Ezekiel 11–13

Vision of Israel’s Corrupt Leaders

11The Spirit then lifted me up ^cand brought me to the eastern gate of the Lord’s house, which faces east, and at the gate’s entrance were 25 men. Among them I saw Jaazaniah son of Azzur, and Pelatiah son of Benaiah, leaders of the people. ²The Lord said to me, “Son of man, these are the men who plan evil ^dand give wicked advice in this city. ³They are saying, ‘Isn’t the time near to build houses? ^efThe city is the pot, ^gand we are the meat.’ ⁴Therefore, prophesy against them. Prophesy, son of man!”

⁵Then the Spirit of the Lord came on me, and He told me, “You are to say: This is what the Lord says: That is what you are thinking, house of Israel; and I know the thoughts that arise in your mind. ^h6You have multiplied your slain in this city, ⁱfilling its streets with the dead.

⁷“Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: The slain you have put within it are the meat, ^jand the city is the pot, but I ^kwill remove you from it. ^l8You fear the sword, ^mso I will bring the sword against you.” ⁿThis is the declaration of the Lord God. ⁹“I will bring you out of the city and hand you over to foreigners; I will execute judgments against you. ^o10You will fall by the sword, ^pand I will judge you at the border of Israel. ^qThen you will know that I am Yahweh. ¹¹The city will not be a pot for you, ^rand you will not be the meat within it. I will judge you at the border of Israel, ¹²so you will know that I am Yahweh, whose statutes you have not followed and whose ordinances you have not practiced. Instead, you have acted according to the ordinances of the nations around you.” ^s

¹³Now while I was prophesying, Pelatiah son of Benaiah died. ^tThen I fell facedown and cried out with a loud voice: “Oh, Lord God! ^uWill You bring to an end the remnant of Israel?”

Promise of Israel’s Restoration

¹⁴The word of the Lord came to me again: ¹⁵“Son of man, your own relatives, those who have the right to redeem you, ^vwand the entire house of Israel, all of them, are those that the residents of Jerusalem have said this to, ‘Stay away from the Lord; this land has been given to us as a possession.’

¹⁶“Therefore say: This is what the Lord God says: Though I sent them far away among the nations and scattered them among the countries, yet for a little while I have been a sanctuary for them ^xin the countries where they have gone.

¹⁷“Therefore say: This is what the Lord God says: I will gather you from the peoples ^yand assemble you from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.

¹⁸“When they arrive there, they will remove all its ^zdetestable things ^aand practices from it. ¹⁹And I will give them one heart ^band put a new spirit within them; I will remove their heart of stone ^cfrom their bodies ^dand give them a heart of flesh, ^e20so they may follow My statutes, ^fkeep My ordinances, and practice them. Then they will be My people, and I will be their God. ^g21But as for those whose hearts pursue their desire for detestable things and practices, I will bring their actions down on their own heads.” ^hThis is the declaration of the Lord God.

God’s Glory Leaves Jerusalem

²²Then the cherubim, with the wheels beside them, lifted their wings, ⁱand the glory of the God of Israel was above them. ²³The glory of the Lord ^jrose up from within the city and stood on the mountain ^keast of the city. ^lm24The Spirit lifted me up ⁿand brought me to Chaldea and to the exiles in a vision from the Spirit of God. After the vision I had seen left me, ²⁵I spoke to the exiles about all the things the Lord had shown me.

Ezekiel Dramatizes the Exile

12The word of the Lord came to me: ²“Son of man, you are living among a rebellious house. ^oThey have eyes to see but do not see, and ears to hear but do not hear, ^pfor they are a rebellious house. ^q

³“Son of man, get your bags ready for exile and go into exile in their sight during the day. You will go into exile from your place to another place while they watch; perhaps they will understand, though they are a rebellious house. ⁴During the day, bring out your bags like an exile’s bags while they look on. Then in the evening go out in their sight like those going into exile. ⁵As they watch, dig through the wall and take the bags out through it. ⁶And while they look on, lift the bags to your shoulder and take them out in the dark; cover your face so that you cannot see the land. For I have made you a sign to the house of Israel.” ^r

⁷So I did just as I was commanded. In the daytime I brought out my bags like an exile’s bags. In the evening I dug through the wall by hand; I took them out in the dark, carrying them on my shoulder in their sight.

