Study Desk

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!

Then he led me to the inner courtyard of the Lord 's Temple area. There I saw 25 men bowing down and worshiping. They were at the entrance to the Lord 's Temple between the porch and the altar—but they were facing the wrong way. Their backs were to the Holy Place. They were bowing down to worship the sun!

Then God said, "Son of man, do you see this? The people of Judah think my Temple is so unimportant that they will do these terrible things here in my Temple! This country is filled with violence, and they constantly do things to make me angry. Look, they are wearing rings in their noses to honor the moon as a false god!

Then I heard God say to the other men, "I want you to follow the first man. You must kill all those who do not have the mark on their foreheads. It doesn't matter if they are elders, young men or young women, children or mothers—you must use your weapon and kill everyone who does not have the mark on their forehead. Don't show any mercy. Don't feel sorry for anyone. Start here at my Temple." So they started with the elders in front of the Temple.

He said to them, "Make this Temple unclean—fill this courtyard with dead bodies! Now go!" So they went and killed the people in the city.

There were four wheels, and they all looked the same. They looked like there was a wheel in a wheel.

Then the Cherub angels raised their wings and flew into the air. I saw them leave. The wheels went with them. Then they stopped at the East Gate of the Lord 's Temple. The Glory of the God of Israel was in the air above them.

These were the living beings under the Glory of the God of Israel in the vision at the Kebar Canal, and now I realized that they were Cherub angels.

Then God spoke to me and said, "Son of man, these are the men who make evil plans for this city. They always tell the people to do evil things.

Then they will obey my laws and my commands. They will do the things I tell them. They will be my people, and I will be their God.'"

Then God said, "But now, their hearts belong to those terrible, filthy idols, and I must punish those people for the bad things they have done." This is what the Lord God said.

"But I will let a few of the people live. They will not die from the disease, hunger, and war. I will let them live so that they can tell other people about the terrible things they did against me. Then they will know that I am the Lord ."

"‘Your prophets say they have seen visions. They did their magic to see what will happen next. But everything they said would happen is a lie. They claim to speak for the Lord , but the Lord did not send them. And they still think that what they said is what will happen.

"‘If you prophets saw visions, they were not true. And all you got from your magic was lies! So how can you say that the Lord told you those things? I did not speak to you!'"

"I will punish those prophets whose visions are false and who lie about the future. I will remove them from my people. Their names will not be in the list of the family of Israel. They will never again come to the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord God !

"Again and again those false prophets lied to my people. They said there would be peace, but there is no peace. The people need to fix the walls and prepare for war. But they only slap a thin coat of plaster over the broken walls.

"All these things will happen to the false prophets of Israel. They speak to the people of Jerusalem and say there will be peace, but there is no peace." This is what the Lord God said.

You make them think I am not important. You turn them against me for a few handfuls of barley and a few scraps of bread. You tell lies to my people. They love to listen to lies. You kill those who should live, and you let people live who should die.

So this is what the Lord God says to you: You make those cloth bracelets to trap people, but I will set them free. I will tear those bracelets off your arms, and the people will be free from you. They will be like birds flying from a trap.

And I will tear up those scarves and save my people from your power. They will escape from your trap, and you will know that I am the Lord .