Ezekiel 12
English Standard Version
Judah's Captivity Symbolized
12 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 (A)“Son of man, you dwell in the midst of (B)a rebellious house, (C)who have eyes to see, but see not, who have ears to hear, but hear not, for they are (D)a rebellious house. 3 As for you, son of man, prepare for yourself (E)an exile's baggage, and go into exile by day (F)in their sight. You shall go like an exile from your place to another place (G)in their sight. (H)Perhaps they will understand, though[a] they are a rebellious house. 4 You shall bring out your baggage by day in their sight, as baggage for exile, and you shall go out yourself (I)at evening in their sight, as those do who must go into exile. 5 In their sight (J)dig through the wall, and bring your baggage out through it. 6 In their sight you shall lift the baggage upon your shoulder and carry it out at dusk. You shall cover your face that you may not see the land, for I have made you (K)a sign for the house of Israel.”
7 (L)And I did as I was commanded. (M)I brought out my baggage by day, as baggage for exile, and in the evening I dug through the wall with my own hands. I brought out my baggage at dusk, carrying it on my shoulder in their sight.
8 In the morning the word of the Lord came to me: 9 (N)“Son of man, has not the house of Israel, (O)the rebellious house, said to you, (P)‘What are you doing?’ 10 Say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: This oracle concerns[b] (Q)the prince in Jerusalem and all the house of Israel who are in it.’[c] 11 Say, (R)‘I am a sign for you: (S)as I have done, so shall it be done to them. They shall go into exile, into captivity.’ 12 (T)And the prince who is among them shall lift his baggage upon his shoulder at dusk, and shall go out. (U)They shall dig through the wall to bring him out through it. (V)He shall cover his face, that he may not see the land with his eyes. 13 (W)And I will spread my net over him, and he shall be taken in my snare. And (X)I will bring him to Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans, (Y)yet he shall not see it, and he shall die there. 14 (Z)And I will scatter toward every wind all who are around him, his helpers and all his troops, (AA)and I will unsheathe the sword after them. 15 (AB)And they shall know that I am the Lord, when I disperse them among the nations and scatter them among the countries. 16 (AC)But I will let a few of them escape from the sword, from famine and pestilence, that they may declare all their abominations among the nations where they go, (AD)and may know that I am the Lord.”
17 And the word of the Lord came to me: 18 (AE)“Son of man, (AF)eat your bread with quaking, and drink water with trembling and with anxiety. 19 And say to the people of the land, Thus says the Lord God concerning the inhabitants of Jerusalem in the land of Israel: (AG)They shall eat their bread with anxiety, (AH)and drink water in dismay. In this way (AI)her land will be stripped of all it contains, (AJ)on account of the violence of all those who dwell in it. 20 (AK)And the inhabited cities shall be laid waste, and the land shall become a desolation; and you shall know that I am the Lord.”
21 And the word of the Lord came to me: 22 “Son of man, (AL)what is this proverb that you[d] have about the land of Israel, saying, (AM)‘The days grow long, and every vision comes to nothing’? 23 Tell them therefore, ‘Thus says the Lord God: I will put an end to this proverb, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel.’ But say to them, (AN)The days are near, and the fulfillment[e] of every vision. 24 (AO)For there shall be no more any (AP)false vision or flattering divination within the house of Israel. 25 For I am the Lord; I will speak (AQ)the word that I will speak, and it will be performed. (AR)It will no longer be delayed, but in your days, (AS)O rebellious house, I will speak the word and perform it, declares the Lord God.”
