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1 And he said to me, “Son of man, eat what is before you, eat this scroll; then go and speak to the people of Israel.”

2 So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat.

3 Then he said to me, “Son of man, eat this scroll I am giving you and fill your stomach with it.” So I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth.

4 He then said to me: “Son of man, go now to the people of Israel and speak my words to them.

5 You are not being sent to a people of obscure speech and strange language, but to the people of Israel—

6 not to many peoples of obscure speech and strange language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely if I had sent you to them, they would have listened to you.

7 But the people of Israel are not willing to listen to you because they are not willing to listen to me, for all the Israelites are hardened and obstinate.

8 But I will make you as unyielding and hardened as they are.

9 I will make your forehead like the hardest stone, harder than flint. Do not be afraid of them or terrified by them, though they are a rebellious people.”

10 And he said to me, “Son of man, listen carefully and take to heart all the words I speak to you.

11 Go now to your people in exile and speak to them. Say to them, ‘This is what the SovereignLordsays,’ whether they listen or fail to listen.”

12 Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me a loud rumbling sound as the glory of theLordrose from the place where it was standing.

13 It was the sound of the wings of the living creatures brushing against each other and the sound of the wheels beside them, a loud rumbling sound.

14 The Spirit then lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness and in the anger of my spirit, with the strong hand of theLordon me.

15 I came to the exiles who lived at Tel Aviv near the Kebar River. And there, where they were living, I sat among them for seven days—deeply distressed.

Ezekiel’s Task as Watchman

16 At the end of seven days the word of theLordcame to me:

17 “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me.

18 When I say to a wicked person, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn them or speak out to dissuade them from their evil ways in order to save their life, that wicked person will die fortheir sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood.

19 But if you do warn the wicked person and they do not turn from their wickedness or from their evil ways, they will die for their sin; but you will have saved yourself.

20 “Again, when a righteous person turns from their righteousness and does evil, and I put a stumbling block before them, they will die. Since you did not warn them, they will die for their sin. The righteous things that person did will not be remembered, and I will hold you accountable for their blood.

21 But if you do warn the righteous person not to sin and they do not sin, they will surely live because they took warning, and you will have saved yourself.”

22 The hand of theLordwas on me there, and he said to me, “Get up and go out to the plain, and there I will speak to you.”

23 So I got up and went out to the plain. And the glory of theLordwas standing there, like the glory I had seen by the Kebar River, and I fell facedown.

24 Then the Spirit came into me and raised me to my feet. He spoke to me and said: “Go, shut yourself inside your house.

25 And you, son of man, they will tie with ropes; you will be bound so that you cannot go out among the people.

26 I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth so that you will be silent and unable to rebuke them, for they are a rebellious people.

27 But when I speak to you, I will open your mouth and you shall say to them, ‘This is what the SovereignLordsays.’ Whoever will listen let them listen, and whoever will refuse let them refuse; for they are a rebellious people.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/3/32k/EZK/3-4b453c6fff735adad98f769fb323a9ac.mp3?version_id=111—

Siege of Jerusalem Symbolized

1 “Now, son of man, take a block of clay, put it in front of you and draw the city of Jerusalem on it.

2 Then lay siege to it: Erect siege works against it, build a ramp up to it, set up camps against it and put battering rams around it.

3 Then take an iron pan, place it as an iron wall between you and the city and turn your face toward it. It will be under siege, and you shall besiege it. This will be a sign to the people of Israel.

4 “Then lie on your left side and put the sin of the people of Israel upon yourself.You are to bear their sin for the number of days you lie on your side.

5 I have assigned you the same number of days as the years of their sin. So for 390 days you will bear the sin of the people of Israel.

6 “After you have finished this, lie down again, this time on your right side, and bear the sin of the people of Judah. I have assigned you 40 days, a day for each year.

7 Turn your face toward the siege of Jerusalem and with bared arm prophesy against her.

8 I will tie you up with ropes so that you cannot turn from one side to the other until you have finished the days of your siege.

9 “Take wheat and barley, beans and lentils, millet and spelt; put them in a storage jar and use them to make bread for yourself. You are to eat it during the 390 days you lie on your side.

10 Weigh out twenty shekelsof food to eat each day and eat it at set times.

11 Also measure out a sixth of a hinof water and drink it at set times.

12 Eat the food as you would a loaf of barley bread; bake it in the sight of the people, using human excrement for fuel.”

