The Book of Ezechiel (Ezekiel)

Ezechiel is the third of the four great prophets of the Old Testament, after Isaias and Jeremias and before Daniel. He is also among the hardest to read. St Jerome wrote to Paulinus that "the beginning and ending of Ezekiel" are "involved in so great obscurity" that the Hebrews did not study them before the age of thirty. Yet some of the best-loved pages of Scripture are his: the wheel within a wheel, the scroll sweet as honey, the shepherd who seeks the lost sheep, the valley of dry bones, the gate the Lord alone passed through.

Who wrote the Book of Ezechiel?

The book names its author in its third verse: "the word of the Lord came to Ezechiel the priest the son of Buzi in the land of the Chaldeans, by the river Chobar" (Ezechiel 1:3). His name means "God makes strong." He was a priest of Jerusalem, carried off to Babylon with King Joachin (Jechonias) about 597 B.C., and he settled among the exiles at Tel-Abib on the Chobar, the place the Douay calls "the heap of new corn" (3:15). There his wife, "the desire of thy eyes," died as the siege of Jerusalem began (chapter 24).

The Church has always received the book as his. It is written in the first person from beginning to end, and its prophecies are dated by the years of Joachin's captivity. One priestly mind runs through all of it: the glory of the Lord leaves the Temple in the first half and returns in the second. The Catholic Encyclopedia (1913) notes that "the genuineness of the book of Ezekiel is generally conceded." Ben Sira already honours the prophet by name: "It was Ezechiel that saw the glorious vision, which was shewn him upon the chariot of cherubims" (Ecclesiasticus 49:10). The Talmud (Baba Bathra 15a) says that the men of the Great Assembly "wrote" Ezechiel. This is commonly understood of its final copying after the Exile, not of its authorship.

The Pontifical Biblical Commission issued no decree on Ezechiel. Many modern scholars think the prophet's disciples arranged and expanded his oracles in stages. The Church has not adopted that view, and her traditional reading holds the book to be one work.

When was the Book of Ezechiel written?

Ezechiel dates his own visions. His call came "in the fifth year of the captivity of king Joachin" (1:2), about 593–592 B.C. The "thirtieth year" of the first verse is taken by many interpreters as the prophet's own age, the age at which a priest began his service. In the twelfth year of the captivity a fugitive brought him the news that "the city is laid waste" (33:21).

That was the burning of Jerusalem by Nabuchodonosor in 587–586 B.C., told in 4 Kings and wept over in Lamentations. The vision of the new Temple is dated "in the five and twentieth year of our captivity" (40:1), about 573 B.C. The latest is "the seven and twentieth year" (29:17), about 571 B.C. The book was thus written in Babylonia between about 593 and 571 B.C.

He was a younger contemporary of Jeremias, who preached the same message in Jerusalem while Ezechiel spoke to the exiles. Ezechiel twice names Daniel, then at the court of Babylon, as a pattern of justice and of wisdom (14:14; 28:3).

What is the Book of Ezechiel about? A summary

The book turns on the fall of Jerusalem: judgment before it, restoration after it, and the nations between.

The call of the prophet (chapters 1–3)

By the river Chobar "the heavens were opened, and I saw the visions of God" (chapter 1). A storm comes out of the north. In it are four living creatures, each with the face of a man, a lion, an ox and an eagle, and beside them are wheels full of eyes, "as it were a wheel in the midst of a wheel."

Above them is a throne like sapphire, bearing "the likeness of the appearance of a man" in a brightness like the rainbow. The prophet falls on his face and hears himself called "son of man," a title the book uses more than ninety times (chapter 2). He is given a scroll "written within and without," full of "lamentations, and canticles, and woe," and told to eat it: "it was sweet as honey in my mouth" (chapter 3).

