Ezekiel 11
New English Translation
The Fall of Jerusalem
11 A wind[a] lifted me up and brought me to the east gate of the Lord’s temple that faces the east. There, at the entrance of the gate, I noticed twenty-five men. Among them I saw Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah, officials of the people.[b] 2 The Lord[c] said to me, “Son of man, these are the men who plot evil and give wicked advice in this city. 3 They say,[d] ‘The time is not near to build houses;[e] the city[f] is a cooking pot,[g] and we are the meat in it.’ 4 Therefore, prophesy against them! Prophesy, son of man!”
5 Then the Spirit of the Lord came[h] upon me and said to me, “Say: ‘This is what the Lord says: This is what you are thinking,[i] O house of Israel; I know what goes through your minds.[j] 6 You have killed many people in this city; you have filled its streets with corpses.’ 7 Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘The corpses you have dumped[k] in the midst of the city[l] are the meat, and this city[m] is the cooking pot, but I will take you out of it.[n] 8 You fear the sword, so the sword I will bring against you,’ declares the Sovereign Lord. 9 ‘But I will take you out of the city.[o] And I will hand you over to foreigners. I will execute judgments on you. 10 You will die by the sword; I will judge you at the border of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord. 11 This city will not be a cooking pot for you, and you will not[p] be meat within it; I will judge you at the border of Israel. 12 Then you will know that I am the Lord, whose statutes you have not followed and whose regulations you have not carried out. Instead you have behaved according to the regulations of the nations around you!’”
13 Now, while I was prophesying, Pelatiah son of Benaiah died. Then I threw myself face down and cried out with a loud voice, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! You are completely wiping out the remnant of Israel!”[q]
14 Then the Lord’s message came to me: 15 “Son of man, your brothers,[r] your relatives,[s] and the whole house of Israel, all of them are those to whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, ‘They have gone far away[t] from the Lord; to us this land has been given as a possession.’
16 “Therefore say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Although I have removed them far away among the nations and have dispersed them among the countries, I have been a little[u] sanctuary for them among the lands where they have gone.’
17 “Therefore say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: When I regather you from the peoples and assemble you from the lands where you have been dispersed, I will give you back the country of Israel.’
18 “When they return to it, they will remove from it all its detestable things and all its abominations. 19 I will give them one heart and I will put a new spirit within them;[v] I will remove the hearts of stone from their bodies[w] and I will give them tender hearts,[x] 20 so that they may follow my statutes and observe my regulations and carry them out. Then they will be my people, and I will be their God.[y] 21 But those whose hearts are devoted to detestable things and abominations, I hereby repay them for what they have done,[z] says the Sovereign Lord.”
22 Then the cherubim spread[aa] their wings with their wheels alongside them while the glory of the God of Israel hovered above them. 23 The glory of the Lord rose up from within the city and stopped[ab] over the mountain east of it. 24 Then a wind[ac] lifted me up and carried me to the exiles in Babylonia,[ad] in the vision given to me by the Spirit of God.
Then the vision I had seen went up from me. 25 So I told the exiles everything[ae] the Lord had shown me.
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 11:1 tn Or “spirit.” See note on “wind” in 2:2.
- Ezekiel 11:1 sn The phrase officials of the people occurs in Neh 11:1; 1 Chr 21:2; 2 Chr 24:23.
- Ezekiel 11:2 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Ezekiel 11:3 tn The Hebrew verb may mean “think” in this context. This content of what they say (or think) represents their point of view.
- Ezekiel 11:3 sn The expression build houses may mean “establish families” (Deut 25:9; Ruth 4:11; Prov 24:27).
- Ezekiel 11:3 tn Heb “she” or “it”; the feminine pronoun refers here to Jerusalem.
- Ezekiel 11:3 sn Jerusalem is also compared to a pot in Ezek 24:3-8. The siege of the city is pictured as heating up the pot.
- Ezekiel 11:5 tn Heb “fell.”
- Ezekiel 11:5 tn The Hebrew verb commonly means “to say” but may also mean “to think” (see also v. 3).
- Ezekiel 11:5 tn Heb “I know the steps of your spirits.”
- Ezekiel 11:7 tn Heb “placed.”
- Ezekiel 11:7 tn Heb “in its midst.”
- Ezekiel 11:7 tn Heb “she/it.” See v. 3.
- Ezekiel 11:7 tc Many of the versions have “I will bring you out” (active) rather than “he brought out” (the reading of MT).
- Ezekiel 11:9 tn Heb “its midst.”
- Ezekiel 11:11 tn The Hebrew text does not have the negative particle, but it is implied. The negative particle in the previous line does double duty here.
- Ezekiel 11:13 tc The LXX reads this statement as a question. Compare this to the question in 9:8. It is possible that the interrogative particle has been omitted by haplography. However, an exclamatory statement as in the MT also makes sense, and the LXX may have simply tried to harmonize this passage with 9:8.
- Ezekiel 11:15 tc The MT reads “your brothers, your brothers” either for emphasis (D. I. Block, Ezekiel [NICOT], 1:341, n. 1; 346) or as a result of dittography.
