Ezekiel 11:12-12:24

English Standard Version

¹² and you shall know that I am the Lord. For you have not walked in my statutes, nor obeyed my rules, ^(A)but have acted according to the rules of the nations that are around you.”

¹³ And it came to pass, while I was prophesying, ^(B)that ^(C)Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died. ^(D)Then I fell down on my face and cried out with a loud voice and said, ^(E)“Ah, Lord God! ^(F)Will you make a full end of the remnant of Israel?”

Israel's New Heart and Spirit

¹⁴ And the word of the Lord came to me: ^15 (G)“Son of man, your brothers, even your brothers, your kinsmen,^[a] the whole house of Israel, all of them, are those of whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, ^(H)‘Go far from the Lord; to us this land is given for a possession.’ ¹⁶ Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: Though I removed them far off among the nations, and though I scattered them among the countries, yet ^(I)I have been a sanctuary to them for a while^[b] in the countries where they have gone.’ ¹⁷ Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: ^(J)I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, ^(K)and I will give you the land of Israel.’ ¹⁸ And when they come there, ^(L)they will remove from it all its ^(M)detestable things and all its abominations. ^19 (N)And I will give them one heart, and ^(O)a new spirit I will put within them. ^(P)I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh ^(Q)and give them a heart of flesh, ^20 (R)that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. ^(S)And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. ^21 (T)But as for those whose heart goes after their detestable things and their abominations, ^(U)I will^[c] bring their deeds upon their own heads, declares the Lord God.”

^22 (V)Then the cherubim lifted up their wings, with the wheels beside them, ^(W)and the glory of the God of Israel was over them. ²³ And the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city and ^(X)stood on the mountain that is on the east side of the city. ^24 (Y)And the Spirit lifted me up and brought me ^(Z)in the vision by the Spirit of God ^(AA)into Chaldea, to the exiles. Then the vision that I had seen went up from me. ²⁵ And I told the exiles all the things that the Lord had shown me.

Judah's Captivity Symbolized

12 The word of the Lord came to me: ^2 (AB)“Son of man, you dwell in the midst of ^(AC)a rebellious house, ^(AD)who have eyes to see, but see not, who have ears to hear, but hear not, for they are ^(AE)a rebellious house. ³ As for you, son of man, prepare for yourself ^(AF)an exile's baggage, and go into exile by day ^(AG)in their sight. You shall go like an exile from your place to another place ^(AH)in their sight. ^(AI)Perhaps they will understand, though^[d] they are a rebellious house. ⁴ You shall bring out your baggage by day in their sight, as baggage for exile, and you shall go out yourself ^(AJ)at evening in their sight, as those do who must go into exile. ⁵ In their sight ^(AK)dig through the wall, and bring your baggage out through it. ⁶ In their sight you shall lift the baggage upon your shoulder and carry it out at dusk. You shall cover your face that you may not see the land, for I have made you ^(AL)a sign for the house of Israel.”

^7 (AM)And I did as I was commanded. ^(AN)I brought out my baggage by day, as baggage for exile, and in the evening I dug through the wall with my own hands. I brought out my baggage at dusk, carrying it on my shoulder in their sight.

⁸ In the morning the word of the Lord came to me: ^9 (AO)“Son of man, has not the house of Israel, ^(AP)the rebellious house, said to you, ^(AQ)‘What are you doing?’ ¹⁰ Say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: This oracle concerns^{[e] (AR)}the prince in Jerusalem and all the house of Israel who are in it.’^{[f] 11} Say, ^(AS)‘I am a sign for you: ^(AT)as I have done, so shall it be done to them. They shall go into exile, into captivity.’ ^12 (AU)And the prince who is among them shall lift his baggage upon his shoulder at dusk, and shall go out. ^(AV)They shall dig through the wall to bring him out through it. ^(AW)He shall cover his face, that he may not see the land with his eyes. ^13 (AX)And I will spread my net over him, and he shall be taken in my snare. And ^(AY)I will bring him to Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans, ^(AZ)yet he shall not see it, and he shall die there. ^14 (BA)And I will scatter toward every wind all who are around him, his helpers and all his troops, ^(BB)and I will unsheathe the sword after them. ^15 (BC)And they shall know that I am the Lord, when I disperse them among the nations and scatter them among the countries. ^16 (BD)But I will let a few of them escape from the sword, from famine and pestilence, that they may declare all their abominations among the nations where they go, ^(BE)and may know that I am the Lord.”

¹⁷ And the word of the Lord came to me: ^18 (BF)“Son of man, ^(BG)eat your bread with quaking, and drink water with trembling and with anxiety. ¹⁹ And say to the people of the land, Thus says the Lord God concerning the inhabitants of Jerusalem in the land of Israel: ^(BH)They shall eat their bread with anxiety, ^(BI)and drink water in dismay. In this way ^(BJ)her land will be stripped of all it contains, ^(BK)on account of the violence of all those who dwell in it. ^20 (BL)And the inhabited cities shall be laid waste, and the land shall become a desolation; and you shall know that I am the Lord.”

²¹ And the word of the Lord came to me: ²² “Son of man, ^(BM)what is this proverb that you^[g] have about the land of Israel, saying, ^(BN)‘The days grow long, and every vision comes to nothing’? ²³ Tell them therefore, ‘Thus says the Lord God: I will put an end to this proverb, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel.’ But say to them, ^(BO)The days are near, and the fulfillment^[h] of every vision. ^24 (BP)For there shall be no more any ^(BQ)false vision or flattering divination within the house of Israel.