Ezekiel 11
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Judgment on Wicked Counselors
11 The spirit lifted me up and brought me to the east gate of the house of the Lord, which faces east. There, at the entrance of the gateway, were twenty-five men; among them I saw Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah, officials of the people.(A) 2 He said to me, “Mortal, these are the men who devise iniquity and who give wicked counsel in this city;(B) 3 they say, ‘The time is not near to build houses; this city is the pot, and we are the meat.’(C) 4 Therefore prophesy against them; prophesy, O mortal.”(D)
5 Then the spirit of the Lord fell upon me, and he said to me, “Say, Thus says the Lord: This is what you think, O house of Israel; I know the things that come into your mind.(E) 6 You have killed many in this city and have filled its streets with the slain.(F) 7 Therefore thus says the Lord God: The slain whom you have placed within it are the meat, and this city is the pot, but you shall be taken out of it.(G) 8 You have feared the sword, and I will bring the sword upon you, says the Lord God. 9 I will take you out of it and give you over to the hands of foreigners and execute judgments upon you.(H) 10 You shall fall by the sword; I will judge you at the border of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord.(I) 11 This city shall not be your pot, and you shall not be the meat inside it; I will judge you at the border of Israel. 12 Then you shall know that I am the Lord, whose statutes you have not followed and whose ordinances you have not kept, but you have acted according to the ordinances of the nations that are around you.”(J)
13 Now, while I was prophesying, Pelatiah son of Benaiah died. Then I fell down on my face, cried with a loud voice, and said, “Ah Lord God! You are finishing off the remnant of Israel!”(K)
God Will Restore Israel
14 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 15 Mortal, your kinsfolk, your own kin, your fellow exiles,[a] the whole house of Israel, all of them, are those of whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, “Stay far from the Lord; to us this land is given for a possession.”(L) 16 Therefore say: Thus says the Lord God: Though I removed them far away among the nations and though I scattered them among the countries, yet I have been a sanctuary to them for a little while[b] in the countries where they have gone.(M) 17 Therefore say: Thus says the Lord God: I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.(N) 18 When they come there, they will remove from it all its detestable things and all its abominations.(O) 19 I will give them one heart and put a new spirit within them;[c] I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh,(P) 20 so that they may follow my statutes and keep my ordinances and obey them. Then they shall be my people, and I will be their God.(Q) 21 But as for those whose heart goes after their detestable things and their abominations,[d] I will bring their deeds upon their own heads, says the Lord God.(R)
22 Then the cherubim lifted up their wings, with the wheels beside them, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them.(S) 23 And the glory of the Lord ascended from the middle of the city and stopped on the mountain east of the city.(T) 24 The spirit lifted me up and brought me in a vision by the spirit of God into Chaldea, to the exiles. Then the vision that I had seen left me. 25 And I told the exiles all the things that 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
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible