“Then Daniel,
Who was called Belteshazzar,
Was severely distressed
For a while.
His thoughts
Terrified him.”
Daniel was called Belteshazzar, his Babylonian name. He was distressed about what he had just heard. His own thoughts terrified him. Perhaps, this was not going to be as easy as it sounded.
“The Spirit
Lifted me up.
He took me away.
I went in bitterness
In the heat
Of my spirit.
The hand
Of Yahweh
Was strong upon me.
I came
To the exiles
At Tel-abib.
They lived
By the river Chebar.
I sat there
Among them,
Stunned,
For seven days.”
Ezekiel continued his first person recounting of what happened to him after he saw this colorful vision. The same Spirit of Yahweh or the Holy Spirit lifted up Ezekiel and took him away. Ezekiel went in bitterness of spirit, because the hand of Yahweh was strongly on him. Thus he went to the exiles at Tel-abib, by the river Chebar, near Nippur, not far from the Chebar canal. There Ezekiel sat among these exiles for about a week stunned, in a state of shock.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 