Historical

11 Then the Ruach lifted me up and brought me to the east gate of Adonai’s House, facing east. Behold, at the door of the gate, were 25 men. I saw among them Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah, leaders of the people. ² He said to me, “Son of man, these are the men that devise sin and give wicked counsel in this city, ³ who say, ‘This is not the time to build houses! This city is the cooking pot and we are the meat!’ ⁴ Therefore, prophesy against them, prophesy, son of man.”

⁵ Then the Ruach Adonai fell upon me and said to me, “Speak! Thus Adonai says: So you are thinking, house of Israel—for I know the thoughts that come into your mind. ⁶ You have multiplied your slain in this city and you filled the streets with corpses.”

⁷ Therefore, thus says Adonai Elohim, “Your corpses you have laid in the midst of it, they are the meat and this city is the cooking pot! But I will bring you out of it. ⁸ You feared the sword, so I will bring the sword against you.” It is a declaration of Adonai Elohim.

⁹ “I will bring you out of the midst of it, give you into the hands of strangers and execute judgments against you. ¹⁰ You will fall by the sword. I will judge you at the border of Israel. So you will know that I am Adonai. ¹¹ This city will not be your cooking pot nor will you be the meat in the midst of it—I will judge you at Israel’s border. ¹² So you will know that I am Adonai, whose laws you did not follow and whose ordinances you did not obey. Instead, you have acted in accord with the ordinances of the nations around you.”

¹³ As I prophesied, Pelatiah son of Benaiah dropped dead. I fell upon my face and cried out with a loud voice and said, “Ah, Adonai! Are you going to completely eradicate the remnant of Israel?”

¹⁴ The word of Adonai came to me saying: ¹⁵ “Son of man, as for your kinsmen, your kinsmen, fellow exiles and the whole house of Israel—all of them—are those about whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem said, ‘Keep far away from Adonai! This land has been given to us for a possession!’” ¹⁶ Therefore say, thus says Adonai Elohim, “Though I removed them far away, among the nations, though I scattered them among the countries, yet for a little while I was a sanctuary for them in the countries where they have gone.”

Heart of Stone to Heart of Flesh

¹⁷ Therefore say, thus says Adonai Elohim, “I will gather you from the peoples and collect you out of the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel. ¹⁸ When they come there, they will remove all of its detestable things and all of its abominations. ¹⁹ Then I will give them one heart. I will put a new Spirit within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, ²⁰ so that they may follow My laws, keep My ordinances and practice them. They will be My people and I will be their God. ²¹ As for those whose heart walks after the heart of their detestable things and abominations, I will bring their ways upon their heads.” It is a declaration of Adonai Elohim.

The Glory Departs Jerusalem

²² Then the cheruvim lifted up their wings. The wheels were beside them. The glory of the God of Israel was over them from above. ²³ The glory of Adonai went up from within the city and then stood still on the mountain that is to the east of the city. ²⁴ The Ruach lifted me and brought me in the vision by the Ruach Elohim to Chaldea, to the exiles. Then the vision that I had seen left me. ²⁵ So I told the exiles all the things that Adonai had shown me.

Baggage for Exile

12 The word of Adonai came to me saying: ² “Son of man, you live in the midst of the rebellious house. They have eyes to see, but do not see, ears to hear, but do not hear, for they are a rebellious house. ³ You, son of man, prepare supplies for exile. Go into exile by day in their sight, go away as if into exile from your home to another place in their sight—perhaps they will recognize that they are a rebellious house. ⁴ You will bring out your baggage by day in their sight, as baggage for exile. You will go out at evening in their sight, like those going into exile. ⁵ As they watch, dig through the wall and go out through it. ⁶ Bear the burden on your shoulder in their sight. Carry it out in the darkness; cover your face so that you cannot see the ground. For I have made you a sign for the house of Israel.” ⁷ I did just as I was commanded: I brought out my baggage by day, as baggage for exile. In the evening, I dug through the wall with my hand. I carried it out in the darkness and bore it on my shoulder, as they watched.

⁸ In the morning, the word of Adonai came to me saying, ⁹ “Son of man, has the house of Israel, the rebellious house, said to you, ‘What are you doing?’ ¹⁰ Say to them, ‘Thus says Adonai Elohim: this burden concerns the prince in Jerusalem and all the house of Israel there.’ ¹¹ Say, ‘I am a sign for you. Just as I have done, so it will be done to them—they will go into exile, into captivity. ¹² The prince who is among them will bear a burden on his shoulder, and go out in the darkness. They will dig through the wall to get out; he will cover his face so that he cannot see the land with his eyes. ¹³ I will spread out My net upon him, so he will be caught in My net. I will bring him to Babylon, to the land of the Chaldeans. He will not see it, though he will die there. ¹⁴ I will disperse toward every wind all that surround him to help him and all his troops. I will draw out the sword after them. ¹⁵ So they will know that I am Adonai when I scatter them among the nations and disperse them among the countries. ¹⁶ But I will let a few of them escape the sword, the famine and the pestilence, so they may tell about all their detestable practices among the nations where they go. And they will know that I am Adonai.”

¹⁷ The word of Adonai came to me saying: ¹⁸ “Son of man, eat your bread with quaking and drink your water with trembling and anxiety. ¹⁹ Say to the people of the land, this is what Adonai says concerning the inhabitants of Jerusalem in the land of Israel: They will eat their bread with anxiety and drink their water with horror, because her land will be stripped of all that is in it, because of the violence of all who live there. ²⁰ The inhabited cities will be deserted and the land will become desolate. And you will know that I am Adonai.”

²¹ The word of Adonai came to me saying: ²² “Son of man, what is that proverb you people have in the land of Israel saying, ‘The days are prolonged and every vision fails?’ ²³ Tell them therefore, thus says Adonai Elohim, ‘I will put an end to this proverb. They will not use it anymore as a proverb in Israel.’ Say to them, ‘The days are at hand as well as the fulfillment of every vision. ²⁴ For no longer will every vision be deceitful and every oracle false in the house of Israel. ²⁵ For I am Adonai. I will speak whatever word I will speak and it will happen. It will not be delayed anymore; for in your days, rebellious house, I will speak the word and perform it.’” It is a declaration of Adonai.

²⁶ The word of Adonai came to me saying: ²⁷ “Son of man, behold, the house of Israel says, ‘The vision that he sees is for many days from now. He prophesies about times that are far off.’ ²⁸ Therefore say to them, thus says Adonai Elohim, ‘None of My words will be delayed anymore, but the word that I speak will be fulfilled.’” It is a declaration of Adonai.