1A message from the LORD came to me. The LORD said,2‘Son of man, you are living among people who refuse to obey me. They have eyes that can see. But they do not really see. They have ears that can hear. But they do not really hear. They refuse to obey me.3‘Son of man, pack your belongings as if you were going on a long trip. Leave in the daytime. Let the people see you. Start out from where you are. Go to another place. Perhaps they will understand the meaning of what you are doing. But they will still refuse to obey me.4Bring out your belongings packed for a long trip. Do this during the daytime. Let the people see you. Then in the evening, pretend you are being forced to leave home. Let the people see you.5While the people are watching, dig through the mud bricks of your house. Then take your belongings out through the hole in the wall.6Put them on your shoulder. Carry them out at sunset. Let the people see you. Cover your face so you can’t see the land. All of that will show the Israelites what is going to happen to them.’7So I did just as he commanded me. During the day I brought out my things as if I were going on a long trip. In the evening I dug through the wall of my house with my hands. At sunset I took my belongings out. I put them on my shoulders. The people watched what I was doing.8In the morning a message from the LORD came to me. The LORD said,9‘Son of man, didn’t the Israelites ask you, “What are you doing?” They always refuse to obey me.10‘Tell them, “The LORD and King says, ‘This prophecy is about Zedekiah, the prince in Jerusalem. It is also about all the Israelites who still live there.’ ”11Tell them, “The things I’ve done are a picture of what’s going to happen to you. ‘ “So what I’ve done will happen to you. You will be forced to leave home. You will be taken to Babylon as prisoners.”12‘The prince among them will put his things on his shoulder and leave. He will do this at sunset. Someone will dig a hole in the city wall for him to go through. He will cover his face so he can’t see the land.13I will spread out my net to catch him. He will be caught in my trap. I will bring him to Babylon. It is the land where the Chaldeans live. But he will not see it. He will die there.14I will scatter to the winds all those around him. I will scatter his officials and all his troops. And I will chase them with a sword that is ready to strike them down.15‘They will know that I am the LORD when I scatter them among the nations. I will send them to other countries.16But I will spare a few of them. I will save them from war, hunger and plague. In those countries they will admit they have done all kinds of evil things. I hate those things. They will know that I am the LORD.’17A message from the LORD came to me. The LORD said,18‘Son of man, tremble with fear as you eat your food. Tremble as you drink your water.19Speak to the people of the land. Say to them, “Here is what the LORD and King says. He says this about those who live in Jerusalem and Israel. ‘They will be worried as they eat their food. They will not have any hope as they drink their water. Their land will be stripped of everything in it because all those who live there are harming one another.20The towns where people live will be completely destroyed. The land will become a dry and empty desert. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’ ” ’
The Lord’s judgment will come soon
21A message from the LORD came to me. The LORD said,22‘Son of man, you have a proverb in the land of Israel. It says, “The days go by, and not even one vision comes true.”23Tell them, “The LORD and King says, ‘I am going to put an end to this proverb. They will not use that saying in Israel anymore.’ ” Tell them, “The days are coming soon when every vision will come true.24There will be no more false visions. People will no longer use magic to find out whether good things are going to happen in Israel.25I am the LORD. So I will say what I want to. And it will come true when I want it to. In your days I will do everything I say I will. But you people always refuse to obey me,” announces the LORD and King.’26A message from the LORD came to me. The LORD said,27‘Son of man, the Israelites are saying, “The vision Ezekiel sees won’t come true for many years. He is prophesying about a time that is a long way off.”28‘So tell them, “The LORD and King says, ‘Everything I say will come true. It will happen when I want it to,’ announces the LORD and King.” ’
Ezekiel 12
English Standard Version
Judah’s Captivity Symbolized
