Hebrew-English Text
I. Summary
God shows Ezekiel the pervasive idolatry in the land.

II. Photo
God leads Ezekiel to the idolatry: “[God] said to me, ‘Mortal, break through the wall’; so I broke through the wall and found an entrance.” (v. 8 )

III. Important Verses
1-4: In the sixth year, on the fifth day of the sixth month, I was sitting at home, and the elders of Judah were sitting before me, and there the hand of the Lord GOD fell upon me. As I looked, there was a figure that had the appearance of fire: from what appeared as his loins down, he was fire; and from his loins up, his appearance was resplendent and had the color of amber. He stretched out the form of a hand, and took me by the hair of my head. A spirit lifted me up between heaven and earth and brought me in visions of God to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the Penimith Gate that faces north; that was the site of the infuriating image that provokes fury. And the Presence of the God of Israel appeared there, like the vision that I had seen in the valley.
7-11: Then He brought me to the entrance of the court; and I looked, and there was a hole in the wall. He said to me, “Mortal, break through the wall”; so I broke through the wall and found an entrance. And He said to me, “Enter and see the vile abominations that they are practicing here.” I entered and looked, and there all detestable forms of creeping things and beasts and all the fetishes of the House of Israel were depicted over the entire wall. Before them stood seventy men, elders of the House of Israel, with Jaazaniah son of Shaphan standing in their midst. Everyone had a censer in his hand, and a thick cloud of incense smoke ascended.
15-17: He said to me, “Have you seen, O mortal? You shall see even more terrible abominations than these.” Then He brought me into the inner court of the House of the LORD, and there, at the entrance to the Temple of the LORD, between the portico and the altar, were about twenty-five men, their backs to the Temple of the LORD and their faces to the east; they were bowing low to the sun in the east. And He said to me, “Do you see, O mortal? Is it not enough for the House of Judah to practice the abominations that they have committed here, that they must fill the country with lawlessness and provoke Me still further and thrust the branch to their nostrils?

IV. Outline
1. Introduction
2-4. Ezekiel sees God
5-6. God shows Ezekiel the abominations of Israel
7-11. God shows Ezekiel the leaders of Israel worshiping illicitly
12-14. God shows Ezekiel the women worshiping Tammuz
15-17. God shows Ezekiel people worshiping the Sun in the temple
18. God will have no pity for Israel

V. Comment
No comment today. Stay tuned.

VI. Works Used
(see “Commentaries” page)
Allen, Leslie C. “Ezekiel 1-19” Word Biblical Commentary vol. 28 (Waco, Texas: Wordbook, 1994).
Collins, John J. “Introduction to the Hebrew Bible,” (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2004).
Hals, Ronald M. “Ezekiel” The forms of the Old Testament Literature vol. 19 (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 1989)
Photo taken from http://www.holoweb.net/~liam/pictures/2004-09-uk-cornwall-01/pages/cimg2735/cimg2735-2304×1728.jpg

Hebrew-English Text
I. Summary
God promises to punish the people by bringing a day of wrath upon them. Most of the people will die and the survivors will be miserable.

II. Photo
God seals Israel’s fate: “Forge the chain, for the land is full of bloody crimes, and the city is full of lawlessness!” (v. 23)

III. Important Verses
2-4: You, O mortal, [say:] Thus said the Lord GOD to the land of Israel: Doom! Doom is coming upon the four corners of the land. Now doom is upon you! I will let loose My anger against you and judge you according to your ways; I will requite you for all your abominations. I will show you no pity and no compassion; but I will requite you for your ways and for the abominations in your midst. And you shall know that I am the LORD.
6: Doom is coming! The hour of doom is coming! It stirs against you; there it comes!
15-18: The sword is outside and pestilence and famine are inside; he who is in the open shall die by the sword, he who is in the town shall be devoured by famine and pestilence. And if any survive, they shall take to the mountains; they shall be like doves of the valley, moaning together — every one for his iniquity. All hands shall grow weak, and all knees shall turn to water. They shall gird on sackcloth, and horror shall cover them; every face shall betray shame, and every head shall be made bald.
22: I will turn My face from them, and My treasures shall be defiled; ruffians shall invade it and defile it.

