Ezekiel 11
New Living Translation
Judgment on Israel’s Leaders
11 Then the Spirit lifted me and brought me to the east gateway of the Lord’s Temple, where I saw twenty-five prominent men of the city. Among them were Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah, who were leaders among the people.
2 The Spirit said to me, “Son of man, these are the men who are planning evil and giving wicked counsel in this city. 3 They say to the people, ‘Is it not a good time to build houses? This city is like an iron pot. We are safe inside it like meat in a pot.[a]’ 4 Therefore, son of man, prophesy against them loudly and clearly.”
5 Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon me, and he told me to say, “This is what the Lord says to the people of Israel: I know what you are saying, for I know every thought that comes into your minds. 6 You have murdered many in this city and filled its streets with the dead.
7 “Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: This city is an iron pot all right, but the pieces of meat are the victims of your injustice. As for you, I will soon drag you from this pot. 8 I will bring on you the sword of war you so greatly fear, says the Sovereign Lord. 9 I will drive you out of Jerusalem and hand you over to foreigners, who will carry out my judgments against you. 10 You will be slaughtered all the way to the borders of Israel. I will execute judgment on you, and you will know that I am the Lord. 11 No, this city will not be an iron pot for you, and you will not be like meat safe inside it. I will judge you even to the borders of Israel, 12 and you will know that I am the Lord. For you have refused to obey my decrees and regulations; instead, you have copied the standards of the nations around you.”
13 While I was still prophesying, Pelatiah son of Benaiah suddenly died. Then I fell face down on the ground and cried out, “O Sovereign Lord, are you going to kill everyone in Israel?”
Hope for Exiled Israel
14 Then this message came to me from the Lord: 15 “Son of man, the people still left in Jerusalem are talking about you and your relatives and all the people of Israel who are in exile. They are saying, ‘Those people are far away from the Lord, so now he has given their land to us!’
16 “Therefore, tell the exiles, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Although I have scattered you in the countries of the world, I will be a sanctuary to you during your time in exile. 17 I, the Sovereign Lord, will gather you back from the nations where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel once again.’
18 “When the people return to their homeland, they will remove every trace of their vile images and detestable idols. 19 And I will give them singleness of heart and put a new spirit within them. I will take away their stony, stubborn heart and give them a tender, responsive heart,[b] 20 so they will obey my decrees and regulations. Then they will truly be my people, and I will be their God. 21 But as for those who long for vile images and detestable idols, I will repay them fully for their sins. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!”
The Lord’s Glory Leaves Jerusalem
22 Then the cherubim lifted their wings and rose into the air with their wheels beside them, and the glory of the God of Israel hovered above them. 23 Then the glory of the Lord went up from the city and stopped above the mountain to the east.
24 Afterward the Spirit of God carried me back again to Babylonia,[c] to the people in exile there. And so ended the vision of my visit to Jerusalem. 25 And I told the exiles everything the Lord had shown me.
Ezekiel 11
Common English Bible
11 A wind lifted me up and brought me to the east gate of the Lord’s temple. There at the entrance to the gate were twenty-five men, and I saw that two officials of the people, Jaazaniah, Azzur’s son, and Pelatiah, Benaiah’s son, were with them.
2 He said to me: Human one, these men devise evil plans and give wicked advice in this city. 3 They are the ones who say, “The nearest relatives aren’t building houses.[a] The city is the cooking pot, and we are the meat.” 4 Therefore, prophesy against them, human one, prophesy! 5 The Lord’s spirit took hold of me, and he said to me: Say, This is what the Lord God proclaims: So you have said, house of Israel! But I know what you really mean. 6 You continue to commit murder in this city, and you fill its streets with the slain.
7 Therefore, the Lord God proclaims: The city is the cooking pot, and the ones you have slain in it are the meat. But you will be taken out of it. 8 You fear the sword, so I will bring the sword against you. This is what the Lord God says! 9 I will lead you out of the city, hand you over to foreigners, and execute judgments against you. 10 You will fall by the sword! At Israel’s borders I will judge you, and you will know that I am the Lord. 11 The city won’t be your cooking pot, and you won’t be the meat in it. At Israel’s borders, I will judge you. 12 You will know that I am the Lord, whose regulations you didn’t observe and whose case laws you didn’t follow. Instead, you followed the case laws of the nations around you.
13 While I was prophesying, Benaiah’s son Pelatiah dropped dead. I fell on my face, and I wailed and said, “Oh, Lord God! Are you finishing off even the Israelites who are left?”
14 The Lord’s word came to me: 15 Human one, when the people living in Jerusalem said, “They’ve gone far from the Lord, and we’ve been given the land as an inheritance,” they were talking about your family, your nearest relatives, the whole house of Israel, all of it.
16 Therefore, say, The Lord God proclaims: Even though I made them go far away among the nations and caused them to scatter throughout the earth, I’ve provided some sanctuary for them in the countries to which they’ve gone.
17 Therefore, say, The Lord God proclaims: I will gather you from the nations, assemble you from the countries where you were scattered, and I will give you Israel’s fertile land. 18 They will enter the land, and they will remove from it all its disgusting and detestable things. 19 I will give them a single heart, and I will put a new spirit in them. I will remove the stony hearts from their bodies and give them hearts of flesh 20 so that they may follow my regulations and carefully observe my case laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God. 21 As for those whose hearts continue to go after their disgusting and detestable things, I will hold them accountable for their ways. This is what the Lord God says!
22 Then the winged creatures raised their wings. The wheels were next to them, and the glory of Israel’s God was above them. 23 The Lord’s glory ascended from the middle of the city, and it stopped at the mountain east of the city. 24 And a wind lifted me up and brought me to the exiles in Chaldea, through a vision with a divine wind.[b] When the vision I had seen left me, 25 I spoke to the exiles about everything the Lord had shown to me.
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 11:3 Or it is not time to build houses
- Ezekiel 11:24 Or spirit
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible