HarperCollins Study Bible

by Harold W. Attridge

  5Then the spirit of the LORD fell upon me, and he said to me, “Say, Thus says the LORD: This is what you think, O house of Israel; I know the things that come into your mind. 6You have killed many in this city, and have filled its streets with the slain. 7Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: The slain whom you have placed within it are the meat, and this city is the pot; but you shall be taken out of it. 8You have feared the sword; and I will bring the sword upon you, says the Lord GOD. 9I will take you out of it and give you over to the hands of foreigners, and execute judgments upon you. 10You shall fall by the sword; I will judge you at the border of Israel. And you shall know that I am the LORD. 11This city shall not be your pot, and you shall not be the meat inside it; I will judge you at the border of Israel. 12Then you shall know that I am the LORD, whose statutes you have not followed, and whose ordinances you have not kept, but you have acted according to the ordinances of the nations that are around you.”

  13Now, while I was prophesying, Pelatiah son of Benaiah died. Then I fell down on my face, cried with a loud voice, and said, “Ah Lord GOD! will you make a full end of the remnant of Israel?”

  God Will Restore Israel

  14Then the word of the LORD came to me: 15Mortal, your kinsfolk, your own kin, your fellow exiles,a the whole house of Israel, all of them, are those of whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, “They have gone far from the LORD; to us this land is given for a possession.” 16Therefore say: Thus says the Lord GOD: Though I removed them far away among the nations, and though I scattered them among the countries, yet I have been a sanctuary to them for a little whileb in the countries where they have gone. 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. 18When they come there, they will remove from it all its detestable things and all its abominations. 19I will give them onec heart, and put a new spirit within them; I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, 20so that they may follow my statutes and keep my ordinances and obey them. Then they shall be my people, and I will be their God. 21But as for those whose heart goes after their detestable things and their abominations,d I will bring their deeds upon their own heads, says the Lord GOD.

  22Then the cherubim lifted up their wings, with the wheels beside them; and the glory of the God of Israel was above them. 23And the glory of the LORD ascended from the middle of the city, and stopped on the mountain east of the city. 24The spirit lifted me up and brought me in a vision by the spirit of God into Chaldea, to the exiles. Then the vision that I had seen left me. 25And I told the exiles all the things that the LORD had shown me.

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  a Gk Syr: Heb people of your kindred

  b Or to some extent

  c Another reading is a new

  d Cn: Heb And to the heart of their detestable things and their abominations their heart goes

  11.1–13 Ezekiel performs as prophet during his visionary transport.

  11.1–4 Just as the cherubim and the glory of the Lord paused at the east gate as they left the temple complex (10.19), now Ezekiel is taken to this site. Twenty-five men, possibly the group in 8.16. Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah do not appear elsewhere in Ezekiel. Unlike the other twenty-three, they were officials of the people, a phrase that elsewhere occurs only in postexilic texts (Neh 11.1; 1 Chr 21.2; 2 Chr 24.23; Esth 3.12). Normally the phrase distinguishes lay from priestly leaders or public officials.

  11.2 God proffers an indictment that focuses on ethical rather than religious malfeasance, as it did in ch. 8. Counsel was the provenance of “elders” (7.26), who could be characterized as officials.

  11.3 The time is not near to build houses, perhaps because it is a time for investing in defense, or perhaps because those taken into exile in 597 BCE had left houses available for use by others (see v. 15); cf. Jer 32.15. Pot, meat. The image of the pot appears in greater detail in 24.1–14. The sense here is apparently one of the pot protecting the meat, i.e., the twenty-five men. In v. 7 God identifies the meat with those whom the men have killed, not the men themselves.

  11.5–13 Ezekiel, empowered by the prophetic spirit, prophesies as God has commanded.

  11.5–6 Ezekiel’s indictment continues the motif begun in v. 2, devising or plotting evil. The effect of such plots has been slaughter in Jerusalem (cf. 19.3;22.6), though whether in war or not is unclear.

  11.7–10 A sentence of doom in which the image of the pot in v. 4 is recast. The men will be removed from the protection of the pot and subjected to attack by foreign swords. At the border of Israel, at Riblah, a city in Syria, many Judahites were executed in 588/7 BCE (Jer 52.10, 24–27).

  11.12 Destruction by foreigners is appropriate because Judahites have behaved according to the ordinances of the nations, the foreign religious practices described in ch. 8 (cf. 5.7).

  11.13 Pelatiah dies before his execution, an event that enhances the power of Ezekiel’s sentence (cf. Jer 28). Then Ezekiel again (cf. 9.8) attempts to intercede on behalf of the remnant of Israel.

  11.14–21 The problem of land ownership. An answer to the question with which v. 13 concludes.

  11.15 Fellow exiles, Hebrew, “people of your kin.” A dispute is placed within the context of the relations between those in exile and those in Judah. The latter claim possession of the land vacated by those taken into exile and do so on theological grounds: they have gone far from the LORD.

