11 Then a spirit lifted me up and took me to the east gate of the Lord 's temple. [ a ] When I was there, near the entrance of the gate, I could see 25 men. Azzur's son Jaazaniah and Benaiah's son Pelatiah were among them. They were leaders of the people. 2 The Lord said to me. ‘Son of man, these are the men who decide to do evil things in this city. They also give wicked advice to the people. 3 They say, “It is not the right time now to build houses. This city is like a pot to cook meat on a fire. We are like the meat in that pot.”
4 Son of man, you must speak my message to warn them.’
5 Then the Lord 's Spirit took hold of me. He said to me, ‘This is the Lord 's message to the people: Tell them, “People of Israel, I know what you are saying. I know the thoughts that you have in your minds. 6 You have killed many people in this city. The streets are full of the dead bodies of people that you have killed.”
7 So this is what the Almighty Lord says: “The dead bodies that you have put in this city are the meat. And the city is the pot to cook them in. But as for you, I will remove you from it! 8 You are afraid that an enemy will attack you. So I will bring an army to attack you.” That is what the Almighty Lord says.
9 “I will remove you from this city. I will put you under the power of a foreign army. I will use them to punish you. 10 Enemy soldiers will use their swords to kill you. I will punish you in your own country. Then you will know that I am the Lord . 11 This city will not be like a pot where you can be safe. You will not be like the meat in that pot. I will punish you while you are still inside Israel. 12 Then you will know that I am the Lord . You have not obeyed my rules or my laws. Instead, you have lived in the same wicked way as the nations around you.” ’
13 While I was speaking the Lord 's message, Benaiah's son Pelatiah died. Then I bent down low with my face towards the ground. I shouted, ‘Almighty Lord , do not do this! You will completely destroy all Israel's people who remain!’
14 Then the Lord gave this message to me: 15 ‘Son of man, listen to what the people of Jerusalem are saying about you, your brothers and your relatives. They say this about all the people of Israel who are now in Babylon. They are saying, “Those people have gone far away from the Lord . So now this land belongs to us and we can keep it.”
16 So say this: “This is what the Almighty Lord says. I removed my people from their own land and I sent them far away. I sent them to live among other nations and in other countries. But I am still near to them in the countries where they have gone.”
17 Then say, “This is what the Almighty Lord says. I will fetch you from the places where you have been living. I will bring you back together from those countries. I will give the land of Israel back to you.”
18 The people will return to their land. Then they will destroy their idols and other disgusting things. 19 I will give them new thoughts so that they will choose to worship only me. I will put a new spirit in them. They will no longer refuse to change their way of life. Instead, I will help them to want to obey me. 20 Then they will know my rules and my laws. They will be careful to obey them. They will be my people and I will be their God. 21 But it will be different for those who continue to worship their disgusting idols. I will punish them as they deserve because of the evil things that they have done. That is what the Almighty Lord says.’
22 Then the cherubs lifted up their wings to fly. The wheels were at their sides. And the bright glory of Israel's God was above them. 23 The glory of the Lord rose up and it went away from the city. It stopped over a mountain on the east side of the city.
24 In the vision, a spirit lifted me up and took me back to Babylon. I returned to the Israelites who were prisoners there. That was the end of the vision.
25 I told the Israelites everything that the Lord had shown me in the vision.
11 Then the Spirit [ a ] carried me to the East Gate of the Lord ’s Temple. This gate faces the east, where the sun comes up . I saw 25 men there at the entrance of this gate. Some of the leaders were among them, including Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah.
2 Then God spoke to me and said, “Son of man, [ b ] these are the men who make evil plans for this city. They always tell the people to do evil things. 3 These men say, ‘We will be building our houses again very soon. We are as safe in this city as meat in a pot!’ 4 So you must speak to the people for me. Son of man, prophesy against the people.”
