Ezekiel Prepares for Exile

12 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, you live in the ^(A)midst of the ^(B)rebellious house, who ^(C)have eyes to see but do not see, ears to hear but do not hear; for they are a rebellious house. ³ So as for you, son of man, prepare for yourself baggage for exile and go into exile by day in their sight; that is, go into exile from your place to another place in their sight. ^(D)Perhaps they will ^[a]understand, though they are a rebellious house. ⁴ Bring your baggage out by day in their sight, as baggage for exile. Then you shall go out ^(E)at evening in their sight, as those who are going into exile. ⁵ Dig a hole through the wall in their sight and ^[b]go out through it. ⁶ Load the baggage on your shoulder in their sight and carry it out in the dark. You shall ^(F)cover your face so that you cannot see the land, for I have set you as a ^(G)sign to the house of Israel.”

⁷ Then I ^(H)did so, just as I had been commanded. By day I ^(I)brought out my baggage like the baggage of an exile. Then in the evening I dug through the wall with my hands; I went out in the dark and carried the baggage on my shoulder in their sight.

⁸ And in the morning the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ⁹ “Son of man, has the house of Israel, the ^(J)rebellious house, not said to you, ‘^(K)What are you doing?’ ¹⁰ Say to them, ‘This is what the Lord ^[c]God says: “This ^(L)pronouncement concerns the prince in Jerusalem as well as all the house of Israel who are ^[d]in it.”’ ¹¹ Say, ‘I am ^[e]a ^(M)sign to you. Just as I have done, so it will be done to them; they will ^(N)go into exile, into captivity.’ ¹² The ^(O)prince who is among them will load his baggage on his shoulder in the dark and go out. ^[f]They will dig a hole through the wall to bring it out through it. He will cover his face so that he cannot see the land with his eyes. ¹³ I will also spread My ^(P)net over him, and he will be caught in My net. And I will bring him to Babylon in the land of the Chaldeans; yet he will ^(Q)not see it, though he will die there. ¹⁴ And I will ^(R)scatter to every wind all who are around him, his helpers and all his troops; and I will draw out a sword after them. ¹⁵ So they will ^(S)know that I am the Lord, when I disperse them among the nations and scatter them among the countries. ¹⁶ But I will ^[g]spare a few of them from the ^(T)sword, the famine, and plague so that they may tell of all their abominations among the nations where they go, and ^[h]may ^(U)know that I am the Lord.”

Death of Ezekiel’s Wife Is a Sign

¹⁵ And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹⁶ “Son of man, behold, I am about to take from you ^(A)what is precious to your eyes with a ^(B)fatal blow; but you shall not ^(C)mourn and you shall not weep, and your ^(D)tears shall not come. ¹⁷ Groan silently; do ^(E)no mourning for the dead. Bind on your turban and put your sandals on your feet, and do not ^[a]cover your mustache, and ^(F)do not eat the ^[b]bread of other people.” ¹⁸ So I spoke to the people in the morning, and in the evening my wife died. And in the morning I did as I was commanded. ¹⁹ And the people said to me, “Will you not tell us what these things mean for us, that you are doing?” ²⁰ Then I said to them, “The word of the Lord came to me, saying, ²¹ ‘Speak to the house of Israel, “This is what the Lord God says: ‘Behold, I am about to profane My sanctuary, the pride of your power, ^(G)that which is precious in your eyes and the longing of your soul; and your ^(H)sons and your daughters whom you have left behind will fall by the sword. ²² And you will do just as I have done; you will not ^[c]cover your mustache, and you will not eat the ^[d]bread of other people. ²³ Your turbans will be on your heads, and your sandals on your feet. You ^(I)will not mourn and you will not weep; but ^(J)you will rot away in your guilty deeds, and you will groan ^[e]to one another. ²⁴ So Ezekiel will be a ^(K)sign to you; according to all that he has done, you will do. When it comes, then you will know that I am the Lord God.’”

²⁵ ‘As for you, son of man, will it not be on the day when I take from them their ^(L)stronghold, the joy of their splendor, that which is precious in their eyes and their ^[f]heart’s longing, their sons and their daughters, ²⁶ that on that day the one who ^(M)escapes will come to you with information for your ears? ²⁷ On that day your ^(N)mouth will be opened to him who escaped, and you will speak and no longer be silenced. So you will be a sign to them, and they will know that I am the Lord.’”

^19 (A)You will say to me then, “^(B)Why does He still find fault? For ^(C)who has resisted His will?” ²⁰ On the contrary, who are you, ^[a](D)you foolish person, who ^(E)answers back to God? ^(F)The thing molded will not say to the molder, “Why did you make me like this,” will it? ²¹ Or does the potter not have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one object ^[b]for honorable use, and another ^[c]for common use? ^22 [d]What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with great ^(G)patience objects of wrath ^(H)prepared for destruction? ²³ And He did so to make known ^(I)the riches of His glory upon ^(J)objects of mercy, which He ^(K)prepared beforehand for glory, ²⁴ namely us, whom He also ^(L)called, ^(M)not only from among Jews, but also from among Gentiles,