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.

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

God’s Sure Judgment on Jerusalem

11 Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the gate of the house of the Lord that faces east. There at the entrance of the gate were twenty-five men, and I saw among them Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah(A) son of Benaiah, leaders(B) of the people.(C) The Lord said to me, “Son of man, these are the men who are plotting evil(D) and giving wicked advice in this city.(E) They say, ‘Haven’t our houses been recently rebuilt? This city is a pot,(F) and we are the meat in it.’(G) Therefore prophesy(H) against them; prophesy, son of man.”

Then the Spirit of the Lord came on me, and he told me to say: “This is what the Lord says: That is what you are saying, you leaders in Israel, but I know what is going through your mind.(I) You have killed many people in this city and filled its streets with the dead.(J)

“Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: The bodies you have thrown there are the meat and this city is the pot,(K) but I will drive you out of it.(L) You fear the sword,(M) and the sword is what I will bring against you, declares the Sovereign Lord.(N) I will drive you out of the city and deliver you into the hands(O) of foreigners and inflict punishment on you.(P) 10 You will fall by the sword, and I will execute judgment on you at the borders of Israel.(Q) Then you will know that I am the Lord. 11 This city will not be a pot(R) for you, nor will you be the meat in it; I will execute judgment on you at the borders of Israel. 12 And you will know that I am the Lord,(S) for you have not followed my decrees(T) or kept my laws but have conformed to the standards of the nations around you.(U)

13 Now as I was prophesying, Pelatiah(V) son of Benaiah died. Then I fell facedown and cried out in a loud voice, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! Will you completely destroy the remnant of Israel?(W)

The Promise of Israel’s Return

14 The word of the Lord came to me: 15 “Son of man, the people of Jerusalem have said of your fellow exiles and all the other Israelites, ‘They are far away from the Lord; this land was given to us as our possession.’(X)

16 “Therefore say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Although I sent them far away among the nations and scattered them among the countries, yet for a little while I have been a sanctuary(Y) for them in the countries where they have gone.’

17 “Therefore say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will gather you from the nations and bring you back from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you back the land of Israel again.’(Z)

18 “They will return to it and remove all its vile images(AA) and detestable idols.(AB) 19 I will give them an undivided heart(AC) and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone(AD) and give them a heart of flesh.(AE) 20 Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.(AF) They will be my people,(AG) and I will be their God.(AH) 21 But as for those whose hearts are devoted to their vile images and detestable idols,(AI) I will bring down on their own heads what they have done, declares the Sovereign Lord.(AJ)

22 Then the cherubim, with the wheels beside them, spread their wings, and the glory(AK) of the God of Israel was above them.(AL) 23 The glory(AM) of the Lord went up from within the city and stopped above the mountain(AN) east of it. 24 The Spirit(AO) lifted me up and brought me to the exiles in Babylonia[a] in the vision(AP) given by the Spirit of God.

Then the vision I had seen went up from me, 25 and I told the exiles everything the Lord had shown me.(AQ)

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 11:24 Or Chaldea