Ezekiel 9 KJV
The Slaughter of the Wicked
Ezekiel Chapter 9: The Slaughter of the Wicked
The Hebrew term for the protective "mark" on the foreheads is tav, the alphabet's final letter, whose archaic form resembled an X or cross, anticipating later Christian identification of the cross as the seal of the redeemed.
1e cried also in mine ears with a loud voice, saying, Cause them that have charge over the city to draw near, even every man with his destroying weapon in his hand.
2 And, behold, six men came from the way of the higher gate, which lieth toward the north, and every man a slaughter weapon in his hand; and one man among them was clothed with linen, with a writerโs inkhorn by his side: and they went in, and stood beside the brasen altar.
3 And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub, whereupon he was, to the threshold of the house. And he called to the man clothed with linen, which had the writerโs inkhorn by his side;
4 And the LORD said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.
5 And to the others he said in mine hearing, Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity:
6 Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house.
7 And he said unto them, Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain: go ye forth. And they went forth, and slew in the city.
8 And it came to pass, while they were slaying them, and I was left, that I fell upon my face, and cried, and said, Ah Lord GOD! wilt thou destroy all the residue of Israel in thy pouring out of thy fury upon Jerusalem?
9 Then said he unto me, The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceeding great, and the land is full of blood, and the city full of perverseness: for they say, The LORD hath forsaken the earth, and the LORD seeth not.
10 And as for me also, mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity, but I will recompense their way upon their head.
11 And, behold, the man clothed with linen, which had the inkhorn by his side, reported the matter, saying, I have done as thou hast commanded me.
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Did You Know?
The Hebrew term for the protective "mark" on the foreheads is tav, the alphabet's final letter, whose archaic form resembled an X or cross, anticipating later Christian identification of the cross as the seal of the redeemed.
Judgment is executed first upon the twenty-five elders "before the house" who had been offering incense to idols, establishing that divine wrath targets corrupt religious leadership before reaching the broader city.
The single linen-clad scribe with the inkhorn is paired with six armed destroyers, forming a heptad that evokes the completeness of heavenly justice and parallels the seven angels of judgment in Revelation.
This scene inverts the Exodus Passover: instead of blood on doorposts sparing Israelites from an angel of death, an ink mark on foreheads spares the grieving remnant from six human executioners sent by God.
The vision immediately follows the tour of secret temple abominations in Ezekiel 8, demonstrating that the detailed inventory of idolatry is not descriptive flourish but the legal warrant authorizing the slaughter that ensues.