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.

And a spirit bore me up, and brought me unto the east gate of the house of the Lord, which looketh eastward: and behold, there were at the entrance of the gate five and twenty men; and I saw in the midst of them Yaazanyah the son of 'Azzur, and Pelatyahu the son of Benayahu, princes 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.

Then said he unto me, Son of man, these are the men that devise wickedness, and give 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, [The evil] is not near; so let us build houses: this [city] is the pot, and we are the flesh.

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

Therefore prophesy against them, prophesy, O 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 unto me, Speak, Thus hath said the Lord, Thus have ye said, O house of Israel; and whatever cometh into your mind, do I know full well.

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

Ye have multiplied those slain by you in this city, and ye have filled its streets with the slain.

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 hath said the Lord Eternal, Those slain by you whom ye have struck down in the midst of it, —they are the flesh, and this place is the pot; but you are to be removed out of the midst of it.

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

The sword have ye feared: and the sword will I bring over you, saith the Lord Eternal.

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 remove you out of the midst of it, and I will give you up into the hand of strangers, and will execute punishments 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.

By the sword shall ye fall; on the boundary of Israel will I judge you: and ye 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.

This place shall not be unto you as a pot, so that you should be as flesh in the midst of it; but on the boundary of Israel will I judge you.

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.”

And ye shall know that I am the Lord: because in my statutes have ye not walked, and my ordinances have ye not executed; but ye have done after the ordinances of the nations that are round about 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?”

And it came to pass, as I was prophesying, that Pelatyahu the son of Benayah died. Then fell I down upon my face, and cried with a loud voice, and said, Ah Lord Eternal! wilt thou make a full end of the remnant of Israel?

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

Then came the word of the Lord unto 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, thy brethren, even thy brethren, the men of thy kindred, and the whole house of Israel altogether, are they unto whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, Remain you far from the Lord: unto us is this land given for a possession.

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, Thus hath said the Lord Eternal, Although I have removed them far away among the nations, and although I have scattered them among the countries: yet will I be to them as a minor sanctuary in the countries whither they are come.

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, Thus hath said the Lord Eternal, I will both gather you from the people, and assemble you out of the countries whether ye have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.

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

And they shall come thither, and they shall remove all its detestable things, and all its abominations out of 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 one single heart, and a new spirit will I put within you; and I will remove the heart of stone out of their body, and I will give unto 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.

In order that they may walk in my statutes, and keep my ordinances, and do them; and they shall be unto me for a people, and I will indeed be unto them for 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.”

But as for those whose heart walketh after the heart of their detestable things and their abominations, their way do I bring upon their own head, saith the Lord Eternal.

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

Then did the cherubim lift up their wings, and the wheels at the same time with 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 ascended from the midst of the city, and halted upon the mount which is on the east side 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,

But a spirit bore me up, and brought me into Chaldea, to those in exile, in the appearance through the spirit of God: and then ascended away from me the appearance which I had seen.

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

Then did I speak unto those in exile all the things that the Lord had shown me.