13 TheLordsaid, “In this way the people of Israel will eat defiled food among the nations where I will drive them.”

14 Then I said, “Not so, SovereignLord! I have never defiled myself. From my youth until now I have never eaten anything found dead or torn by wild animals. No impure meat has ever entered my mouth.”

15 “Very well,” he said, “I will let you bake your bread over cow dung instead of human excrement.”

16 He then said to me: “Son of man, I am about to cut off the food supply in Jerusalem. The people will eat rationed food in anxiety and drink rationed water in despair,

17 for food and water will be scarce. They will be appalled at the sight of each other and will waste away because oftheir sin.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/3/32k/EZK/4-d6e8599f28865541a03f36e7ff9968d5.mp3?version_id=111—

God’s Razor of Judgment

1 “Now, son of man, take a sharp sword and use it as a barber’s razor to shave your head and your beard. Then take a set of scales and divide up the hair.

2 When the days of your siege come to an end, burn a third of the hair inside the city. Take a third and strike it with the sword all around the city. And scatter a third to the wind. For I will pursue them with drawn sword.

3 But take a few hairs and tuck them away in the folds of your garment.

4 Again, take a few of these and throw them into the fire and burn them up. A fire will spread from there to all Israel.

5 “This is what the SovereignLordsays: This is Jerusalem, which I have set in the center of the nations, with countries all around her.

6 Yet in her wickedness she has rebelled against my laws and decrees more than the nations and countries around her. She has rejected my laws and has not followed my decrees.

7 “Therefore this is what the SovereignLordsays: You have been more unruly than the nations around you and have not followed my decrees or kept my laws. You have not evenconformed to the standards of the nations around you.

8 “Therefore this is what the SovereignLordsays: I myself am against you, Jerusalem, and I will inflict punishment on you in the sight of the nations.

9 Because of all your detestable idols, I will do to you what I have never done before and will never do again.

10 Therefore in your midst parents will eat their children, and children will eat their parents. I will inflict punishment on you and will scatter all your survivors to the winds.

11 Therefore as surely as I live, declares the SovereignLord, because you have defiled my sanctuary with all your vile images and detestable practices, I myself will shave you; I will not look on you with pity or spare you.

12 A third of your people will die of the plague or perish by famine inside you; a third will fall by the sword outside your walls; and a third I will scatter to the winds and pursue with drawn sword.

13 “Then my anger will cease and my wrath against them will subside, and I will be avenged. And when I have spent my wrath on them, they will know that I theLordhave spoken in my zeal.

14 “I will make you a ruin and a reproach among the nations around you, in the sight of all who pass by.

15 You will be a reproach and a taunt, a warning and an object of horror to the nations around you when I inflict punishment on you in anger and in wrath and with stinging rebuke. I theLordhave spoken.

16 When I shoot at you with my deadly and destructive arrows of famine, I will shoot to destroy you. I will bring more and more famine upon you and cut off your supply of food.

17 I will send famine and wild beasts against you, and they will leave you childless. Plague and bloodshed will sweep through you, and I will bring the sword against you. I theLordhave spoken.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/3/32k/EZK/5-4e6d93eedc627bcbe32009130902f644.mp3?version_id=111—

Doom for the Mountains of Israel

1 The word of theLordcame to me:

2 “Son of man, set your face against the mountains of Israel; prophesy against them

3 and say: ‘You mountains of Israel, hear the word of the SovereignLord. This is what the SovereignLordsays to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys: I am about to bring a sword against you, and I will destroy your high places.

4 Your altars will be demolished and your incense altars will be smashed; and I will slay your people in front of your idols.

5 I will lay the dead bodies of the Israelites in front of their idols, and I will scatter your bones around your altars.

6 Wherever you live, the towns will be laid waste and the high places demolished, so that your altars will be laid waste and devastated, your idols smashed and ruined, your incense altars broken down, and what you have made wiped out.

7 Your people will fall slain among you, and you will know that I am theLord.

8 “ ‘But I will spare some, for some of you will escape the sword when you are scattered among the lands and nations.

9 Then in the nations where they have been carried captive, those who escape will remember me—how I have been grieved by their adulterous hearts, which have turned away from me, and by their eyes, which have lusted after their idols. They will loathe themselves for the evil they have done and for all their detestable practices.