Judgment on Jerusalem (chapters 4–24)

Ezechiel preaches first by signs. He draws the siege of Jerusalem on a tile, then lies on his left side for 390 days and on his right for 40, a day for each year of iniquity (chapter 4). He shaves his head and, in chapter 12, goes out through a hole in the wall with an exile's baggage. In chapter 8 he is carried in spirit to the Temple. There he sees the idol of jealousy, women mourning for Adonis, and men with their backs to the sanctuary adoring the rising sun. In chapter 9 a man in linen marks Thau on the foreheads of those who mourn these abominations, and they alone are spared. Then the glory of the Lord rises from the cherubim and leaves the Temple and the city (chapters 10–11).

Long allegories follow, in deliberately shocking language. Jerusalem is a foundling God raised and wedded who turned harlot (chapter 16). Samaria and Jerusalem are two faithless sisters, Oolla and Ooliba (chapter 23). In chapter 18 the prophet teaches that each soul answers for its own sins. The section closes with the siege and the death of the prophet's wife, whom he may not mourn, as a sign to the people.

Prophecies against the nations (chapters 25–32)

Judgment then turns on Juda's neighbours: Ammon, Moab, Edom and the Philistines (chapter 25). Then it falls on Tyre, proud queen of the seas, for three chapters (chapters 26–28). Chapter 28 mocks the prince of Tyre, who said "I am God." It then laments the king of Tyre, once "a cherub" in "the pleasures of the paradise of God," perfect "until iniquity was found in thee." Origen and Tertullian read it of the fall of Lucifer. Seven oracles against Pharao, "thou great dragon that liest in the midst of thy rivers," complete the section (chapters 29–32).

Restoration: the shepherd, the dry bones, Gog (chapters 33–39)

With the news of the fall the tone changes. In chapter 34 the Lord condemns the shepherds who fed themselves and promises: "Behold I myself will seek my sheep," and "I will set up one shepherd over them... even my servant David." In chapter 36 He promises Israel clean water, a new heart and His own Spirit. In chapter 37 a plain full of dry bones comes together and stands up, "an exceeding great army." Chapters 38–39 tell of the last assault of "Gog, the land of Magog" upon God's people, and of his destruction.

The new Temple and the holy land (chapters 40–48)

In the last vision an angel with a measuring reed shows the prophet a new Temple on "a very high mountain" (chapter 40). The glory of the Lord, which had departed eastward, returns "by the way of the east" and fills the house (chapter 43). The east gate is shut for ever, because the Lord has entered by it; only "the prince himself shall sit in it, to eat bread before the Lord" (chapter 44).

This prince, who offers the sacrifices of the people and receives his portion of the land, appears again in chapters 45–46. In chapter 47 water flows from under the threshold of the Temple and deepens into a river. It heals the Dead Sea and waters trees whose leaves are "for medicine." The land is divided among the twelve tribes, and the book ends with the city's new name: "The Lord is there" (chapter 48).

What does the Book of Ezechiel teach us? Themes and the Catholic reading

The glory of God and the four Evangelists. The prophet later understood that the four living creatures "were cherubims" (10:20). They return around the throne in the Apocalypse. St Irenaeus already joined them to the four Gospels, and St Jerome calls Matthew, Mark, Luke and John "the Lord's team of four, the true cherubim." In the order that became classical in Christian art, the man is St Matthew, the lion St Mark, the ox St Luke and the eagle St John. On their rank, see the nine choirs of angels.

The sign of the cross. The mark placed on the foreheads of the just in chapter 9 is the Hebrew letter Thau. Tertullian and St Jerome noted that in the ancient script it had the form of a cross. The Fathers read the passage as a figure of the faithful sealed with the Sign of the Cross.

Repentance and personal responsibility. Chapters 18 and 33 are the classic Old Testament texts on conversion. If the wicked "do penance," he "shall live," and God "will not remember all his iniquities"; the just man who turns to evil dies in his sin. The Church reads Ezechiel 18 in Lent.