IV. Outline

1. Introduction
2-4. God will show no mercy to Israel
5-9. A reiteration: God will show no mercy to Israel
10-22. The day of wrath
    10-11. Cause: lawlessness
    12-13. Businesses will come to a halt
    14-15. People will die by famine or the sword
    16-18. The survivors will suffer immensely
    19-21. The people’s riches will be given to others
    22. The temple will be invaded
23-27. A reiteration: God will ravage the land because of its sins

V. Comment
No comment today. Stay tuned.

VI. Works Used
(see “Commentaries” page)
Allen, Leslie C. “Ezekiel 1-19” Word Biblical Commentary vol. 28 (Waco, Texas: Wordbook, 1994).
Collins, John J. “Introduction to the Hebrew Bible,” (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2004).
Hals, Ronald M. “Ezekiel” The forms of the Old Testament Literature vol. 19 (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 1989)
Photo taken from http://farm1.static.flickr.com/11/17303893_7cfabc48b1.jpg

Hebrew-English Text
I. Summary
God will destroy the cities of Israel and wipe out the people’s idolatrous objects. Those who survive will realize their wrongdoings and turn to God.

II. Photo
God commands Ezekiel to address the mountains: “O mortal, turn your face toward the mountains of Israel and prophesy to them and say: ‘O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God!’” (vv. 2-3a)

III. Important Verses
2-3a: O mortal, turn your face toward the mountains of Israel and prophesy to them and say: ‘O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God!
4-6a: Your altars shall be wrecked and your incense stands smashed, and I will hurl down your slain in front of your fetishes. I will cast the corpses of the people of Israel in front of their fetishes, and scatter your bones around your altars in all your settlements.
8-10: Yet I will leave a remnant, in that some of you shall escape the sword among the nations and be scattered through the lands. And those of you that escape will remember Me among the nations where they have been taken captive, how I was brokenhearted through their faithless hearts which turned away from Me, and through their eyes which lusted after their fetishes. And they shall loathe themselves for all the evil they committed and for all their abominable deeds. 10 Then they shall realize it was not without cause that I the LORD resolved to bring this evil upon them.

IV. Outline

1-10. Oracle #1
    1. Introduction
    2-7. The Israelite cities will be destroyed along with the idolatrous objects
    8-10. The survivors will return to God in exile
11-14. Oracle #2
    11a. Introduction
    11b. Exhortation to mock idolatrous objects
    12. Death will plague Israel
    13-14. Death will cause the people to know God

V. Comment
No comment today. Stay tuned.

VI. Works Used
(see “Commentaries” page)
Allen, Leslie C. “Ezekiel 1-19” Word Biblical Commentary vol. 28 (Waco, Texas: Wordbook, 1994).
Collins, John J. “Introduction to the Hebrew Bible,” (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2004).
Hals, Ronald M. “Ezekiel” The forms of the Old Testament Literature vol. 19 (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 1989)
Photo taken from http://www.johnharveyphoto.com/MidCoast/JennyInlet/MountainAtSunsetLg.jpg

Hebrew-English Text
I. Summary
God orders Ezekiel to destroy his hair and condemns Jerusalem to a list of horrendous punishments.