- Ezekiel 11:15 tc The MT reads גְאֻלָּתֶךָ (geʾullatekha, “your redemption-men”), referring to the relatives responsible for deliverance in times of hardship (see Lev 25:25-55). The LXX and Syriac read “your fellow exiles,” assuming an underlying Hebrew text of גָלוּתֶךָ (galutekha) or having read the א (alef) as an internal mater lectionis for holem.
- Ezekiel 11:15 tc The MT has an imperative form (“go far!”), but it may be read with different vowels as a perfect verb (“they have gone far”).
- Ezekiel 11:16 tn Or “have been partially a sanctuary”; others take this as temporal (cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV “a little while”).
- Ezekiel 11:19 tc The MT reads “you”; many Hebrew mss along with the LXX and other ancient versions read “within them.”
- Ezekiel 11:19 tn Heb “their flesh.”
- Ezekiel 11:19 tn Heb “heart of flesh.”
- Ezekiel 11:20 sn The expression They will be my people, and I will be their God occurs as a promise to Abraham (Gen 17:8), Moses (Exod 6:7), and the nation (Exod 29:45).
- Ezekiel 11:21 tn Heb “their way on their head I have placed.”
- Ezekiel 11:22 tn Heb “lifted.”
- Ezekiel 11:23 tn Heb “stood.”
- Ezekiel 11:24 tn Or “spirit.” See note on “wind” in 2:2.
- Ezekiel 11:24 tn Heb “to Chaldea.”
- Ezekiel 11:25 tn Heb “all the words of.”
Ezekiel 11
International Children’s Bible
Prophecies Against Evil Leaders
11 The Spirit lifted me up. And he brought me to the front gate of the Temple of the Lord. This gate faces east. I saw 25 men where the gate opens. I saw Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah. They were leaders of the people. They were among these 25 men. 2 Then the Lord said to me, “Human being, these are the men who plan evil. And they give wicked advice in this city of Jerusalem. 3 They say, ‘It is almost time for us to build houses. This city is like a cooking pot. And we are like the best meat.’ 4 So prophesy against them. Prophesy, human being.”
5 Then the Spirit of the Lord entered me. He told me to say: “This is what the Lord says: You have said these things, people of Israel. But I know what is going through your mind. 6 You have killed many people in this city. You have filled its streets with their bodies.
7 “So this is what the Lord God says: Those people you have killed and left in the middle of the city are like the best meat. And this city is like the cooking pot. But I will force you out of the city. 8 You have feared the sword. But I will bring a sword against you, says the Lord God. 9 I will force you out of the city. I will hand you over to strangers. I will surely punish you. 10 You will die by the sword. I will punish you at the border of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord. 11 This city will not be your cooking pot. You will not be the best meat in the middle of the city. I will punish you at the border of Israel. 12 Then you will know that I am the Lord. You did not live by my rules. You did not obey my laws. You did the same things that the nations around you do.”
13 As I prophesied, Pelatiah son of Benaiah died. Then I bowed facedown on the ground. I shouted with a loud voice and said, “Oh no, Lord God! Will you completely destroy the Israelites who are left alive?”
Promise to Those Remaining
14 The Lord spoke his word to me. He said, 15 “Human being, the people still in Jerusalem have spoken about your relatives. And they have spoken about all the people of Israel who are captives with you. The people still in Jerusalem have said, ‘They are far from the Lord. This land was given to us as our property.’
16 “So say, ‘This is what the Lord God says: I sent the people far away among the nations. I scattered them among the countries. But for a little while I have become a Temple to them in the countries where they have gone.’
17 “So say: ‘This is what the Lord God says: I will gather you from the nations. And I will bring you together from the countries where you have been scattered. Then I will give you back the land of Israel.’
18 “They will come to this land. Then they will take away all the hated idols from the land. They will take all the terrible images from there. 19 I will give them a desire to respect me completely. I will put a new way to think inside them. I will take out the stubborn heart like stone from their bodies. Then I will give them an obedient heart of flesh. 20 Then they will live by my rules. They will obey my laws and keep them. They will be my people, and I will be their God. 21 But some people will want to serve their evil statues and hated idols. And I will pay them back for their evil ways, says the Lord God.”
Ezekiel’s Vision Ends
22 Then the living creatures lifted their wings. The wheels went beside them. And the glory of the God of Israel was above them. 23 The glory of the Lord went up from inside Jerusalem. And it stopped on the mountain on the east side of the city. 24 The Spirit lifted me up. And he brought me to the captives who had been taken from Judah to Babylonia. He did this in a vision given by the Spirit of God. Then the vision I had seen ended. 25 And I told the things that the Lord had shown me. I told it to the captives from Judah.
Ezekiel 11
King James Version
11 Moreover the spirit lifted me up, and brought me unto the east gate of the Lord's house, which looketh eastward: and behold at the door of the gate five and twenty men; among whom I saw Jaazaniah the son of Azur, and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people.
2 Then said he unto me, Son of man, these are the men that devise mischief, and give wicked counsel in this city:
3 Which say, It is not near; let us build houses: this city is the caldron, and we be the flesh.
4 Therefore prophesy against them, prophesy, O son of man.
5 And the Spirit of the Lord fell upon me, and said unto me, Speak; Thus saith the Lord; Thus have ye said, O house of Israel: for I know the things that come into your mind, every one of them.
