< Ezekiel 11 >
1 And the spirit lifted me up, and brought me into the east gate of the house of the Lord, which looketh towards the rising of the sun: and behold in the entry of the gate five and twenty men: and I saw in the midst of them Jezonias the son of Azur, and Pheltias the son of Banaias, princes of the people.
Then the Spirit picked me up and took me to the eastern entrance of the Lord's Temple. Twenty-five men were gathered there at the entrance. I recognized among them Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah, leaders of the people.
2 And he said to me: Son of man, these are the men that study iniquity, and frame a wicked counsel in this city,
The Lord told me, “Son of man, it's these men who are making evil plans and giving bad advice to the people in this city.
3 Saying: Were not houses lately built? This city is the caldron, and we the flesh.
They're saying, ‘Is this the time for us to be building houses? The city is the cooking pot, and we are the meat inside it.’
4 Therefore prophesy against them, prophesy, thou son of man.
So prophesy against them. Prophesy, son of man!”
5 And the spirit of the Lord fell upon me, and said to me: Speak: Thus saith the Lord: Thus have you spoken, O house of Israel, for I know the thoughts of your heart.
The Spirit of the Lord came upon me and told me to say: This is what the Lord says: “People of Israel, that's what you're saying! I know what you're thinking inside!
6 You have killed a great many in this city, and you have filled the streets thereof with the slain.
You murder more and more people in this city. You've filled its streets with the dead!
7 Therefore thus saith the Lord God: Your slain, whom you have laid in the midst thereof, they are the flesh, and this is the caldron: and I will bring you forth out of the midst thereof.
So this is what the Lord God says: Those you've killed in this city are the meat, and the city is the pot; but I'm going to take you out of it.
8 You have feared the sword, and I will bring the sword upon you, saith the Lord God.
You're afraid of being killed by the sword, so I will bring invaders with swords to attack you, declares the Lord God.
9 And I will cast you out of the midst thereof, and I will deliver you into the hand of the enemies, and I will execute judgments upon you.
I'm going to take you out of the city and hand you over to foreigners, and I'm going to carry out my sentence against you.
10 You shall fall by the sword: I will judge you in the borders of Israel, and you shall know that I am the Lord.
You will be killed by the sword, and I will punish you right up to the borders of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
11 This shall not be as a caldron to you, and you shall not be as flesh in the midst thereof: I will judge you in the borders of Israel.
The city won't be like a pot for you, and you won't be the meat inside it either. I will punish you right up to the borders of Israel.
12 And you shall know that I am the Lord: because you have not walked in my commandments, and have not done my judgments, but you have done according to the judgments of the nations that; are round about you.
Then you will know that I am the Lord. For you didn't follow my rules and you didn't keep my laws. Instead you kept the laws of the nations around you.”
13 And it came to pass, when I prophesied, that Pheltias the son of Banaias died: and I fell down upon my face, and cried with a loud voice: and said: Alas, alas, alas, O Lord God: wilt thou make an end of all the remnant of Israel?
While I was prophesying, Pelatiah son of Benaiah died. I fell facedown on the ground and shouted loudly, “Lord God, are you going to completely destroy what's left of the people of Israel?”
14 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
A message from Lord came to me, saying,
15 Son of man, thy brethren, thy brethren, thy kinsmen, and all the house of Israel, all they to whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said: Get ye far from the Lord, the land is given in possession to us.
“Son of man, your brothers, including your relatives, your fellow exiles, and all the other Israelites, are those the people of Jerusalem were referring to when they said, ‘They are far away from the Lord. This country was given to us and we are to own it.’
16 Therefore thus saith the Lord God: Because I have removed them far off among the Gentiles, and because I have scattered them among the countries: I will be to them a little sanctuary in the countries whither they are come.
So tell them that this is what the Lord God says: Even though I sent them far away to live among the foreign nations, scattering them among the different countries, I have been taking care of them for a while in the countries where they went.
17 Therefore speak to them: Thus saith the Lord God: I will gather you from among the peoples, and assemble you out of the countries wherein you are scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.
Tell them that this is what the Lord God says: I'm going to gather you from the other nations and bring you back from the countries where you've been scattered, and I will return the country of Israel to you.
18 And they shall go in thither, and shall take away all the scandals, and all the abominations thereof from thence.
When they come back, they are going to get rid of all its offensive idols and disgusting practices from the country.
19 And I will give them one heart, and will put a new spirit in their bowels: and I will take away the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh:
I will give them single-minded commitment and a whole new spirit. I will take away their hard-hearted attitude and replace it with one that is loving.
20 That they may walk in my commandments, and keep my judgments, and do them: and that they may be my people, and I may be their God.
This way they can follow my rules, keep my regulations, and do what I say. They will be my people, and I will be their God.
21 But as for them whose heart walketh after their scandals and abominations, I will lay their way upon their head, saith the Lord God.
But for those who still choose to worship offensive idols and engage in disgusting practices, I will let them experience the consequences of their own actions, declares the Lord God.”
22 And the cherubims lifted up their wings, and the wheels with them: and the glory of the God of Israel was over them.
Then the cherubim opened their wings and took off, with the wheels alongside them, and with the glory of the God of Israel above them.
23 And the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city, and stood over the mount that is on the east side of the city.
The glory of the Lord rose from inside the city and went over to the mountain to the east of the city.
24 And the spirit lifted me up, and brought me into Chaldea, to them of the captivity, in vision, by the spirit of God: and the vision which I had seen was taken up from me.
In the vision given to me by the Spirit of God, the Spirit picked me up and carried me back to Babylonia to where the exiles were. After the vision left me,
25 And I spoke to them of the captivity all the words of the Lord, which he had shewn me.
I explained to the exiles everything the Lord had shown me.