II. Photo
God tells Ezekiel to cut his hair: “And you, O mortal, take a sharp knife; use it as a barber’s razor and pass it over your head and beard.” (v. 1)

III. Important Verses
1-2: “And you, O mortal, take a sharp knife; use it as a barber’s razor and pass it over your head and beard. Then take scales and divide the hair. When the days of siege are completed, destroy a third part in fire in the city, take a third and strike it with the sword all around the city, and scatter a third to the wind and unsheathe a sword after them.”
7-8: Assuredly, thus said the Lord GOD: Because you have outdone the nations that are round about you — you have not obeyed My laws or followed My rules, nor have you observed the rules of the nations round about you — assuredly, thus said the Lord GOD: I, in turn, am going to deal with you, and I will execute judgments in your midst in the sight of the nations.
9-10: On account of all your abominations, I will do among you what I have never done, and the like of which I will never do again. Assuredly, parents shall eat their children in your midst, and children shall eat their parents. I will execute judgments against you, and I will scatter all your survivors in every direction.
14: I will make you a ruin and a mockery among the nations roundabout you, in the sight of every passerby.

IV. Outline

1-4. Symbolic action: Ezekiel is to destroy his hair in three ways
5-17. God condemns Jerusalem
    5-9. Jerusalem’s guilt and impending doom
    10. Family members will eat each other
    11-12. The people will face pestilence, war, and dispersion
    13-15. God will make Jerusalem an example for other nations
    16-17. God will bring famine to the people

V. Comment
No comment today. Stay tuned.

VI. Works Used
(see “Commentaries” page)
Allen, Leslie C. “Ezekiel 1-19” Word Biblical Commentary vol. 28 (Waco, Texas: Wordbook, 1994).
Collins, John J. “Introduction to the Hebrew Bible,” (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2004).
Hals, Ronald M. “Ezekiel” The forms of the Old Testament Literature vol. 19 (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 1989)
Photo taken from

Hebrew-English Text
I. Summary
God orders Ezekiel to perform symbolic actions such as laying siege to a brick representing Jerusalem, sleeping on his side for 430 days, and eating bread with cow excrement.

II. Photo
God gives Ezekiel an unusual order: “[God] answered me, ‘See, I allow you cow’s dung instead of human excrement; prepare your bread on that!’” (v. 15)

III. Important Verses
1-3: “And you, O mortal, take a brick and put it in front of you, and incise on it a city, Jerusalem. Set up a siege against it, and build towers against it, and cast a mound against it; pitch camps against it, and bring up battering rams roundabout it. Then take an iron plate and place it as an iron wall between yourself and the city, and set your face against it. Thus it shall be under siege, you shall besiege it. This shall be an omen for the House of Israel.
4-6: “Then lie on your left side, and let it bear the punishment of the House of Israel; for as many days as you lie on it you shall bear their punishment. For I impose upon you three hundred and ninety days, corresponding to the number of the years of their punishment; and so you shall bear the punishment for the House of Israel. When you have completed these, you shall lie another forty days on your right side, and bear the punishment of the House of Judah. I impose on you one day for each year.
9-15: “Further, take wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and emmer. Put them into one vessel and bake them into bread. Eat it as many days as you lie on your side: three hundred and ninety. The food that you eat shall be by weight, twenty shekels a day; this you shall eat in the space of a day. And you shall drink water by measure; drink a sixth of a hin in the space of a day. “Eat it as a barley cake; you shall bake it on human excrement before their eyes. So,” said the LORD, “shall the people of Israel eat their bread, unclean, among the nations to which I will banish them.” Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD, my person was never defiled; nor have I eaten anything that died of itself or was torn by beasts from my youth until now, nor has foul flesh entered my mouth.” He answered me, “See, I allow you cow’s dung instead of human excrement; prepare your bread on that.”