  11.16 The first of two divine oracles introduced by Thus says the Lord GOD. In support of those who have been dispossessed by exile, to them God has been a sanctuary…for a little while, or “a minor sanctuary.” This provision would counter the claim of those in the land that the exiles had gone far from the LORD (v. 15).

  11.17–19 The second divine oracle includes a sequence of promises: return to the land of Israel, removal of abominations, and a different heart and spirit.

  11.19 One heart, or “new heart” (see text note c on Ezekiel); cf. Jer 32.39; Ezek 18.31; 36.26.

  11.20 Cf. Jer 31.33–34; Ezek 16.59–63.

  11.22–25 Ezekiel’s vision concludes with a return to the primary images: cherubim, wheels, and the glory. The glory of the LORD leaves the city and is located on a massif to the east, namely, the Mount of Olives. In visionary transport Ezekiel returns to Babylonia and reports to those in exile what he has seen.

  EZEKIEL 12

  Judah’s Captivity Portrayed

  1The word of the LORD came to me: 2Mortal, you are living in the midst of a rebellious house, who have eyes to see but do not see, who have ears to hear but do not hear; 3for they are a rebellious house. Therefore, mortal, 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 they are a rebellious house. 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 go into exile. 5Dig through the wall in their sight, and carry the baggage through it. 6In their sight you shall lift the baggage on your shoulder, and carry it out in the dark; you shall cover your face, so that you may not see the land; for I have made you a sign for the house of Israel.

  7I did just 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 it out in the dark, carrying it on my shoulder in their sight.

  8In the morning the word of the LORD came to me: 9Mortal, has not the house of Israel, the rebellious house, said to you, “What are you doing?” 10Say to them, “Thus says the Lord GOD: This oracle concerns the prince in Jerusalem and all the house of Israel in it.” 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.” 12And the prince who is among them shall lift his baggage on his shoulder in the dark, and shall go out; he
a shall dig through the wall and carry it through; he shall cover his face, so that he may not see the land with his eyes. 13I will spread my net over him, and he shall be caught 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. 14I will scatter to every wind all who are around him, his helpers and all his troops; and I will unsheathe the sword behind them. 15And they shall know that I am the LORD, when I disperse them among the nations and scatter them through the countries. 16But I will let a few of them escape from the sword, from famine and pestilence, so that they may tell of all their abominations among the nations where they go; then they shall know that I am the LORD.

  Judgment Not Postponed

  17The word of the LORD came to me: 18Mortal, eat your bread with quaking, and drink your water with trembling and with fearfulness; 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 fearfulness, and drink their water in dismay, because their land shall be stripped of all it contains, on account of the violence of all those who live in it. 20The inhabited cities shall be laid waste, and the land shall become a desolation; and you shall know that I am the LORD.

  21The word of the LORD came to me: 22Mortal, what is this proverb of yours about the land of Israel, which says, “The days are prolonged, and every vision comes to nothing”? 23Tell them therefore, “Thus says the Lord GOD: I will put an end to this proverb, and they shall use it no more as a proverb in Israel.” But say to them, The days are near, and the fulfillment of every vision. 24For there shall no longer be any false vision or flattering divination within the house of Israel. 25But I the LORD will speak the word that I speak, and it will be fulfilled. It will no longer be delayed; but in your days, O rebellious house, I will speak the word and fulfill it, says the Lord GOD.

  26The word of the LORD came to me:

  27Mortal, the house of Israel is saying, “The vision that he sees is for many years ahead; he prophesies for distant times.” 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 fulfilled, says the Lord GOD.

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  a Gk Syr: Heb they

  12.1–16 Symbolic action and its interpretation concerning exile.

  12.1–7 The symbolic act commanded and performed.

  12.1–2 The condition of Judah as a rebellious house is characterized as having eyes to see but not seeing. Hence something visible, vv. 3–4, becomes an appropriate mode of prophetic communication.

  12.3–6 God commands Ezekiel to perform a series of acts that symbolize someone going into exile.

  12.3 An exile’s baggage, apparently all of one’s portable belongings. In their sight, which occurs repeatedly in vv. 3–7, emphasizes the visual character of Ezekiel’s prophetic task. At first Ezekiel is commanded to act out the exile role in daylight so that they will understand, lit. “they will see.”

  12.4–5 Then the prophet is to act as an exile at night, which approximates the actual behavior of those escaping from a city. Digging through the wall suggests that the wall as a defensive fortification has already been partially destroyed.

  12.6 Cover your face. See v. 12. I have made you a sign. See also v. 11; 24.24; Isa 8.18. The prophet’s action, not just words, can become part of God’s communication.

  12.7 Ezekiel’s self-report that the symbolic action has been carried out.

  12.8–16 An interpretation of the symbolic action.

  12.8 In the morning suggests that the act concluded during the previous evening.

  12.10–16 The oracle answers the people’s question to Ezekiel, What are you doing? (v. 9).

  12.10 The prince in Jerusalem, probably Zedekiah, whose fate is described in Jer 39.1–7; 52.6–11; 2 Kings 25.3–7. He fled at night “through the gate between the two walls” (Jer 39.4), was captured by Babylonian forces, taken into Riblah, and blinded before being taken into exile. A symbolic act that initially addresses the house of Israel (v. 6) focuses now on the fate of the prince as well as the people (v. 11).

