Ezekiel 11

1 And the Spirit lifted me up, and brought me unto the east gate of Jehovah's house, which looketh eastward; and behold, at the door of the gate were five and twenty men; and I saw in the midst of them Jaazaniah the son of Azzur, and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, 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 unto me, Son of man, these are the men that devise iniquity, and give 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 who say, It is not the time to build houses: this is the cauldron, 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 Jehovah fell on me, and said unto me, Speak, Thus saith Jehovah: Thus have ye said, O house of Israel; and the things that come into your mind, I know them.

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 slain in this city, and ye 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 Jehovah: Your slain whom ye have laid in the midst of it, they are the flesh, and it is the cauldron; but you will I bring 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 have feared the sword, and I will bring a sword upon you, saith the Lord Jehovah.

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 out of the midst of it, and give 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 in the borders of Israel; and ye shall know that I [am] Jehovah.

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 your cauldron, neither shall ye be the flesh in the midst of it: 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 ye shall know that I [am] Jehovah, in whose statutes ye have not walked, neither have done mine ordinances, but have done after the ordinances 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 Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died. And I fell down on my face, and cried with a loud voice, and said, Ah, Lord Jehovah! wilt thou make a full end of 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 Jehovah came unto me, saying,

A message from Lord came to me, saying,

15 Son of man, [it is] thy brethren, thy brethren, the men of thy kindred, and all the house of Israel, the whole of it, unto whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem say, Get you far from Jehovah: unto us is this land given for a possession.

“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, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Although I have removed them far off among the nations, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet will I be to them as 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 say, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: I will even gather you from the peoples, and assemble you out of the countries where ye 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 come thither, and they shall take away from thence all its detestable things and all its abominations.

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 I will put a new spirit within you; 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 statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them; and they shall be my people, and I will 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 well-pleased with their detestable things and their abominations, I will recompense their way upon their heads, saith the Lord Jehovah.

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 cherubim lifted up their wings, and the wheels were 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 Jehovah went up from the midst of the city, and stood upon the mountain which 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 in the vision by the Spirit of God into Chaldea, to them of the captivity; and the vision that I had seen went 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 unto them of the captivity all the things that Jehovah had shewn me.

I explained to the exiles everything the Lord had shown me.