Prophecies Against Evil Leaders

11 ·The Spirit [or A spirit/or wind] lifted me up and brought me to the ·front [^Leastern] gate of the ·Temple [^Lhouse] of the Lord, which faces east. ·I saw [^TAnd behold] twenty-five men at the entrance of the gate, among them Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah, who were ·leaders [princes; officials] of the people. ² Then the Lord said to me, “·Human [^TSon of man; 2:1], these are the men who plan evil and give wicked advice in this city [^CJerusalem]. ³ They say, ‘·It is almost time [or Isn’t it a good time…?; or The time is not near] for us to build houses [^Cmeaning either (1) let’s keep building, since no judgment is coming, or (2) we don’t need to build our own houses, since we can seize the houses of others (Mic. 2:1–2)]. This city is ·like a cooking pot [the cauldron], and we are ·like the best meat [^Lthe meat; ^Cthe city will protect them; see 24:3–11 for the same image used differently].’ ⁴ So prophesy against them, prophesy, ·human [^Tson of man; 2:1].”

⁵ Then the ·Spirit [or spirit] of the Lord ·entered [fell upon] me and told me to say: “This is what the Lord says: You have said these things, ·people [^Lhouse] of Israel, and I know ·what you are thinking [^Lthe steps of your spirits]. ⁶ You have killed many people in this city, filling its streets with ·their bodies [the slain].

⁷ “So this is what the Lord God says: Those people you have killed and left in the middle of the city are ·like the best meat [^Lthe meat], and this city is ·like the cooking pot [^Lthe cauldron]. But I will ·force [drive; take] you out of the city. ⁸ You have feared the sword, ·but [so] I will bring a sword against you, says the Lord God. ⁹ I will ·force [drive; take] you out of the city and hand you over to ·strangers [foreigners] and ·punish [execute judgments upon] you. ¹⁰ You will die by the sword. I will ·punish [judge] you at the border of Israel so you will know that I am the Lord. ¹¹ This city will not be ·your cooking pot [the cauldron], and you will not be ·the best meat [^Lmeat] in the middle of it. I will ·punish [judge] you at the border of Israel. ¹² Then you will know that I am the Lord. You did not live by my ·rules [statutes] or obey my ·laws [rules; judgments]. Instead, you ·did the same things as [obeyed the laws/rules/judgments of] the nations around you.”

¹³ While I was prophesying, Pelatiah son of Benaiah died. Then I ·bowed [fell] facedown on the ground and ·shouted [cried out] with a loud voice, “·Oh no [Ah], Lord God! Will you completely destroy the ·Israelites who are left alive [remnant of Israel]?”

Promise to Those Remaining

¹⁴ The ·Lord spoke his word [^Lword of the Lord came] to me, saying, ¹⁵ “·Human [^TSon of man; 2:1], the people still in Jerusalem have spoken about your ·own relatives^[a] [^Lbrothers, your kinsmen redeemers; Lev. 25:25–55] and all the ·people [^Lhouse] of Israel, saying, ‘They are far from the Lord. This land has been given to us as our ·property [possession].’

¹⁶ “So say, ‘This is what the Lord God says: I sent the people far away among the nations and scattered them among the countries. But ·for a little while [or in a small measure] I have become a ·Temple [sanctuary] to them in the countries where they have gone.’

¹⁷ “So say: ‘This is what the Lord God says: I will gather you from the nations and bring you together from the countries where you have been scattered. Then I will give you back the land of Israel.’

¹⁸ “When they come to this land, they will remove all the ·evil idols [detestable things] and all the ·hateful images [abominations]. ¹⁹ I will give them ·a desire to respect me completely [a unified heart; ^Lone heart], and ·I will put inside them a new way of thinking [^La new spirit]. I will take away their ·stubborn heart [^Lheart of stone], and I will give them an ·obedient heart [or tender heart; ^Lheart of flesh]. ²⁰ Then they will ·live by my rules [walk in my statutes/decrees] and obey my ·laws [rules; judgments] and keep them. They will be my people, and I will be their God. ²¹ But those who ·want to serve [are devoted to; pursue] their ·evil statues [detestable things] and ·hateful idols [abominations], I will ·pay back for their evil ways [^Lbring their way/path down upon their head], says the Lord God.”

Ezekiel’s Vision Ends

²² Then the ·living creatures [^Lcherubim] lifted their wings with the wheels beside them, and the glory of the God of Israel [^Chis manifest presence] was above them. ²³ The glory of the Lord went up from inside Jerusalem and stopped on the mountain on the east side of the city. ²⁴ ·The Spirit [or A wind/or spirit] lifted me up and brought me to the ·captives [exiles] who had been taken from Judah to ·Babylonia [^LChaldea]. This happened in a vision given by the ·Spirit [spirit] of God, and then the vision I had seen ·ended [^Lwent up from me]. ²⁵ And I told the ·captives [exiles] from Judah all the things the Lord had shown me.