Study Desk

So the Lord God says, "I will do this because you did not obey my laws and commands. You broke more of my laws than the people who lived around you, and you did what even they know is wrong!"

So the Lord God says, "So now, even I am against you! I will punish you while those other people watch.

The Lord God says, "Jerusalem, I promise by my life that I will punish you! I promise that I will punish you, because you did terrible things to my Holy Place. You did horrible things that made it dirty. I will punish you. I will not show any mercy or feel sorry for you.

God said, "Jerusalem, I will destroy you—you will be nothing but a pile of rocks. The people around you will make fun of you. Everyone who walks by will make fun of you.

Tell them this: ‘Mountains of Israel, listen to this message from the Lord God ! This is what the Lord God says to the hills and mountains and to the ravines and valleys: Look! I am bringing the enemy to fight against you. I will destroy your high places.

God said, "But I will let a few of your people escape. They will live in other countries for a short time. I will scatter them and force them to live in other countries.

Then the Lord God said to me, "Clap your hands and stamp your feet. Speak against all the terrible things that the people of Israel have done. Warn them that they will be killed by disease and hunger. Tell them they will be killed in war.

He said, "Now, son of man, here is a message from the Lord God . This message is for the land of Israel: "The end! The end is coming. The whole country will be destroyed.

This is what the Lord God said: "There will be one disaster after another!

"That time of punishment has come like a plant sprouting, budding, and flowering. God has given the signal, the enemy is prepared, and their proud king is ready.

One day I, Ezekiel, was sitting in my house, and the elders of Judah were sitting there in front of me. This was on the fifth day of the sixth month of the sixth year of exile. Suddenly, the power of the Lord God came on me.

Then I saw something that looked like an arm. The arm reached out and grabbed me by the hair on my head. Then the Spirit lifted me into the air, and in a vision from God he took me to Jerusalem. He took me to the inner gate—the gate that is on the north side. The statue that makes God jealous is by that gate.

But the Glory of the God of Israel was there. The Glory looked just like the vision I saw in the valley by the Kebar Canal .

God spoke to me. He said, "Son of man, look toward the north." So I looked, and there, north of the Altar Gate by the entrance, was that statue that made God jealous.

Then God said to me, "Son of man, do you see what terrible things the people of Israel are doing? They built that thing here, right next to my Temple! And if you come with me, you will see even more terrible things!"

God said to me, "Son of man, make a hole in the wall." So I made a hole in the wall, and there I saw a door.

Then God said to me, "Go in and look at the terrible, evil things that the people are doing here."

Then God said to me, "Son of man, do you see what the elders of Israel do in the dark? Each man has a special room for his own false god. They say to themselves, ‘The Lord cannot see us. The Lord left this country.'"

Then God led me to the entrance to the Lord 's Temple. This gate was on the north side. I saw women sitting there and crying. They were sad about the false god Tammuz!

God said to me, "Son of man, do you see these terrible things? Come with me and you will see things that are even worse than this!"