Ezekiel, 11

1. Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the east gate of the temple. At the entrance of the gate I saw twenty-five men, among whom were Jaazaniah, son of Azzur, and Pelatiah, son of Benaiah, princes of the people.

1. The spirit lifted me up and brought me to the east gate of the Temple of Yahweh, the gate that looks eastwards. There at the entrance to the gate stood twenty-five men, among whom I saw Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah, leaders of the people.

2. The LORD said to me: Son of man, these are the men who are planning evil and giving wicked counsel in this city.

2. He said to me, 'Son of man, these are the wicked schemers who are spreading their bad advice through this city.

3. "Shall we not," they say, "be building houses soon? The city is the kettle, and we are the meat."

3. They say, "There will be no house-building yet awhile. The city is the cooking pot and we are the meat."

4. Therefore prophesy against them, son of man, prophesy!

4. So prophesy against them, prophesy, son of man!'

5. Then the spirit of the LORD fell upon me, and he told me to say: Thus says the LORD: This is the way you talk, house of Israel, and what you are plotting I well know.

5. The spirit of Yahweh fell on me, and he said to me, 'Say, "Yahweh says this: I know what you are saying, House of Israel, I know how insolent you are.

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

6. You have filled this city with more and more of your victims; you have strewn its streets with victims.

7. Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Your slain whom you have placed within it, they are the meat, and the city is the kettle; but you I will take out of it.

7. And so the Lord Yahweh says this: Your victims, whom you have put in it, are the meat, and the city is the cooking pot; but I shall take you out of it.

8. You fear the sword, but the sword I will bring upon you, says the Lord GOD.

8. You are afraid of the sword and I shall bring the sword down on you -- declares the Lord Yahweh-

9. I will bring you out of the city, and hand you over to foreigners, and inflict punishments upon you.

9. and I shall take you out of it and hand you over to foreigners and bring you to justice;

10. By the sword you shall fall; at the boundaries of Israel I will judge you; thus you shall know that I am the LORD.

10. you will fall by the sword on the soil of Israel; I shall execute justice on you, and you will know that I am Yahweh.

11. The city shall not be a kettle for you, nor shall you be the meat within it. At the boundaries of Israel I will judge you,

11. This city will be no cooking pot for you, nor will you be the meat inside; I shall execute justice on you on the soil of Israel;

12. and you shall know that I am the LORD, by whose statutes you have not lived, and whose ordinances you have not kept; rather, you have acted according to the ordinances of the nations around you.

12. and you will know that I am Yahweh, whose laws you have not obeyed and whose judgements you have not kept; instead, you have adopted the customs of the nations round you." '

13. While I was prophesying, Pelatiah, the son of Benaiah, died. I fell prone and cried out in a loud voice: "Alas, Lord GOD! will you utterly wipe out what remains of Israel?"

13. Now as I was prophesying, Pelatiah son of Benaiah dropped dead. I fell to the ground and cried out, 'Ah, Lord Yahweh, are you going to annihilate the remnant of Israel?'

14. Thus the word of the LORD came to me:

14. The word of Yahweh was then addressed to me as follows,

15. Son of man, it is about your kinsmen, your fellow exiles, and the whole house of Israel that the inhabitants of Jerusalem say, "They are far away from the LORD; to us the land of Israel has been given as our possession."

15. 'Son of man, to your brothers one and all, to your kinsfolk and to the whole House of Israel, the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, "Keep well away from Yahweh. This country has now been made over to us!"

16. Therefore say: Thus says the Lord GOD: Though I have removed them far among the nations and scattered them over foreign countries--and was for a while their only sanctuary in the countries to which they had gone--

16. So say, "The Lord Yahweh says this: Yes, I have sent them far away among the nations and I have dispersed them to foreign countries; and for a while I have been a sanctuary for them in the country to which they have gone."

17. I will gather you from the nations and assemble you from the countries over which you have been scattered, and I will restore to you the land of Israel.

17. So say, "The Lord Yahweh says this: I shall gather you back from the peoples, I shall collect you in from the countries where you have been scattered and give you the land of Israel.

18. They shall return to it and remove from it all its detestable abominations.

18. When they come back, they will purge it of all its horrors and loathsome practices.

19. I will give them a new heart and put a new spirit within them; I will remove the stony heart from their bodies, and replace it with a natural heart,

19. I shall give them a single heart and I shall put a new spirit in them; I shall remove the heart of stone from their bodies and give them a heart of flesh,

20. so that they will live according to my statutes, and observe and carry out my ordinances; thus they shall be my people and I will be their God.

20. so that they can keep my laws and respect my judgements and put them into practice. Then they will be my people and I shall be their God.

21. But as for those whose hearts are devoted to their detestable abominations, I will bring down their conduct upon their heads, says the Lord GOD.

21. But those whose hearts are set on their horrors and loathsome practices I shall repay for their conduct -- declares the Lord Yahweh." '

22. Then the cherubim lifted their wings, and the wheels went along with them, while up above them was the glory of the God of Israel.

22. The winged creatures then raised their wings and the wheels moved with them, with the glory of the God of Israel over them, above.

23. And the glory of the LORD rose from the city and took a stand on the mountain which is to the east of the city.

23. And the glory of Yahweh rose from the centre of the city and halted on the mountain to the east of the city.

24.

24. Then the spirit lifted me up and took me, in vision, in the spirit of God, to the exiles in Chaldaea, and the vision which I had seen faded.

25.

25. I then told the exiles everything that Yahweh had shown me.