Ezekiel is book 26 of the 39 books of the Old Testament and belongs to the Major Prophets section. See how it fits with the rest in our guide to all 66 books of the Bible.
Quick facts
- Section
- Old Testament · Major Prophets
- Genre
- Prophecy: visions, symbolic acts, oracles and allegories
- Author (traditional)
- Ezekiel son of Buzi, a priest taken to Babylon in 597 BC, who writes mostly in the first person.
- Other views on authorship
- Most scholars accept that much of the book goes back to Ezekiel himself, with some later editing and expansion by his followers.
- Date (traditional)
- About 593–571 BC, based on the dated visions within the book.
- Other views on dating
- Ezekiel's ministry in the early 6th century BC, with the book completed during the exile, perhaps by the late 6th century BC.
- Chapters
- 48
- Verses
- 1,273
- Reading time
- About 180 minutes (35,905 words in the BSB)
What is Ezekiel about?
Ezekiel was among the first group of exiles taken to Babylon with King Jehoiachin. Five years later, by the Kebar River, he saw a dazzling vision of God's glory on a throne with living creatures and wheels. The point was startling: God was not confined to the Jerusalem temple. He was present with the exiles, and he was about to judge his own city.
Ezekiel's ministry was dramatic. He lay on his side for months, ate bread baked over dung, shaved his head and divided the hair, and was told not to mourn when his wife died, all as living signs of the coming siege and grief. In chapters 8–11 he sees idolatry inside the temple and watches God's glory depart.
After news arrives that Jerusalem has fallen (chapter 33), the message turns to hope. God promises to be the shepherd of his scattered flock, to give his people a new heart and spirit, and to raise the valley of dry bones to life. The book closes with a detailed vision of a new temple and a river flowing from it that brings life wherever it goes, and a city named 'The LORD is there.'
Outline of Ezekiel
| ChaptersCh. | Section |
|---|---|
| 1–3 | Vision and call God's glory appears in Babylon; Ezekiel is made a watchman for Israel. |
| 4–24 | Judgment on Jerusalem Sign-acts, the glory leaving the temple, allegories of unfaithfulness and the siege begins. |
| 25–32 | Oracles against the nations Ammon, Moab, Edom, Philistia, Tyre, Sidon and Egypt are judged. |
| 33–39 | Restoration promised The city falls; good shepherd, new heart, dry bones, two sticks joined, Gog defeated. |
| 40–48 | The new temple and land A visionary temple, God's glory returning, the life-giving river and the land redivided. |
Key themes
- The glory of God. The book is framed by God's glory: seen in exile, departing from the temple, and returning to a renewed one. God's presence is the greatest gift and the greatest loss.
- Personal responsibility. Ezekiel 18 rejects the idea that children are punished for their parents' sins. Each person is called to turn and live, for God takes no pleasure in anyone's death.
- A new heart and spirit. God promises to replace hearts of stone with hearts of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26), the inner change that echoes Jeremiah's new covenant.
- God the shepherd. Against Israel's selfish leaders, God himself will seek the lost and care for his flock, a picture Jesus takes up in John 10.
- That they may know. The phrase 'then they will know that I am the LORD' recurs dozens of times: both judgment and rescue reveal who God is.
Key people and places
- Ezekiel — Priest and prophet among the exiles, addressed as 'son of man.'
- Ezekiel's wife — Her death becomes a sign of Jerusalem's loss.
- Jehoiachin — Exiled king whose captivity dates Ezekiel's visions.
- Gog of Magog — Symbolic enemy defeated in chapters 38–39.
Places: Kebar River, Tel Abib, Babylon, Jerusalem, the temple, Tyre, Egypt.
Key verses in Ezekiel
Quoted from the Berean Standard Bible (BSB).
“For I take no pleasure in anyone’s death, declares the Lord GOD. So repent and live!”
“I will tend My flock and make them lie down, declares the Lord GOD. I will seek the lost, bring back the strays, bind up the broken, and strengthen the weak; but the sleek and strong I will destroy. I will shepherd them with justice.’”
“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”
“And He said to me, “Prophesy concerning these bones and tell them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! This is what the Lord GOD says to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you will come to life.”
“The perimeter of the city will be 18,000 cubits, and from that day on the name of the city will be: THE LORD IS THERE.””
How Ezekiel fits the big story
Ezekiel speaks to the same crisis as Jeremiah, but from among the exiles in Babylon, alongside Daniel. His vision of God's glory leaving and returning recalls the glory filling the tabernacle in Exodus and Solomon's temple in 1 Kings. The promise of a new spirit is fulfilled, in Christian reading, at Pentecost in Acts. John's Revelation borrows heavily from Ezekiel: the throne vision, the scroll eaten by the prophet, Gog and Magog, and the river of life flowing from God's presence in the new Jerusalem.
How to read Ezekiel
At 3 chapters a day you can read Ezekiel in 16 days. Read chapter 1 for the vision, then jump to chapters 34–37 for the heart of the hope. Treat the temple chapters 40–48 as a picture of God's presence restored, not a construction manual.