IV. Outline
1-3. Symbolic action: besieging a brick inscribed with Jerusalem’s name
4-6. Symbolic action: Ezekiel is to lie on his side for 390 and 40 days
7. Ezekiel’s mission is to prophesy against the people
8. Symbolic action: Ezekiel is to tie himself up in cords
9-13. Symbolic action: Ezekiel’s dietary regimen, including human excrement
14-15. Ezekiel convinces God to let him eat cow excrement
16-17. God will bring famine to Jerusalem

V. Comment
No comment today. Stay tuned.

VI. Works Used
(see “Commentaries” page)
Allen, Leslie C. “Ezekiel 1-19” Word Biblical Commentary vol. 28 (Waco, Texas: Wordbook, 1994).
Collins, John J. “Introduction to the Hebrew Bible,” (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2004).
Hals, Ronald M. “Ezekiel” The forms of the Old Testament Literature vol. 19 (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 1989)
Photo taken from http://www.organicvalley.coop/uploads/tx_ovlightbox/farmpics/cow-closeup.jpg

Hebrew-English Text
I. Summary
Ezekiel eats the scroll of lamentations, is warned about Israel’s obstinacy, and is charged with rebuking them. A spirit whirls him to the community of exiles and he sees God in a nearby valley.

II. Photo
Ezekiel ingests God’s message: “[God] said to me, ‘Mortal, feed your stomach and fill your belly with this scroll that I give you.’ I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey to me.” (v. 3)

III. Important Verses
1-3: He said to me, “Mortal, eat what is offered you; eat this scroll, and go speak to the House of Israel.” So I opened my mouth, and He gave me this scroll to eat, as He said to me, “Mortal, feed your stomach and fill your belly with this scroll that I give you.” I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey to me.
7-8: But the House of Israel will refuse to listen to you, for they refuse to listen to Me; for the whole House of Israel are brazen of forehead and stubborn of heart. But I will make your face as hard as theirs, and your forehead as brazen as theirs.
14-15: A spirit seized me and carried me away. I went in bitterness, in the fury of my spirit, while the hand of the LORD was strong upon me.  And I came to the exile community that dwelt in Tel Abib by the Chebar Canal, and I remained where they dwelt. And for seven days I sat there stunned among them.
23-25: I arose and went out to the valley, and there stood the Presence of the LORD, like the Presence that I had seen at the Chebar Canal; and I flung myself down on my face.  And a spirit entered into me and set me upon my feet. And He spoke to me, and said to me: “Go, shut yourself up in your house. As for you, O mortal, cords have been placed upon you, and you have been bound with them, and you shall not go out among them.

IV. Outline
1-3. Ezekiel eats the scroll of lamentations
4-9. God describes Israel’s obstinance
10-11. God gives Ezekiel his mission
12-15. A wind carries Ezekiel to the exiles
16-21. God stipulates the conditions of Ezekiel’s future actions
22-27. God appears to Ezekiel and warns him about Israel’s obstinacy
V. Comment
In his commentary to this chapter, Collins makes two insightful points regarding Ezekiel’s prophecy and character. First, as vv. 16-21 illustrate, Ezekiel’s mission is compared to a city watchman:

• After those seven days, the word of the LORD came to me: “O mortal, I appoint you watchman for the House of Israel; and when you hear a word from My mouth, you must warn them for Me. If I say to a wicked man, ‘You shall die,’ and you do not warn him — you do not speak to warn the wicked man of his wicked course in order to save his life — he, the wicked man, shall die for his iniquity, but I will require a reckoning for his blood from you. But if you do warn the wicked man, and he does not turn back from his wickedness and his wicked course, he shall die for his iniquity, but you will have saved your own life.
  
• Again, if a righteous man abandons his righteousness and does wrong, when I put a stumbling block before him, he shall die. He shall die for his sins; the righteous deeds that he did shall not be remembered; but because you did not warn him, I will require a reckoning for his blood from you. If, however, you warn the righteous man not to sin, and he, the righteous, does not sin, he shall live because he took warning, and you will have saved your own life.”

