 Wherever the spirit would go, they went. And they were raised up together with the living creatures, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. 21 Wherever the living creatures moved, the wheels moved; when they stood still, the wheels stood still. When they were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up with them.(O) For the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.

22 [h]Above the heads of the living creatures was a likeness of the firmament; it was awesome, stretching upwards like shining crystal over their heads.(P) 23 Beneath the firmament their wings stretched out toward one another; each had two wings covering the body. 24 Then I heard the sound of their wings, like the roaring of mighty waters, like the voice of the Almighty. When they moved, the sound of the tumult was like the din of an army. And when they stood still, they lowered their wings.(Q) 25 While they stood with their wings lowered, a voice came from above the firmament over their heads.

26 Above the firmament over their heads was the likeness of a throne that looked like sapphire; and upon this likeness of a throne was seated, up above, a figure that looked like a human being.[i](R) 27 And I saw something like polished metal, like the appearance of fire enclosed on all sides, from what looked like the waist up; and from what looked like the waist down, I saw something like the appearance of fire and brilliant light surrounding him.(S) 28 Just like the appearance of the rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day so was the appearance of brilliance that surrounded him. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell on my face and heard a voice speak.(T)

Chapter 2

Eating of the Scroll. 1 The voice said to me: Son of man,[j] stand up! I wish to speak to you. 2 As he spoke to me, the spirit[k] entered into me and set me on my feet, and I heard the one who was speaking(U) 3 say to me: Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, a nation of rebels who have rebelled against me; they and their ancestors have been in revolt against me to this very day.(V) 4 Their children are bold of face and stubborn of heart—to them I am sending you. You shall say to them: Thus says the Lord God.(W) 5 And whether they hear or resist—they are a rebellious house—they shall know that a prophet has been among them.(X) 6 But as for you, son of man, do not fear them or their words. Do not fear, even though there are briers or thorns and you sit among scorpions.[l] Do not be afraid of their words or be terrified by their looks for they are a rebellious house.(Y) 7 You must speak my words to them, whether they hear or resist, because they are rebellious.(Z) 8 But you, son of man, hear me when I speak to you and do not rebel like this rebellious house. Open your mouth and eat what I am giving you.(AA)

9 (AB)It was then I saw a hand stretched out to me; in it was a written scroll. 10 He unrolled it before me; it was covered with writing front and back. Written on it was: Lamentation, wailing, woe!(AC)

Chapter 3

1 He said to me: Son of man, eat what you find here: eat this scroll, then go, speak to the house of Israel. 2 So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat. 3 (AD)Son of man, he said to me, feed your stomach and fill your belly with this scroll I am giving you. I ate it, and it was as sweet as honey[m] in my mouth. 4 Then he said to me, Son of man, go now to the house of Israel, and speak my words to them.

5 Not to a people with obscure speech and difficult language am I sending you, but to the house of Israel.(AE) 6 Nor to many nations of obscure speech and difficult language whose words you cannot understand. For if I were to send you to these, they would listen to you.(AF) 7 But the house of Israel will refuse to listen to you, since they refuse to listen to me. For the whole house of Israel is stubborn of brow and hard of heart.(AG) 8 [n]Look! I make your face as hard as theirs, and your brow as stubborn as theirs.(AH) 9 Like diamond, harder than flint, I make your brow. Do not be afraid of them, or be terrified by their looks, for they are a rebellious house.(AI)

10 Then he said to me, Son of man, take into your heart all my words that I speak to you; hear them well. 11 Now go to the exiles, to your own people, and speak to them. Say to them, whether they hear or refuse to hear: Thus says the Lord God!

12 Then the spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me a loud rumbling noise as the glory of the Lord[o] rose from its place:(AJ) 13 the noise of the wings of the living creatures beating against one another, and the noise of the wheels alongside them, a loud rumbling.(AK) 14 And the spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went off, my spirit angry and bitter, for the hand of the Lord pressed hard on me. 15 Thus I came to the exiles who lived at Tel-abib[p] by the river Chebar; and there where they dwelt, I stayed among them distraught for seven days. 16 (AL)At the end of the seven days, the word of the Lord came to me:

The Prophet as Sentinel.[q] 17 Son of man, I have appointed you a sentinel for the house of Israel.(AM) When you hear a word from my mouth, you shall warn them for me.

18 If I say to the wicked, You shall surely die—and you do not warn them or speak out to dissuade the wicked from their evil conduct in order to save their lives—then they shall die for their sin, but I will hold you responsible for their blood. 19 If, however, you warn the wicked and they still do not turn from their wickedness and evil conduct, they shall die for their sin, but you shall save your life.

