Ezekiel 9

1Then he cried out in my ears with a loud voice, saying, “Draw near, you executioners of the city, each with his weapon of destruction in his hand.”

2And behold, six men were coming from the direction of the upper gate, which faces north, each with his weapon for smashing in his hand; and one man among them was clothed in linen, with a scribe’s writing case at his waist. And they came and stood beside the bronze altar.

3And the glory of the God of Israel went up from above the cherub on which it had been, to the threshold of the house. And he called to the man clothed in linen, who had the scribe’s writing case at his waist.

4And Yahweh said to him, “Pass through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations being done in her midst.”

5And to the others he said in my hearing, “Pass through the city after him and strike; do not let your eye spare, and do not show pity.”

6Old man, young man, and virgin, and little children, and women—you shall kill them utterly. But do not come near anyone on whom is the mark, and begin at my sanctuary. So they began with the old men who were before the house.

7And he said to them, “Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain. Go out.” So they went out and struck down people in the city.

8And it happened, while they were striking them down, and I alone was left, that I fell on my face and cried out, and I said, “Ah, Lord GOD, will you destroy all the remnant of Israel as you pour out your wrath on Jerusalem?”

9Then he said to me, “The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great, and the land is filled with bloodshed, and the city is full of perversion. For they say, ‘Yahweh has forsaken the land, and Yahweh does not see.’”

10And as for me, my eye will not spare, nor will I show pity; I have brought their way upon their heads.

11And behold, the man clothed in linen, who had the writing case at his waist, brought back word, saying, “I have done as you commanded me.”