< Ezekiel 12 >
1 The word of the LORD also came to me, saying,
The word of Yahweh came to me, saying,
2 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.
“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 Therefore, thou son of man, prepare thee thy baggage for captivity, and move by day in their sight; and thou shalt move from thy place to another place in their sight: it may be they will consider, though they are a rebellious 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 Then shalt thou bring forth thy baggage by day in their sight, as baggage for captivity: and thou shalt go forth at evening in their sight, as they that go forth into captivity.
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 thou through the wall in their sight, and carry them out through it.
Dig a hole through the wall in their sight, and go out through it.
6 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.
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 so as I was commanded: I brought forth my baggage by day, as baggage for captivity, and in the evening I dug through the wall with my hand; I brought it forth in the twilight, and I bore it upon my shoulder in their sight.
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 in the morning came the word of the LORD to me, saying,
Then the word of Yahweh came to me in the morning, saying,
9 Son of man, hath not the house of Israel, the rebellious house, said to thee, What doest thou?
“Son of man, is the house of Israel, that rebellious house, not asking, 'What are you doing?'
10 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.
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 your sign: as I have done, so shall it be done to them: they shall move and go into 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 that is among them shall bear upon his shoulder in the twilight, and shall go forth: they shall dig through the wall to carry them out through it: he shall cover his face, that he may not see the ground with his eyes.
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 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.
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 toward every wind all that are about him to help him, and all his bands; and I will draw out the 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 shall scatter them among the nations, and 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 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 where they come; 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 Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
The word of Yahweh came to me, saying,
18 Son of man, eat thy bread with quaking, and drink thy water with trembling and anxious care;
“Son of man, eat your bread with trembling, and drink your water with shaking and worry.
19 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 anxious care, and drink their water with horror, that her land may be desolate from all that is in it, because of the violence of all them that dwell in it.
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 the cities that are inhabited shall be laid waste, and the land shall be desolate; and ye 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 that proverb that ye have in the land of Israel, saying, The days are prolonged, and every vision faileth?
“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 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.
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 vain vision nor flattering divination within the house of Israel.
For there will no longer be any false visions or favorable divinations within the house of Israel.
25 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.
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 Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
Again the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,
27 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.
“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 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.
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.'”