Judah’s Captivity Portrayed

12 Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying: ² “Son of man, you dwell in the midst of ^(A)a rebellious house, which ^(B)has eyes to see but does not see, and ears to hear but does not hear; ^(C)for they are a rebellious house.

³ “Therefore, son of man, prepare your belongings for captivity, and go into captivity by day in their sight. You shall go from your place into captivity to another place in their sight. It may be that they will consider, though they are a rebellious house. ⁴ By day you shall bring out your belongings in their sight, as though going into captivity; and at evening you shall go in their sight, like those who go into captivity. ⁵ Dig through the wall in their sight, and carry your belongings out through it. ⁶ In their sight you shall bear them on your shoulders and carry them out at twilight; you shall cover your face, so that you cannot see the ground, ^(D)for I have made you a sign to the house of Israel.”

⁷ So I did as I was commanded. I brought out my belongings by day, as though going into captivity, and at evening I dug through the wall with my hand. I brought them out at twilight, and I bore them on my shoulder in their sight.

⁸ And in the morning the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ⁹ “Son of man, has not the house of Israel, ^(E)the rebellious house, said to you, ^(F)‘What are you doing?’ ¹⁰ Say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “This ^(G)burden^[a] concerns the prince in Jerusalem and all the house of Israel who are among them.” ’ ¹¹ Say, ^(H)‘I am a sign to you. As I have done, so shall it be done to them; ^(I)they shall be carried away into captivity.’ ¹² And ^(J)the prince who is among them shall bear his belongings on his shoulder at twilight and go out. They shall dig through the wall to carry them out through it. He shall cover his face, so that he cannot see the ground with his eyes. ¹³ I will also spread My ^(K)net over him, and he shall be caught in My snare. ^(L)I will bring him to Babylon, to the land of the Chaldeans; yet he shall not see it, though he shall die there. ^14 (M)I will scatter to every wind all who are around him to help him, and all his troops; and ^(N)I will draw out the sword after them.

^15 (O)“Then they shall know that I am the Lord, when I scatter them among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries. ^16 (P)But I will spare a few of their men from the sword, from famine, and from pestilence, that they may declare all their abominations among the Gentiles wherever they go. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.”

Judgment Not Postponed

¹⁷ Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹⁸ “Son of man, ^(Q)eat your bread with ^[b]quaking, and drink your water with trembling and anxiety. ¹⁹ And say to the people of the land, ‘Thus says the Lord God to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the land of Israel: “They shall eat their bread with anxiety, and drink their water with dread, so that her land may ^(R)be emptied of all who are in it, ^(S)because of the violence of all those who dwell in it. ²⁰ Then the cities that are inhabited shall be laid waste, and the land shall become desolate; and you shall know that I am the Lord.” ’ ”

²¹ And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ²² “Son of man, what is this proverb that you people have about the land of Israel, which says, ^(T)‘The days are prolonged, and every vision fails’? ²³ Tell them therefore, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “I will lay this proverb to rest, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel.” ’ But say to them, ‘ ^(U)“The days are at hand, and the ^[c]fulfillment of every vision. ²⁴ For ^(V)no more shall there be any ^(W)false^[d] vision or flattering divination within the house of Israel. ²⁵ For I am the Lord. I speak, and ^(X)the word which I speak will come to pass; it will no more be postponed; for in your days, O rebellious house, I will say the word and ^(Y)perform it,” says the Lord God.’ ”

²⁶ Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ^27 (Z)“Son of man, look, the house of Israel is saying, ‘The vision that he sees is ^(AA)for many days from now, and he prophesies of times far off.’ ^28 (AB)Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “None of My words will be postponed any more, but the word which I speak ^(AC)will be done,” says the Lord God.’ ”

Woe to Foolish Prophets

13 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, prophesy ^(AD)against the prophets of Israel who prophesy, and say to ^(AE)those who prophesy out of their own ^(AF)heart,^[e] ‘Hear the word of the Lord!’ ”

³ Thus says the Lord God: “Woe to the foolish prophets, who follow their own spirit and have seen ^[f]nothing! ⁴ O Israel, your prophets are ^(AG)like foxes in the deserts. ⁵ You ^(AH)have not gone up into the ^[g]gaps to build a wall for the house of Israel to stand in battle on the day of the Lord. ^6 (AI)They have envisioned futility and false divination, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord!’ But the Lord has ^(AJ)not sent them; yet they hope that the word may ^[h]be confirmed. ⁷ Have you not seen a futile vision, and have you not spoken false divination? You say, ‘The Lord says,’ but I have not spoken.”

⁸ Therefore thus says the Lord God: “Because you have spoken nonsense and envisioned lies, therefore I am indeed against you,” says the Lord God. ⁹ “My hand will be ^(AK)against the prophets who envision futility and who ^(AL)divine lies; they shall not be in the assembly of My people, ^(AM)nor be written in the record of the house of Israel, ^(AN)nor shall they enter into the land of Israel. ^(AO)Then you shall know that I am the Lord God.

¹⁰ “Because, indeed, because they have seduced My people, saying, ^(AP)‘Peace!’ when there is no peace—and one builds a wall, and they ^(AQ)plaster^[i] it with untempered mortar— ¹¹ say to those who plaster it with untempered mortar, that it will fall. ^(AR)There will be flooding rain, and you, O great hailstones, shall fall; and a stormy wind shall tear it down. ¹² Surely, when the wall has fallen, will it not be said to you, ‘Where is the mortar with which you plastered it?’ ”

¹³ Therefore thus says the Lord God: “I will cause a stormy wind to break forth in My fury; and there shall be a flooding rain in My anger, and great hailstones in fury to consume it. ¹⁴ So I will break down the wall you have plastered with untempered mortar, and bring it down to the ground, so that its foundation will be uncovered; it will fall, and you shall be consumed in the midst of it. ^(AS)Then you shall know that I am the Lord.

¹⁵ “Thus will I accomplish My wrath on the wall and on those who have plastered it with untempered mortar; and I will say to you, ‘The wall is no more, nor those who plastered it, ¹⁶ that is, the prophets of Israel who prophesy concerning Jerusalem, and who ^(AT)see visions of peace for her when there is no peace,’ ” says the Lord God.

¹⁷ “Likewise, son of man, ^(AU)set your face against the daughters of your people, ^(AV)who prophesy out of their own ^[j]heart; prophesy against them, ¹⁸ and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Woe to the women who sew magic charms ^[k]on their sleeves and make veils for the heads of people of every height to hunt souls! Will you ^(AW)hunt the souls of My people, and keep yourselves alive? ¹⁹ And will you profane Me among My people ^(AX)for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, killing people who should not die, and keeping people alive who should not live, by your lying to My people who listen to lies?”

²⁰ ‘Therefore thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I am against your magic charms by which you hunt souls there like ^[l]birds. I will tear them from your arms, and let the souls go, the souls you hunt like birds. ²¹ I will also tear off your veils and deliver My people out of your hand, and they shall no longer be as prey in your hand. ^(AY)Then you shall know that I am the Lord.

²² “Because with ^(AZ)lies you have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and you have ^(BA)strengthened the hands of the wicked, so that he does not turn from his wicked way to save his life. ²³ Therefore ^(BB)you shall no longer envision futility nor practice divination; for I will deliver My people out of your hand, and you shall know that I am the Lord.” ’ ”