Ezekiel 11

Vision of Israel’s Corrupt Leaders

1 The Spirit then lifted me up  * 11:1 Ezk 3:12,14; 8:3 and brought me to the eastern gate of the Lord’s house, which faces east, and at the gate’s entrance were twenty-five men. Among them I saw Jaazaniah son of Azzur, and Pelatiah son of Benaiah, leaders of the people. 2 The Lord* 11:2 Lit He said to me, "Son of man, these are the men who plot evil  * 11:2 Gn 6:5; Ps 36:4; Pr 14:2; Mc 2:1 and give wicked advice in this city. 3 They are saying, ‘Isn’t the time near to build houses?  * 11:3 Or "The time is not near to build houses.,* 11:3 Jr 29:28; Am 3:15; Zph 1:13 The city is the pot,  * 11:3 Jr 1:13; Ezk 24:3,6 and we are the meat.’ 4 Therefore, prophesy against them. Prophesy, son of man! "

5 Then the Spirit of the Lord came on me, and he told me, "You are to say, ‘This is what the Lord says: That is what you are thinking, house of Israel; and I know the thoughts that arise in your mind.  * 11:5 Jr 17:10; Ezk 2:26 You have multiplied your slain in this city,  * 11:6 Ezk 7:23; 22:2–6,9,12,27 filling its streets with them.

7 " ‘Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: The slain you have put within it are the meat,  * 11:7 Ezk 24:3–13; Mc 3:2–3 and the city is the pot, but I  * 11:7 Some Hb mss, LXX, Syr, Tg, Vg; other Hb mss read he will take you out of it.  * 11:7 Ezk 11:98 You fear the sword,  * 11:8 Pr 10:24; Is 66:4 so I will bring the sword against you.  * 11:8 Jb 3:25; Is 24:17–18 This is the declaration of the Lord God. 9 I will take you out of the city and hand you over to foreigners; I will execute judgments against you.  * 11:9 Ezk 5:810 You will fall by the sword,  * 11:10 Jr 39:6; 52:9–10 and I will judge you at the border of Israel.  * 11:10 2Kg 14:25 Then you will know that I am the Lord. 11 The city will not be a pot for you,  * 11:11 Ezk 11:3,7 and you will not be the meat within it. I will judge you at the border of Israel, 12 so you will know that I am the Lord, whose statutes you have not followed and whose ordinances you have not practiced. Instead, you have acted according to the ordinances of the nations around you.’ "  * 11:12 Ezk 8:10,14,16

13 Now while I was prophesying, Pelatiah son of Benaiah died.  * 11:13 Ac 5:5 Then I fell facedown and cried out loudly, "Oh, Lord God!  * 11:13 Ezk 9:8 You are bringing the remnant of Israel to an end! "

Promise of Israel’s Restoration

14 The word of the Lord came to me again: 15 "Son of man, your own relatives, those who have the right to redeem your property,  * 11:15 LXX, Syr read your relatives, your fellow exiles,* 11:15 Or own brothers, your relatives along with the entire house of Israel — all of them — are those to whom the residents of Jerusalem have said, ‘You are far from the Lord; this land has been given to us as a possession.’

16 "Therefore say, ‘This is what the Lord God says: Though I sent them far away among the nations and scattered them among the countries, yet for a little while I have been a sanctuary for them  * 11:16 Is 8:14 in the countries where they have gone.’

17 "Therefore say, ‘This is what the Lord God says: I will gather you from the peoples  * 11:17 Ezk 20:34,41–42; 28:25 and assemble you from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.’

18 "When they arrive there, they will remove all its  * 11:18 Ezk 37:23 abhorrent acts  * 11:18 Ezk 5:11 and detestable practices from it. 19 I will give them integrity of  * 11:19 Lit give them one heart  * 11:19 Jr 32:39 and put a new spirit within them; I will remove their heart of stone  * 11:19 Zch 7:12 from their bodies  * 11:19 Lit flesh and give them a heart of flesh,  * 11:19 Ps 51:10; Jr 31:33; Ezk 36:26; 2Co 3:320 so that they will follow my statutes,  * 11:20 Ps 105:45; Ezk 36:27 keep my ordinances, and practice them. They will be my people, and I will be their God.  * 11:20 Ezk 36:2821 But as for those whose hearts pursue their desire for abhorrent acts and detestable practices, I will bring their conduct down on their own heads."  * 11:21 Ezk 9:10 This is the declaration of the Lord God.

God’s Glory Leaves Jerusalem

22 Then the cherubim, with the wheels beside them, lifted their wings,  * 11:22 Ezk 10:19 and the glory of the God of Israel was above them. 23 The glory of the Lord* 11:23 Ezk 8:4 rose up from within the city and stopped on the mountain  * 11:23 Zch 14:4 east of the city.  * 11:23 = the Mount of Olives,* 11:22–23 Ezk 10:424 The Spirit lifted me up  * 11:24 Ezk 8:3 and brought me to Chaldea and to the exiles in a vision from the Spirit of God. After the vision I had seen left me, 25 I spoke to the exiles about all the things the Lord had shown me.