  12.12–14 The plight of the prince foreshadows the flight and exile of Zedekiah. V. 14, however, continues the theme of other people driven into exile. Sword (vv. 14, 16) recalls ch. 5.

  12.15–16 A remnant in exile will attest to abominations performed in the land.

  12.17–20 God commands Ezekiel to consume bread and water so as to act out the way in which Jerusalemites will eat and drink after the destruction throughout the land begins.

  12.21–28 The people’s perceptions of prophetic visions. Two sayings of the people (in vv. 22, 27) require a divine response.

  12.22 Proverb, a brief saying that expresses popular consensus. The days are prolonged, time passes. The point of the saying is that, even though time passes, visions that prefigure the future do not come to pass.

  12.23 God provides a contrary saying: the time approaches when prophetic visions will be verified.

  12.24–25 God will enact quickly the word, so that no ineffectual visions can hold sway.

  12.27 In the second saying, people argue that Ezekiel’s visions do not affect their own times.

  EZEKIEL 13

  False Prophets Condemned

  1The word of the LORD came to me: 2Mortal, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who are prophesying; say to those who prophesy out of their own imagination: “Hear the word of the LORD!” 3Thus says the Lord GOD, Alas for the senseless prophets who follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing! 4Your prophets have been like jackals among ruins, O Israel. 5You have not gone up into the breaches, or repaired a wall for the house of Israel, so that it might stand in battle on the day of the LORD. 6They have envisioned falsehood and lying divination; they say, “Says the LORD,” when the LORD has not sent them, and yet they wait for the fulfillment of their word! 7Have you not seen a false vision or uttered a lying divination, when you have said, “Says the LORD,” even though I did not speak?

  8Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Because you have uttered falsehood and envisioned lies, I am against you, says the Lord GOD. 9My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and utter lying divinations; they shall not be in the council of my people, nor be enrolled in the register of the house of Israel, nor shall they enter the land of Israel; and you shall know that I am the Lord GOD. 10Because, in truth, because they have misled my people, saying, “Peace,” when there is no peace; and because, when the people build a wall, these prophetsa smear whitewash on it. 11Say to those who smear whitewash on it that it shall fall. There will be a deluge of rain,b great hailstones will fall, and a stormy wind will break out. 12When the wall falls, will it not be said to you, “Where is the whitewash you smeared on it?” 13Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: In my wrath I will make a stormy wind break out, and in my anger there shall be a deluge of rain, and hailstones in wrath to destroy it. 14I will break down the wall that you have smeared with whitewash, and bring it to the ground, so that its foundation will be laid bare; when it falls, you shall perish within it; and you shall know that I am the LORD. 15Thus I will spend my wrath upon the wall, and upon those who have smeared it with whitewash; and I will say to you, The wall is no more, nor those who smeared it—16the prophets of Israel who prophesied concerning Jerusalem and saw visions of peace for it, when there was no peace, says the Lord GOD.

  17As for you, mortal, set your face against the daughters of your people, who prophesy out of their own imagination; prophesy against them 18and say, Thus says the Lord GOD: Woe to the women who sew bands on all wrists, and make veils for the heads of persons of every height, in the hunt for human lives! Will you hunt down lives among my people, and maintain your own lives? 19You have profaned me among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, putting to death persons who should not die and keeping alive persons who should not live, by your lies to my people, who listen to lies.

  20Therefor
e thus says the Lord GOD: I am against your bands with which you hunt lives;c I will tear them from your arms, and let the lives go free, the lives that you hunt down like birds. 21I will tear off your veils, and save my people from your hands; they shall no longer be prey in your hands; and you shall know that I am the LORD. 22Because you have disheartened the righteous falsely, although I have not disheartened them, and you have encouraged the wicked not to turn from their wicked way and save their lives; 23therefore you shall no longer see false visions or practice divination; I will save my people from your hand. Then you will know that I am the LORD.

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  a Heb they

  b Heb rain and you

  c Gk Syr: Heb lives for birds

  13.1–23 Judgment on false prophets.

  13.1–7 Indictment of prophets, whom Ezekiel characterizes as those who prophesy out of their own imagination (v. 2) and as those who follow their own spirit (v. 3), in contrast to Ezekiel who speaks the word of the LORD (v. 2). For similar language about conflict between prophets, see Jer 23.9–32; 1 Kings 22.

  13.4 Like jackals among ruins, a simile that probably refers to wild animals rooting in a destroyed city (see Lam 5.18).

  13.5 You, plural in the Hebrew, which means that the prophets are being condemned.

  13.6–7 These prophets perceive falsehood (which Jeremiah also uses to describe other prophets; Jer 14.14; 23.21), lying divination, and false vision despite the fact that they use standard prophetic language: says the LORD. Divination, a human means of securing information from the deity often involving physically observable data, e.g., examining the organs of a sacrificed animal for signs (as in 21.21) or in standard Israelite practice the Urim and Thummim (Ex 28.30).