Their faces had this appearance: Each of the four had the face of a man, with the face of a lion on the right, the face of an ox on the left and also the face of an eagle.

Above the platform over their heads was something like a sapphire shaped like a throne. High above on the throne was a form that appeared to be a man.

He said to me, “Son of man, eat what you see in front of you – eat this scroll – and then go and speak to the house of Israel.”

And he said to me, “Son of man, take all my words that I speak to you to heart and listen carefully.

“And you, son of man, take a brick and set it in front of you. Inscribe a city on it – Jerusalem.

So he said to me, “All right then, I will substitute cow’s manure instead of human excrement. You will cook your food over it.”

Then he said to me, “Son of man, I am about to remove the bread supply in Jerusalem. They will eat their bread ration anxiously, and they will drink their water ration in terror

“You, son of man – this is what the sovereign Lord says to the land of Israel: An end! The end is coming on the four corners of the land!

Each of the cherubim had four faces: The first was the face of a cherub, the second that of a man, the third that of a lion, and the fourth that of an eagle.

The Lord said to me, “Son of man, these are the men who plot evil and give wicked advice in this city.

“Son of man, what is this proverb you have in the land of Israel, ‘The days pass slowly, and every vision fails’?

“Take note, son of man, the house of Israel is saying, ‘The vision that he sees is for distant days; he is prophesying about the far future.’

“Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who are now prophesying. Say to the prophets who prophesy from their imagination: ‘Hear the word of the Lord!

“Son of man, these men have erected their idols in their hearts and placed the obstacle leading to their iniquity right before their faces. Should I really allow them to seek me?

“Or suppose I were to bring a sword against that land and say, ‘Let a sword pass through the land,’ and I were to kill both people and animals.

“Or suppose I were to send a plague into that land, and pour out my rage on it with bloodshed, killing both people and animals.

“Son of man, of all the woody branches among the trees of the forest, what happens to the wood of the vine?

I gave them my statutes and revealed my regulations to them. The one who carries them out will live by them!

“Son of man, turn toward the south, and speak out against the south. Prophesy against the open scrub land of the Negev,

“Son of man, turn toward Jerusalem and speak out against the sanctuaries. Prophesy against the land of Israel