Ezekiel 12

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

And there is a word of YHWH to 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, you are dwelling in the midst of the house of rebellion, that have eyes to see, and they have not seen; they have ears to hear, and they have not heard; for they [are] a house of rebellion.

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.

And you, son of man, make your vessels of removal, and remove by day before their eyes, and you have removed from your place to another place before their eyes, it may be they consider, for they [are] a house of rebellion.

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.

And you have brought forth your vessels as vessels of removal by day before their eyes, and you go forth in the evening before their eyes, as the goings forth of a removal.

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

You dig through the wall before their eyes, and you have brought forth by 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.”

Carry on the shoulder before their eyes, bring forth in the darkness, cover your face, and you do not see the earth, for I have given you [as] a sign to 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 do so, as I have been commanded; I have brought forth my vessels as vessels of removal by day, and I have dug through the wall with my hand in the evening; I have brought forth in the darkness, I have carried away on the shoulder, before their eyes.

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

And there is a word of YHWH to 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 they not said to you—the house of Israel—the house of rebellion—What are you doing?

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 to them, Thus said Lord YHWH: This burden [concerns] the prince in Jerusalem, and all the house of Israel who are in their midst.

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 sign; as I have done so it is done to them, into a removal, into a captivity, they go.

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.

As for the prince who [is] in their midst, he carries on the shoulder in the darkness, and he goes forth; they dig through the wall to bring forth by it; he covers his face that he may not look on the very surface of the land.

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 have spread My net for him, and he has been caught in My snare, and I have brought him to Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans, and he does not see it—and he dies there.

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 who are around him to help him, and all his bands, I scatter to every wind, and I draw out a sword 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 have known that I [am] YHWH, in My scattering them among nations, and I have spread them through lands;

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.”

and I have left of them, a few in number, from the sword, from the famine, and from the pestilence, so that they recount all their abominations among the nations to where they have come, and they have known that I [am] YHWH.”

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

And there is a word of YHWH to me, saying,

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

“Son of man, eat your bread in haste, and drink your water with trembling and with fear;

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 you have said to the people of the land, Thus said Lord YHWH concerning the inhabitants of Jerusalem, concerning the land of Israel: They eat their bread with fear, and drink their water with astonishment, because its land is desolate, because of its fullness, because of the violence of all who are dwelling in it.

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 are laid waste, and the land is a desolation, and you have known that I [am] YHWH.”

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

And there is a word of YHWH to 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 [is] this allegory to you, concerning the land of Israel, saying, The days are prolonged, and every vision has perished?

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 to them, Thus said Lord YHWH: I have caused this allegory to cease, And they do not use it as an allegory in Israel again, But speak to them: The days have drawn near, And every vision has spoken.

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

For there is no longer any vain vision, and flattering divination, In the midst of 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, YHWH, speak, The word that I speak—it is done, It is not prolonged anymore, For in your days, O house of rebellion, I speak a word, and I have done it, A declaration of Lord YHWH.”

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

And there is a word of YHWH 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 is saying, The vision that he is seeing [is not] for many days, and he is prophesying of far-off times,

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 to them, Thus said Lord YHWH: None of My words are prolonged anymore, When I speak a word—it is done, A declaration of Lord YHWH!”