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 Pelatiahh son of Benaiah, leadersi of the people.j 2 The Lord said to me, “Son of man, these are the men who are plotting evilk and giving wicked advice in this city.l 3 They say, ‘Haven’t our houses been recently rebuilt? This city is a pot,m and we are the meat in it.’n 4 Therefore prophesyo against them; prophesy, son of man.”

5 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.p 6 You have killed many people in this city and filled its streets with the dead.q

7 “Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: The bodies you have thrown there are the meat and this city is the pot,r but I will drive you out of it.s 8 You fear the sword,t and the sword is what I will bring against you, declares the Sovereign Lord.u 9 I will drive you out of the city and deliver you into the handsv of foreigners and inflict punishment on you.w 10 You will fall by the sword, and I will execute judgment on you at the borders of Israel.x Then you will know that I am the Lord. 11 This city will not be a poty 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,z for you have not followed my decreesa or kept my laws but have conformed to the standards of the nations around you.b”

13 Now as I was prophesying, Pelatiahc 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?d”

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.’e

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 sanctuaryf 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.’g

18 “They will return to it and remove all its vile imagesh and detestable idols.i 19 I will give them an undivided heartj and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stonek and give them a heart of flesh.l 20 Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.m They will be my people,n and I will be their God.o 21 But as for those whose hearts are devoted to their vile images and detestable idols,p I will bring down on their own heads what they have done, declares the Sovereign Lord.q”

22 Then the cherubim, with the wheels beside them, spread their wings, and the gloryr of the God of Israel was above them.s 23 The gloryt of the Lord went up from within the city and stopped above the mountainu east of it. 24 The Spiritv lifted me up and brought me to the exiles in Babyloniaa in the visionw 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.x

The Exile Symbolized

12 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, you are living among a rebellious people.y They have eyes to see but do not see and ears to hear but do not hear, for they are a rebellious people.z

3 “Therefore, son of man, pack your belongings for exile and in the daytime, as they watch, set out and go from where you are to another place. Perhapsa they will understand,b though they are a rebellious people.c 4 During the daytime, while they watch, bring out your belongings packed for exile. Then in the evening, while they are watching, go out like those who go into exile.d 5 While they watch, dig through the walle and take your belongings out through it. 6 Put them on your shoulder as they are watching and carry them out at dusk. Cover your face so that you cannot see the land, for I have made you a signf to the Israelites.”

7 So I did as I was commanded.g During the day I brought out my things packed for exile. Then in the evening I dug through the wall with my hands. I took my belongings out at dusk, carrying them on my shoulders while they watched.

8 In the morning the word of the Lord came to me: 9 “Son of man, did not the Israelites, that rebellious people, ask you, ‘What are you doing?’h

10 “Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: This prophecy concerns the prince in Jerusalem and all the Israelites who are there.’ 11 Say to them, ‘I am a signi to you.’

“As I have done, so it will be done to them. They will go into exile as captives.j

12 “The prince among them will put his things on his shoulder at duskk and leave, and a hole will be dug in the wall for him to go through. He will cover his face so that he cannot see the land.l 13 I will spread my netm for him, and he will be caught in my snare;n I will bring him to Babylonia, the land of the Chaldeans,o but he will not seep it, and there he will die.q 14 I will scatter to the winds all those around him—his staff and all his troops—and I will pursue them with drawn sword.r

15 “They will know that I am the Lord, when I disperse them among the nationss and scatter them through the countries. 16 But I will spare a few of them from the sword, famine and plague, so that in the nations where they go they may acknowledge all their detestable practices. Then they will know that I am the Lord.t”

17 The word of the Lord came to me: 18 “Son of man, tremble as you eat your food,u and shudder in fear as you drink your water. 19 Say to the people of the land: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says about those living in Jerusalem and in the land of Israel: They will eat their food in anxiety and drink their water in despair, for their land will be stripped of everythingv in it because of the violence of all who live there.w 20 The inhabited towns will be laid waste and the land will be desolate. Then you will know that I am the Lord.x’ ”

There Will Be No Delay

21 The word of the Lord came to me: 22 “Son of man, what is this proverby you have in the land of Israel: ‘The days go by and every vision comes to nothing’?z 23 Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am going to put an end to this proverb, and they will no longer quote it in Israel.’ Say to them, ‘The days are neara when every vision will be fulfilled.b 24 For there will be no more false visions or flattering divinationsc among the people of Israel. 25 But I the Lord will speak what I will, and it shall be fulfilled without delay.d For in your days, you rebellious people, I will fulfille whatever I say, declares the Sovereign Lord.f’ ”

26 The word of the Lord came to me: 27 “Son of man, the Israelites are saying, ‘The vision he sees is for many years from now, and he prophesies about the distant future.’g

28 “Therefore say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: None of my words will be delayed any longer; whatever I say will be fulfilled, declares the Sovereign Lord.’ ”

False Prophets Condemned

13 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, prophesy against the prophetsh of Israel who are now prophesying. Say to those who prophesy out of their own imagination:i ‘Hear the word of the Lord!j 3 This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to the foolisha prophetsk who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing!l 4 Your prophets, Israel, are like jackals among ruins. 5 You have not gone up to the breaches in the wall to repairm it for the people of Israel so that it will stand firm in the battle on the day of the Lord.n 6 Their visions are falseo and their divinations a lie. Even though the Lord has not sentp them, they say, “The Lord declares,” and expect him to fulfill their words.q 7 Have you not seen false visionsr and uttered lying divinations when you say, “The Lord declares,” though I have not spoken?

8 “ ‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because of your false words and lying visions, I am against you,s declares the Sovereign Lord. 9 My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and utter lyingt divinations. They will not belong to the council of my people or be listed in the recordsu of Israel, nor will they enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.v

10 “ ‘Because they lead my people astray,w saying, “Peace,”x when there is no peace, and because, when a flimsy wall is built, they cover it with whitewash,y 11 therefore tell those who cover it with whitewash that it is going to fall. Rain will come in torrents, and I will send hailstonesz hurtling down,a and violent winds will burst forth.b 12 When the wall collapses, will people not ask you, “Where is the whitewash you covered it with?”

13 “ ‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: In my wrath I will unleash a violent wind, and in my anger hailstonesc and torrents of raind will fall with destructive fury.e 14 I will tear down the wallf you have covered with whitewash and will level it to the ground so that its foundationg will be laid bare. When itb falls,h you will be destroyed in it; and you will know that I am the Lord. 15 So I will pour out my wrath against the wall and against those who covered it with whitewash. I will say to you, “The wall is gone and so are those who whitewashed it, 16 those prophets of Israel who prophesied to Jerusalem and saw visions of peace for her when there was no peace, declares the Sovereign Lord.i” ’

17 “Now, son of man, set your facej against the daughtersk of your people who prophesy out of their own imagination. Prophesy against theml 18 and say, ‘This is what the