10 And they will know that I am theLord; I did not threaten in vain to bring this calamity on them.

11 “ ‘This is what the SovereignLordsays: Strike your hands together and stamp your feet and cry out “Alas!” because of all the wicked and detestable practices of the people of Israel, for they will fall by the sword, famine and plague.

12 One who is far away will die of the plague, and one who is near will fall by the sword, and anyone who survives and is spared will die of famine. So will I pour out my wrath on them.

13 And they will know that I am theLord, when their people lie slain among their idols around their altars, on every high hill and on all the mountaintops, under every spreading tree and every leafy oak—places where they offered fragrant incense to all their idols.

14 And I will stretch out my hand against them and make the land a desolate waste from the desert to Diblah—wherever they live. Then they will know that I am theLord.’ ”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/3/32k/EZK/6-1bc130544e27907b17d21dcaf4dd8a9f.mp3?version_id=111—

The End Has Come

1 The word of theLordcame to me:

2 “Son of man, this is what the SovereignLordsays to the land of Israel:

“ ‘The end! The end has come

upon the four corners of the land!

3 The end is now upon you,

and I will unleash my anger against you.

I will judge you according to your conduct

and repay you for all your detestable practices.

4 I will not look on you with pity;

I will not spare you.

I will surely repay you for your conduct

and for the detestable practices among you.

“ ‘Then you will know that I am theLord.’

5 “This is what the SovereignLordsays:

“ ‘Disaster! Unheard-ofdisaster!

See, it comes!

6 The end has come!

The end has come!

It has roused itself against you.

See, it comes!

7 Doom has come upon you,

upon you who dwell in the land.

The time has come! The day is near!

There is panic, not joy, on the mountains.

8 I am about to pour out my wrath on you

and spend my anger against you.

I will judge you according to your conduct

and repay you for all your detestable practices.

9 I will not look on you with pity;

I will not spare you.

I will repay you for your conduct

and for the detestable practices among you.

“ ‘Then you will know that it is I theLordwho strikes you.

10 “ ‘See, the day!

See, it comes!

Doom has burst forth,

the rod has budded,

arrogance has blossomed!

11 Violence has arisen,

a rod to punish the wicked.

None of the people will be left,

none of that crowd—

none of their wealth,

nothing of value.

12 The time has come!

The day has arrived!

Let not the buyer rejoice

nor the seller grieve,

for my wrath is on the whole crowd.

13 The seller will not recover

the property that was sold—

as long as both buyer and seller live.

For the vision concerning the whole crowd

will not be reversed.

Because of their sins, not one of them

will preserve their life.

14 “ ‘They have blown the trumpet,

they have made all things ready,

but no one will go into battle,

for my wrath is on the whole crowd.

15 Outside is the sword;

inside are plague and famine.

Those in the country

will die by the sword;

those in the city

will be devoured by famine and plague.

16 The fugitives who escape

will flee to the mountains.

Like doves of the valleys,

they will all moan,

each for their own sins.

17 Every hand will go limp;

every leg will be wet with urine.

18 They will put on sackcloth

and be clothed with terror.

Every face will be covered with shame,

and every head will be shaved.

19 “ ‘They will throw their silver into the streets,

and their gold will be treated as a thing unclean.

Their silver and gold

will not be able to deliver them

in the day of theLord’s wrath.

It will not satisfy their hunger

or fill their stomachs,

for it has caused them to stumble into sin.

20 They took pride in their beautiful jewelry

and used it to make their detestable idols.

They made it into vile images;

therefore I will make it a thing unclean for them.

21 I will give their wealth as plunder to foreigners

and as loot to the wicked of the earth,

who will defile it.

22 I will turn my face away from the people,

and robbers will desecrate the place I treasure.

They will enter it

and will defile it.

23 “ ‘Prepare chains!

For the land is full of bloodshed,

and the city is full of violence.

24 I will bring the most wicked of nations

to take possession of their houses.

I will put an end to the pride of the mighty,

and their sanctuaries will be desecrated.

25 When terror comes,

they will seek peace in vain.

26 Calamity upon calamity will come,

and rumor upon rumor.

They will go searching for a vision from the prophet,

priestly instruction in the law will cease,

the counsel of the elders will come to an end.

27 The king will mourn,

the prince will be clothed with despair,

and the hands of the people of the land will tremble.

