Ezekiel 9:6
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.
Study Note
Study Note
The command to the angelic executioners to kill all who lack the protective mark — 'begin at my sanctuary' — employs the ritual logic of covenant judgment: those closest to the center of divine presence are most culpable for its violation and therefore bear the judgment's first impact. The Hebrew mark (taw) placed on the foreheads of the mourners (v. 4) anticipates Revelation 7:3–8's sealing of the servants of God, establishing a typological connection between Ezekiel's judgment-vision and the Apocalypse's protection sequence. The phrase 'begin at my sanctuary' echoes 1 Peter 4:17's 'judgment must begin at the house of God,' demonstrating that this Ezekielian logic was active in New Testament ethical theology. The vision radicalizes covenant accountability: privilege of proximity to God intensifies rather than exempts one from judgment.
Other Translations
slay utterly the old man, the young man and the virgin, 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 old men that were before the house.
aged, young man, and virgin, and infant, and women, ye do slay--to destruction; and against any man on whom <FI>is<Fi> the mark ye do not go nigh, and from My sanctuary ye begin.'
Give up to destruction old men and young men and virgins, little children and women: but do not come near any man who has the mark on him: and make a start at my holy place. So they made a start with the old men who were before the house.
Cross References
For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at …
And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?
For, lo, I begin to bring evil on the city which is called by my name, and should ye be …
You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your …
Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God …
And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither …
These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb …
Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in the window which thou …
And it shall be, that whosoever shall go out of the doors of thy house into the street, his blood …
And the city shall be accursed, even it, and all that are therein, to the Lord: only Rahab the harlot …