Christ the Good Shepherd. The shepherd promised in chapter 34 is the Messiah, the "second David," as the Catholic Encyclopedia puts it. Our Lord takes the promise to Himself in the Gospel of St John: "I am the good shepherd... there shall be one fold and one shepherd." Psalm 22 (23) sings the same mystery; see our article on The Lord Is My Shepherd.

Baptism and the new heart. "I will pour upon you clean water, and you shall be cleansed from all your filthiness... and I will give you a new heart" (36:25–26). The Fathers read here the water and the Spirit of Baptism. The Missal reads it on the Wednesday of the fourth week of Lent, the old day of the catechumens' great scrutiny before Easter baptism.

The resurrection of the body. The dry bones first signify the return of a people who said "our hope is lost." But "I will open your graves, and will bring you out of your sepulchres" (37:12) was read by Tertullian, St Cyril of Jerusalem and many Fathers as a pledge of the resurrection of the body.

Our Lady, the closed gate. "This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall pass through it: because the Lord the God of Israel hath entered in by it" (44:2). St Ambrose and St Jerome read this as the virginal womb of Mary, through which the Lord came into the world and which remained shut. Our article on the perpetual virginity of Mary gives the full tradition.

The water from the Temple. The river of chapter 47 flows again in the last chapter of the Apocalypse, "proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb." In Paschaltide the Church sings it before the Sunday Mass in the Vidi aquam: "I saw water flowing from the Temple, from the right side." The Church hears in it the water that flowed from the pierced side of Christ; see our article on holy water.

Famous chapters and verses of Ezekiel

Ezekiel 1: the wheel within a wheel. The opening vision of the living creatures and the wheels, "as it were a wheel in the midst of a wheel" (Ezechiel 1:16).

Ezekiel 3:17: the watchman. "Son of man, I have made thee a watchman to the house of Israel" (Ezechiel 3), repeated in 33:7.

Ezekiel 18:20 and 33:11. "The soul that sinneth, the same shall die" (Ezechiel 18). "As I live, saith the Lord God, I desire not the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way, and live. Turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways: and why will you die, O house of Israel?" (Ezechiel 33).

Ezekiel 25:17. The verse made famous by a film is much shorter in Scripture: "And I will execute great vengeance upon them, rebuking them in fury: and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall lay my vengeance upon them" (Ezechiel 25). It closes the oracle against the Philistines. The longer speech about "the path of the righteous man" is not in the Bible.

Ezekiel 36:26. "I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and will give you a heart of flesh" (Ezechiel 36).

Ezekiel 37: the valley of dry bones. "Ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord... Behold, I will send spirit into you, and you shall live" (Ezechiel 37).

Ezekiel 38–39: Gog and Magog. The prophecy against "Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Mosoch and Thubal" (Ezechiel 38) returns in Apocalypse 20, where Satan gathers "Gog and Magog" for the last battle.

The Book of Ezechiel in the Bible and in the liturgy

In the Catholic Bible Ezechiel follows Jeremias, Lamentations and Baruch and comes before Daniel. Some ancient rabbis hesitated over it because the Temple laws of chapters 40–48 seemed to differ from the Law of Moses, until, the Talmud relates (Shabbath 13b), Hananias son of Ezechias reconciled them. The Council of Trent named it among the sacred and canonical books in Session IV (8 April 1546).

The Douay-Rheims, following St Jerome's Vulgate, spells the name Ezechiel. Modern Bibles write Ezekiel, from the Hebrew Yehezqel. Both name the same book. Our articles on the Douay-Rheims Bible and the Latin Vulgate explain the old names.

In the 1962 Missal, Lent hears Ezechiel three times: the Good Shepherd (34:11–16) on the Monday of the first week, the soul that sinneth (18:20–28) on Ember Friday, and the clean water and the new heart (36:23–28) on the Wednesday of the fourth week. On the feast of St Mark the Evangelist, 25 April, the Epistle is the vision of the four living creatures (1:10–14). The Vidi aquam, drawn from chapter 47, is sung at the Asperges throughout Paschaltide. In the Roman Breviary the book is read at Matins at the beginning of November, and Daniel and the twelve Minor Prophets follow. You can pray these lessons in our Roman Breviary.

