CHAPTER 11
Then the Spirit
lifted me up
and brought
me to
the gate
of the house
of the LORD
that faces
east.
And there
at the entrance
of the gate
were twenty-five
men.
Among
them I saw
Jaazaniah
son
of Azzur
and Pelatiah
son
of Benaiah,
who were leaders
of the people.
And the LORD said
to me,
“Son
of man,
these
are the men
who plot
evil
and give
wicked
counsel
in this
city.
They are saying,
‘Is not
the time near
to build
houses?
The city
is a cooking pot,
and we
are the meat.’
And the Spirit
of the LORD
fell
upon me
and told
me
to declare
that this is what
the LORD
says:
“That is what
you are thinking,
O house
of Israel;
and I
know
the thoughts
that arise in your minds.
Therefore
this is what
the Lord
GOD
says:
The slain
you have laid
within
this city
are the meat,
and the city
is the pot;
but I will remove you
from it.
I will bring you
out of the city
and hand you over to
foreigners;
I will execute
judgments
against you.
You will fall
by the sword,
and I will judge
you
to the border
of Israel.
Then you will know
that
I
am the LORD.
The city
will not
be
a pot for you,
nor will you
be
the meat
within it.
I will judge
you
even to
the borders
of Israel.
Then you will know
that
I
am the LORD.
For
you have neither
followed
My statutes
nor
practiced
my ordinances,
but you have conformed
to the ordinances
of the nations
around you.”
Now as I was
prophesying,
Pelatiah
son
of Benaiah
died.
Then I fell
facedown
and cried out
in a loud
voice,
“Oh,
Lord
GOD,
will You
bring
the remnant
of Israel
to a complete end?”
“Son
of man,
your brothers—
your relatives,
your fellow exiles,
and the whole
house
of Israel—
are those of whom
the people
of Jerusalem
have said,
‘They are far
from
the LORD;
this land
has been given us
as a possession.’
Therefore
declare
that this is what
the Lord
GOD
says:
‘Although
I sent them far away
among the nations
and scattered
them among the countries,
yet for a little while
I have been
a sanctuary
for them
in the countries
to which
they have gone.’
Therefore
declare
that this is what
the Lord
GOD
says:
‘I will gather
you from
the peoples
and assemble
you from
the countries
to which
you have been scattered,
and I will give
you back
the land
of Israel.’
‘When they return
to it,
they will remove
from it
all
its detestable things
and
all
its abominations.
And I will give
them
singleness
of heart
and put
a new
spirit
within them;
I will remove
their heart
of stone
and give
them a heart
of flesh,
so that
they may follow
My statutes,
keep
My ordinances,
and practice them.
Then they will be
My people,
and I
will be
their God.
But as for
those whose hearts
pursue
detestable things
and abominations,
I will bring their conduct
down
upon their own heads,
declares
the Lord
GOD.’”
Then the cherubim,
with the wheels
beside them,
spread
their wings,
and the glory
of the God
of Israel
was above
them.
And the glory
of the LORD
rose up
from
within
the city
and stood
over
the mountain
east
of the city.
The Spirit
lifted me up
and carried me
back
to Chaldea,
to the exiles
in the vision given
by the Spirit
of God.
After the vision
I had seen
had gone up
from me,