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.

Then the spirit lifted me up, and brought me to the east gate of the house of Jehovah, that looketh toward the east; and behold, at the entrance of the gate were five and twenty men; among whom I saw Jaazaniah, the son of Azur, and Pelatiah, the son of Benaiah, 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 to me: These are the men that devise mischief, and form evil designs 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 time is not near that we should build houses. This city is the caldron, 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 Jehovah fell upon me, and he said to me, Speak: Thus saith Jehovah: Thus have ye said, O house of Israel! For I know the things that come into your mind, every one of them.

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

Ye have multiplied your slain in this city, and ye have filled the streets thereof 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 saith the Lord Jehovah: Your slain, whom ye have laid in the midst of it, they are the flesh, and this city is the caldron; but you will I bring forth out of the midst of it.

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

Ye have feared the sword, and the sword will I bring upon you, saith the Lord Jehovah.

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 out of the midst thereof, and deliver you into the hands of strangers, and execute judgments upon 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.

Ye shall fall by the sword; on the borders of Israel will I judge you, that ye may know that I am Jehovah.

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 city shall not be your caldron, neither shall ye be the flesh in the midst thereof. On the borders 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.”

that ye may know that I am Jehovah, in whose statutes ye have not walked, and whose ordinances ye have not observed, but have done according to the manners 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, when I prophesied, that Pelatiah, the son of Benaiah, died. Then I fell down on my face, and cried with a loud voice, and said, Ah, Lord Jehovah, wilt thou make a full end of the remnant of Israel?

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

And the word of Jehovah 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, thy brethren, even thy brethren, the men of thy near kindred, and the whole house of Israel, are they to whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem say, “Remove ye far from Jehovah; to us is the land given in 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 saith the Lord Jehovah: Though I have cast them far off among the nations, and scattered them among the countries, yet I will be to them as a sanctuary for a short time 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 saith the Lord Jehovah: I will gather you from the nations, and assemble you from the countries where 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 take away from thence all the detestable things thereof, and all the abominations thereof.

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 heart, and I will put a new spirit within them; and I will take out of them the heart of stone, and will 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 statutes, and observe my ordinances, and keep them; and they shall be my people, and I will be their 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 them whose heart walketh according to the pleasure of their detestable things and their abominations, I will recompense their way upon their heads, saith the Lord Jehovah.

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 cherubs lift up their wings, and the wheels were 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 Jehovah went up from the midst of the city, and stood upon the mountain 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,

Then the spirit took me up, and brought me to Chaldaea, to them of the captivity, in vision, by the spirit of God. And the vision which I had seen went up from me.

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

Then I spake to them of the captivity all the words of Jehovah which he had showed me.