Ezekiel 11:1-13
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]
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- 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 11:1-13
English Standard Version
Judgment on Wicked Counselors
11 (A)The Spirit lifted me up and brought me to (B)the east gate of the house of the Lord, which faces east. And behold, at the entrance of the gateway there were (C)twenty-five men. And I saw among them Jaazaniah (D)the son of Azzur, and (E)Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people. 2 And he said to me, (F)“Son of man, these are the men who devise iniquity and who give wicked counsel in this city; 3 (G)who say, (H)‘The time is not near[a] to build houses. (I)This city is the cauldron, and we are the meat.’ 4 Therefore prophesy against them; prophesy, O son of man.”
5 And (J)the Spirit of the Lord fell upon me, and he said to me, “Say, Thus says the Lord: So you think, O house of Israel. (K)For I know the things that come into your mind. 6 (L)You have multiplied your slain in this city and have filled its streets with the slain. 7 Therefore thus says the Lord God: (M)Your slain whom you have laid in the midst of it, (N)they are the meat, and (O)this city is the cauldron, but you shall be brought out of the midst of it. 8 (P)You have feared the sword, and I will bring the sword upon you, declares the Lord God. 9 And I will bring you out of the midst of it, and (Q)give you into the hands of foreigners, and (R)execute judgments upon you. 10 (S)You shall fall by the sword. I will judge you at the border of Israel, (T)and you shall know that I am the Lord. 11 (U)This city shall not be your cauldron, nor shall you be the meat in the midst of it. I will judge you at the border of Israel, 12 and you shall know that I am the Lord. For you have not walked in my statutes, nor obeyed my rules, (V)but have acted according to the rules of the nations that are around you.”
13 And it came to pass, while I was prophesying, (W)that (X)Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died. (Y)Then I fell down on my face and cried out with a loud voice and said, (Z)“Ah, Lord God! (AA)Will you make a full end of the remnant of Israel?”
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- Ezekiel 11:3 Or Is not the time near… ?
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