Ezekiel 11

1 Moreover the Spirit lifted me up, and brought me unto the east gate of Jehovah’s house, which looketh eastward: and behold, at the door of the gate five and twenty men; and I saw in the midst of them Jaazaniah the son of Azzur, and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people.2 And he said unto me, Son of man, these are the men that devise iniquity, and that give wicked counsel in this city;3 that say, The time is not near to build houses: this city is the caldron, and we are the flesh.4 Therefore prophesy against them, prophesy, O son of man.5 And the Spirit of Jehovah fell upon me, and he said unto me, Speak, Thus saith Jehovah: Thus have ye said, O house of Israel; for I know the things that come into your mind.6 Ye have multiplied your slain in this city, and ye have filled the streets thereof with the slain.7 Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Your slain whom ye have laid in the midst of it, they are the flesh, and this city is the caldron; but ye shall be brought forth out of the midst of it.8 Ye have feared the sword; and I will bring the sword upon you, saith the Lord Jehovah.9 And I will bring you forth out of the midst thereof, and deliver you into the hands of strangers, and will execute judgments among you.10 Ye shall fall by the sword; I will judge you in the border of Israel; and ye shall know that I am Jehovah.11 This city shall not be your caldron, neither shall ye be the flesh in the midst thereof; I will judge you in the border of Israel;12 and ye shall know that I am Jehovah: for ye have not walked in my statutes, neither have ye executed mine ordinances, but have done after the ordinances of the nations that are round about you.13 And it came to pass, when I prophesied, that Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died. Then fell I down upon my face, and cried with a loud voice, and said, Ah Lord Jehovah! wilt thou make a full end of the remnant of Israel?14 And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,15 Son of man, thy brethren, even thy brethren, the men of thy kindred, and all the house of Israel, all of them, are they unto whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, Get you far from Jehovah; unto us is this land given for a possession.16 Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Whereas I have removed them far off among the nations, and whereas I have scattered them among the countries, yet will I be to them a sanctuary for a little while in the countries where they are come.17 Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: I will gather you from the peoples, and assemble you out of the countries where ye have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.18 And they shall come thither, and they shall take away all the detestable things thereof and all the abominations thereof from thence.19 And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh;20 that they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.21 But as for them whose heart walketh after the heart of their detestable things and their abominations, I will bring their way upon their own heads, saith the Lord Jehovah.22 Then did the cherubim lift up their wings, and the wheels were beside them; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above.23 And the glory of Jehovah went up from the midst of the city, and stood upon the mountain which is on the east side of the city.24 And the Spirit lifted me up, and brought me in the vision by the Spirit of God into Chaldea, to them of the captivity. So the vision that I had seen went up from me.25 Then I spake unto them of the captivity all the things that Jehovah had showed me.

EZEKIEL 11

Ezekiel Condemns //Jerusalem's Wicked Leaders

1 The [Lord]'s Spiritt lifted me up and took me to the east gate of the temple, where I saw 25 men, including the two leaders, Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah. 2 The [Lord] said, “Ezekiel, son of man, these men are making evil plans and giving dangerous advice to the people of Jerusalem. 3 They say things like, ‘Let's build more houses.t This city is like a cooking pot over a fire, and we are the meat, but at least the pot keeps us from being burned in the fire.’t

4 So, Ezekiel, condemn them!”

5 The [Lord]'s Spirit took control of me and told me to tell these leaders:
I, the [Lord] God, know what you leaders are saying. 6 You have murdered so many people that the city is filled with dead bodies! 7 This city is indeed a cooking pot, but the bodies of those you killed are the meat. And so I will force you to leave Jerusalem, 8 and I'll send armies to attack you, just as you fear. 9 Then you will be captured and punished by foreign enemies.t

10 You will be killed in your own country, but not before you realize that I, the [Lord], have done these things.
11 You leaders claim to be meat in a cooking pot, but you won't be protected by this city. No, you will die at the border of Israel.

12 You will realize that while you were following the laws of nearby nations, you were disobeying my laws and teachings. And I am the [Lord]!

13 Before I finished speaking, Pelatiah dropped dead. I bowed down and cried out, “Please, [Lord] God, don't kill everyone left in Israel.”

A Promise of Hope

14 The [Lord] replied:
15 Ezekiel, son of man, the people living in Jerusalem claim that you and the other Israelites who were taken to Babylonia are too far away to worship me. They also claim that the land of Israel now belongs only to them.

16 But here is what I want you to tell the Israelites in Babylonia:
It's true that I, the [Lord] God, have forced you out of your own country and made you live among foreign nations. But for now, I will be with you wherever you are, so that you can worship me. 17 And someday, I will gather you from the nations where you are scattered and let you live in Israel again. 18 When that happens, I want you to clear the land of all those idols I hate so much. 19 t Then I will take away your stubbornness and make you eager to be completely faithful to me. You will want to obey me 20 and all my laws and teachings. You will be my people, and I will be your God.

21 But those who worship idols will be punished and get what they deserve. I, the [Lord] God, have spoken.

The [Lord]'s Glory //Leaves Jerusalem

23 left Jerusalem and stopped at a hill east of the city.
24 Then in my vision, the [Lord]'s Spiritt lifted me up and carried me back to the other exiles in Babylonia. The vision faded away, 25 and I told them everything the [Lord] had shown me.