Ezekiel 12

CHAPTER 12

The Vision of Captivity

¹Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,

²“Son of man, you live in the ^amidst of the ^brebellious house, who ^chave eyes to see but do not see, ears to hear but do not hear; for they are a rebellious house.

³“Now as for you, son of man, prepare for yourself baggage for exile and go into exile by day in their sight; even go into exile from your place to another place in their sight. ^aPerhaps they will see, though they are a rebellious house.

⁴“Bring your baggage out by day in their sight, as baggage for exile. Then you will go out ^aat evening in their sight, as those going into exile.

⁵“In their sight, dig a hole through the wall and ¹go out through it.

⁶“In their sight, carry the baggage on your shoulder and bring it out in the dark. You shall ^acover your face so that you cannot see the land, for I have set you as a ^bwondrous sign to the house of Israel.”

⁷I ^adid so, as I had been commanded. By day I ^bbrought out my baggage like the baggage of an exile. Then in the evening I dug through the wall with my hands; I went out in the dark and carried the baggage on my shoulder in their sight.

⁸And in the morning the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,

⁹“Son of man, has not the house of Israel, the ^arebellious house, said to you, ‘^bWhat are you doing?’

¹⁰“Say to them, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “This ^1aoracle concerns the prince in Jerusalem as well as all the house of Israel who are ²in it.” ’

¹¹“Say, ‘I am ¹a ^awondrous sign to you. As I have done, so it will be done to them; they will ^bgo into exile, into captivity.’

¹²“The ^aprince who is among them will carry his baggage on his shoulder in the dark and go out. ¹They will dig a hole through the wall to bring it out. He will cover his face so that he cannot see the land with his eyes.

¹³“I will also spread My ^anet over him, and he will be caught in My snare. And I will bring him to Babylon in the land of the Chaldeans; yet he will ^bnot see it, though he will die there.

¹⁴“And I will ^ascatter to every wind all who are around him, his helpers and all his troops; and I will draw out a sword after them.

¹⁵“So they will ^aknow that I am Yahweh when I scatter them among the nations and spread them among the countries.

¹⁶“But I will ¹spare a few of them from ^asword, famine, and pestilence that they may recount all their abominations among the nations where they go, and ²may ^bknow that I am Yahweh.”

¹⁷Moreover, the word of Yahweh came to me saying,

¹⁸“Son of man, ^ayou shall eat your bread with trembling and drink your water with quivering and anxiety.

¹⁹“Then you will say to the people of the land, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh concerning the inhabitants of Jerusalem in the land of Israel, “They will eat their bread with anxiety and drink their water with desolation because ¹their very soil will be ^amade desolate of its fullness on account of the violence of all who inhabit it.

²⁰“The inhabited ^acities will be laid waste, and the ^bland will be a desolation. So you will know that I am Yahweh.” ’ ”

²¹Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,

²²“Son of man, what is this ^aproverb you people have concerning the land of Israel, saying, ‘The ^bdays are long, and every ^cvision fails’?

²³“Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “I will make this proverb cease so that they will no longer use it as a proverb in Israel.” But speak to them, “^aThe days draw near as well as the ¹fulfillment of every vision.

²⁴“For there will no longer be any ^aworthless vision or flattering divination in the midst of the house of Israel.

²⁵“For I, Yahweh, will speak, and whatever ^aword I speak will be done. It will no longer be delayed, for in ^byour days, O ^crebellious house, I will speak the word and do it,” declares Lord Yahweh.’”

²⁶Furthermore, the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,

²⁷“Son of man, behold, the house of Israel is saying, ‘The vision that he beholds is for ^amany ¹years from now, and he prophesies of times far off.’

²⁸“Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “None of My words will be delayed any longer. Whatever word I speak will be done,” ’ ” declares Lord Yahweh.