Ezekiel 11

Moreover the spirit lifted me up, and brought me unto the east gate of the LORD’s house, which looketh eastward: and behold at the door of the gate five and twenty men; among whom I saw Jaazaniah the son of Azur, and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people.

1Then the Spirit lifted me up. He brought me to the east gate of the LORD's house. That is the temple, where people came to worship God. Twenty-five men stood at the gate. Two of them were Jaazaniah son of Azur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah. They were leaders of the people.

2Then said he unto me, Son of man, these are the men that devise mischief, and give wicked counsel in this city:

2Then God said to me, "Son of man, these men plan evil things. That is what God called Ezekiel. They give bad advice in this city.

3Which say, It is not near; let us build houses: this city is the caldron, and we be the flesh.

3They say, 'Trouble is not close. Let's build houses. This city is the cooking pot, and we are the meat inside it.'

NoteA caldron is a big pot for cooking. "Flesh" here means meat. The men are comparing themselves to meat kept inside a pot.

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

4So speak against them. Speak, son of man!"

5And the Spirit of the LORD fell upon me, and said unto me, Speak; Thus saith the LORD; Thus have ye said, O house of Israel: for I know the things that come into your mind, every one of them.

5The Spirit of the LORD came on me. He told me to say this: "The LORD says, that is what you have been saying, people of Israel. I know every thought that comes into your minds.

6Ye have multiplied your slain in this city, and ye have filled the streets thereof with the slain.

6You have killed many people in this city. You have filled its streets with dead bodies.

7Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Your slain whom ye have laid in the midst of it, they are the flesh, and this city is the caldron: but I will bring you forth out of the midst of it.

7So the Lord GOD says this. The people you killed and left in the city are the meat. The city is the pot. But I will take you out of it.

8Ye have feared the sword; and I will bring a sword upon you, saith the Lord GOD.

8You are afraid of the sword. So I will bring the sword against you, says the Lord GOD.

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

9I will bring you out of the city. I will hand you over to foreigners. I will punish you.

10Ye shall fall by the sword; I will judge you in the border of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.

10You will die by the sword. I will judge you at the border of Israel. Then you will know that I am the LORD.

11This city shall not be your caldron, neither shall ye be the flesh in the midst thereof; but I will judge you in the border of Israel:

11This city will not be a pot for you. You will not be the meat safe inside it. I will judge you at the border of Israel.

12And ye shall know that I am the LORD: for ye have not walked in my statutes, neither executed my judgments, but have done after the manners of the heathen that are round about you.

12Then you will know that I am the LORD. You did not live by my rules. You did not do what I said was right. Instead you copied the nations around you."

13And it came to pass, when I prophesied, that Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died. Then fell I down upon my face, and cried with a loud voice, and said, Ah Lord GOD! wilt thou make a full end of the remnant of Israel?

13While I was speaking God's words, Pelatiah son of Benaiah died. I fell down with my face to the ground. I cried out loudly, "Oh, Lord GOD! Will you finish off the few people of Israel who are left?"

Note"Remnant" means the small number of people who are still left after the rest are gone.

14Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

14Then the word of the LORD came to me. He said,

15Son of man, thy brethren, even thy brethren, the men of thy kindred, and all the house of Israel wholly, are they unto whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, Get you far from the LORD: unto us is this land given in possession.

15"Son of man, think of your brothers and your relatives. Think of all the people of Israel taken far from home. The people living in Jerusalem say about them, 'They are far away from the LORD. This land belongs to us now.'

16Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Although I have cast them far off among the heathen, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet will I be to them as a little sanctuary in the countries where they shall come.

16So tell them what the Lord GOD says. 'I did send them far away among the nations. I scattered them among many countries. But I myself have been like a small holy place for them there.'

17Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even gather you from the people, and assemble you out of the countries where ye have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.

17So tell them what the Lord GOD says. 'I will gather you from the nations. I will bring you back from the countries where you were scattered. I will give you the land of Israel again.'

18And they shall come thither, and they shall take away all the detestable things thereof and all the abominations thereof from thence.

18When they come back, they will clear the land. They will take away every hateful and disgusting thing they find there.

19And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh:

19I will give them one heart. I will put a new spirit inside them. I will take out their hard heart of stone. I will give them a soft, living heart.

20That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.

20Then they will live by my rules. They will keep my laws and do them. They will be my people, and I will be their God.

21But as for them whose heart walketh after the heart of their detestable things and their abominations, I will recompense their way upon their own heads, saith the Lord GOD.

21But some people love hateful and disgusting things in their hearts. I will pay them back for the way they have lived, says the Lord GOD."

22Then did the cherubims lift up their wings, and the wheels beside them; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above.

22Then the cherubim spread their wings. They are the winged living creatures I saw. The wheels were beside them. The bright glory of the God of Israel was above them.

23And the glory of the LORD went up from the midst of the city, and stood upon the mountain which is on the east side of the city.

23The glory of the LORD rose up out of the city. It stopped and stood over the mountain east of the city.

24Afterwards the spirit took me up, and brought me in a vision by the Spirit of God into Chaldea, to them of the captivity. So the vision that I had seen went up from me.

24Then the Spirit lifted me up. In this vision from the Spirit of God, he brought me back to Chaldea. That is where my people lived, far from home. Then the vision left me.

NoteChaldea is another name for Babylon. Many people of Israel had been taken there as prisoners.

25Then I spake unto them of the captivity all the things that the LORD had shewed me.

25So I told those people everything the LORD had shown me.