Study Desk

Won't you look and see how upset I am, our Lord ? My stomach is in knots, and my heart is broken because I betrayed you. In the streets and at home, my people are slaughtered.

I am the only one he punishes over and over again, without ever stopping.

I am a joke to everyone— no one ever stops making fun of me.

I tell myself, "I am finished! I can't count on the Lord to do anything for me."

That's all I ever think about, and I am depressed.

I am horrified when I see what enemies have done to the young women of our city.

I am Ezekiel—a priest and the son of Buzi. Five years after King Jehoiachin of Judah had been led away as a prisoner to Babylonia, I was living near the Chebar River among those who had been taken there with him. Then on the fifth day of the fourth month of the thirtieth year, the heavens suddenly opened. The Lord placed his hand upon me and showed me some visions.

Ezekiel, I am sending you to the people of Israel. They are just like their ancestors who rebelled against me and refused to stop.

Ezekiel, don't rebel against me, as they have done. Instead, listen to everything I tell you. And now, Ezekiel, open your mouth and eat what I am going to give you.

The Lord said: Ezekiel, I am sending you to your own people.

I am the Lord God, and I have made Jerusalem the most important place in the world, and all other nations admire it.

So tell the people of Jerusalem: I am the Lord God! You have refused to obey my laws and teachings, and instead you have obeyed the laws of the surrounding nations. You have become more rebellious than any of them!

Listen, you mountains and hills, and every valley and gorge! I, the Lord , am about to turn against you and crush all the places where foreign gods are worshiped.

and they will know that I am the Lord and that my warnings must be taken seriously.

These people used to offer incense to idols at altars built on hills and mountaintops and in the shade of large oak trees. But when they see dead bodies lying around those altars, they will know that I am the Lord .

Ezekiel, son of man, tell the people of Israel that I am saying: Israel will soon come to an end! Your whole country is about to be destroyed

as punishment for your disgusting sins. I, the Lord , am so angry

that I will show no pity. I will punish you for the evil you've done, and you will know that I am the Lord .

Even your king and his officials will lose hope and cry in despair. Your hands will tremble with fear. I will punish you for your sins and treat you the same way you have treated others. Then you will know that I am the Lord .

You will realize that while you were following the laws of nearby nations, you were disobeying my laws and teachings. And I am the Lord !