Chapter by chapter
1Ezekiel’s opening vision reveals YHWH’s glory and sovereign rule to a priest living among exiles far from Jerusalem.2God commissions Ezekiel to speak his words to rebellious Israel, requiring obedience even when the hearers refuse.3God makes Ezekiel responsible for receiving and speaking his word, even when Israel refuses to hear it.4God makes Ezekiel’s body and daily food signs of Jerusalem’s coming siege and the cost of Israel’s iniquity.5God turns Ezekiel’s shorn hair into a sign of Jerusalem’s devastation, declaring judgment for rebellion and the defilement of his sanctuary.6God announces the destruction of Israel’s idol worship and preserves survivors who will remember him and recognize their evil.7Ezekiel announces judgment on Israel’s violence and idolatry, exposing the failure of wealth, defenses, and leadership before YHWH.8God exposes idolatry within his own sanctuary and declares judgment on a people whose worship accompanies violence.9God distinguishes those who mourn Jerusalem’s evil as judgment begins at the sanctuary and spreads through the city.10Ezekiel witnesses fire taken for judgment on Jerusalem and YHWH’s glory moving from the temple threshold to the east gate.11God judges Jerusalem’s corrupt leaders while promising to be a sanctuary for the exiles and to change their hearts.12God makes Ezekiel’s actions a warning of exile and declares that his spoken judgment will no longer be deferred.13Ezekiel exposes prophecy invented in God’s name and announces God’s judgment against those whose lies endanger his people.14God exposes Israel’s inward idolatry and declares that even the presence of righteous people cannot shield Jerusalem from judgment.15God uses the worthlessness of burned vine wood to announce judgment against Jerusalem for its unfaithfulness.16Ezekiel exposes Jerusalem’s betrayal of God’s covenant and ends with God’s promise to remember that covenant and forgive.17God judges a king’s broken oath and promises a planting that will display his rule over the high and low.18God rejects inherited guilt, judges each person with justice, and calls Israel to turn from sin and live.19Ezekiel mourns the collapse of Judah’s royal power, tracing its violence, captivity, and ruin through lions and a devastated vine.20God confronts Israel’s repeated rebellion and declares that his holy name will govern both judgment and restoration.21Ezekiel announces God’s sword against Jerusalem and Ammon, exposing false assurances and placing royal authority under God’s judgment.22God exposes Jerusalem’s violence and corrupt worship, declaring judgment on a society whose leaders and people have joined in oppression.23Ezekiel portrays Samaria and Jerusalem’s betrayal of God through a graphic allegory that ends in judgment for idolatry and bloodshed.24God announces judgment on Jerusalem’s persistent corruption, and Ezekiel’s bereavement becomes a sign of the losses Israel will face.25Ezekiel announces God’s judgment against neighboring nations for their contempt toward Judah and their acts of revenge.26YHWH confronts Tyre’s delight in Jerusalem’s ruin with a judgment that brings its wealth and maritime strength to nothing.27YHWH’s lament traces Tyre’s passage from celebrated beauty and wealth to a shipwreck that terrifies its trading world.28God brings Tyre’s self-exalting ruler down to death and promises scattered Israel safety under his rule.29God confronts Egypt’s pride and Israel’s misplaced trust, declaring his rule over Pharaoh’s river and Nebuchadnezzar’s conquests.30Ezekiel announces God’s judgment on Egypt, whose armies, allies, and idols cannot preserve its power against him.31Ezekiel uses Assyria’s fall to declare that Egypt’s greatness cannot shield it from God’s judgment against pride.32Ezekiel announces God’s judgment on Egypt through laments that bring its feared power down to the company of the dead.33Ezekiel 33 joins the watchman’s duty to warn with each hearer’s responsibility to turn from sin and heed God’s word.34God confronts Israel’s exploitative leaders and promises to gather his scattered people under one shepherd, with justice and peace.35God confronts Edom’s hatred and territorial greed, declaring that its delight in Israel’s desolation will return upon its own land.36God promises to restore Israel’s land and change his people from within, so the nations will know his holiness.37God answers Israel’s lost hope with promises of life through his Spirit, a reunited people, and his enduring presence.38God brings Gog’s planned invasion under his rule and judges the attackers so that the nations will know his holiness.39God defeats Gog and restores Israel, making his holiness known through judgment, mercy, and the gift of his Spirit.40Ezekiel is shown a measured temple complex whose gates, courts, and priestly rooms establish an ordered setting for worship.41The measured rooms, boundaries, and carved surfaces give concrete form to the temple’s holiness, with the most holy place set apart.42Ezekiel 42 describes priestly rooms and a surrounding wall that preserve the distinction between what is holy and what is common.43God fills the temple with his glory and orders its worship around his holy presence among Israel.44Ezekiel 44 sets boundaries around God’s holy presence and holds those who serve in his sanctuary accountable for their faithfulness.45God orders Israel’s land and worship under his authority, requiring rulers to uphold justice and provide for the people’s sacrifices.46Ezekiel 46 orders worship before YHWH, limits the prince’s authority, and guards the distinction between holy offerings and common space.47Ezekiel’s vision joins life flowing from God’s sanctuary with a promised land inheritance that includes foreigners living among Israel.48Ezekiel’s final chapter orders Israel’s inheritance around God’s sanctuary and closes with a city named for his presence.
Read Ezekiel with a pen in hand.
Psalmlog builds a reading plan through Ezekiel and turns each day's passage into an entry with one next step.
Nearby books← LamentationsDaniel →The whole map
Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).