5 Then the Spirit of the Lord came on me. He said to me, “Tell them that this is what the Lord said: House of Israel, you are planning big things. But I know what you are thinking. 6 You have killed many people in this city. You have filled the streets with dead bodies. 7 Now, the Lord God says this: ‘The dead bodies are the meat, and the city is the pot. But someone will come and take you out of this safe pot. 8 You are afraid of the sword, but I am bringing the sword against you!’” This is what the Lord God said.
9 He also said, “I will take you out of this city and give you to strangers. I will punish you. 10 You will die by the sword. I will punish you here in Israel, so you will know that I am the Lord . 11 Yes, this place will be the cooking pot, and you will be the meat cooking in it. I will punish you here in Israel. 12 Then you will know that I am the Lord . It was my law that you broke. You did not obey my commands. You decided to live like the nations around you.”
13 As soon as I finished speaking for God, Pelatiah son of Benaiah died! I fell to the ground. I bowed with my face touching the ground and said, “Oh, Lord God , you are going to completely destroy all the survivors of Israel!”
14 But then the word of the Lord came to me. He said, 15 “Son of man, remember your brothers, the family of Israel. They were forced to leave their country, but I will bring them back. [ c ] But now, the people living in Jerusalem are saying, ‘Stay far away from the Lord . This land was given to us—it is ours!’
16 “So tell them this: The Lord God says, ‘It is true, I forced my people to go far away to other nations. I did scatter them among many countries. But I will be their temple for a short time while they are in those other countries. 17 But you must tell those people that the Lord God will bring them back. I have scattered you among many nations, but I will gather you together and bring you back from those nations. I will give the land of Israel back to you. 18 When my people come back, they will destroy all the terrible, filthy idols that are here now. 19 I will bring them together and make them like one person. I will put a new spirit [ d ] in them. I will take away that heart of stone, and I will put a real heart in its place. 20 Then they will obey my laws and my commands. They will do the things I tell them. They will be my people, and I will be their God.’”
21 Then God said, “But now, their hearts belong to those terrible, filthy idols, and I must punish those people for the bad things they have done.” This is what the Lord God said. 22 Then the Cherub angels raised their wings and flew into the air. The wheels went with them. The Glory of the God of Israel was above them. 23 The Glory of the Lord rose into the air and left the city and stopped on the hill east of Jerusalem. [ e ] 24 Then the Spirit [ f ] lifted me into the air and brought me back to Babylonia. It brought me back to the people who were forced to leave Israel. I saw all this in the vision from God. Then the one I saw in the vision rose into the air and left me. 25 Then I spoke to the people in exile. I told them about everything the Lord showed me.
11 Moreover the spirit lifted me up, and brought me unto the east gate of the Lord 's house, which looketh eastward: and behold at the door of the gate five and twenty men; among whom I saw Jaazaniah the son of Azur, and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people.
2 Then said he unto me, Son of man, these are the men that devise mischief, and give wicked counsel in this city:
3 Which say, It is not near; let us build houses: this city is the caldron, and we be the flesh.
4 Therefore prophesy against them, prophesy, O son of man.
5 And the Spirit of the Lord fell upon me, and said unto me, Speak; Thus saith the Lord ; Thus have ye said, O house of Israel: for I know the things that come into your mind, every one of them.
6 Ye have multiplied your slain in this city, and ye have filled the streets thereof with the slain.
7 Therefore thus saith the Lord God ; Your slain whom ye have laid in the midst of it, they are the flesh, and this city is the caldron: but I will bring you forth out of the midst of it.
8 Ye have feared the sword; and I will bring a sword upon you, saith the Lord God .
9 And I will bring you out of the midst thereof, and deliver you into the hands of strangers, and will execute judgments among you.
10 Ye shall fall by the sword; I will judge you in the border of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the Lord .
11 This city shall not be your caldron, neither shall ye be the flesh in the midst thereof; but I will judge you in the border of Israel:
12 And ye shall know that I am the Lord : for ye have not walked in my statutes, neither executed my judgments, but have done after the manners of the heathen that are round about you.