6 Ye have multiplied your slain in this city, and ye have filled the streets thereof with the slain.
7 Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Your slain whom ye have laid in the midst of it, they are the flesh, and this city is the caldron: but I will bring you forth out of the midst of it.
8 Ye have feared the sword; and I will bring a sword upon you, saith the Lord God.
9 And I will bring you out of the midst thereof, and deliver you into the hands of strangers, and will execute judgments among you.
10 Ye shall fall by the sword; I will judge you in the border of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the Lord.
11 This city shall not be your caldron, neither shall ye be the flesh in the midst thereof; but I will judge you in the border of Israel:
12 And ye shall know that I am the Lord: for ye have not walked in my statutes, neither executed my judgments, but have done after the manners of the heathen that are round about you.
13 And it came to pass, when I prophesied, that Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died. Then fell I down upon my face, and cried with a loud voice, and said, Ah Lord God! wilt thou make a full end of the remnant of Israel?
14 Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
15 Son of man, thy brethren, even thy brethren, the men of thy kindred, and all the house of Israel wholly, are they unto whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, Get you far from the Lord: unto us is this land given in possession.
16 Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord God; Although I have cast them far off among the heathen, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet will I be to them as a little sanctuary in the countries where they shall come.
17 Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord God; I will even gather you from the people, and assemble you out of the countries where ye have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.
18 And they shall come thither, and they shall take away all the detestable things thereof and all the abominations thereof from thence.
19 And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh:
20 That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.
21 But as for them whose heart walketh after the heart of their detestable things and their abominations, I will recompense their way upon their own heads, saith the Lord God.
22 Then did the cherubims lift up their wings, and the wheels beside them; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above.
23 And the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city, and stood upon the mountain which is on the east side of the city.
24 Afterwards the spirit took me up, and brought me in a vision by the Spirit of God into Chaldea, to them of the captivity. So the vision that I had seen went up from me.
25 Then I spake unto them of the captivity all the things that the Lord had shewed me.
以西結書 11
Chinese Contemporary Bible (Traditional)
審判以色列的首領
11 那時，靈將我舉起，帶我到耶和華殿的東門，我見那裡有二十五個人，當中有百姓的首領押朔的兒子雅撒尼亞和比拿雅的兒子毗拉提。 2 耶和華對我說：「人子啊，這些人在這城裡專給人出毒計，設惡謀。 3 他們說，『建造房屋的時候不是到了嗎？我們的城像鐵鍋一樣堅固，我們像在鍋裡的肉一樣得到保護。』 4 人子啊，你要說預言，說預言斥責他們。」
5 耶和華的靈降在我身上，並吩咐我說：「耶和華這樣說，『以色列人啊，我知道你們口中在說什麼，心裡在想什麼。 6 你們在城中殺人無數，大街小巷遍地屍體。 7 所以，主耶和華說，你們在城中殺死的人就是肉，這城就是鍋，但我必把你們從鍋中拉出來。 8 你們懼怕刀劍，我必使刀劍臨到你們。這是主耶和華說的。 9 我必把你們從城中趕出去，交給外族人。我必懲罰你們， 10 使你們死於刀下。我要審判整個以色列，這樣你們就知道我是耶和華。 11 這城必不是你們的鍋，你們也必不是其中的肉，我必在全以色列施行審判。 12 這樣你們就知道我是耶和華。因為你們沒有遵行我的律例，沒有順從我的典章，卻效法你們四鄰外族的規矩。』」
13 我正在說預言的時候，比拿雅的兒子毗拉提就死了。我便俯伏在地大喊：「唉，主耶和華啊，你要滅絕以色列的餘民嗎？」
14 耶和華對我說： 15 「人子啊，留在耶路撒冷的居民會這樣談論你、你的親人和一切被擄的以色列人，說，『他們遠離了耶和華，這地方已經給了我們。』 16 因此，你要說，『主耶和華這樣說，我雖然把以色列人趕到遠方各國，分散在列邦，卻要在他們所去的國家暫作他們的聖所。』
17 「你要說，『主耶和華這樣說，我必從各國召集你們，從你們被驅散到的列邦中聚集你們，將以色列再賜給你們。』 18 他們回來後，必除掉一切醜惡可憎的事。 19 我必賜給他們一顆專一的心，將新靈放在他們裡面，除去他們的石心，賜給他們肉心， 20 使他們恪守我的律例，謹遵我的典章。他們將做我的子民，我將做他們的上帝。 21 至於那些心裡戀慕醜惡可憎之物的人，我必按他們所行的報應他們。這是主耶和華說的。」
22 於是，基路伯天使展開翅膀，輪子跟在他們旁邊，在他們上面有以色列上帝的榮耀。 23 耶和華的榮耀從城中升起，停在城東的山上。 24 靈將我舉起，在異象中把我帶到迦勒底被擄的人那裡，我所見的異象從我面前上升消失了。 25 我把耶和華讓我看到的一切都告訴了那些被擄的人。
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