Collins writes: “The nature of the prophet’s task is spelled out clearly in Ezek 3:16-21, by analogy with the role of a watchman. The watchman is bound to give warning of an impending danger. Whether anyone heeds that warning is not his responsibility. This view of the prophet’s mission is closely bound up with Ezekiel’s emphasis on individual responsibility, which we shall find more fully expounded in chapter 18.” (356)
In regards to Ezekiel’s character, many descriptions might strike the modern reader as strange. For example, Ezekiel eats an actual scroll in vv. 1-3, will eat cow excrement in the next chapter, and our chapter’s vv. 24-25 relate how he locks himself in a house (and might have tied himself up too). Collins writes, “More than any other prophet, Ezekiel exhibits phenomena that are associated with unusual psychological conditions, and that seem to call for psychological analysis. There have been many attempts to diagnose his condition. One famous philosopher, Karl Jaspers, suggested that Ezekiel was schizophrenic. Any such attempt to diagnose an ancient figure, about whom we have very limited evidence, is problematic, but there is no doubt that Ezekiel’s personal life, and his psychological condition, were deeply affected by his prophetic calling.” (357)

VI. Works Used
(see “Commentaries” page)
Allen, Leslie C. “Ezekiel 1-19” Word Biblical Commentary vol. 28 (Waco, Texas: Wordbook, 1994).
Collins, John J. “Introduction to the Hebrew Bible,” (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2004).
Hals, Ronald M. “Ezekiel” The forms of the Old Testament Literature vol. 19 (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 1989)
Photo taken from http://www.facsimile-editions.com/shared/images/ds/discipline-scroll-1.l.jpg

Hebrew-English Text
I. Summary
God urges Ezekiel to rebuke the people and gives him a scroll of lamentations to eat.

II. Photo
God calls upon Ezekiel to stay resolute: “Though thistles and thorns press against you, and you sit upon scorpions, do not be afraid of their words and do not be dismayed by them, though they are a rebellious breed!” (v. 6b)

III. Important Verses
1-2: And He said to me, “O mortal, stand up on your feet that I may speak to you.” As He spoke to me, a spirit entered into me and set me upon my feet; and I heard what was being spoken to me.
6-7: “And you, mortal, do not fear them and do not fear their words, though thistles and thorns press against you, and you sit upon scorpions. Do not be afraid of their words and do not be dismayed by them, though they are a rebellious breed; but speak My words to them, whether they listen or not, for they are rebellious.
8-10: “And you, mortal, heed what I say to you: Do not be rebellious like that rebellious breed. Open your mouth and eat what I am giving you.” As I looked, there was a hand stretched out to me, holding a written scroll. He unrolled it before me, and it was inscribed on both the front and the back; on it were written lamentations, dirges, and woes.

IV. Outline
1-2. God’s spirit sets Ezekiel on his feet
3-5. Ezekiel is to speak to brazen Israel
6-7. God encourages Ezekiel to have no fear
8. God warns Ezekiel not to disobey him
9-10. God gives Ezekiel a scroll to eat

V. Comment
No comment today. Stay tuned.

VI. Works Used
(see “Commentaries” page)
Allen, Leslie C. “Ezekiel 1-19” Word Biblical Commentary vol. 28 (Waco, Texas: Wordbook, 1994).
Collins, John J. “Introduction to the Hebrew Bible,” (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2004).
Hals, Ronald M. “Ezekiel” The forms of the Old Testament Literature vol. 19 (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 1989)
Photo taken from http://www.p1x.ca/images/20070506114428_thorns.jpg

Hebrew-English Text
I. Summary
Ezekiel sees God sitting on his throne. The throne is supported by a chariot which is itself supported by four supernatural creatures and four wheels.

II. Photo
God’s glory radiates: “Like the appearance of the bow which shines in the clouds on a day of rain, such was the appearance of the surrounding radiance!” (v. 28a)