I will deal with them according to their conduct,

and by their own standards I will judge them.

“ ‘Then they will know that I am theLord.’ ”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/3/32k/EZK/7-ce04a00978d33baf04b1e8b482acfc3d.mp3?version_id=111—

Idolatry in the Temple

1 In the sixth year, in the sixth month on the fifth day, while I was sitting in my house and the elders of Judah were sitting before me, the hand of the SovereignLordcame on me there.

2 I looked, and I saw a figure like that of a man.From what appeared to be his waist down he was like fire, and from there up his appearance was as bright as glowing metal.

3 He stretched out what looked like a hand and took me by the hair of my head. The Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and in visions of God he took me to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the north gate of the inner court, where the idol that provokes to jealousy stood.

4 And there before me was the glory of the God of Israel, as in the vision I had seen in the plain.

5 Then he said to me, “Son of man, look toward the north.” So I looked, and in the entrance north of the gate of the altar I saw this idol of jealousy.

6 And he said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing—the utterly detestable things the Israelites are doing here, things that will drive me far from my sanctuary? But you will see things that are even more detestable.”

7 Then he brought me to the entrance to the court. I looked, and I saw a hole in the wall.

8 He said to me, “Son of man, now dig into the wall.” So I dug into the wall and saw a doorway there.

9 And he said to me, “Go in and see the wicked and detestable things they are doing here.”

10 So I went in and looked, and I saw portrayed all over the walls all kinds of crawling things and unclean animals and all the idols of Israel.

11 In front of them stood seventy elders of Israel, and Jaazaniah son of Shaphan was standing among them. Each had a censer in his hand, and a fragrant cloud of incense was rising.

12 He said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of Israel are doing in the darkness, each at the shrine of his own idol? They say, ‘TheLorddoes not see us; theLordhas forsaken the land.’ ”

13 Again, he said, “You will see them doing things that are even more detestable.”

14 Then he brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the house of theLord, and I saw women sitting there, mourning the god Tammuz.

15 He said to me, “Do you see this, son of man? You will see things that are even more detestable than this.”

16 He then brought me into the inner court of the house of theLord, and there at the entrance to the temple, between the portico and the altar, were about twenty-five men. With their backs toward the temple of theLordand their faces toward the east, they were bowing down to the sun in the east.

17 He said to me, “Have you seen this, son of man? Is it a trivial matter for the people of Judah to do the detestable things they are doing here? Must they also fill the land with violence and continually arouse my anger? Look at them putting the branch to their nose!

18 Therefore I will deal with them in anger; I will not look on them with pity or spare them. Although they shout in my ears, I will not listen to them.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/3/32k/EZK/8-9d996c03bfaf1a4c40346a4edc3c42e3.mp3?version_id=111—

Judgment on the Idolaters

1 Then I heard him call out in a loud voice, “Bring near those who are appointed to execute judgment on the city, each with a weapon in his hand.”

2 And I saw six men coming from the direction of the upper gate, which faces north, each with a deadly weapon in his hand. With them was a man clothed in linen who had a writing kit at his side. They came in and stood beside the bronze altar.

3 Now the glory of the God of Israel went up from above the cherubim, where it had been, and moved to the threshold of the temple. Then theLordcalled to the man clothed in linen who had the writing kit at his side

4 and said to him, “Go throughout the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done in it.”

5 As I listened, he said to the others, “Follow him through the city and kill, without showing pity or compassion.

6 Slaughter the old men, the young men and women, the mothers and children, but do not touch anyone who has the mark. Begin at my sanctuary.” So they began with the old men who were in front of the temple.

7 Then he said to them, “Defile the temple and fill the courts with the slain. Go!” So they went out and began killing throughout the city.

8 While they were killing and I was left alone, I fell facedown, crying out, “Alas, SovereignLord! Are you going to destroy the entire remnant of Israel in this outpouring of your wrath on Jerusalem?”

9 He answered me, “The sin of the people of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great; the land is full of bloodshed and the city is full of injustice. They say, ‘TheLordhas forsaken the land; theLorddoes not see.’