⁸Then the word of the Lord came to me in the morning: ⁹“Son of man, hasn’t the house of Israel, that rebellious house, ^sasked you, ‘What are you doing?’ ^t10Say to them: This is what the Lord God says: This oracle is about the prince ^uin Jerusalem and all the house of Israel who are living there. ^v11You are to say, ‘I am a sign for you. Just as I have done, so it will be done to them; they will go into exile, ^winto captivity.’ ¹²The prince who is among ^xthem will lift his bags to his shoulder in the dark and go out. They ^ywill dig through the wall to bring him out through it. He will cover his face so he cannot see the land with his eyes. ¹³But I will spread My net over him, and he will be caught in My snare. I will bring him to Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans, yet he will not see it, ^zand he will die there. ¹⁴I will also scatter all the attendants who surround him and all his troops to every direction of the wind, ^aand I will draw a sword to chase after them. ¹⁵They will know that I am Yahweh ^bwhen I disperse them among the nations and scatter them among the countries. ^c16But I will spare a few of them from the sword, ^dfamine, and plague so they can tell about all their detestable practices among the nations where they go. Then they will know that I am Yahweh.”

Ezekiel Dramatizes Israel’s Anxiety

¹⁷The word of the Lord came to me: ¹⁸“Son of man, eat your bread with ^etrembling and drink your water with shaking and anxiety. ¹⁹Then say to the people of the land: This is what the Lord God says about the residents of Jerusalem in the land of Israel: They will eat their bread with anxiety and drink their water in dread, for their ^fgland will be stripped of everything ^hin it because of the violence of all who live there. ²⁰The inhabited cities will be destroyed, and the land will become a desolation. Then you will know that I am Yahweh.”

A Deceptive Proverb Stopped

²¹Again the word of the Lord came to me: ²²“Son of man, what is this proverb you people have about the land of Israel, ⁱwhich goes:

The days keep passing by, ^j

and every vision fails?

²³Therefore say to them: This is what the Lord God says: I will put a stop to this proverb, and they will not use it again in Israel. ^kBut say to them: The days draw near, ^las well as the fulfillment of every vision. ²⁴For there will no longer be any false vision or flattering divination ^mwithin the house of Israel. ²⁵But I, Yahweh, will speak whatever message I will speak, and it will be done. ⁿIt will no longer be delayed. ^oFor in your days, rebellious house, I will speak a message and bring it to pass.” This is the declaration of the Lord God.

²⁶The word of the Lord came to me: ²⁷“Son of man, notice that the house of Israel is saying, ‘The vision that he sees concerns many years from now; ^phe prophesies about distant times.’ ²⁸Therefore say to them: This is what the Lord God says: None of My words will be delayed any longer. The message I speak will be fulfilled.” This is the declaration of the Lord God.

Israel’s False Prophets Condemned

13The word of the Lord came to me: ²“Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who ^qare prophesying. Say to those who prophesy out of their own imagination: ^rHear the word of the Lord! ³This is what the Lord God says: Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing. ⁴Your prophets, Israel, are like jackals among ruins. ⁵You did not go up to the gaps ^sor restore the wall around the house of Israel so that it might stand in battle on the day of the Lord. ⁶They see false visions and speak lying divinations. ^tThey claim, ‘This is the Lord’s declaration,’ when the Lord did not send them, ^uyet they wait for the fulfillment of their message. ⁷Didn’t you see a false vision and speak a lying divination when you proclaimed, ‘This is the Lord’s declaration,’ even though I had not spoken?

⁸“Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: I am against you because you have spoken falsely and had lying visions.” This is the declaration of the Lord God. ⁹“My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and speak lying divinations. ^vThey will not be present in the fellowship of My people or be recorded in the register of the house of Israel, and they will not enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord Yahweh.

¹⁰“Since they have led My people astray saying, ‘Peace,’ ^wwhen there is no peace, for when someone builds a wall they plaster it with whitewash, ^x11therefore, tell those who plaster it that it will fall. Torrential rain will come, ^yand I will send hailstones plunging ^zdown, and a windstorm will be released. ¹²Now when the wall has fallen, will you not be asked, ‘Where is the coat of whitewash that you put on it?’

¹³“So this is what the Lord God says: I will release a windstorm in My wrath. Torrential rain will come in My anger, and hailstones will fall in destructive fury. ¹⁴I will tear down the wall you plastered with whitewash and knock it to the ground so that its foundation is exposed. ^aThe city will fall, and you will be destroyed within it. Then you will know that I am Yahweh. ¹⁵After I exhaust My wrath against the wall and against those who plaster it with whitewash, I will say to you: The wall is no more and neither are those who…