III. Important Verses
1:  In the thirtieth year, on the fifth day of the fourth month, when I was in the community of exiles by the Chebar Canal, the heavens opened and I saw visions of God.
5-9: In the center of it were also the figures of four creatures. And this was their appearance: They had the figures of human beings. However, each had four faces, and each of them had four wings; the legs of each were [fused into] a single rigid leg, and the feet of each were like a single calf’s hoof; and their sparkle was like the luster of burnished bronze. They had human hands below their wings. The four of them had their faces and their wings on their four sides. Each one’s wings touched those of the other. They did not turn when they moved; each could move in the direction of any of its faces.
26: Above the expanse over their heads was the semblance of a throne, in appearance like sapphire; and on top, upon this semblance of a throne, there was the semblance of a human form.
27-28: From what appeared as his loins up, I saw a gleam as of amber — what looked like a fire encased in a frame; and from what appeared as his loins down, I saw what looked like fire. There was a radiance all about him. Like the appearance of the bow which shines in the clouds on a day of rain, such was the appearance of the surrounding radiance. That was the appearance of the semblance of the Presence of the LORD. When I beheld it, I flung myself down on my face. And I heard the voice of someone speaking.

IV. Outline

1. Introduction to the vision of God
2-3. Introduction to experiencing God’s hand
4-28. The vision
    4. The storm cloud
    5-14. Description of the chimerical creatures
    15-18. Description of the enormous wheels
    19-21. The wheels moved in unison with the chimerical creatures
    22-25. Description of the crystal platform
    27-28a. Description of the glory of God
    28b. Ezekiel bows and listens to a voice

V. Comment
The book of Ezekiel begins with what appears to be two short introductions:

• In the thirtieth year, on the fifth day of the fourth month, when I was in the community of exiles by the Chebar Canal, the heavens opened and I saw visions of God. (v. 1)
• On the fifth day of the month — it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin — the word of the LORD came to the priest Ezekiel son of Buzi, by the Chebar Canal, in the land of the Chaldeans. And the hand of the LORD came upon him there. (v. 2)

Two questions arise: (1) Why is are the dates (vv. 1, 2) and the locations (vv. 1, 3) repeated? (2) Why doesn’t the author provide more biographical information about Ezekiel? Hals answers these questions as follows. First, in regards to the repetition, it seems that an editorial blending of two or more sources might have taken place. Indeed, phrases are also repeated in in vv. 9b and 12b, as well as in vv. 24b and 25b. Second, in regards to the dearth of biographical information, it seems that the point of prophetic introductions was not to deliver historical/biographical information. Hals writes: “The aim of [God] whose word the prophet speaks is – as the message itself attests (see 12:21-25) – to bring about the accomplishment of that very word. And that accomplishment happened in this particular world of dates and places. These dates and places are not recorded that listeners might better understand the personal history of the prophet. The overwhelming absence of biographical detail reveals that such a concern is foreign to the text. Instead, it is for the meaning of the message that the history is essential.” (12) Thus, the historical information is another way of saying, “Trust me, this actually happened.” It is neither meant to provide context nor paint a biographical picture.
The chapter climaxes with the vision of God in vv. 26-28. As Hals points out, the amount of verses decreases with each new facet of Ezekiels vision: the creatures receive ten verses, the wheels receive seven verses, the chariot receives four verses, and God and his throne receive three verses. When it comes to God, Allen highlights the fact that he is depicted in the same manner as the other ancient Near Eastern gods, i.e. he takes a human form. Allen writes: “When [God] appears in a recognizable form in the Old Testament, the human form is regarded as the natural and characteristic one for him to assume. What is elsewhere implicit in references to [God] sitting, standing, or the like (Amos 7:7; 9:1; Isa 6:1) is here explicitly stated. In this vision there is hardly any distinction between the way in which the living beings and [God] are described as human… [God] manifests himself to human beings as a person in the highest form of life generally perceptible to them.” (35)

VI. Works Used
(see “Commentaries” page)
Allen, Leslie C. “Ezekiel 1-19” Word Biblical Commentary vol. 28 (Waco, Texas: Wordbook, 1994).
Collins, John J. “Introduction to the Hebrew Bible,” (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2004).
Hals, Ronald M. “Ezekiel” The forms of the Old Testament Literature vol. 19 (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 1989)
Photo taken from http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/0711/iridescent_allen_big.jpg