Ezekiel 9

Six men with weapons

¹Then he cried out in my hearing with a loud voice, “Come near, you who are appointed to punish the city, each with his weapon of destruction in his hand!”^{a 2}Then six men came from the direction of the upper gate that faces north, each with a weapon for smashing in his hand. Among them was a man dressed in linen, with a scribe’s writing case at his side. They came in and took their places beside the bronze altar. ³Now the glory of the God of Israel had risen from above the cherub where it had rested, and had moved to the threshold of the temple. He called to the man dressed in linen who had the writing case at his side.

A mark on the foreheads

⁴The LORD said to him, “Go all through the city, all through Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the people who sigh and groan over all the detestable practices committed in it.”^{b 5}To the others he said in my hearing, “Follow him through the city and strike. Do not look on them with pity or spare them. ⁶Kill old men, young men and young women, little children and women, until none are left; but do not go near anyone who has the mark. Start at my sanctuary.” So they began with the elders standing in front of the temple. ⁷He said to them, “Defile the temple and fill its courts with the dead. Go!” So they went out and struck people down throughout the city. ⁸While they were striking them down and I was left alone, I fell on my face and cried out, “Oh, Lord GOD! Will you destroy all who remain of Israel as you pour out your wrath on Jerusalem?” ⁹He said to me, “The guilt of the house of Israel and Judah is immense. The land is full of bloodshed and the city full of injustice. For they say, ‘The LORD has abandoned the land; the LORD does not see.’” ¹⁰As for me, I will not look on them with pity or spare them; I will bring their conduct down on their own heads.” ¹¹Then the man dressed in linen, with the writing case at his side, came back with a report: “I have done as you commanded me.”