How to read the Book of Ezechiel

Begin with chapters 1–3, and do not be discouraged by the strangeness of the vision: Ezechiel himself could only describe "the likeness of the appearance" of what he saw. Then read the great pages of hope: chapters 18, 34, 36–37 and 47. After that, take the book in order with the dates in mind, keeping 4 Kings and Jeremias at hand for the history. St Gregory the Great preached twenty-two homilies on Ezechiel at Rome, on the opening vision of chapters 1–4 and on the Temple of chapter 40; they remain the classic guide to its spiritual sense.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who wrote the Book of Ezekiel?

The prophet Ezechiel (Ezekiel), a priest, the son of Buzi, wrote it in Babylonia during the Exile. The book names him in its first chapter and speaks in his own voice throughout. The Church has always received it as his work.

When was the Book of Ezekiel written?

It was written in Babylonia between about 593 and 571 B.C. Ezechiel's call came in the fifth year of King Joachin's captivity (about 593 B.C.). His latest dated prophecy falls in the twenty-seventh year (about 571 B.C.). Jerusalem fell in the middle of his ministry, in 587–586 B.C.

What is the Book of Ezekiel about?

It is the prophecy of a priest exiled in Babylon, who announces the fall of Jerusalem for its idolatry and then its restoration: a new heart, the Good Shepherd, the dry bones raised, a new Temple. Its central lesson is that God desires "not the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way, and live."

How many chapters are in the Book of Ezekiel?

The Book of Ezekiel has 48 chapters, in four parts. The call of the prophet takes chapters 1–3 and the judgment on Jerusalem chapters 4–24. The prophecies against the nations follow in chapters 25–32, then the restoration of Israel and the vision of the new Temple in chapters 33–48.

Is Ezekiel in the Old Testament?

Yes. Ezechiel is a book of the Old Testament, the third of the four Major Prophets after Isaias and Jeremias, followed by Daniel. Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant Bibles all contain it.

Does the Book of Ezekiel describe aliens or a spaceship?

No. The prophet says himself what he saw by the river Chobar: "This was the vision of the likeness of the glory of the Lord" (Ezechiel 2:1). The wheels and living creatures are the throne-chariot of God borne by the cherubim, as he explains in chapter 10.

How does the Book of Ezekiel describe angels?

Ezechiel describes the cherubim as living creatures with four faces (a man, a lion, an ox and an eagle) and four wings. They look like burning coals and lamps, and beside them are wheels full of eyes (chapters 1 and 10). In chapter 40 an angel with a measuring reed guides the prophet through the new Temple.

What does the Book of Ezekiel teach us today?

It teaches that every soul answers for its own sins, and that God seeks the sinner's conversion and gives a new heart through His Spirit. The Church reads in it Christ the Good Shepherd, Baptism, the resurrection of the body and the virginity of Our Lady.

Read the whole Book of Ezechiel verse by verse, in Latin and English, in the Iter Fidei Catholic Bible app.

Sources. Holy Scripture, Douay-Rheims (Challoner) and Latin Vulgate: Ezechiel; Ecclesiasticus 49; 4 Kings 24–25; John 10; Apocalypse 4, 20, 22. St Jerome, Letter 53, to Paulinus, and Commentary on Ezechiel. St Gregory the Great, Homilies on Ezechiel. St Irenaeus, Against Heresies III, 11. Origen, On First Principles I, 5. Tertullian, Against Marcion II, 10 and III, 22, and On the Resurrection of the Flesh. St Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lectures XVIII. St Ambrose, On the Instruction of a Virgin. Babylonian Talmud, Baba Bathra 15a and Shabbath 13b. Council of Trent, Session IV (1546). Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), "Ezechiel." Missale Romanum and Breviarium Romanum (1962).