Ezekiel 12
Contemporary English Version
Ezekiel Acts Out Israel's Captivity
12 The Lord said:
2 (A) Ezekiel, son of man, you are living among rebellious people. They have eyes, but refuse to see; they have ears, but refuse to listen. 3 So before it gets dark, here is what I want you to do. Pack a few things as though you were going to be taken away as a prisoner. Then go outside where everyone can see you and walk around from place to place. Maybe as they watch, they will realize what rebels they are. 4 After you have done this, return to your house.
Later that evening leave your house as if you were going into exile. 5 Dig through the wall of your house[a] and crawl out, carrying the bag with you. Make sure everyone is watching. 6 Lift the bag to your shoulders, and with your face covered, take it into the darkness, so that you cannot see the land you are leaving. All this will be a warning for the people of Israel.
7 I did everything the Lord had said. I packed a few things. Then as the sun was going down, and while everyone was watching, I dug a hole through one of the walls of my house. I pulled out my bag, then lifted it to my shoulders and left in the darkness.
8 The next morning, the Lord 9 reminded me that those rebellious people didn't even ask what I was doing. 10 So he sent me back to tell them:
The Lord God has a message for the leader of Jerusalem and everyone living there!
11 I have done these things to show them what will happen when they are taken away as prisoners.
12 The leader of Jerusalem will lift his own bag to his shoulders at sunset and leave through a hole that the others have dug in the wall of his house. He will cover his face, so he can't see the land he is leaving. 13 (B) The Lord will spread out a net and trap him as he leaves Jerusalem. He will then be led away to the city of Babylon, but will never see that place,[b] even though he will die there. 14 His own officials and troops will scatter in every direction, and the Lord will track them down and put them to death.
15 The Lord will force the rest of the people in Jerusalem to live in foreign nations, where they will realize that he has done all these things. 16 Some of them will survive the war, the starvation, and the deadly diseases. That way, they will be able to tell foreigners how disgusting their sins were, and that it was the Lord who punished them in this way.
A Sign of Fear
17 The Lord said:
18 Ezekiel, son of man, shake with fear when you eat, and tremble when you drink. 19 Tell the people of Israel that I, the Lord, say that someday everyone in Jerusalem will shake when they eat and tremble when they drink. Their country will be destroyed and left empty, because they have been cruel and violent. 20 Every town will lie in ruins, and the land will be a barren desert. Then they will know that I am the Lord.
The Words of the Lord Will Come True
21 The Lord said:
22 Ezekiel, son of man, you've heard people in Israel use the saying, “Time passes, and prophets are proved wrong.” 23 Now tell the people that I, the Lord, am going to prove that saying wrong. No one will ever be able to use it again in Israel, because very soon everything I have said will come true! 24 The people will hear no more useless warnings and false messages. 25 I will give them my message, and what I say will certainly happen. Warn those rebels that the time has come for them to be punished. I, the Lord, make this promise.
26-27 Ezekiel, the people of Israel are also saying that your visions and messages are only about things in the future. 28 So tell them that my words will soon come true, just as I have warned. I, the Lord, have spoken.
Footnotes
- 12.5 Dig through the wall of your house: The walls of most houses in Babylonia were made of mud bricks that had been dried in the sun. A hole could easily have been dug through these bricks.
- 12.13 He will then be led away … that place: According to 2 Kings 25.6,7, King Zedekiah of Judah was blinded before he was taken to Babylon.
Ezekiel 12
New International Reader's Version
Ezekiel Gives a Picture of What Will Happen
12 A message from the Lord came to me. The Lord said, 2 “Son of man, you are living among people who refuse to obey me. They have eyes that can see. But they do not really see. They have ears that can hear. But they do not really hear. They refuse to obey me.
3 “Son of man, pack your belongings as if you were going on a long trip. Leave in the daytime. Let the people see you. Start out from where you are. Go to another place. Perhaps they will understand the meaning of what you are doing. But they will still refuse to obey me. 4 Bring out your belongings packed for a long trip. Do this during the daytime. Let the people see you. Then in the evening, pretend you are being forced to leave home. Let the people see you. 5 While the people are watching, dig through the mud bricks of your house. Then take your belongings out through the hole in the wall. 6 Put them on your shoulder. Carry them out at sunset. Let the people see you. Cover your face so you can’t see the land. All of that will show the Israelites what is going to happen to them.”
7 So I did just as he commanded me. During the day I brought out my things as if I were going on a long trip. In the evening I dug through the wall of my house with my hands. At sunset I took my belongings out. I put them on my shoulders. The people watched what I was doing.
8 In the morning a message from the Lord came to me. The Lord said, 9 “Son of man, didn’t the Israelites ask you, ‘What are you doing?’ They always refuse to obey me.
10 “Tell them, ‘The Lord and King says, “This prophecy is about Zedekiah, the prince in Jerusalem. It is also about all the Israelites who still live there.” ’ 11 Tell them, ‘The things I’ve done are a picture of what’s going to happen to you.
“ ‘So what I’ve done will happen to you. You will be forced to leave home. You will be taken to Babylon as prisoners.’
12 “The prince among them will put his things on his shoulder and leave. He will do this at sunset. Someone will dig a hole in the city wall for him to go through. He will cover his face so he can’t see the land. 13 I will spread out my net to catch him. He will be caught in my trap. I will bring him to Babylon. It is the land where the Chaldeans live. But he will not see it. He will die there. 14 I will scatter to the winds all those around him. I will scatter his officials and all his troops. And I will chase them with a sword that is ready to strike them down.
15 “They will know that I am the Lord when I scatter them among the nations. I will send them to other countries. 16 But I will spare a few of them. I will save them from war, hunger and plague. In those countries they will admit they have done all kinds of evil things. I hate those things. They will know that I am the Lord.”
17 A message from the Lord came to me. The Lord said, 18 “Son of man, tremble with fear as you eat your food. Tremble as you drink your water. 19 Speak to the people of the land. Say to them, ‘Here is what the Lord and King says. He says this about those who live in Jerusalem and Israel. “They will be worried as they eat their food. They will not have any hope as they drink their water. Their land will be stripped of everything in it because all those who live there are harming one another. 20 The towns where people live will be completely destroyed. The land will become a dry and empty desert. Then you will know that I am the Lord.” ’ ”
The Lord’s Judgment Will Come Soon
21 A message from the Lord came to me. The Lord said, 22 “Son of man, you have a proverb in the land of Israel. It says, ‘The days go by, and not even one vision comes true.’ 23 Tell them, ‘The Lord and King says, “I am going to put an end to this proverb. They will not use that saying in Israel anymore.” ’ Tell them, ‘The days are coming soon when every vision will come true. 24 There will be no more false visions. People will no longer use magic to find out whether good things are going to happen in Israel. 25 I am the Lord. So I will say what I want to. And it will come true when I want it to. In your days I will do everything I say I will. But you people always refuse to obey me,’ announces the Lord and King.”
26 A message from the Lord came to me. The Lord said, 27 “Son of man, the Israelites are saying, ‘The vision Ezekiel sees won’t come true for many years. He is prophesying about a time that is a long way off.’
28 “So tell them, ‘The Lord and King says, “Everything I say will come true. It will happen when I want it to,” announces the Lord and King.’ ”
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