1 Moreover, the Spirite lift me vp, and brought me vnto the East gate of the Lordes house, which lyeth Eastwarde, and beholde, at the entrie of the gate were fiue and twentie men: among whome I sawe Iaazaniah the sonne of Azur, and Pelatiah the sonne of Benaiah, the princes of the people. 2 Then said he vnto me, Sonne of man, these are the men that imagine mischiefe, and deuise wicked counsell in this citie. 3 For they say, It is not neere, let vs builde houses: this citie is the caldron, and wee be the flesh. 4 Therefore prophesie against them, sonne of man, prophesie. 5 And the Spirite of the Lord fell vpon me, and said vnto me, Speake, Thus saith the Lord, O ye house of Israel, this haue ye said, and I know that which riseth vp of your mindes. 6 Many haue ye murthered in this citie, and ye haue filled the streets thereof with the slaine. 7 Therefore thus saith the Lord God, They that ye haue slaine, and haue layed in the middes of it, they are the flesh, and this citie is the caldron, but I wil bring you foorth of the mids of it. 8 Ye haue feared the sworde, and I wil bring a sworde vpon you, saith the Lord God. 9 And I will bring you out of the middes thereof, and deliuer you into the hands of strangers, and will execute iudgements among you. 10 Ye shall fall by the sworde, and I wil iudge you in the border of Israel, and ye shall knowe that I am the Lord. 11 This citie shall not be your caldron, neyther shall ye be the flesh in the middes thereof, but I will iudge you in the border of Israel. 12 And ye shall knowe that I am the Lord: for ye haue not walked in my statutes, neither executed my iudgements, but haue done after the maners of the heathen, that are round about you. 13 And when I prophesied, Pelatiah the sonne of Benaiah dyed: then fell I downe vpon my face, and cryed with a loude voyce, and saide, Ah Lord God, wilt thou then vtterly destroy all the remnant of Israel? 14 Againe the worde of the Lord came vnto me, saying, 15 Sonne of man, thy brethren, euen thy brethren, the men of thy kindred, and all the house of Israel, wholy are they vnto whome the inhabitants of Ierusalem haue said, Depart ye farre from the Lord: for the lande is giuen vs in possession. 16 Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord God, Although I haue cast them farre off among the heathen, and although I haue scattered them among the countreis, yet wil I be to them as a litle Sanctuarie in ye countreis where they shall come. 17 Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord God, I will gather you againe from the people, and assemble you out of the countreis where ye haue bene scattered, and I will giue you ye land of Israel. 18 And they shall come thither, and they shall take away all the idoles thereof, and all the abominations thereof from thence. 19 And I will giue them one heart, and I will put a newe spirit within their bowels: and I will take the stonie heart out of their bodies, and will giue them an heart of flesh, 20 That they may walke in my statutes, and keepe my iudgements, and execute them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. 21 But vpon them, whose heart is towarde their idoles, and whose affection goeth after their abominations, I will lay their way vpon their owne heades, saith the Lord God. 22 Then did the Cherubims lift vp their wings, and the wheeles besides them, and the glorie of the God of Israel was vpon them on hie. 23 And the glorie of the Lord went vp from the middes of the citie, and stoode vpon the moutaine which is towarde the East side of the citie. 24 Afterwarde the Spirite tooke me vp, and brought me in a vision by the Spirit of God into Caldea to them that were led away captiues: so the vision that I had seene, went vp from me. 25 Then I declared vnto them that were led away captiues, all the things that the Lord had shewed me.
Jerusalem Is Condemned
1 God's spirit lifted me up and took me to the east gate of the Temple. There near the gate I saw twenty-five men, including Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah, two leaders of the nation.
2 God said to me, “Mortal man, these men make evil plans and give bad advice in this city. 3 They say, ‘We will soon be building houses again. The city is like a cooking pot, and we are like the meat in it, but at least it protects us from the fire.’ 4 Now then, denounce them, mortal man.”
5 The spirit of the Lord took control of me, and the Lord told me to give the people this message: “People of Israel, I know what you are saying and what you are planning. 6 You have murdered so many people here in the city that the streets are full of corpses.
7 “So this is what I, the Sovereign Lord, am saying to you. This city is a cooking pot all right, but what is the meat? The corpses of those you have killed! You will not be here—I will throw you out of the city! 8 Are you afraid of swords? I will bring soldiers with swords to attack you. 9 I will take you out of the city and hand you over to foreigners. I have sentenced you to death, 10 and you will be killed in battle in your own country. Then everyone will know that I am the Lord. 11 This city will not protect you the way a pot protects the meat in it. I will punish you wherever you may be in the land of Israel. 12 You will know that I am the Lord and that while you were keeping the laws of the neighboring nations, you were breaking my laws and disobeying my commands.”
13 While I was prophesying, Pelatiah dropped dead. I threw myself face downward on the ground and shouted, “No, Sovereign Lord! Are you going to kill everyone left in Israel?”
God's Promise to the Exiles
14 The Lord spoke to me. 15 “Mortal man,” he said, “the people who live in Jerusalem are talking about you and those of your nation who are in exile. They say, ‘The exiles are too far away to worship the Lord. He has given us possession of the land.’
16 “Now tell your fellow exiles what I am saying. I am the one who sent them to live in far-off nations and scattered them in other countries. Yet, for the time being I will be present with them in the lands where they have gone.
17 “So tell them what I, the Sovereign Lord, am saying. I will gather them out of the countries where I scattered them, and will give the land of Israel back to them. 18 When they return, they are to get rid of all the filthy, disgusting idols they find. 19 I will give them a new heart and a new mind. I will take away their stubborn heart of stone and will give them an obedient heart. 20 Then they will keep my laws and faithfully obey all my commands. They will be my people, and I will be their God. 21 But I will punish the people who love to worship filthy, disgusting idols. I will punish them for what they have done.” The Sovereign Lord has spoken.
God's Glory Leaves Jerusalem
22 The living creatures began to fly, and the wheels went with them. The dazzling light of the presence of the God of Israel was over them. 23 Then the dazzling light left the city and moved to the mountain east of it. 24 In the vision the spirit of God lifted me up and brought me back to the exiles in Babylonia. Then the vision faded, 25 and I told the exiles everything that the Lord had shown me.