10 So I will not look on them with pity or spare them, but I will bring down on their own heads what they have done.”

11 Then the man in linen with the writing kit at his side brought back word, saying, “I have done as you commanded.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/3/32k/EZK/9-66487e6246cc388081bd53baac09071b.mp3?version_id=111—

God’s Glory Departs From the Temple

1 I looked, and I saw the likeness of a throne of lapis lazuli above the vault that was over the heads of the cherubim.

2 TheLordsaid to the man clothed in linen, “Go in among the wheels beneath the cherubim. Fill your hands with burning coals from among the cherubim and scatter them over the city.” And as I watched, he went in.

3 Now the cherubim were standing on the south side of the temple when the man went in, and a cloud filled the inner court.

4 Then the glory of theLordrose from above the cherubim and moved to the threshold of the temple. The cloud filled the temple, and the court was full of the radiance of the glory of theLord.

5 The sound of the wings of the cherubim could be heard as far away as the outer court, like the voice of God Almightywhen he speaks.

6 When theLordcommanded the man in linen, “Take fire from among the wheels, from among the cherubim,” the man went in and stood beside a wheel.

7 Then one of the cherubim reached out his hand to the fire that was among them. He took up some of it and put it into the hands of the man in linen, who took it and went out.

8 (Under the wings of the cherubim could be seen what looked like human hands.)

9 I looked, and I saw beside the cherubim four wheels, one beside each of the cherubim; the wheels sparkled like topaz.

10 As for their appearance, the four of them looked alike; each was like a wheel intersecting a wheel.

11 As they moved, they would go in any one of the four directions the cherubim faced; the wheels did not turn aboutas the cherubim went. The cherubim went in whatever direction the head faced, without turning as they went.

12 Their entire bodies, including their backs, their hands and their wings, were completely full of eyes, as were their four wheels.

13 I heard the wheels being called “the whirling wheels.”

14 Each of the cherubim had four faces: One face was that of a cherub, the second the face of a human being, the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.

15 Then the cherubim rose upward. These were the living creatures I had seen by the Kebar River.

16 When the cherubim moved, the wheels beside them moved; and when the cherubim spread their wings to rise from the ground, the wheels did not leave their side.

17 When the cherubim stood still, they also stood still; and when the cherubim rose, they rose with them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in them.

18 Then the glory of theLorddeparted from over the threshold of the temple and stopped above the cherubim.

19 While I watched, the cherubim spread their wings and rose from the ground, and as they went, the wheels went with them. They stopped at the entrance of the east gate of theLord’s house, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them.

20 These were the living creatures I had seen beneath the God of Israel by the Kebar River, and I realized that they were cherubim.

21 Each had four faces and four wings, and under their wings was what looked like human hands.

22 Their faces had the same appearance as those I had seen by the Kebar River. Each one went straight ahead.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/3/32k/EZK/10-51d35b16ec5951b37548d49fa50f1b51.mp3?version_id=111—

God’s Sure Judgment on Jerusalem

1 Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the gate of the house of theLordthat faces east. There at the entrance of the gate were twenty-five men, and I saw among them Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah, leaders of the people.

2 TheLordsaid to me, “Son of man, these are the men who are plotting evil and giving wicked advice in this city.

3 They say, ‘Haven’t our houses been recently rebuilt? This city is a pot, and we are the meat in it.’

4 Therefore prophesy against them; prophesy, son of man.”

5 Then the Spirit of theLordcame on me, and he told me to say: “This is what theLordsays: That is what you are saying, you leaders in Israel, but I know what is going through your mind.

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

7 “Therefore this is what the SovereignLordsays: The bodies you have thrown there are the meat and this city is the pot, but I will drive you out of it.

8 You fear the sword, and the sword is what I will bring against you, declares the SovereignLord.

9 I will drive you out of the city and deliver you into the hands of foreigners and inflict punishment on you.

10 You will fall by the sword, and I will execute judgment on you at the borders of Israel. Then you will know that I am theLord.

11 This city will not be a pot for you, nor will you be the meat in it; I will execute judgment on you at the borders of Israel.

12 And you will know that I am theLord, for you have not followed my decrees or kept my laws but have conformed to the standards of the nations around you.”

13 Now as I was prophesying, Pelatiah son of Benaiah died. Then I fell facedown and cried out in a loud voice, “Alas, SovereignLord! Will you completely destroy the remnant of Israel?”

The Promise of Israel’s Return

14 The word of theLordcame to me:

15 “Son of man, the people of Jerusalem have said of your fellow exiles and all the other Israelites, ‘They are far away from theLord; this land was given to us as our possession.’

