Ezekiel 9

Vision of Slaughter in Jerusalem

¹Then he called loudly in my hearing, “Come near, executioners of the city, each of you with a destructive weapon in his hand.” ²And I saw six men coming from the direction of the Upper Gate, ^a which faces north, each with a war club in his hand. There was another man among them, clothed in linen, ^b carrying writing equipment. They came and stood beside the bronze altar.

³Then the glory of the God of Israel ^c rose from above the cherub where it had been, to the threshold of the temple. He called to the man clothed in linen and carrying writing equipment. ⁴“Pass throughout the city of Jerusalem,” the Lord said to him, “and put a mark on the foreheads ^d of the men who sigh and groan ^e over all the detestable practices committed in it.”

⁵He spoke to the others in my hearing: “Pass through the city after him and start killing; do not show pity or spare them! ^{f 6}Slaughter the old men, the young men and women, as well as the children and older women, ^g but do not come near anyone who has the mark. ^h Begin at my sanctuary.” ⁱ So they began with the elders who were in front of the temple. ⁷Then he said to them, “Defile the temple and fill the courts with the slain. ^j Go! ” So they went out killing people in the city.

⁸While they were killing, I was left alone. And I fell facedown and cried out, “Oh, Lord God! ^k Are you going to destroy the entire remnant of Israel when you pour out your wrath on Jerusalem? ”

⁹He answered me, “The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is extremely great; the land is full of bloodshed, ^l and the city full of perversity. For they say, ‘The Lord has abandoned the land; ^m he does not see.’ ^{n 10}But as for me, I will not show pity or spare them. ^o I will bring their conduct down on their own heads.” ^p

¹¹Then the man clothed in linen and carrying writing equipment reported back, “I have done all that you commanded me.”