Ezekiel 12

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

The word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

2 “Son of man, you live in the midst of a provoking house. They have eyes to see, and they do not see; and ears to hear, and they do not hear. For they are a provoking house.

Son of man, in the midst of a rebellious family art thou dwelling, who have eyes to see, and see not; who have ears to hear, and hear not; for they are a rebellious family.

3 As for you, then, son of man, prepare for yourself the supplies for traveling far away, and travel away in the daytime in their sight. And you shall travel from your place to another place in their sight, so that perhaps they may consider it. For they are a provoking house.

But thou, O son of man, prepare for thyself vessels for going into exile, and wander away by day before their eyes; and thou shalt wander away from thy place to another place before their eyes: perhaps they may become aware that they are a rebellious family.

4 And you shall carry your supplies outside, like the supplies of one who is traveling far away, in the daytime in their sight. Then you shall go forth in the evening in their presence, just as one goes forth who is moving far away.

Then shalt thou carry forth thy vessels, like vessels of exile, by day before their eyes: and thou shalt go forth at evening before their eyes, as they do that go forth into exile.

5 Dig for yourself through the wall, before their eyes. And you shall go out through it.

Before their eyes break a hole through the wall, and carry [them] through it.

6 In their sight, you shall be carried on shoulders, you shall be carried in the dark. You shall cover your face, and you shall not see the ground. For I have appointed you as a portent for the house of Israel.”

Before their [eyes] shalt thou bear them upon thy shoulders, in the dark shalt thou carry them forth: thy face shalt thou cover, that thou mayest not see the ground; for as a token have I set thee unto the house of Israel.

7 Therefore, I did just as he had instructed me. I brought out my supplies in the daytime, like the supplies of one who is moving far away. And in the evening, I dug myself through the wall by hand. And I went out in the dark, and I was carried on shoulders, in their sight.

And I did so as I had been commanded; my vessels I carried forth by day, like vessels of exile, and in the evening I broke a hole for myself through the wall with my hand: in the dark I brought them forth, and I bore them upon my shoulder before their eyes.

8 And the word of the Lord came to me, in the morning, saying:

And the word of the Lord came unto me in the morning, saying,

9 “Son of man, has not the house of Israel, the provoking house, said to you: ‘What are you doing?’

Son of man, have not the house of Israel, the rebellious family, said unto thee, What doest thou?

10 Say to them: Thus says the Lord God: This is the burden concerning my leader who is in Jerusalem, and concerning the entire house of Israel, who are in their midst.

Say thou unto them, Thus hath said the Lord Eternal, For the prince in Jerusalem is the doom, and for all the house of Israel, [and those] that are in the midst of them.

11 Say: I am your portent. Just as I have done, so shall it be done to them. They will be taken captive and moved far away.

Say, I am your token; just as I have done, so shall it be done unto them: into exile, into captivity, shall they wander.

12 And the leader who is in their midst will be carried on shoulders; he will go forth in darkness. They will dig through the wall, so that they may lead him away. His face will be covered, so that he may not see the land with his eye.

And the prince that is among them shall bear upon his shoulder in the dark, and shall go forth; through the wall shall they break a hole to carry [things] through it: his face shall he cover up, that he may not see the ground with his eyes.

13 And I will extend my net over him, and he will be captured in my dragnet. And I will lead him to Babylon, into the land of the Chaldeans, but he himself will not see it. And there he shall die.

And I will spread out my net over him, and he shall be caught in my snare: and I will bring him to Babylon into the land of the Chaldeans; yet shall he not see it, and there shall he die.

14 And all who are around him, his guards and his companies, I will scatter into every wind. And I will unsheathe the sword after them.

And all that are round about him, those who assist him, and all the wings of his armies will I disperse toward every wind; and the sword will I draw out after them.

15 And they shall know that I am the Lord, when I will have dispersed them among the Gentiles, and will have sowed them among the lands.

And they shall know that I am the Lord, when I scatter them among the nations, and disperse them in the countries.

16 And I will leave behind a few men of them, apart from the sword, and the famine, and the pestilence, so that they may declare all their wicked deeds among the Gentiles, to whom they will go. And they shall know that I am the Lord.”

But I will leave of them men few in number from the sword, from the famine, and from the pestilence: in order that they may relate all their abominations among the nations whither they shall have come; and they shall know that I am the Lord.

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

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

18 “Son of man, eat your bread in consternation. Moreover, drink your water hurriedly and in sorrow.

Son of man, thy bread shalt thou eat with quaking, and thy water shalt thou drink with trembling and with anxious care.

19 And say to the people of the land: Thus says the Lord God, to those who are living in Jerusalem, in the land of Israel: They shall eat their bread in anxiety, and drink their water in desolation, so that the land may be desolate before its multitude, because of the iniquity of all who are living in it.

And thou shalt say unto the people of the land, Thus hath said the Lord Eternal concerning the inhabitants of Jerusalem, [and] concerning the land of Israel, Their bread shall they eat with anxious care, and their water shall they drink with confusion, for the cause that her land will be desolate, deprived of its plenteousness because of the violence of all those that dwell therein.

20 And cities that are now inhabited will become desolate, and the land will be forsaken. And you shall know that I am the Lord.”

And the cities that are inhabited shall be laid in ruins, and the land shall be made desolate: and ye shall know that I am the Lord.

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

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

22 “Son of man, what is this proverb that you have in the land of Israel? saying: ‘The days shall be extended in length, and every vision shall perish.’

Son of man, what sort of proverb is that which ye have in the land of Israel, saying, The days are lasting long, and lost is every vision?

23 Therefore, say to them: Thus says the Lord God: I will cause this proverb to cease, and it shall no longer be a common saying in Israel. And tell them that the days are approaching, and the word of every vision.

Therefore say unto them, Thus hath said the Lord Eternal, I will cause this proverb to cease, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel; but speak unto them, The days are coming nigh, and the word of every vision.

24 For there shall no longer be any empty visions, nor any ambiguous divination in the midst of the sons of Israel.

For there shall be no more any false vision and a deceptive divination within the house of Israel.

25 For I, the Lord, will speak. And whatever word I will speak, it shall be done, and it shall not be delayed any more. Instead, in your days, O provoking house, I will speak a word and do it, says the Lord God.”

For I am the Lord, —I do speak, and whatever word I do speak shall be done; it shall not be delayed any more; for in your days, O rebellious family, will I speak the word, and I will execute it, saith the Lord Eternal.

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

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

27 “Son of man, behold the house of Israel, those who are saying: ‘The visions that this one sees is many days away,’ and, ‘This man prophesies about times that are far away.’

Son of man, behold, the house of Israel say, The vision that he foreseeth is for distant days, and for times that are far off doth he prophesy.

28 Because of this, say to them: Thus says the Lord God: No word of mine will be delayed any longer. The word that I will speak will be fulfilled, says the Lord God.”

Therefore say unto them, Thus hath said the Lord Eternal, There shall not be delayed any more one of all my words; but whatever word I do speak shall be done, saith the Lord Eternal.