CHAPTER 9
1 And he cried in mine ears with great voice, and said, The visitings of the city have nighed, and each man hath in his hand an instrument of slaying. (And he cried in my ears with a loud voice, and said, The punishment of the city hath arrived, and each man have in his hand an instrument for killing, that is, a weapon.)
2 And lo! six men came from the way of the higher gate, that beholdeth to the north, and the instrument of death of each man was in his hand; also one man in the midst of them was clothed with linen clothes, and a penner of a writer at his reins; and they entered, and stood beside the brazen altar. (And behold! six men came from the way of the upper northern gate, and each man had an instrument of death in his hand; and one man in their midst was clothed in linen clothes, and (had) a writer’s inkhorn at his side; and they entered, and stood beside the bronze altar.)
3 And the glory of the Lord of Israel was taken up from cherub[im], which glory was on it, to the threshold of the house (of the Lord); and the Lord called the man that was clothed with linen clothes, and had a penner of a writer in his loins. (Then the glory of the Lord of Israel was taken up from above the cherubim, which glory was upon them, to the threshold of the House of the Lord; andthe Lord called to the man who was clothed in linen clothes, and had a writer’s inkhorn at his side.)
4 And the Lord said to him, Pass thou by the midst of the city, in the midst of Jerusalem, and mark thou Tau on the foreheads of men wailing and sorrowing on all [the] abominations that be done in the midst thereof.
5 And he said to them in mine hearing, Go ye through the city, and follow ye him, and smite ye; your eye spare not, neither do ye mercy. (And he said to the others in my hearing, Go ye through the city, and follow ye him, and strike ye them down; do not let your eye spare them, nor have ye any mercy on them.)
6 Slay ye till to death, an eld man, a young man, and a virgin, a little child, and women; but slay ye not any man, on whom ye see Tau; and begin ye at my saintuary. Therefore they began at the elder men, that were before the face of the house, (or And so they began with the elders, who were in front of the House of the Lord).
7 And he said to them, Defoul ye the house (of the Lord), and fill ye the foreyards with slain men; go ye out. And they went out, and killed them that were in the city. (And he said to them, Defile ye the House of the Lord, and fill ye the courtyards with the slain; go ye out. And they went out, and killed those who were in the city.)
8 And lo! when the slaying was [ful] filled, I was left (alone). And I fell down on my face, and I cried, and said, Alas! alas! alas! Lord God, therefore whether thou shalt lose all the remnants of Israel, and shalt shed out thy strong vengeance on Jerusalem? (And behold! when the killing was finished, I was left alone. And I fell down on my face, and I cried, and said, Alas! alas! alas! Lord God, and so shalt thou destroy all the remnants of Israel, and shalt thou pour out thy strong vengeance upon Jerusalem?)
9 And he said to me, The wickedness of the house of Israel and of Judah is full great, and the land is filled of bloods, and the city is filled with turning away; for they said, The Lord hath forsaken the land, and the Lord seeth not. (And he said to me, The wickedness of the house of Israel and Judah is very great, and the land is filled with bloodshed, or of murder, and the city is filled with turning away from righteousness; for they said, The Lord hath abandoned the land, and the Lord seeth not.)
10 Therefore and mine eye shall not spare, neither I shall do mercy; I shall yield the way of them on the head of them. (And so my eye shall not spare them, nor shall I have any mercy on them; I shall yield their ways back upon their own heads.)
11 And lo! the man that was clothed in linen clothes, that had a penner in his back (or who had an inkhorn at his side), answered a word, and said, I have done, as thou commandedest to me.