1The word of the Lord came to me:2“Son of man, you dwell in the midst of a rebellious house, who have eyes to see, but see not, who have ears to hear, but hear not, for they are a rebellious house. (Isa 42:18; Eze 2:1; Eze 2:3; Eze 2:5; Mt 13:13)3As for you, son of man, prepare for yourself an exile’s baggage, and go into exile by day in their sight. You shall go like an exile from your place to another place in their sight. Perhaps they will understand, though[1] they are a rebellious house. (Jer 36:3; Eze 4:12; Eze 12:4; Eze 12:7; Eze 21:6; Eze 37:20; Eze 43:11)4You shall bring out your baggage by day in their sight, as baggage for exile, and you shall go out yourself at evening in their sight, as those do who must go into exile. (2Ki 25:4; Jer 39:4; Jer 52:7)5In their sight dig through the wall, and bring your baggage out through it. (Eze 8:8)6In their sight you shall lift the baggage upon your shoulder and carry it out at dusk. You shall cover your face that you may not see the land, for I have made you a sign for the house of Israel.” (Eze 4:3)7And I did as I was commanded. I brought out my baggage by day, as baggage for exile, and in the evening I dug through the wall with my own hands. I brought out my baggage at dusk, carrying it on my shoulder in their sight. (Eze 12:3; Eze 24:18; Eze 37:7)8In the morning the word of the Lord came to me:9“Son of man, has not the house of Israel, the rebellious house, said to you, ‘What are you doing?’ (Eze 2:1; Eze 2:3; Eze 2:5; Eze 17:12; Eze 24:19; Eze 37:18)10Say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: This oracle concerns[2] the prince in Jerusalem and all the house of Israel who are in it.’[3] (2Ch 36:11; Eze 21:25)11Say, ‘I am a sign for you: as I have done, so shall it be done to them. They shall go into exile, into captivity.’ (Eze 12:6; Eze 24:24)12And the prince who is among them shall lift his baggage upon his shoulder at dusk, and shall go out. They shall dig through the wall to bring him out through it. He shall cover his face, that he may not see the land with his eyes. (2Ki 25:4; Eze 12:5; Eze 12:6)13And I will spread my net over him, and he shall be taken in my snare. And I will bring him to Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans, yet he shall not see it, and he shall die there. (2Ki 25:7; Jer 32:4; Jer 52:11; Eze 17:20; Eze 19:8; Eze 32:3; Ho 7:12)14And I will scatter toward every wind all who are around him, his helpers and all his troops, and I will unsheathe the sword after them. (2Ki 25:5; Eze 5:2; Eze 5:10)15And they shall know that I am the Lord, when I disperse them among the nations and scatter them among the countries. (Eze 6:7)16But I will let a few of them escape from the sword, from famine and pestilence, that they may declare all their abominations among the nations where they go, and may know that I am the Lord.” (Eze 6:7; Eze 6:8; Eze 14:22)17And the word of the Lord came to me:18“Son of man, eat your bread with quaking, and drink water with trembling and with anxiety. (Eze 2:1; Eze 4:10)19And say to the people of the land, Thus says the Lord God concerning the inhabitants of Jerusalem in the land of Israel: They shall eat their bread with anxiety, and drink water in dismay. In this way her land will be stripped of all it contains, on account of the violence of all those who dwell in it. (Eze 4:16; Eze 7:11; Eze 7:23; Eze 32:15; Zec 7:14)20And the inhabited cities shall be laid waste, and the land shall become a desolation; and you shall know that I am the Lord.” (Eze 6:6)21And the word of the Lord came to me:22“Son of man, what is this proverb that you[4] have about the land of Israel, saying, ‘The days grow long, and every vision comes to nothing’? (Eze 11:3; Eze 12:27; Eze 16:44; Eze 18:2; 2Pe 3:4)23Tell them therefore, ‘Thus says the Lord God: I will put an end to this proverb, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel.’ But say to them, The days are near, and the fulfillment[5] of every vision. (Eze 7:7; Eze 7:12)24For there shall be no more any false vision or flattering divination within the house of Israel. (Eze 13:6; Eze 13:23)25For I am the Lord; I will speak the word that I will speak, and it will be performed. It will no longer be delayed, but in your days, O rebellious house, I will speak the word and perform it, declares the Lord God.” (Isa 13:22; Isa 55:11; Eze 2:3; Eze 2:5)26And the word of the Lord came to me:27“Son of man, behold, they of the house of Israel say, ‘The vision that he sees is for many days from now, and he prophesies of times far off.’ (Eze 12:22; Eze 38:8; Da 8:26; Da 10:14; Am 6:3; 2Pe 3:4)28Therefore say to them, Thus says the Lord God: None of my words will be delayed any longer, but the word that I speak will be performed, declares the Lord God.” (Eze 12:25)