Ezekiel 12:1-16
New English Translation
Previewing the Exile
12 The Lord’s message came to me: 2 “Son of man, you are living in the midst of a rebellious house.[a] They have eyes to see, but do not see, and ears to hear, but do not hear,[b] because they are a rebellious house.
3 “Therefore, son of man, pack up your belongings as if for exile. During the day, while they are watching, pretend to go into exile. Go from where you live to another place. Perhaps they will understand,[c] although they are a rebellious house. 4 Bring out your belongings packed for exile during the day while they are watching. And go out at evening, while they are watching, as if for exile. 5 While they are watching, dig a hole in the wall and carry your belongings out through it. 6 While they are watching, raise your baggage onto your shoulder and carry it out in the dark.[d] You must cover your face so that you cannot see the ground[e] because I have made you an object lesson[f] to the house of Israel.”
7 So I did just as I was commanded. I carried out my belongings packed for exile during the day, and at evening I dug myself a hole through the wall with my hands. I went out in the darkness, carrying my baggage[g] on my shoulder while they watched.
8 The Lord’s message came to me in the morning: 9 “Son of man, has not the house of Israel, that rebellious house, said to you, ‘What are you doing?’ 10 Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: The prince will raise this burden in Jerusalem,[h] and all the house of Israel within it.’[i] 11 Say, ‘I am an object lesson[j] for you. Just as I have done, so it will be done to them; they will go into exile and captivity.’
12 “The prince[k] who is among them will raise his belongings[l] onto his shoulder in darkness and will go out. He[m] will dig a hole in the wall to leave through. He will cover his face so that he cannot see the land with his eyes. 13 But I will throw my net over him, and he will be caught in my snare. I will bring him to Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans[n] (but he will not see it),[o] and there he will die.[p] 14 All his retinue—his attendants and his troops—I will scatter to every wind; I will unleash a sword behind them.
15 “Then they will know that I am the Lord when I disperse them among the nations and scatter them among foreign countries. 16 But I will let a small number of them survive the sword, famine, and pestilence, so that they can confess all their abominable practices to the nations where they go. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Ezekiel 12:2 sn The book of Ezekiel frequently refers to the Israelites as a rebellious house (Ezek 2:5, 6, 8; 3:9, 26-27; 12:2-3, 9, 25; 17:12; 24:3).
- Ezekiel 12:2 sn This verse is very similar to Isa 6:9-10.
- Ezekiel 12:3 tn Heb “see.” This plays on the uses of “see” in v. 2. They will see his actions with their eyes and perhaps they will “see” with their mind, that is, understand or grasp the point.
- Ezekiel 12:6 tn Apart from this context the Hebrew term occurs only in Gen 15:17, in reference to the darkness after sunset. It may mean twilight.
- Ezekiel 12:6 tn Or “land” (ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
- Ezekiel 12:6 sn See also Ezek 12:11 and 24:24, 27.
- Ezekiel 12:7 tn The words “my baggage” are not in the Hebrew text but are implied from the context.
- Ezekiel 12:10 tc The MT reads: “The prince, the load/oracle, this, in Jerusalem.” The term מַשָּׂא (massaʾ) may refer to a “burden” or prophetic “oracle” (the two homonyms also coming from the same root, cf. Isa 13:1). Also the preposition ב (bet) can mean “in” or “against.” The Targum says, “Concerning the prince is this oracle,” assuming the addition of a preposition. The LXX reads the word for “burden” as a synonym for leader, as both words are built on the same root, but the result does not make good sense in context. The current translation assumes that the verb יִשָּׂא (yisaʾ) from the root נָשָׂא (nasaʾ) has dropped out due to homoioteleuton (cf. vv. 7 and 12 for the verb). The original text would have three consecutive words based on the root נָשָׂא and an environment conducive to an omission in copying: הַנָּשִׂיא יִשָּׂא הַמַּשָּׂא הַזֶּה (hannasiʾ yissaʾ hammassaʾ hazzeh, “the prince will raise this burden”). Another possibility is that הַנָּשִׂיא is an inadvertent addition based on v. 12, so that the text should be “[This is] the oracle against…,” but the formula typically uses the construct state to mean “the oracle about…,” and this would be the only case where Ezekiel uses this term for an oracle. It is also unlikely that this is a copulative sentence, “The prince is the oracle.” While Hebrew can make copulative sentences without a verb, it is odd to do so with articular nouns. The sequence article + noun + article + noun is normally: a case where the second term is an adverbial accusative of place or time, a case where the second term acts as an adjective, part of a list, a case of apposition, or an improper construct chain (or other textual issue involving one of the apparent articles). Besides this verse, only Jer 4:26 (הַכַּרְמֶל הַמִּדְבָּר, hakkarmel hammidbar, “Carmel is/had become a wilderness”) may be suggested as a place where this syntax makes a copulative sentence, but there the first word should be understood as a proper noun. Also if the syntax were this simple (“the A is the B”), one would have expected the versions to follow it.sn The prince in Jerusalem refers to King Zedekiah. The Hebrew termנָשִׂיא (nasi’, “leader, chief prince”) refers to one lifted up and here means the leader of Jerusalem. The idea in the message is: “As goes the king, so goes the city.” The fortunes of the city are bound up in and symbolized by the king.
