Ezekiel 12

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

The word of the LORD also came 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, thou dwellest in the midst of a rebellious house, who have eyes to see, and see not; they have ears to hear, and hear not: for they [are] a rebellious house.

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.

Therefore, thou son of man, prepare thee stuff for removing, and remove by day in their sight; and thou shalt remove from thy place to another place in their sight; it may be they will consider, though they [are] a rebellious house.

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 bring forth thy stuff by day in their sight, as stuff for removing: and thou shalt go forth at evening in their sight, as they that go forth into captivity.

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

Dig thou through the wall in their sight, and carry out thereby.

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.”

In their sight shalt thou bear [it] upon [thy] shoulders, [and] carry [it] forth in the twilight: thou shalt cover thy face, that thou mayest not see the ground: for I have set thee [for] 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 did so as I was commanded: I brought forth my stuff by day, as stuff for captivity, and in the evening I digged through the wall with my hand; I brought [it] forth in the twilight, [and] I bore [it] upon [my] shoulder in their sight.

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

And in the morning came the word of the LORD to me, saying,

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

Son of man, hath not the house of Israel, the rebellious house, said to 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 to them, Thus saith the Lord GOD, This burden [concerneth] the prince in Jerusalem, and all the house of Israel that [are] among 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 sign: as I have done, so shall it be done to them: they shall remove [and] go into captivity.

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 twilight, and shall go forth: they shall dig through the wall to carry out thereby: he shall cover his face, 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.

My net also will I spread upon him, and he shall be taken in my snare: and I will bring him to Babylon [to] the land of the Chaldeans, yet shall he not see it, though he shall die 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 I will scatter towards every wind all that [are] about him to help him, and all his bands; and I will draw out the 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 shall know that I [am] the LORD, when I shall 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 a few men of them from the sword, from the famine, and from the pestilence; that they may declare all their abominations among the heathen whither they come; and they shall know that I [am] the LORD.

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

Moreover 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, eat thy bread with quaking, and drink thy water with trembling and with solicitude.

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 say to the people of the land, Thus saith the Lord GOD of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, [and] of the land of Israel; They shall eat their bread with solicitude, and drink their water with astonishment, that her land may be desolate from all that is therein, because of the violence of all them 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 waste, and the land shall be 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 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] that proverb [that] ye have in the land of Israel, saying, The days are prolonged, and every vision faileth?

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.

Tell them therefore, Thus saith the Lord GOD: I will make this proverb to cease, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel; but say to them, The days are at hand, and the effect 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 no more be any vain vision nor flattering 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 will speak, and the word that I shall speak shall come to pass; it shall no more be prolonged: for in your days, O rebellious house, will I say the word, and will perform it, saith the Lord GOD.

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

Again 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, [they of] the house of Israel say, The vision that he seeth [is] for many days [to come], and he prophesieth of the times [that are] distant.

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 saith the Lord GOD; There shall none of my words be further deferred, but the word which I have spoken shall be done, saith the Lord GOD.