1 A windtn Or “spirit.” See note on “wind” in 2:2. lifted me up and brought me to the east gate of the Lord’s temple that faces the east. There, at the entrance of the gate, I noticed twenty-five men. Among them I saw Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah, officials of the people.sn The phrase officials of the people occurs in Neh 11:1; 1 Chr 21:2; 2 Chr 24:23.

2 The Lordtn Heb “and he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity. said to me, “Son of man, these are the men who plot evil and give wicked advice in this city.

3 They say,tn The Hebrew verb may mean “think” in this context. This content of what they say (or think) represents their point of view. ‘The time is not near to build houses;sn The expression build houses may mean “establish families” (Deut 25:9; Ruth 4:11; Prov 24:27). the citytn Heb “she” or “it”; the feminine pronoun refers here to Jerusalem. is a cooking potsn Jerusalem is also compared to a pot in Ezek 24:3-8. The siege of the city is pictured as heating up the pot. and we are the meat in it.’

4 Therefore, prophesy against them! Prophesy, son of man!”

5 Then the Spirit of the Lord cametn Heb “fell.” upon me and said to me, “Say: This is what the Lord says: ‘This is what you are thinking,tn The Hebrew verb commonly means “to say,” but may also mean “to think” (see also v. 3). O house of Israel; I know what goes through your minds.tn Heb “I know the steps of your spirits.”

6 You have killed many people in this city; you have filled its streets with corpses.’

7 Therefore, this is what the sovereign Lord says: ‘The corpses you have dumpedtn Heb “placed.” in the midst of the citytn Heb “in its midst.” are the meat, and this citytn Heb “she/it.” See v. 3. is the cooking pot, but I will take you out of it.tc Many of the versions read “I will bring you out” (active) rather than “he brought out” (the reading of MT).

8 You fear the sword, so the sword I will bring against you,’ declares the sovereign Lord.

9 ‘But I will take you out of the city.tn Heb “its midst.” And I will hand you over to foreigners. I will execute judgments on you.

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

11 This city will not be a cooking pot for you, and you will nottn The Hebrew text does not have the negative particle, but it is implied. The negative particle in the previous line does double duty here. be meat within it; I will judge you at the border of Israel.

12 Then you will know that I am the Lord, whose statutes you have not followed and whose regulations you have not carried out. Instead you have behaved according to the regulations of the nations around you!’”

13 Now, while I was prophesying, Pelatiah son of Benaiah died. Then I threw myself face down and cried out with a loud voice, “Alas, sovereign Lord! You are completely wiping out the remnant of Israel!”tc The LXX reads this statement as a question. Compare this to the question in 9:8. It is possible that the interrogative particle has been omitted by haplography. However, an exclamatory statement as in the MT also makes sense and the LXX may have simply tried to harmonize this passage with 9:8.

14 Then the word of the Lord came to me:

15 “Son of man, your brothers,tc The MT reads “your brothers, your brothers” either for empahsis (D. I. Block, Ezekiel [NICOT], 1:341, n. 1; 346) or as a result of dittography. your relatives,tc The MT reads גְאֻלָּתֶךָ (gÿ’ullatekha, “your redemption-men”), referring to the relatives responsible for deliverance in times of hardship (see Lev 25:25-55). The LXX and Syriac read “your fellow exiles,” assuming an underlying Hebrew text of גָלוּתֶךָ (galutekha) or having read the א (aleph) as an internal mater lectionis for holem. and the whole house of Israel, all of them are those to whom the inhabitants of Jerusalemmap For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4. have said, ‘They have gonetc The MT has an imperative form (“go far!”), but it may be read with different vowels as a perfect verb (“they have gone far”). far away from the Lord; to us this land has been given as a possession.’

16 “Therefore say: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Although I have removed them far away among the nations and have dispersed them among the countries, I have been a littletn Or “have been partially a sanctuary”; others take this as temporal (cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV “a little while”). sanctuary for them among the lands where they have gone.’

17 “Therefore say: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: When I regather you from the peoples and assemble you from the lands where you have been dispersed, I will give you back the country of Israel.’

18 “When they return to it, they will remove from it all its detestable things and all its abominations.

19 I will give them one heart and I will put a new spirit within them;tc The MT reads “you”; many Hebrew mss along with the LXX and other ancient versions read “within them.” I will remove the hearts of stone from their bodiestn Heb “their flesh.” and I will give them tender hearts,tn Heb “heart of flesh.”

20 so that they may follow my statutes and observe my regulations and carry them out. Then they will be my people, and I will be their God.sn The expression They will be my people, and I will be their God occurs as a promise to Abraham (Gen 17:8), Moses (Exod 6:7), and the nation (Exod 29:45).

21 But those whose hearts are devoted to detestable things and abominations, I hereby repay them for what they have done,tn Heb “their way on their head I have placed.” says the sovereign Lord.”

22 Then the cherubim spreadtn Heb “lifted.” their wings with their wheels alongside them while the glory of the God of Israel hovered above them.

23 The glory of the Lord rose up from within the city and stoppedtn Heb “stood.” over the mountain east of it.

24 Then a windtn Or “spirit.” See note on “wind” in 2:2. lifted me up and carried me to the exiles in Babylonia,tn Heb “to Chaldea.” in the vision given to me by the Spirit of God.

25 So I told the exiles everythingtn Heb “all the words of.” the Lord had shown me.