Evil Princes Rebuked

111 And the wind, lifting me up, took me to the east doorway of the Lord's house, looking to the east: and at the door I saw twenty-five men; and among them I saw Jaazaniah, the son of Azzur, and Pelatiah, the son of Benaiah, rulers of the people. 2 Then he said to me, Son of man, these are the men who are designing evil, who are teaching evil ways in this town: 3 Who say, This is not the time for building houses: this town is the cooking-pot and we are the flesh. 4 For this cause be a prophet against them, be a prophet, O son of man. 5 And the spirit of the Lord came on me, and he said to me, Say, These are the words of the Lord: This is what you have said, O children of Israel; what comes into your mind is clear to me. 6 You have made great the number of your dead in this town, you have made its streets full of dead men. 7 For this reason the Lord has said: Your dead whom you have put down in its streets, they are the flesh, and this town is the cooking-pot: but I will make you come out from inside it. 8 You have been fearing the sword, and I will send the sword on you, says the Lord. 9 I will make you come out from inside the town and will give you up into the hands of men from other lands, and will be judge among you. 10 You will come to your death by the sword; and I will be your judge in the land of Israel; and you will be certain that I am the Lord. 11 This town will not be your cooking-pot, and you will not be the flesh inside it; I will be your judge at the limit of the land of Israel; 12 And you will be certain that I am the Lord: for you have not been guided by my rules or given effect to my orders, but you have been living by the orders of the nations round about you. 13 Now while I was saying these things, death came to Pelatiah, the son of Benaiah. Then falling down on my face and crying out with a loud voice, I said, Ah, Lord! will you put an end to all the rest of Israel?

The Promise of Restoration and Renewal

14 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 15 Son of man, your countrymen, your relations, and all the children of Israel, all of them, are those to whom the people of Jerusalem have said, Go far from the Lord; this land is given to us for a heritage: 16 For this reason say, This is what the Lord has said: Though I have had them moved far off among the nations, and though I have sent them wandering among the countries, still I have been a safe place for them for a little time in the countries where they have come. 17 Then say, This is what the Lord has said: I will get you together from the peoples, and make you come out of the countries where you have been sent in flight, and I will give you the land of Israel. 18 And they will come there, and take away all the hated and disgusting things from it. 19 And I will give them a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in them; and I will take the heart of stone out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh: 20 So that they may be guided by my rules and keep my orders and do them: and they will be to me a people, and I will be to them a God. 21 But as for those whose heart goes after their hated and disgusting things, I will send on their heads the punishment of their ways, says the Lord.

22 Then the wings of the winged ones were lifted up, and the wheels were by their side; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them on high. 23 And the glory of the Lord went up from inside the town, and came to rest on the mountain on the east side of the town. 24 And the wind, lifting me up, took me in the visions of God into Chaldaea, to those who had been taken away as prisoners. So the vision which I had seen went away from me. 25 Then I gave an account to those who had been taken prisoners of all the things which the Lord had made me see.

31 And he said to me, Son of man, take this roll for your food, and go and say my words to the children of Israel. 2 And, on my opening my mouth, he made me take the roll as food. 3 And he said to me, Son of man, let your stomach make a meal of it and let your inside be full of this roll which I am giving you. Then I took it, and it was sweet as honey in my mouth. 4 And he said to me, Son of man, go now to the children of Israel, and say my words to them. 5 For you are not sent to a people whose talk is strange and whose language is hard, but to the children of Israel; 6 Not to a number of peoples whose talk is strange and whose language is hard and whose words are not clear to you. Truly, if I sent you to them they would give ear to you. 7 But the children of Israel will not give ear to you; for they have no mind to give ear to me: for all the children of Israel have a hard brow and a stiff heart. 8 See, I have made your face hard against their faces, and your brow hard against their brows. 9 Like a diamond harder than rock I have made your brow: have no fear of them and do not be overcome by their looks, for they are an uncontrolled people. 10 Then he said to me, Son of man, take into your heart all my words which I am about to say to you, and let your ears be open to them. 11 And go now to those who have been taken away as prisoners, to the children of your people, and say to them, This is what the Lord has said; if they give ear or if they do not. 12 Then I was lifted up by the wind, and at my back the sound of a great rushing came to my ears when the glory of the Lord was lifted up from his place. 13 And there was the sound of the wings of the living beings touching one another, and the sound of the wheels at their side, the sound of a great rushing. 14 And the wind, lifting me up, took me away: and I went in the heat of my spirit, and the hand of the Lord was strong on me. 15 Then I came to those who had been taken away as prisoners, who were at Telabib by the river Chebar, and I was seated among them full of wonder for seven days.

A Watchman to Israel

16 And at the end of seven days, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 17 Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the children of Israel: so give ear to the word of my mouth, and give them word from me of their danger. 18 When I say to the evil-doer, Death will certainly be your fate; and you give him no word of it and say nothing to make clear to the evil-doer the danger of his evil way, so that he may be safe; that same evil man will come to death in his evil-doing; but I will make you responsible for his blood. 19 But if you give the evil-doer word of his danger, and he is not turned from his sin or from his evil way, death will overtake him in his evil-doing; but your life will be safe. 20 Again, when an upright man, turning away from his righteousness, does evil, and I put a cause of falling in his way, death will overtake him: because you have given him no word of his danger, death will overtake him in his evil-doing, and there will be no memory of the upright acts which he has done; but I will make you responsible for his blood. 21 But if you say to the upright man that he is not to do evil, he will certainly keep his life because he took note of your word; and your life will be safe.

The Prophet Made Dumb

22 And the hand of the Lord was on me there; and he said, Get up and go out into the valley and there I will have talk with you. 23 Then I got up and went out into the valley; and I saw the glory of the Lord resting there as I had seen it by the river Chebar; and I went down on my face. 24 Then the spirit came into me and put me on my feet; and he had talk with me and said to me, Go and keep yourself shut up inside your house. 25 But see, O son of man, I will put bands on you, prisoning you in them, and you will not go out among them: 26 And I will make your tongue fixed to the roof of your mouth, so that you have no voice and may not make protests to them: for they are an uncontrolled people. 27 But when I have talk with you I will make your mouth open, and you are to say to them, This is what the Lord has said: Let the hearer give ear; and as for him who will not, let him keep his ears shut: for they are an uncontrolled people.