How Shall We Sing the Lord’s Song?

Ezekiel in Babylon

1 ^aIn the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was among the exiles by ^bthe Chebar canal, ^cthe heavens were opened, and I saw ^dvisions of God.¹ 2 On the fifth day of the month (it was ^ethe fifth year of ^fthe exile of King Jehoiachin), 3 the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel ^gthe priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by ^bthe Chebar canal, and ^hthe hand of the Lord was upon him there.

The Glory of the Lord

4 As I looked, behold, ⁱa stormy wind came ^jout of the north, and a great cloud, with ^kbrightness around it, and fire flashing forth continually, and in the midst of the fire, ^las it were gleaming metal.² 5 And from the midst of it came the likeness of ^mfour living creatures. ⁿAnd this was their appearance: they had a human likeness, 6 ^obut each had four faces, and each of them had four wings. 7 Their legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the sole of a calf’s foot. And they sparkled ^plike burnished bronze. 8 Under their wings ^qon their four sides ^rthey had human hands. And the four had their faces and their wings thus: 9 their wings touched one another. ^sEach one of them went straight forward, ^qwithout turning as they went. 10 As for the likeness of their faces, ^teach had a human face. The four had the face of a lion on the right side, the four had the face of an ox on the left side, and the four had the face of an eagle. 11 Such were their faces. And their wings were spread out above. Each creature had two wings, each of which touched the wing of another, while ^utwo covered their bodies. 12 ^sAnd each went straight forward. ^vWherever the spirit³ would go, they went, without turning as they went. 13 As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was ^wlike burning coals of fire, ^wlike the appearance of torches moving to and fro among the living creatures. ^xAnd the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning. 14 And the living creatures ^ydarted to and fro, ^zlike the appearance of a flash of lightning.

15 ^aNow as I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the earth beside the living creatures, one for each of the four of them.⁴ 16 ^aAs for the appearance of the wheels and their construction: their appearance was like ^bthe gleaming of beryl. ^cAnd the four had the same likeness, their appearance and construction being as it were a wheel within a wheel. 17 ^dWhen they went, they went ^ein any of their four directions^{5 f}without turning as they went. 18 And their rims were tall and awesome, ^gand the rims of all four were full of eyes all around. 19 ^hAnd when the living creatures went, the wheels went beside them; ⁱand when the living creatures rose from the earth, the wheels rose. 20 ^jWherever the spirit wanted to go, they went, and the wheels rose along with them, ^jfor the spirit of the living creatures⁶ was in the wheels. 21 ^hWhen those went, these went; and when those stood, these stood; ⁱand when those rose from the earth, the wheels rose along with them, ^jfor the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.

22 Over the heads of the living creatures there was ^kthe likeness of an expanse, shining like awe-inspiring ^lcrystal, spread out above their heads. 23 And under the expanse their wings were ^mstretched out straight, one toward another. ⁿAnd each creature had two wings covering its body. 24 And when they went, I heard the sound of their wings ^olike the sound of many waters, like ^pthe sound of the ^qAlmighty, a sound of tumult ^rlike the sound of an army. When they stood still, they let down their wings. 25 And there came a voice from above ^sthe expanse over their heads. When they stood still, they let down their wings.

26 And above the expanse over their heads there was ^tthe likeness of a throne, ^tin appearance ^ulike sapphire;⁷ and seated above the likeness of a throne was ^va likeness with a human appearance. 27 And ^wupward from what had the appearance of his waist I saw as it were ^xgleaming metal, like the appearance of fire enclosed all around. And downward from what had the appearance of his waist I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and ^ythere was brightness around him.⁸ 28 Like the appearance of ^zthe bow that is in the cloud on the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness all around.

Such was the appearance of the likeness of ^athe glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, ^bI fell on my face, and I heard the voice of one speaking.

Ezekiel’s Call

1 And he said to me, ^c“Son of man,^{9 d}stand on your feet, and I will speak with you.” 2 And as he spoke to me, ^ethe Spirit entered into me and ^fset me on my feet, and I heard him speaking to me. 3 And he said to me, “Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to ^gnations of rebels, who have rebelled against me. ^hThey and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day. 4 The descendants also are ⁱimpudent and stubborn: I send you to them, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ 5 And ^jwhether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are ^ga rebellious house) ^kthey will know that a prophet has been among them. 6 And you, son of man, ^lbe not afraid of them, nor be afraid of their words, ^mthough briers and thorns are with you and you sit on ⁿscorpions.¹⁰ Be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house. 7 And you shall speak my words to them, ^jwhether they hear or refuse to hear, for they are a rebellious house.

8 “But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. ^oBe not rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and ^peat what I give you.” 9 And when I looked, behold, ^qa hand was stretched out to me, and behold, ^ra scroll of a book was in it. 10 And he spread it before me. And it had writing ^son the front and on the back, and there were written on it words of lamentation and mourning and woe.

Pray for All People

1 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 ^vfor kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and ^wdignified in every way. 3 This is good, and ^xit is pleasing in the sight of ^yGod our Savior, 4 who desires ^zall people to be saved and ^ato come to ^bthe knowledge of the truth. 5 For ^cthere is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man¹ Christ Jesus, 6 ^dwho gave himself as a ransom for all, which is ^ethe testimony given ^fat the proper time. 7 ^gFor this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (^hI am telling the truth, I am not lying), ⁱa teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

8 I desire then that ^jin every place the men should pray, ^klifting ^lholy hands without anger or quarreling; 9 likewise also ^mthat women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, 10 ⁿbut with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works. 11 Let a woman learn quietly ^owith all submissiveness. 12 ^pI do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. 13 ^qFor Adam was formed first, ^rthen Eve; 14 and Adam was not deceived, but ^sthe woman was deceived and became a transgressor. 15 Yet she will be saved through ^tchildbearing—if they continue in ^ufaith and love and holiness, with self-control.