11:1 twenty-five men Perhaps the same men who had been worshiping the sun in 8:16.

Jaazaniah the son of Azzur in the midst of them, and Pelatiah Ezekiel calls attention to two of the men, identifying them with the Hebrew title sar. The title can indicate any high-ranking officer or official, but it also can designate a member of the aristocracy. The individuals are not referenced outside this passage, but the first names are common to the time period and appear on seals used for marking property ownership.

11:3 The building of houses is not near It may be that the leaders are expressing confidence in their safety and hope for a prosperous future. Alternatively, their counsel could be construed negatively, expressing their sense of the impending doom from Babylonian invasion. The response could also express general ambivalence.

the city is the pot This seems to refer to a standard cooking pot. The cooking pot (or cauldron) could symbolize protection. However, a cooking pot would be an unusual symbol of protection since the contents are about to be cooked. Further examples of this metaphor in Ezek 11 do little to clarify the sense (see vv. 7, 11) since they play on the ambiguity of safety and danger to those in or out of the pot. The metaphor is expanded in ch. 24.

11:5 the Spirit of Yahweh fell on me When Ezekiel refers to the Spirit or hand of Yahweh coming upon him, it indicates the onset of a Spirit-inspired, trance-like state.

the thoughts of your spirit Yahweh knows their plans, even those they have thought but have not stated (compare Ezek 20:32; Isa 29:15).

11:6 You made your slain ones numerous in this city Warns that the destruction depicted in Ezek 9:7 is their own responsibility, even though it is divinely mandated. Their sin has made the judgment inevitable.

11:7 they are the flesh See note on v. 3. The prophecy reverses the saying attributed to the leaders in v. 3. They may have thought that being in the city (metaphorically the pot or cauldron) meant protection, but their poor choice of analogy prompts associations of dead meat cooking. The metaphor seems to imply that the leaders have first, through their poor judgment, multiplied those who will be slain in the city (cooked in the pot), and now the leaders themselves will be taken from the city for judgment (see v. 9). The English idiom out of the pot and into the frying pan is similar to this metaphor.

11:9 I will bring you out from its midst A contrast between the high-ranking officials who will be brought out and the common people who will be slain in the city. Second Kings 25:4–7 records how Zedekiah and his officers made a breach in the city wall and escaped at night, leaving the city to Nebuchadnezzar’s destruction. Their 11th-hour escape was part of Yahweh’s plan to separate them for special judgment.

into the hand of strangers Zedekiah and his officials were quickly caught by the Babylonians and brought before Nebuchadnezzar.

11:10 at the border of Israel; I will judge you A reference to Riblah, located on the Orontes River in northern Syria, where Nebuchadnezzar was headquartered during his campaign into Palestine (see 2 Kgs 25:20–21; compare Ezek 6:14 and note).

you will know that I am Yahweh The recognition formula (see note on 5:13). The delay between past prophecy and enacted judgment may have given people time to doubt that Yahweh would do as He threatened. This formula underscores that His actions will remove any doubt about His power or deity.

11:11 will not be as a pot to you Refers to the court officials who escaped and were judged in Riblah (see note on v. 9 and note on v. 10).

11:12 the regulations of the nations Refers to the idolatrous practices Ezekiel witnessed in 8:5–16 (i.e., mixed religious practices of the Canaanites, Egyptians, and Babylonians).

11:13 Pelatiahu the son of Benaiahu died One of the two individuals recognized and named by Ezekiel drops dead during the prophecy, upsetting Ezekiel greatly.

I fell on my face Ezekiel’s humble gesture of entreaty or appeal acknowledges his place before Yahweh, perhaps in an effort to avoid a fate similar to Pelatiah’s.

you are making a complete destruction A nearly verbatim repetition of his entreaty from 9:8. A vision of judgment that affects even the elite makes Ezekiel fear for the preservation of a remnant of people.

11:15 They are far from Yahweh The people have lost sight of the connection between their obedience to Yahweh and their continued possession of the land God gave them.

11:16 I have scattered them among the countries A familiar part of Yahweh’s plan for judgment, enacted in the sign from Ezek 5:2 and promised again in 6:8. The emphasis on the scattering of Israel is based on the covenant curse from Lev 26:33.

a sanctuary Worship or access to the divine presence is not limited to the temple in Jerusalem. Yahweh asserts that He has been present among the exiles, and His presence makes any land a sanctuary.

11:17 I will assemble you from the peoples Yahweh’s action in gathering Israel from exile and returning them to the land is a frequent prophetic image of salvation (compare Isa 54:7; Mic 2:12; Jer 23:3; 32:37).

11:18 they will remove all of its vile idols and all of its detestable things from it The exiles will return repentant and intent on ending idol worship. They will remove the idols described in Ezek 8 and condemned in ch. 5 (see note on 5:9 and note on 5:11).

11:19 a new spirit I will give in their inner parts Anticipates the more developed salvation oracle in 36:26 that also promises the new spirit and the heart of flesh.

heart of stone The heart of stone symbolizes a stubborn rejection of Yahweh. Compare the stubborn heart and hard forehead depicted in 3:7 and the imagery of Zech 7:12.

11:20 they may walk in my statutes The heart of flesh allows them to respond to Yahweh in faith and obedience. They had to overcome the spiritual barrier of their stubbornness before they could respond.

me a people, and I myself will be to them as God Based on the covenant formula of Lev 26:12. Relationship between God and His people is possible only through proper observance of the covenant. Exodus 6:7 combines a similar statement of covenant relationship with a version of the recognition formula (see note on Ezek 5:13).

11:22 cherubim lifted up their wings The prophetic word ends, and Ezekiel resumes his description of what he sees. The divine chariot-throne that had been on the temple’s threshold slowly departs and begins to move eastward out of the city.

11:23 on the mountain The Mount of Olives was east of the temple and overlooked the temple complex and the city. It would be the furthest extent someone in the temple area could see to the east.

11:24 the Spirit lifted me up Compare 8:3. Ezekiel is returned home in the same way he was transported to Jerusalem.

11:25 I spoke to the exiles The narrative ends by linking back to the original scene of 8:1: Ezekiel is in his house with the elders of Judah. Now he reports the vision to them in detail.