26 And the word of the Lord came to me: 27 “Son of man, behold, they of the house of Israel say, (AT)‘The vision that he sees is (AU)for many days from now, and he prophesies of times far off.’ 28 Therefore say to them, Thus says the Lord God: (AV)None of my words will be delayed any longer, (AW)but the word that I speak will be performed, declares the Lord God.”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 12:3 Or will see that
- Ezekiel 12:10 Or This burden is
- Ezekiel 12:10 Hebrew in the midst of them
- Ezekiel 12:22 The Hebrew for you is plural
- Ezekiel 12:23 Hebrew word
Ezekiel 12
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Ezekiel Dramatizes the Exile
12 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, you are living among a rebellious house.(A) They have eyes to see but do not see, and ears to hear but do not hear,(B) for they are a rebellious house.(C)
3 “Son of man, get your bags ready for exile and go into exile in their sight during the day. You will go into exile from your place to another place while they watch; perhaps they will understand, though they are a rebellious house. 4 During the day, bring out your bags like an exile’s bags while they look on. Then in the evening go out in their sight like those going into exile. 5 As they watch, dig through the wall and take the bags out through it. 6 And while they look on, lift the bags to your shoulder and take them out in the dark; cover your face so that you cannot see the land. For I have made you a sign to the house of Israel.”(D)
7 So I did just as I was commanded. In the daytime I brought out my bags like an exile’s bags. In the evening I dug through the wall by hand; I took them out in the dark, carrying them on my shoulder in their sight.
8 Then the word of the Lord came to me in the morning: 9 “Son of man, hasn’t the house of Israel, that rebellious house,(E) asked you, ‘What are you doing?’(F) 10 Say to them: This is what the Lord God says: This oracle is about the prince[a] in Jerusalem and all the house of Israel who are living there.[b] 11 You are to say, ‘I am a sign for you. Just as I have done, so it will be done to them; they will go into exile,(G) into captivity.’ 12 The prince who is among(H) them will lift his bags to his shoulder in the dark and go out. They[c] will dig through the wall to bring him out through it. He will cover his face so he cannot see the land with his eyes. 13 But I will spread My net over him, and he will be caught in My snare. I will bring him to Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans, yet he will not see it,(I) and he will die there. 14 I will also scatter all the attendants who surround him and all his troops to every direction of the wind,(J) and I will draw a sword to chase after them. 15 They will know that I am Yahweh(K) when I disperse them among the nations and scatter them among the countries.(L) 16 But I will spare a few of them from the sword,(M) famine, and plague so they can tell about all their detestable practices among the nations where they go. Then they will know that I am Yahweh.”
Ezekiel Dramatizes Israel’s Anxiety
17 The word of the Lord came to me: 18 “Son of man, eat your bread with(N) trembling and drink your water with shaking and anxiety. 19 Then say to the people of the land: This is what the Lord God says about the residents of Jerusalem in the land of Israel: They will eat their bread with anxiety and drink their water in dread, for their[d][e] land will be stripped of everything(O) in it because of the violence of all who live there. 20 The inhabited cities will be destroyed, and the land will become a desolation. Then you will know that I am Yahweh.”
A Deceptive Proverb Stopped
21 Again the word of the Lord came to me: 22 “Son of man, what is this proverb you people have about the land of Israel,(P) which goes:
The days keep passing by,(Q)
and every vision fails?
23 Therefore say to them: This is what the Lord God says: I will put a stop to this proverb, and they will not use it again in Israel.(R) But say to them: The days draw near,(S) as well as the fulfillment of every vision. 24 For there will no longer be any false vision or flattering divination(T) within the house of Israel. 25 But I, Yahweh, will speak whatever message I will speak, and it will be done.(U) It will no longer be delayed.(V) For in your days, rebellious house, I will speak a message and bring it to pass.” This is the declaration of the Lord God.
26 The word of the Lord came to me: 27 “Son of man, notice that the house of Israel is saying, ‘The vision that he sees concerns many years from now;(W) he prophesies about distant times.’ 28 Therefore say to them: This is what the Lord God says: None of My words will be delayed any longer. The message I speak will be fulfilled.” This is the declaration of the Lord God.
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 12:10 = King Zedekiah
- Ezekiel 12:10 Lit are among them
- Ezekiel 12:12 LXX, Syr read He
- Ezekiel 12:19 Lit its
- Ezekiel 12:19 = Jerusalem’s
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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