20 But if the just turn away from their right conduct and do evil when I place a stumbling block before them, then they shall die. Even if you warned them about their sin, they shall still die, and the just deeds that they performed will not be remembered on their behalf. I will, however, hold you responsible for their blood.(AN) 21 If, on the other hand, you warn the just to avoid sin, and they do not sin, they will surely live because of the warning, and you in turn shall save your own life.

Ezekiel Mute. 22 The hand of the Lord came upon me there and he said to me: Get up and go out into the plain, where I will speak with you.(AO) 23 (AP)So I got up and went out into the plain. There it was! The glory of the Lord was standing there like the glory I had seen by the river Chebar. Then I fell on my face, 24 but the spirit entered into me, set me on my feet; he spoke to me, and said: Go, shut yourself in your house. 25 As for you, son of man, know that they will put ropes on you and bind you with them, so that you cannot go out among them.(AQ) 26 And I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth so that you will be mute,[r] no longer one who rebukes them for being a rebellious house.(AR) 27 Only when I speak to you and open your mouth, shall you say to them: Thus says the Lord God: Let those who hear, hear! Let those who resist, resist! They are truly a rebellious house.

Footnotes

  1. 1:1 The thirtieth year, which corresponds to the fifth year of exile (v. 2), has never been satisfactorily explained; possibly it refers to the prophet’s age, or the anniversary of the finding of the book of the law in the Temple during Josiah’s reform of 622 (2 Kgs 22:1–13). The river Chebar: probably a canal near Nippur, southeast of Babylon, one of the sites on which the Jewish exiles were settled.
  2. 1:2 The fifth day…the fifth year: the end of July, 593 B.C.; cf. v. 1.
  3. 1:4 The North: Zaphon, the traditional abode of the gods; see notes on Jb 37:22; Ps 48:3; Is 14:13–15.
  4. 1:5 Four living creatures: identified as cherubim in 10:1–2, 20. Known from Assyrian religion as minor guardian deities of palaces and temples, the cherubim were usually portrayed in gigantic sculpture with the bodies of bulls or lions, wings like an eagle and a human head. In the Jerusalem Temple, the Lord was enthroned above in the holy of holies (Is 6:1–2).
  5. 1:10 The four faces together represent animate creation: wild animals, domesticated livestock, birds, and human beings. Christian tradition associates them with the four evangelists: the lion with Mark, the ox with Luke, the eagle with John, and the man with Matthew.
  6. 1:13–14 The coals and flashing lightning moving among the four creatures and yet coming from them identify this vision as a theophany. See note on 10:2–13.
  7. 1:15–21 The repetitions and inconsistencies in the description of the wheels and the direction of their movements evoke the vision’s mysterious quality and emphasize the difficulty of describing the divine world in human language.
  8. 1:22–23, 26 This symbolic description of God’s throne is similar to that in Ex 24:9–10.
  9. 1:26 Looked like a human being: the God who transcends the powers of the human imagination is pictured here in the likeness of an enthroned human king.
  10. 2:1 Son of man: in Hebrew, “son/daughter of…” is a common idiom expressing affiliation in a group; in this case, “a human being.” The title is God’s habitual way of addressing the prophet throughout this book, probably used to emphasize the separation of the divine and the human.
  11. 2:2 The spirit: lit., wind, breath; a vital power, coming from God, which enables the prophet to hear the divine word; cf. 8:3; 11:1, 24.
  12. 2:6 And you sit among scorpions: the prophet must be prepared for bitter opposition.
  13. 3:3 As sweet as honey: though the prophet must foretell terrible things, the word of God is sweet to the one who receives it.
  14. 3:8 Cf. Jer 1:18. The prophet must face fierce opposition with the determination and resistance shown by his opponents.
  15. 3:12 The glory of the Lord: the divine presence, manifested here in audible form. Cf. Ex 40:34; Lk 2:9.
  16. 3:15 Tel-abib: one of the sites where the exiles were settled, probably near Nippur.
  17. 3:17–21 This passage refers to the prophet’s role as sentinel, placed here and in chap. 33 as introductions to sections containing judgment oracles and salvation oracles respectively; cf. Hb 2:1.
  18. 3:26–27 Mute: here the prophet’s inability to speak to the people in exile while Jerusalem was being besieged is seen as a consequence of God’s direct intervention (cf. 24:27).
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Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.