13 And it came to pass, when I prophesied, that Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died. Then fell I down upon my face, and cried with a loud voice, and said, Ah Lord God ! wilt thou make a full end of the remnant of Israel?
14 Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
15 Son of man, thy brethren, even thy brethren, the men of thy kindred, and all the house of Israel wholly, are they unto whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, Get you far from the Lord : unto us is this land given in possession.
16 Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord God ; Although I have cast them far off among the heathen, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet will I be to them as a little sanctuary in the countries where they shall come.
17 Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord God ; I will even gather you from the people, and assemble you out of the countries where ye have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.
18 And they shall come thither, and they shall take away all the detestable things thereof and all the abominations thereof from thence.
19 And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh:
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.
21 But as for them whose heart walketh after the heart of their detestable things and their abominations, I will recompense their way upon their own heads, saith the Lord God .
22 Then did the cherubims lift up their wings, and the wheels beside them; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above.
23 And the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city, and stood upon the mountain which is on the east side of the city.
24 Afterwards the spirit took me up, and brought me in a vision by the Spirit of God into Chaldea, to them of the captivity. So the vision that I had seen went up from me.
25 Then I spake unto them of the captivity all the things that the Lord had shewed me.
11 Now the ( A ) Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the east gate of the Lord ’ s house which faced eastward. And behold, there were twenty-five men at the entrance of the gate, and among them I saw Jaazaniah son of Azzur and ( B ) Pelatiah son of Benaiah, leaders of the people. 2 Then He said to me, “Son of man, these are the men who devise wrongdoing and ( C ) give evil advice in this city, 3 who say, ‘ The time is not near to build houses. [ a ] This ( D ) city is the pot and we are the meat.’ 4 Therefore, ( E ) prophesy against them, prophesy, son of man!”
5 Then the Spirit of the Lord fell upon me, and He said to me, “Say, ‘This is what the Lord says: “This is how you think, house of Israel, for ( F ) I know [ b ] your ( G ) thoughts. 6 You have ( H ) multiplied your slain in this city, and filled its streets with [ c ] them.” 7 Therefore, this is what the Lord [ d ] God says: “Your ( I ) slain whom you have laid in the midst of [ e ] the city are the meat and this city is the pot; but [ f ] I will ( J ) bring you out of it. 8 You have ( K ) feared a sword; so I will ( L ) bring a sword upon you,” the Lord God declares. 9 “And I will bring you out of the midst of [ g ] the city, and hand you over to ( M ) strangers, and ( N ) execute judgments against you. 10 You will ( O ) fall by the sword. I will judge you to the ( P ) border of Israel; so you shall know that I am the Lord . 11 This city will ( Q ) not be a pot for you, nor will you be meat in the midst of it; I will judge you to the border of Israel. 12 So you will know that I am the Lord ; for you have not walked in My statutes, nor have you ( R ) executed My ordinances, but you have acted in accordance with the ordinances of the ( S ) nations around you.”’”
13 Now it came about, as I prophesied, that ( T ) Pelatiah son of Benaiah died. Then I fell on my face and cried out with a loud voice, and said, “ ( U ) Oh, Lord God ! Will You bring the remnant of Israel to a complete destruction?”
14 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 15 “Son of man, your brothers, your relatives, [ h ] your fellow exiles, and the entire house of Israel, all of them, are those to whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, ‘Keep far from the Lord ; this land has been given ( V ) to us as a possession.’ 16 Therefore say, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “Though I had removed them far away among the nations, and though I had scattered them among the countries, yet I was a ( W ) sanctuary for them for a little while in the countries where they had gone.”’ 17 Therefore say, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “I will ( X ) gather you from the peoples and assemble you from the countries among which you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.”’ 18 When they come there, they will ( Y ) remove all its ( Z ) detestable things and all its abominations from it. 19 And I will ( AA ) give them one heart, and put a new spirit within [ i ] them. And I will remove the ( AB ) heart of stone from their flesh and give them a ( AC ) heart of flesh, 20 so that they may ( AD ) walk in My statutes, and keep My ordinances and do them. Then they will be ( AE ) My people, and I shall be their God. 21 [ j ] But as for those whose hearts go after their ( AF ) detestable things and abominations, I will [ k ] ( AG ) bring their conduct down on their heads,” declares the Lord God .
