Ezekiel 11

1 Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the gate of the house of the LORD that faces east. And there at the entrance of the gate were twenty-five men. Among them I saw Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah, who were leaders of the people.

Moreover the Spirit took me up, and brought me to the front gate of the house of the Lord, that looks eastward: and behold at the entrance of the gate were about five and twenty men; and I saw in the midst of them Jechonias the son of Ezer, and Phaltias the son of Banaeas, the leaders of the people.

2 And the LORD said to me, “Son of man, these are the men who plot evil and give wicked counsel in this city.

And the Lord said to me, Son of man, these are the men that devise vanities, and take evil counsel in this city:

3 They are saying, ‘Is not the time near to build houses? The city is the cooking pot, and we are the meat.’

who say, Have not the houses been newly built? This is the caldron, and we are the flesh.

4 Therefore prophesy against them; prophesy, O son of man!”

Therefore prophesy against them, prophesy, son of man.

5 And the Spirit of the LORD fell upon me and told me to declare that this is what the LORD says: “That is what you are thinking, O house of Israel; and I know the thoughts that arise in your minds.

And the Spirit of the Lord fell upon me, and said to me, say; Thus says the Lord; Thus have you said, O house of Israel: and I know the devices of your spirit.

6 You have multiplied those you killed in this city and filled its streets with the dead.

You have multiplied your dead in this city, and you have filled your ways with slain men.

7 Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: The slain you have laid within this city are the meat, and the city is the pot; but I will remove you from it.

Therefore thus says the Lord; Your dead whom you have struck in the midst of it, these are the flesh, and this[city] is the caldron: but I will bring you forth out of the midst of it.

8 You fear the sword, so I will bring the sword against you, declares the Lord GOD.

You fear the sword; and I will bring a sword upon you, says the Lord.

9 I will bring you out of the city and deliver you into the hands of foreigners, and I will execute judgments against you.

And I will bring you forth out of the midst of it, and will deliver you into the hands of strangers, and will execute judgments among you.

10 You will fall by the sword, and I will judge you even to the borders of Israel. Then you will know that I am the LORD.

You shall fall by the sword; I will judge you on the mountains of Israel; and you shall know that I am the Lord.

11 The city will not be a pot for you, nor will you be the meat within it. I will judge you even to the borders of Israel.

And it came to pass, while I was prophesying, that Phaltias the son of Banaeas died. And I fell upon my face, and cried with a loud voice, and said, Alas, alas, O Lord! will you utterly destroy the remnant of Israel?

12 Then you will know that I am the LORD. For you have neither followed My statutes nor practiced My ordinances, but you have conformed to the ordinances of the nations around you.”

13 Now as I was prophesying, Pelatiah son of Benaiah died. Then I fell facedown and cried out in a loud voice, “Oh, Lord GOD, will You bring the remnant of Israel to a complete end?”

14 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

15 “Son of man, your brothers—your relatives, your fellow exiles, and the whole house of Israel—are those of whom the people of Jerusalem have said, ‘They are far away from the LORD; this land has been given to us as a possession.’

Son of man, your brethren, and the men of your captivity, and all the house of Israel are come to the full, to whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem said, Keep you far away from the Lord: the land is given to us for an inheritance.

16 Therefore declare that this is what the Lord GOD 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 sanctuary for them in the countries to which they have gone.’

Therefore say you, Thus says the Lord; I will cast them off among the nations, and will disperse them into every land, yet will I be to them for a little sanctuary in the countries which they shall enter.

17 Therefore declare that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you from the countries to which you have been scattered, and I will give back to you the land of Israel.’

Therefore say you, Thus says the Lord; I will also take them from the heathen, and gather them out of the lands wherein I have scattered them, and will give them the land of Israel.

18 When they return to it, they will remove all its detestable things and all its abominations.

And they shall enter in there, and shall remove all the abominations of it, and all its iniquities from it.

19 And I will give them singleness of heart and put a new spirit within them; I will remove their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh,

And I will give them another heart, and will put a new spirit within them; and will extract the heart of stone from their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh:

20 so that they may follow My statutes, keep My ordinances, and practice them. Then they will be My people, and I will be their God.

that they may walk in my commandments, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be to me a people, and I will be to them a God.

21 But as for those whose hearts pursue detestable things and abominations, I will bring their conduct down upon their own heads, declares the Lord GOD.”

And as for the heart [set upon] their abominations and their iniquities, as their heart went [after them], I have recompensed their ways on their heads, says the Lord.

22 Then the cherubim, with the wheels beside them, spread their wings, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them.

Then the cherubs lifted up their wings, and the wheels beside them; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above.

23 And the glory of the LORD rose up from within the city and stood over the mountain east of the city.

And the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city, and stood on the mountain which was in front of the city.

24 And the Spirit lifted me up and carried me back to Chaldea, to the exiles in the vision given by the Spirit of God. After the vision had gone up from me,

And the Spirit took me up, and brought me to the land of the Chaldeans, to the captivity, in a vision by the Spirit of God: and I went up after the vision which I saw.

25 I told the exiles everything the LORD had shown me.

And I spoke to the captivity all the words of the Lord which he had showed me.