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. And he said to me, (F)“Son of man, these are the men who devise iniquity and who give wicked counsel in this city; (G)who say, (H)‘The time is not near[a] to build houses. (I)This city is the cauldron, and we are the meat.’ Therefore prophesy against them; prophesy, O son of man.”

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. (L)You have multiplied your slain in this city and have filled its streets with the slain. 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. (P)You have feared the sword, and I will bring the sword upon you, declares the Lord God. 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?”

Israel's New Heart and Spirit

14 And the word of the Lord came to me: 15 (AB)“Son of man, your brothers, even your brothers, your kinsmen,[b] the whole house of Israel, all of them, are those of whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, (AC)‘Go far from the Lord; to us this land is given for a possession.’ 16 Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: Though I removed them far off among the nations, and though I scattered them among the countries, yet (AD)I have been a sanctuary to them for a while[c] in the countries where they have gone.’ 17 Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: (AE)I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, (AF)and I will give you the land of Israel.’ 18 And when they come there, (AG)they will remove from it all its (AH)detestable things and all its abominations. 19 (AI)And I will give them one heart, and (AJ)a new spirit I will put within them. (AK)I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh (AL)and give them a heart of flesh, 20 (AM)that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. (AN)And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. 21 (AO)But as for those whose heart goes after their detestable things and their abominations, (AP)I will[d] bring their deeds upon their own heads, declares the Lord God.”

22 (AQ)Then the cherubim lifted up their wings, with the wheels beside them, (AR)and the glory of the God of Israel was over them. 23 And the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city and (AS)stood on the mountain that is on the east side of the city. 24 (AT)And the Spirit lifted me up and brought me (AU)in the vision by the Spirit of God (AV)into Chaldea, to the exiles. Then the vision that I had seen went up from me. 25 And I told the exiles all the things that the Lord had shown me.

Judah's Captivity Symbolized

12 The word of the Lord came to me: (AW)“Son of man, you dwell in the midst of (AX)a rebellious house, (AY)who have eyes to see, but see not, who have ears to hear, but hear not, for they are (AZ)a rebellious house. As for you, son of man, prepare for yourself (BA)an exile's baggage, and go into exile by day (BB)in their sight. You shall go like an exile from your place to another place (BC)in their sight. (BD)Perhaps they will understand, though[e] they are a rebellious house. You shall bring out your baggage by day in their sight, as baggage for exile, and you shall go out yourself (BE)at evening in their sight, as those do who must go into exile. In their sight (BF)dig through the wall, and bring your baggage out through it. 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 (BG)a sign for the house of Israel.”

(BH)And I did as I was commanded. (BI)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.

In the morning the word of the Lord came to me: (BJ)“Son of man, has not the house of Israel, (BK)the rebellious house, said to you, (BL)‘What are you doing?’ 10 Say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: This oracle concerns[f] (BM)the prince in Jerusalem and all the house of Israel who are in it.’[g] 11 Say, (BN)‘I am a sign for you: (BO)as I have done, so shall it be done to them. They shall go into exile, into captivity.’ 12 (BP)And the prince who is among them shall lift his baggage upon his shoulder at dusk, and shall go out. (BQ)They shall dig through the wall to bring him out through it. (BR)He shall cover his face, that he may not see the land with his eyes. 13 (BS)And I will spread my net over him, and he shall be taken in my snare. And (BT)I will bring him to Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans, (BU)yet he shall not see it, and he shall die there. 14 (BV)And I will scatter toward every wind all who are around him, his helpers and all his troops, (BW)and I will unsheathe the sword after them. 15 (BX)And they shall know that I am the Lord, when I disperse them among the nations and scatter them among the countries. 16 (BY)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, (BZ)and may know that I am the Lord.”

17 And the word of the Lord came to me: 18 (CA)“Son of man, (CB)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: (CC)They shall eat their bread with anxiety, (CD)and drink water in dismay. In this way (CE)her land will be stripped of all it contains, (CF)on account of the violence of all those who dwell in it. 20 (CG)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, (CH)what is this proverb that you[h] have about the land of Israel, saying, (CI)‘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, (CJ)The days are near, and the fulfillment[i] of every vision. 24 (CK)For there shall be no more any (CL)false vision or flattering divination within the house of Israel. 25 For I am the Lord; I will speak (CM)the word that I will speak, and it will be performed. (CN)It will no longer be delayed, but in your days, (CO)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, (CP)‘The vision that he sees is (CQ)for many days from now, and he prophesies of times far off.’ 28 Therefore say to them, Thus says the Lord God: (CR)None of my words will be delayed any longer, (CS)but the word that I speak will be performed, declares the Lord God.”

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 11:3 Or Is not the time near… ?
  2. Ezekiel 11:15 Hebrew the men of your redemption
  3. Ezekiel 11:16 Or in small measure
  4. Ezekiel 11:21 Hebrew To the heart of their detestable things and their abominations their heart goes; I will
  5. Ezekiel 12:3 Or will see that
  6. Ezekiel 12:10 Or This burden is
  7. Ezekiel 12:10 Hebrew in the midst of them
  8. Ezekiel 12:22 The Hebrew for you is plural
  9. Ezekiel 12:23 Hebrew word

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