Ezekiel
Chapter 9
1 He also shouted loudly in my ears, saying, “Tell those in charge of the city to come here, each with his weapon for destruction in hand.”
2 Look, six men came from the direction of the upper gate to the north, each with a weapon for killing in his hand; one of them was dressed in linen, with a writing kit at his side. They came in and stood by the bronze altar.
3 God’s bright presence, which had been over the cherubim, rose to the entrance of the temple. God then spoke to the man in linen clothes who had a writing kit at his side.
4 God told him, “Walk through the center of the city, through the middle of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the people who are upset and cry about all the bad things happening there.”
5 He told the others as I could hear, “Follow him through the city and strike. Show no mercy and feel no pity.”
6 Kill all the old and young, girls, little children, and women, but do not hurt anyone with the mark; start at my holy place. Then they started with the elders in front of the house.
7 He told them, “Make the temple unclean and fill the courtyards with the bodies of the dead. Go out.” So they went out and killed people in the city.
8 While they were being killed and I was spared, I fell facedown, cried out, and said, “Oh God! Will you wipe out the remaining people of Israel by pouring out your anger on Jerusalem?”
9 He told me, “Israel and Judah’s sin is very big, and the land is full of blood, and the city is full of wrongdoing: because they say, ‘God has left the earth, and God does not see.’”
10 I will not show mercy or feel sorry either; I will give them what they deserve, and they will feel the consequences of their actions.
11 Look, the man in linen clothes with a writing kit at his side reported back, saying, “I have done what you told me to do.”