Ezekiel 11

1The spirit lifted me and brought me to the east gate of Yahweh's house, which faces east; and there at the gate's entrance stood twenty-five men, among whom I saw Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah, princes of the people.

2He said to me, "Son of man, these are the men who contrive evil and propose wicked plans in this city."

3who say, “It is not near to build houses; this is the pot, and we are the meat.”

4Thus prophesy against them; prophesy, son of man.

5The Spirit of Yahweh fell upon me, and he said to me, Speak! Thus says Yahweh: Thus you have said, house of Israel—the things that rise in your spirit, I know them.

6You have multiplied your slain in this city and filled its streets with the slain.

7Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: Your slain whom you put in its midst—they are the flesh, and it is the pot, but I will bring you out from its midst.

8You feared the sword, and I will bring the sword upon you, says the Lord Yahweh.

9I will bring you out from its midst and deliver you into the hands of strangers, and execute judgments among you.

10You will fall by the sword at Israel's border; I will judge you, and you will know that I am Yahweh.

11It will not be a pot for you, nor will you be flesh in its midst; I will judge you at the border of Israel.

12And you shall know that I am Yahweh whose statutes you have not walked in and whose judgments you have not done, but have done according to the judgments of the nations that surround you.

13As I prophesied, Pelatiah son of Benaiah died. Then I fell on my face, cried with a loud voice, and said, "Ah, Lord Yahweh! Are you making a full end of Israel's remnant?"

14The word of Yahweh came to me, saying,

15Son of man, your brothers—even your brothers, the men of your kindred, and all the house of Israel, all of them—are those to whom Jerusalem's inhabitants have said, "Go far from Yahweh; this land has been given to us for a possession."

16Therefore say: Thus says Lord Yahweh, “Though I have sent them far away among the nations and scattered them through the lands, I will be to them a little sanctuary in the lands where they have come.”

17Therefore say, Thus says Lord Yahweh: I will gather you from the nations, assemble you from the lands where you were scattered among them, and give you the land of Israel.

18They will come there and remove all its detestable things and all its abominations from it.

19I will give them one heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh.

20so that they follow my decrees and guard my rulings and carry them out, and they will be my people, and I will be their God.

21But those whose heart follows the heart of their detestable idols and their abominations, I will bring their way upon their own heads, declares the Lord Yahweh.

22The cherubim lifted their wings, the wheels beside them, and the glory of Israel's God over them from above.

23Yahweh's glory rose from above the city's midst and stood on the mountain east of the city.

24The Spirit lifted me up and brought me to Chaldea, to the exiles, in a vision by God's Spirit. The vision that I had seen ascended from me.

25I spoke to the exiles all the words of Yahweh that he had shown me.