22 Then the cherubim ( AH ) lifted up their wings with the wheels beside them, and ( AI ) the glory of the God of Israel [ l ] hovered over them. 23 The ( AJ ) glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city and ( AK ) stood over the mountain which is east of the city. 24 And the ( AL ) Spirit lifted me up and brought me in a vision by the Spirit of God to [ m ] Chaldea, to the exiles. Then the vision that I had seen [ n ] ( AM ) left me. 25 And I ( AN ) told the exiles all the things that the Lord had shown me.
11 Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the gate of the house of the Lord that faces east. There at the entrance of the gate were twenty-five men, and I saw among them Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah ( A ) son of Benaiah, leaders ( B ) of the people. ( C ) 2 The Lord said to me, “Son of man, these are the men who are plotting evil ( D ) and giving wicked advice in this city. ( E ) 3 They say, ‘Haven’t our houses been recently rebuilt? This city is a pot, ( F ) and we are the meat in it.’ ( G ) 4 Therefore prophesy ( H ) against them; prophesy, son of man.”
5 Then the Spirit of the Lord came on me, and he told me to say: “This is what the Lord says: That is what you are saying, you leaders in Israel, but I know what is going through your mind. ( I ) 6 You have killed many people in this city and filled its streets with the dead. ( J )
7 “Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: The bodies you have thrown there are the meat and this city is the pot, ( K ) but I will drive you out of it. ( L ) 8 You fear the sword, ( M ) and the sword is what I will bring against you, declares the Sovereign Lord . ( N ) 9 I will drive you out of the city and deliver you into the hands ( O ) of foreigners and inflict punishment on you. ( P ) 10 You will fall by the sword, and I will execute judgment on you at the borders of Israel. ( Q ) Then you will know that I am the Lord . 11 This city will not be a pot ( R ) for you, nor will you be the meat in it; I will execute judgment on you at the borders of Israel. 12 And you will know that I am the Lord , ( S ) for you have not followed my decrees ( T ) or kept my laws but have conformed to the standards of the nations around you. ( U ) ”
13 Now as I was prophesying, Pelatiah ( V ) son of Benaiah died. Then I fell facedown and cried out in a loud voice, “Alas, Sovereign Lord ! Will you completely destroy the remnant of Israel? ( W ) ”
14 The word of the Lord came to me: 15 “Son of man, the people of Jerusalem have said of your fellow exiles and all the other Israelites, ‘They are far away from the Lord ; this land was given to us as our possession.’ ( X )
16 “Therefore say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Although I sent them far away among the nations and scattered them among the countries, yet for a little while I have been a sanctuary ( Y ) for them in the countries where they have gone.’
17 “Therefore say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will gather you from the nations and bring you back from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you back the land of Israel again.’ ( Z )
18 “They will return to it and remove all its vile images ( AA ) and detestable idols. ( AB ) 19 I will give them an undivided heart ( AC ) and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone ( AD ) and give them a heart of flesh. ( AE ) 20 Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. ( AF ) They will be my people, ( AG ) and I will be their God. ( AH ) 21 But as for those whose hearts are devoted to their vile images and detestable idols, ( AI ) I will bring down on their own heads what they have done, declares the Sovereign Lord . ( AJ ) ”
22 Then the cherubim, with the wheels beside them, spread their wings, and the glory ( AK ) of the God of Israel was above them. ( AL ) 23 The glory ( AM ) of the Lord went up from within the city and stopped above the mountain ( AN ) east of it. 24 The Spirit ( AO ) lifted me up and brought me to the exiles in Babylonia [ a ] in the vision ( AP ) given by the Spirit of God.
Then the vision I had seen went up from me, 25 and I told the exiles everything the Lord had shown me. ( AQ )
