< Jezekiel 12 >

1 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
The word of Yahweh came to me, saying,
2 Son of man, you dwell in the midst of the iniquities of those, who have eyes to see, and see not; and have ears to hear, and hear not: because it is a provoking house.
“Son of man, you live in the midst of a rebellious house, where they have eyes to see but they do not see; and where they have ears to hear but do not listen, because they are a rebellious house.
3 You therefore, son of man, prepare yourself baggage for going into captivity by day in their sight; and you shall be led into captivity from your place into another place in their sight; that they may see that it is a provoking house.
Therefore as for you, son of man, prepare your things for exile, and begin going out by day in their sight, for I will exile you in their sight from your place to another place. Perhaps they will begin to see, though they are a rebellious house.
4 And you shall carry forth your baggage, baggage for captivity, by day before their eyes: and you shall go forth at even, as a captive goes forth, in their sight.
You will bring out your things for an exile in the day in their sight; go out in the evening in their sight in the way that anyone goes into exile.
5 Dig for yourself into the wall [of the house], and you shall pass through it in their sight:
Dig a hole through the wall in their sight, and go out through it.
6 you shall be lifted up on [men's] shoulders, and shall go forth in secret: you shall cover your face, and shall not see the ground: because I have made you a sign to the house of Israel.
In their sight, lift up your things onto your shoulder, and bring them out in the darkness. Cover your face, for you must not see the land, since I have set you as a sign to the house of Israel.”
7 And I did thus according to all that he commanded me; and I carried forth my baggage for captivity by day, and in the evening I dug through the wall for myself, and went out secretly; I was taken up on [men's] shoulders before them.
So I did this, just as I was commanded. I brought out my things of exile in the daytime, and in the evening I dug a hole through the wall by hand. I brought my things out in the dark, and lifted them up on my shoulder in their sight.
8 And the word of the Lord came to me in the morning, saying,
Then the word of Yahweh came to me in the morning, saying,
9 Son of man, have not the house of Israel, the provoking house, said to you, What do you?
“Son of man, is the house of Israel, that rebellious house, not asking, 'What are you doing?'
10 Say to them, Thus says the Lord God, the Prince and the Ruler in Israel, even to all the house of Israel who are in the midst of them:
Say to them, 'The Lord Yahweh says this: this prophetic action concerns the prince in Jerusalem, and all the house of Israel in whose midst they are.'
11 say, I am performing signs: as I have done, so shall it be to him: they shall go into banishment and captivity.
Say, 'I am a sign to you.' As I have done, so it will be done to them; they will go into exile and into captivity.
12 And the prince in the midst of them shall be borne upon shoulders, and shall go forth in secret through the wall, and shall dig so that he may go forth thereby: he shall cover his face, that he may not be seen by [any] eye, and he himself shall not see the ground.
The prince who is among them will lift up his things upon his shoulder in the dark, and will go out through the wall. They will dig through the wall and bring out their things. He will cover his face, so he will not see the land with his eyes.
13 And I will spread out my net upon him, and he shall be caught in my toils: and I will bring him to Babylon to the land of the Chaldeans; but he shall not see it, though he shall die there.
I will spread out my net over him and he will be caught in my snare; then I will bring him to Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans, but he will not see it. He will die there.
14 And I will scatter to every wind all his assistants round about him, and all that help him; and I will draw out a sword after them;
I will also scatter in every direction all of those around him who were to assist him and his entire army, and I will send out a sword after them.
15 And they shall know that I am the Lord, when I have scattered them among the nations; and I will disperse them in the countries.
Then they will know that I am Yahweh, when I scatter them among the nations and disperse them throughout the lands.
16 And I will leave of them [a few] men in number [spared] from the sword, and from famine, and pestilence; that they may declare all their iniquities among the nations whither they have gone; and they shall know that I am the Lord.
But I will spare a few men from among them from the sword, famine, and plague, so they may record all of their abominations in the lands where I take them, so they will know that I am Yahweh.”
17 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
The word of Yahweh came to me, saying,
18 Son of man, eat your bread with sorrow, and drink [your] water with torment and affliction.
“Son of man, eat your bread with trembling, and drink your water with shaking and worry.
19 And you shall say to the people of the land, Thus says the Lord to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, on the land of Israel; They shall eat their bread in scarcity, and shall drink their water in desolation, that the land may be desolate with all that it contains: for all that dwell in it are ungodly.
Then say to the people of the land, 'The Lord Yahweh says this concerning the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the land of Israel, “They will eat their bread with trembling and drink their water while shaking, since the land will be despoiled of its fullness because of the violence of all those who live there.
20 And their inhabited cities shall be laid utterly waste, and the land shall be desolate; and you shall know that I am the Lord.
So the cities that were inhabited will be desolate, and the land will become a wasteland; so you will know that I am Yahweh.”'”
21 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
Again the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,
22 Son of man, what is your parable on the land of Israel, that you say, The days are long, the vision has perished?
“Son of man, what is this proverb that you have in the land of Israel that says, 'The days are prolonged, and every vision fails'?
23 Therefore say to them, Thus says the Lord; I will even set aside this parable, and the house of Israel shall no more at all use this parable: for you shall say to them, The days are at hand, and the import of every vision.
Therefore, say to them, 'The Lord Yahweh says this: I will put an end to this proverb, and the people of Israel will no longer use it.' Say to them, 'The days have drawn near when every vision will be fulfilled.
24 For there shall no more be any false vision, nor any one prophesying flatteries in the midst of the children of Israel.
For there will no longer be any false visions or favorable divinations within the house of Israel.
25 For I the Lord will speak my words; I will speak and perform [them], and will no more delay, for in your days, O provoking house, I will speak the word, and will perform [it], says the Lord.
For I am Yahweh! I speak, and I carry out the words that I speak. The matter will no longer be delayed. For I will speak this word in your days, rebellious house, and I will carry it out!—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration.'”
26 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
Again the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,
27 Son of man, behold, the provoking house of Israel boldly say, The vision which this man sees is for many days, and he prophesies for times afar off.
“Son of man! Behold, the house of Israel has said, 'The vision that he sees is for many days from now, and he prophesies of far off times.'
28 Therefore say to them, Thus says the Lord; Henceforth none of my words shall linger, which I shall speak: I will speak and do, says the Lord.
Therefore say to them, 'The Lord Yahweh says this: My words will not be delayed any longer, but the word that I have spoken will be done—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration.'”

< Jezekiel 12 >