1Synet fortsatte, og Ånden løftede mig op og bar mig over til templets østport. Der så jeg 25 mænd, som var ledere blandt folket, deriblandt Ja’azanja, Azzurs søn, og Pelatja, Benajas søn.2„Det er de mænd, som sidder og trækker i trådene,” sagde Ånden. „Det er dem, som er ansvarlige for den voksende lovløshed i byen.3De siger: ‚Det er ikke tiden nu at bygge huse. Jerusalem er som en gryde over ilden, og vi sidder her som kødet.’4Fordi de siger sådan, skal du profetere imod dem.”5Da kom Herrens Ånd over mig, og jeg modtog følgende budskab: „Israels folk, hør, hvad Herren siger: Jeg ved, hvad I tænker.6I har dræbt eller undertrykt utallige mennesker i denne by.7Derfor siger jeg, Herren: Ja, byen er som en gryde, men det er dem, I har dræbt, der er kødet i gryden. I, derimod, vil blive drevet ud af byen!8I er bange for at blive hugget ned med sværdet, men det er det, der vil ske med jer, siger Gud Herren.9Jeg vil slæbe jer ud af byen og overgive jer til fremmede, som vil udføre min dom over jer.10I vil blive forfulgt lige til landets grænse, og mange vil falde for sværdet. Da vil I indse, at jeg er Herren.11Det er ikke jer, der bliver som kødet i Jerusalems gryde, for jeg vil forfølge jer til Israels grænse.12Da vil I indse, at jeg er Herren, hvis love og bud I ikke har adlydt. I stedet har I overtaget nabolandenes afguder.”13Mens jeg profeterede, faldt Pelatja død om. Da kastede jeg mig i mit syn med ansigtet mod jorden og råbte: „Åh, Herre, min Gud, er du så vred, at du vil udslette hele Israels folk?”
Guds løfte til eksiljøderne
14Derpå sagde Herren til mig:15„De, som blev tilbage i Jerusalem, siger om dig og dine medfanger i eksilet: ‚De er langt væk fra Herren og hans helligdom, for Herren bor i det land, han har givet os.’16Derfor skal du sige til judæerne i eksilet: Jeg fordrev jer fra min helligdom og spredte jer mellem verdens nationer. Men jeg vil selv være jeres helligdom, mens I er i eksil.17Jeg vil samle jer sammen fra de nationer, jeg fordrev jer til, føre jer tilbage til Israels land og lade jer bo i landet igen.18Når I kommer tilbage, skal I fjerne ethvert spor af den afskyelige afgudsdyrkelse.19Jeg giver jer et nyt hjerte og en ny ånd. Jeg tager jeres stenhårde hjerte ud og giver jer i stedet et føjeligt og lydigt hjerte,20så I får lyst til at adlyde mine befalinger og gøre, hvad jeg siger. Så skal I være mit folk, og jeg vil være jeres Gud.21Men dem, som holder fast ved deres afskyelige afguder, vil jeg straffe, siger Herren!”22Derefter løftede keruberne deres vinger og steg op i luften sammen med hjulene, mens Israels Guds herlighed svævede over dem.23Så flyttede Herrens herlighed sig væk fra templet og stillede sig på bjerget øst for byen.24Derefter løftede Guds Ånd mig op og førte mig i mit syn tilbage til eksilet i Babylon. Så var synet forbi,25og jeg fortalte de forsamlede judæiske ledere alt, hvad Herren havde vist mig.
1The Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the east gate of the house of the Lord, which faces east. And behold, at the entrance of the gateway there were twenty-five men. And I saw among them Jaazaniah the son of Azzur, and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people. (Jer 28,1; Ez 3,12; Ez 8,16; Ez 10,19; Ez 11,13; Ez 11,24)2And he said to me, “Son of man, these are the men who devise iniquity and who give wicked counsel in this city; (Ez 2,1)3who say, ‘The time is not near[1] to build houses. This city is the cauldron, and we are the meat.’ (Jer 29,28; Ez 12,22; Ez 12,27; Ez 24,3; Ez 24,6)4Therefore prophesy against them; prophesy, O son of man.”5And the Spirit of the Lord fell upon me, and he said to me, “Say, Thus says the Lord: So you think, O house of Israel. For I know the things that come into your mind. (Es 29,15; Ez 2,2; Ez 20,32; Ez 38,10)6You have multiplied your slain in this city and have filled its streets with the slain. (Ez 7,23)7Therefore thus says the Lord God: Your slain whom you have laid in the midst of it, they are the meat, and this city is the cauldron, but you shall be brought out of the midst of it. (Ez 11,3; Ez 24,7)8You have feared the sword, and I will bring the sword upon you, declares the Lord God. (Jer 42,16)9And I will bring you out of the midst of it, and give you into the hands of foreigners, and execute judgments upon you. (Ez 5,8; Ez 7,21)10You shall fall by the sword. I will judge you at the border of Israel, and you shall know that I am the Lord. (2.Kong 25,18; Jer 39,6; Ez 6,7)11This city shall not be your cauldron, nor shall you be the meat in the midst of it. I will judge you at the border of Israel, (Ez 11,3; Ez 11,7)12and you shall know that I am the Lord. For you have not walked in my statutes, nor obeyed my rules, but have acted according to the rules of the nations that are around you.” (Ez 8,10; Ez 8,14; Ez 8,16)13And it came to pass, while I was prophesying, that Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died. Then I fell down on my face and cried out with a loud voice and said, “Ah, Lord God! Will you make a full end of the remnant of Israel?” (Ez 9,8; Ez 11,1; Ez 20,17; Ap G 5,5)
Israel’s New Heart and Spirit
14And the word of the Lord came to me:15“Son of man, your brothers, even your brothers, your kinsmen,[2] the whole house of Israel, all of them, are those of whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, ‘Go far from the Lord; to us this land is given for a possession.’ (1.Sam 26,19; Ez 2,1)16Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: Though I removed them far off among the nations, and though I scattered them among the countries, yet I have been a sanctuary to them for a while[3] in the countries where they have gone.’ (Es 8,14; Ez 37,26; Ez 37,28; Åb 21,22)17Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.’ (Es 11,12; Ez 20,41; Ez 28,25; Ez 34,13; Ez 36,24; Ez 37,21; Ez 38,8; Ez 39,27)18And when they come there, they will remove from it all its detestable things and all its abominations. (Ez 5,11; Ez 37,23)19And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, (Salm 51,10; Jer 31,33; Jer 32,39; Ez 18,31; Ez 36,26; Zak 7,12; Ap G 4,32; 2.Kor 3,3)20that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. (3.Mos 26,12; Salm 105,45; Jer 30,22; Jer 31,33; Ez 14,11; Ez 36,28)21But as for those whose heart goes after their detestable things and their abominations, I will[4] bring their deeds upon their own heads, declares the Lord God.” (Ez 7,4; Ez 9,4)22Then the cherubim lifted up their wings, with the wheels beside them, and the glory of the God of Israel was over them. (Ez 10,19)23And the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city and stood on the mountain that is on the east side of the city. (Ez 43,2; Zak 14,4)24And the Spirit lifted me up and brought me in the vision by the Spirit of God into Chaldea, to the exiles. Then the vision that I had seen went up from me. (Ez 1,1; Ez 1,3; Ez 3,12; Ez 11,1)25And I told the exiles all the things that the Lord had shown me.