Jezekiel 11
1 Moreover the Spirit took me up, and brought me to the front gate of the house of the Lord, that looks eastward: and behold at the entrance of the gate were about five and twenty men; and I saw in the midst of them Jechonias the son of Ezer, and Phaltias the son of Banaeas, the leaders 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 the Lord said to me, Son of man, these are the men that devise vanities, and take evil 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 who say, Have not the houses been newly built? This is the caldron, and we are 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, 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, say; Thus saith the Lord; Thus have ye said, O house of Israel: and I know the devices of your spirit.
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 Ye have multiplied your dead in this city, and ye have filled your ways with slain men.
You murder more and more people in this city. You've filled its streets with the dead!
7 Therefore thus saith the Lord; Your dead whom ye have smitten in the midst of it, these are the flesh, and this[city] is the caldron: but I will bring you forth out of the midst of it.
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 Ye fear the sword; and I will bring a sword upon you, saith the Lord.
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 bring you forth out of the midst of it, and will deliver you into the hands of strangers, and will execute judgments among 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 Ye shall fall by the sword; I will judge you on the mountains of Israel; and ye 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 And it came to pass, while I was prophesying, that Phaltias the son of Banaeas died. And I fell upon my face, and cried with a loud voice, and said, Alas, alas, O Lord! wilt thou utterly destroy the remnant 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.
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.”
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, and the men of thy captivity, and all the house of Israel are come to the full, to whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem said, Keep ye far away from the Lord: the land is given to us for an inheritance.
“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 say thou, Thus saith the Lord; I will cast them off among the nations, and will disperse them into every land, yet will I be to them for a little sanctuary in the countries which they shall enter.
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 say thou, Thus saith the Lord; I will also take them from the heathen, and gather them out of the lands wherein I have scattered them, and will give them 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 enter in there, and shall remove all the abominations of it, and all its iniquities from it.
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 another heart, and will put a new spirit within them; and will extract the heart of stone from their flesh, and 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 mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be to me a people, and I will be to them a 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 And as for the heart [set upon] their abominations and their iniquities, as their heart went [after them], I have recompensed their ways on their heads, saith the Lord.
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 Then the cherubs lifted up their wings, and the wheels beside them; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above.
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 on the mountain which was in front 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 took me up, and brought me to the land of the Chaldeans, to the captivity, in a vision by the Spirit of God: and I went up after the vision which I saw.
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 the captivity all the words of the Lord which he had shewed me.
I explained to the exiles everything the Lord had shown me.
