Ezekiel is a priest who never got to serve in the temple. Carried to Babylon in 597 BC, he sees the glory of God beside a foreign river and is made a watchman. After Jerusalem falls, his message turns to hope: a new heart, dry bones that live again, and a river flowing from a restored temple.
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Study guide
Ezekiel is full of visions and symbolic acts, and it's easy to get lost in the details. These notes give you the structure and background to follow it.
How to read this week
Use Ezekiel's dates. He dates his prophecies more carefully than any other prophet (1:1–2; 8:1; 33:21; 40:1). They tell you where you are in the story.
The book turns at chapter 33. Chapters 1–24 warn Jerusalem before it falls, and 25–32 address foreign nations. After the news of the fall (33:21), chapters 33–48 are almost all restoration. This week samples both halves.
Read the visions for their message. Ezekiel keeps saying “likeness” and “appearance” (1:26–28). The point isn't the mechanics of the wheels. God's glory can go anywhere, and it has come to the exiles in Babylon.
Watch for acted-out messages. Ezekiel eats a scroll (3:1–3), lies on his side for months and shaves his head (chs. 4–5), and joins two sticks (37:15–17). The actions are the message.
Notice the priest's point of view. Ezekiel cares about the temple and God's presence. His book moves from the glory leaving the temple (chs. 10–11) to the glory returning to a new temple (43:1–5). Its last words are “The Lord is there” (48:35).
Ezekiel's world
597 BC — Jerusalem surrenders; Jehoiachin, Ezekiel and thousands of others are taken to Babylon (2 Kings 24:10–16)
c. 593 BC — Ezekiel's call by the river Chebar (1:1–3)
592 BC — In vision, he sees idolatry in the temple and the Lord's glory leaving it (chs. 8–11)
587/586 BC — Babylon destroys Jerusalem and the temple
c. 586/585 BC — A refugee brings Ezekiel the news (33:21)
573 BC — Vision of the new temple and its river (40:1; ch. 47)
539 BC — Persia conquers Babylon; the exiles are allowed to go home
Images and ideas to recognize
Passage
Image
What it means
1:4–28
Living creatures, wheels and a throne
God's glory is mobile and all-seeing (“full of eyes,” 1:18). It isn't tied to one place, even the temple.
2:1; 3:4
“Son of man”
The Lord's name for Ezekiel, stressing his mortality. Jesus later takes “Son of Man” as His own title (compare Daniel 7:13).
3:1–3
Eating the scroll
Taking God's word fully inside. It tastes sweet even though its message is “lamentations, and mourning, and woe” (2:10).
3:17; 33:1–9
The watchman
A lookout on the wall. If he warns, he has done his duty; if he stays silent, he shares the blame.
34
False shepherds and the true Shepherd
Leaders who fed themselves instead of the flock. The Lord promises to shepherd His sheep Himself (34:11–16); compare John 10:11.
36:26
Stony heart, heart of flesh
Real change comes when God replaces a hard heart with a responsive one; compare Jeremiah 31:33 and Alma 5:14.
37:1–14
Valley of dry bones
Israel's despair (“our hope is lost,” 37:11) answered by God's breath. Breath, wind and spirit are one Hebrew word, ruach.
37:15–28
Two sticks become one
Judah and Israel reunited under one king. Latter-day Saints also see the Bible and the Book of Mormon joined together (2 Nephi 3:12).
47:1–12
The river from the temple
Living water from God's house deepens as it flows and heals the Dead Sea. Compare Joel 3:18; Zechariah 14:8; Revelation 22:1–2.
Book of Mormon and Restoration connections
1 Nephi 1–2 — Lehi's family left Jerusalem only a few years before Ezekiel was carried to Babylon.
2 Nephi 3:12 — Joseph of Egypt foresees the writings of Judah and of Joseph “growing together.”
D&C 27:5 — Moroni holds “the keys of the record of the stick of Ephraim.”
D&C 101:45 — The Lord's parable of the watchman on the tower.
D&C 133:29 — In the last days, “in the barren deserts there shall come forth pools of living water.”
Questions for the week
Ezekiel saw God's glory in a foreign land. Where have you felt the Lord's presence somewhere you didn't expect?
Who are you a watchman for, and what does warning with love look like (33:7–11)?
Ezekiel 34:16 lists what the Good Shepherd does. Which of these do you need right now, and which could you do for someone else?
What would a “heart of flesh” change in how you respond to people this week (36:26)?
The temple river grew deeper the farther it flowed. How has temple worship deepened for you over time?
Conference talks & Church resources
Talks the Church's lesson points to this week, plus other Church resources that teach from these chapters.
Scholarly papers
Faithful scholarship from BYU and related publishers, tagged with the chapters each one discusses.
Podcasts & video
Come, Follow Me shows and episodes covering this week's reading.