- Ezekiel 12:10 tc The MT reads “within them.” Possibly a scribe copied this form from the following verse “among them,” but only “within it” makes sense in this context.
- Ezekiel 12:11 tn object lesson is מוֹפֵת (mofet, “wonder, sign”), which here refers to a sign or portent of bad things to come.
- Ezekiel 12:12 sn The prince is a reference to Zedekiah.
- Ezekiel 12:12 tn The words “his belongings” are not in the Hebrew text but are implied.
- Ezekiel 12:12 tc The MT reads “they”; the LXX and Syriac read “he.”
- Ezekiel 12:13 tn Or “Babylonians” (NCV, NLT). sn The Chaldeans were a group of people in the country south of Babylon from which Nebuchadnezzar came. The Chaldean dynasty his father established became the name by which the Babylonians are regularly referred to in the book of Jeremiah, while Jeremiah’s contemporary, Ezekiel, uses both terms.
- Ezekiel 12:13 sn He will not see it. This prediction was fulfilled in 2 Kgs 25:7 and Jer 52:11, which recount how Zedekiah was blinded before being deported to Babylon.
- Ezekiel 12:13 sn There he will die. This was fulfilled when King Zedekiah died in exile (Jer 52:11).
Ezekiel 12:1-16
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Judah’s Captivity Portrayed
12 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 Mortal, you are living in the midst of a rebellious house who have eyes to see but do not see, who have ears to hear but do not hear,(A) 3 for they are a rebellious house. Therefore, mortal, prepare for yourself an exile’s baggage, and go into exile by day in their sight; you shall go like an exile from your place to another place in their sight. Perhaps they will understand, though they are a rebellious house.(B) 4 You shall bring out your baggage by day in their sight, as baggage for exile, and you shall go out yourself at evening in their sight, as those do who go into exile.(C) 5 Dig through the wall in their sight, and carry the baggage through it. 6 In their sight you shall lift the baggage on your shoulder and carry it out in the dark; you shall cover your face, so that you may not see the land, for I have made you a sign for the house of Israel.(D)
7 I did just as I was commanded. 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 it out in the dark, carrying it on my shoulder in their sight.
8 In the morning the word of the Lord came to me: 9 Mortal, has not the house of Israel, the rebellious house, said to you, “What are you doing?”(E) 10 Say to them, “Thus says the Lord God: This oracle concerns the prince in Jerusalem[a] and all the house of Israel in it.”[b](F) 11 Say, “I am a sign for you: as I have done, so shall it be done to them; they shall go into exile, into captivity.”(G) 12 And the prince who is among them shall lift his baggage on his shoulder in the dark and shall go out; he[c] shall dig through the wall and carry it through; he shall cover his face so that he may not see the land with his eyes.(H) 13 I will spread my net over him, and he shall be caught in my snare, and I will bring him to Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans, yet he shall not see it, and he shall die there.(I) 14 I will scatter to every wind all who are around him, his helpers and all his troops, and I will unsheathe the sword behind them.(J) 15 And they shall know that I am the Lord when I disperse them among the nations and scatter them through the countries.(K) 16 But I will let a few of them escape from the sword, from famine and pestilence, so that they may tell of all their abominations among the nations where they go; then they shall know that I am the Lord.(L)
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