Chapter 9

9:1Then He called to me directly with a loud voice, "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, which faces north, each with a war club in his hand. There was another man among them, clothed in linen, with writing equipment at his side. They came and stood beside the bronze altar.
3Then the glory of the God of Israel rose from above the cherub where it had been, to the threshold of the temple. He called to the man clothed in linen with the writing equipment at his side. 4"Pass throughout the city of Jerusalem," the Lord said to him, "and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the detestable practices committed in it."
5He spoke as I listened to the others, "Pass through the city after him and start killing; do not show pity or spare them! 6Slaughter the old men, the young men and women, as well as the older women and little children, but do not come near anyone who has the mark. Now begin at My sanctuary." 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. 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! 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, and the city full of perversity. For they say, 'The Lord has abandoned the land; He does not see.' 10But as for Me, I will not show pity or spare them. I will bring their actions down on their own heads." 11Then the man clothed in linen with the writing equipment at his side reported back, "I have done as You commanded me."

Chapter 10

10:1Then I looked, and there above the expanse over the heads of the cherubim was something like sapphire stone resembling the shape of a throne that appeared above them. 2The Lord spoke to the man clothed in linen and said, "Go inside the wheelwork beneath the cherubim. Fill your hands with hot coals from among the cherubim and scatter them over the city." So he went in as I watched.
3Now the cherubim were standing to the south of the temple when the man went in, and the cloud filled the inner court. 4Then the glory of the Lord rose from above the cherub to the threshold of the temple. The temple was filled with the cloud, and the court was filled with the brightness of the Lord's glory. 5The sound of the cherubim's wings could be heard as far as the outer court; it was like the voice of God Almighty when He speaks.
6After the Lord commanded the man clothed in linen, saying, "Take fire from inside the wheelwork, from among the cherubim," the man went in and stood beside a wheel. 7Then the cherub reached out his hand to the fire that was among them. He took some, and put it into the hands of the man clothed in linen, who took it and went out. 8The cherubim appeared to have the form of human hands under their wings.
9I looked, and there were four wheels beside the cherubim, one wheel beside each cherub. The luster of the wheels was like the gleam of beryl. 10In appearance, all four had the same form, like a wheel within a wheel. 11When they moved, they would go in any of the four directions, without pivoting as they moved. But wherever the head faced, they would go in that direction, without pivoting as they went. 12Their entire bodies, including their backs, hands, wings, and the wheels that the four of them had, were full of eyes all around. 13As I listened the wheels were called "the wheelwork." 14Each one had four faces: the first face was that of a cherub, the second that of a man, the third that of a lion, and the fourth that of an eagle.
15The cherubim ascended; these were the living creatures I had seen by the Chebar Canal. 16When the cherubim moved, the wheels moved beside them, and when they lifted their wings to rise from the earth, even then the wheels did not veer away from them. 17When the cherubim stood still, the wheels stood still, and when they ascended, the wheels ascended with them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in them.
18Then the glory of the Lord moved away from the threshold of the temple and stood above the cherubim. 19The cherubim lifted their wings and ascended from the earth right before my eyes; the wheels were beside them as they went. The glory of the God of Israel was above them, and it stood at the entrance to the eastern gate of the Lord's house.
20These were the living creatures I had seen beneath the God of Israel by the Chebar Canal, and I recognized that they were cherubim. 21Each had four faces and each had four wings, with the form of human hands under their wings. 22Their faces looked like the same faces I had seen by the Chebar Canal. Each creature went straight ahead.