Ezekiel 9

1 And He crieth in mine ears — a loud voice — saying, 'Drawn near have inspectors of the city, and each his destroying weapon in his hand.'

Then crying out in my hearing in a loud voice, he said, Let the overseers of the town come near, every man armed.

2 And lo, six men are coming from the way of the upper gate, that is facing the north, and each his slaughter-weapon in his hand, and one man in their midst is clothed with linen, and a scribe's inkhorn at his loins, and they come in, and stand near the brazen altar.

And six men came from the way of the higher doorway looking to the north, every man with his axe in his hand: and one man among them was clothed in linen, with a writer's inkpot at his side. And they went in and took their places by the brass altar.

3 And the honour of the God of Israel hath gone up from off the cherub, on which it hath been, unto the threshold of the house.

And the glory of the God of Israel had gone up from the winged ones on which it was resting, to the doorstep of the house. And crying out to the man clothed in linen who had the writer's inkpot at his side,

4 And He calleth unto the man who is clothed with linen, who hath the scribe's inkhorn at his loins, and Jehovah saith unto him, 'Pass on into the midst of the city, into the midst of Jerusalem, and thou hast made a mark on the foreheads of the men who are sighing and who are groaning for all the abominations that are done in its midst.'

The Lord said to him, Go through the town, through the middle of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the brows of the men who are sorrowing and crying for all the disgusting things which are done in it.

5 And to the others he said in mine ears, 'Pass on into the city after him, and smite; your eye doth not pity, nor do ye spare;

And to these he said in my hearing, Go through the town after him using your axes: do not let your eyes have mercy, and have no pity:

6 aged, young man, and virgin, and infant, and women, ye do slay — to destruction; and against any man on whom [is] the mark ye do not go nigh, and from My sanctuary ye begin.'

Give up to destruction old men and young men and virgins, little children and women: but do not come near any man who has the mark on him: and make a start at my holy place. So they made a start with the old men who were before the house.

7 And they begin among the aged men who [are] before the house, and He saith unto them, 'Defile the house, and fill the courts with the wounded, go forth.' And they have gone forth and have smitten in the city.

And he said to them, Make the house unclean, make the open places full of dead: go forward and send destruction on the town.

8 And it cometh to pass, as they are smiting, and I — I am left — that I fall on my face, and cry, and say, 'Ah, Lord Jehovah, art Thou destroying all the remnant of Israel, in Thy pouring out Thy wrath on Jerusalem?'

Now while they were doing so, and I was untouched, I went down on my face, and crying out, I said, Ah, Lord! will you give all the rest of Israel to destruction in letting loose your wrath on Jerusalem?

9 And He saith unto me, 'The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah [is] very very great, and the land is full of blood, and the city hath been full of perverseness, for they have said: Jehovah hath forsaken the land, and Jehovah is not seeing.

Then he said to me, The sin of the children of Israel and Judah is very, very great, and the land is full of blood and the town full of evil ways: for they say, The Lord has gone away from the land, and the Lord does not see.

10 And I also, Mine eye doth not pity, nor do I spare; their way on their own head I have put.'

And as for me, my eye will not have mercy, and I will have no pity, but I will send the punishment of their ways on their heads.

11 And lo, the man clothed with linen, at whose loins [is] the inkhorn, is bringing back word, saying, 'I have done as Thou hast commanded me.'

Then the man clothed in linen, who had the inkpot at his side, came back and said, I have done what you gave me orders to do.