4. The Lord said to him, "Go all through Jerusalem. Look for those who are sad and sorry about all of the things that are being done there. I hate those things. Put a mark on the foreheads of those people."
5. I heard him speak to the six men. He said, "Follow him through the city. Do not show any pity or concern.
6. Kill old men and women, young men and women, and children. But do not touch anyone who has the mark. Start at my temple." So they began with the elders who were in front of the temple.
7. Then he said to the men, "Make the temple 'unclean.' Fill the courtyards with dead bodies. Go!" So they went out and started killing people all through the city.
8. While they were doing it, I was left alone. I fell with my face toward the ground. I cried out, "Lord and King, are you going to destroy all of the Israelites who are still left alive? Will you pour out your burning anger on all those who remain in Jerusalem?"
9. He answered me, "The sin of Israel and Judah is very great. The land is full of murderers. They are not being fair to one another anywhere in Jerusalem. They say, 'The Lord has deserted the land. He doesn't see us.'
10. So I will not spare them or feel sorry for them. Anything that happens to them will be their own fault."