16 “Therefore say: ‘This is what the SovereignLordsays: 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 where they have gone.’

17 “Therefore say: ‘This is what the SovereignLordsays: I will gather you from the nations and bring you back from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you back the land of Israel again.’

18 “They will return to it and remove all its vile images and detestable idols.

19 I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.

20 Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God.

21 But as for those whose hearts are devoted to their vile images and detestable idols, I will bring down on their own heads what they have done, declares the SovereignLord.”

22 Then the cherubim, with the wheels beside them, spread their wings, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them.

23 The glory of theLordwent up from within the city and stopped above the mountain east of it.

24 The Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the exiles in Babyloniain the vision given by the Spirit of God.

Then the vision I had seen went up from me,

25 and I told the exiles everything theLordhad shown me.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/3/32k/EZK/11-5d90e76e0582ede23db7695dd45cd905.mp3?version_id=111—

The Exile Symbolized

1 The word of theLordcame to me:

2 “Son of man, you are living among a rebellious people. They have eyes to see but do not see and ears to hear but do not hear, for they are a rebellious people.

3 “Therefore, son of man, pack your belongings for exile and in the daytime, as they watch, set out and go from where you are to another place. Perhaps they will understand, though they are a rebellious people.

4 During the daytime, while they watch, bring out your belongings packed for exile. Then in the evening, while they are watching, go out like those who go into exile.

5 While they watch, dig through the wall and take your belongings out through it.

6 Put them on your shoulder as they are watching and carry them out at dusk. Cover your face so that you cannot see the land, for I have made you a sign to the Israelites.”

7 So I did as I was commanded. During the day I brought out my things packed for exile. Then in the evening I dug through the wall with my hands. I took my belongings out at dusk, carrying them on my shoulders while they watched.

8 In the morning the word of theLordcame to me:

9 “Son of man, did not the Israelites, that rebellious people, ask you, ‘What are you doing?’

10 “Say to them, ‘This is what the SovereignLordsays: This prophecy concerns the prince in Jerusalem and all the Israelites who are there.’

11 Say to them, ‘I am a sign to you.’

“As I have done, so it will be done to them. They will go into exile as captives.

12 “The prince among them will put his things on his shoulder at dusk and leave, and a hole will be dug in the wall for him to go through. He will cover his face so that he cannot see the land.

13 I will spread my net for him, and he will be caught in my snare; I will bring him to Babylonia, the land of the Chaldeans, but he will not see it, and there he will die.

14 I will scatter to the winds all those around him—his staff and all his troops—and I will pursue them with drawn sword.

15 “They will know that I am theLord, when I disperse them among the nations and scatter them through the countries.

16 But I will spare a few of them from the sword, famine and plague, so that in the nations where they go they may acknowledge all their detestable practices. Then they will know that I am theLord.”

17 The word of theLordcame to me:

18 “Son of man, tremble as you eat your food, and shudder in fear as you drink your water.

19 Say to the people of the land: ‘This is what the SovereignLordsays about those living in Jerusalem and in the land of Israel: They will eat their food in anxiety and drink their water in despair, for their land will be stripped of everything in it because of the violence of all who live there.

20 The inhabited towns will be laid waste and the land will be desolate. Then you will know that I am theLord.’ ”

There Will Be No Delay

21 The word of theLordcame to me:

22 “Son of man, what is this proverb you have in the land of Israel: ‘The days go by and every vision comes to nothing’?

23 Say to them, ‘This is what the SovereignLordsays: I am going to put an end to this proverb, and they will no longer quote it in Israel.’ Say to them, ‘The days are near when every vision will be fulfilled.

24 For there will be no more false visions or flattering divinations among the people of Israel.

25 But I theLordwill speak what I will, and it shall be fulfilled without delay. For in your days, you rebellious people, I will fulfill whatever I say, declares the SovereignLord.’ ”

26 The word of theLordcame to me:

27 “Son of man, the Israelites are saying, ‘The vision he sees is for many years from now, and he prophesies about the distant future.’

28 “Therefore say to them, ‘This is what the SovereignLordsays: None of my words will be delayed any longer; whatever I say will be fulfilled, declares the SovereignLord.’ ”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/3/32k/EZK/12-aaf5ced479410000029e362059370f9a.mp3?version_id=111—