Ezekiel 11

Judgment on Wicked Counselors

1 ¹The Spirit lifted me up and brought me to ²the east gate of the house of the LORD, which faces east. And behold, at the entrance of the gateway there were ³twenty-five men. And I saw among them Jaazaniah ⁴the son of Azzur, and ⁵Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people.

2 And he said to me, ⁶"Son of man, these are the men who devise iniquity and who give wicked counsel in this city;

3 ⁷who say, ⁸'The time is not near^[a] to build houses. ⁹This city is the cauldron, and we are the meat.'

4 Therefore prophesy against them, prophesy, O son of man."

5 And ¹⁰the Spirit of the LORD fell upon me, and he said to me, "Say, Thus says the LORD: So you think, O house of Israel. ¹¹For I know the things that come into your mind.

6 ¹²You have multiplied your slain in this city and have filled its streets with the slain.

7 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: ¹³Your slain whom you have laid in the midst of it, ¹⁴they are the meat, and ¹⁵this city is the cauldron, but you shall be brought out of the midst of it.

8 ¹⁶You have feared the sword, and I will bring the sword upon you, declares the Lord GOD.

9 And I will bring you out of the midst of it, and ¹⁷give you into the hands of foreigners, and ¹⁸execute judgments upon you.

10 ¹⁹You shall fall by the sword. I will judge you at the border of Israel, ²⁰and you shall know that I am the LORD.

11 ²¹This 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,

12 and you shall know that I am the LORD. For you have not walked in my statutes, nor obeyed my rules, ²²but have acted according to the rules of the nations that are around you."

13 And it came to pass, while I was prophesying, ²³that ²⁴Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died. ²⁵Then I fell down on my face and cried out with a loud voice and said, ²⁶"Ah, Lord GOD! ²⁷Will you make a full end of the remnant of Israel?"

Israel's New Heart and Spirit

14 And the word of the LORD came to me:

15 ²⁸"Son of man, your brothers, even your brothers, your kinsmen,^[b] the whole house of Israel, all of them, are those of whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, ²⁹'Go far from the LORD; to us this land is given for a possession.'

16 Therefore say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: Though I removed them far off among the nations, and though I scattered them among the countries, yet ³⁰I have been a sanctuary to them for a while^[c] in the countries where they have gone.'

17 Therefore say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: ³¹I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, ³²and I will give you the land of Israel.'

18 And when they come there, ³³they will remove from it all its ³⁴detestable things and all its abominations.

19 ³⁵And I will give them one heart, and ³⁶a new spirit I will put within them. ³⁷I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh ³⁸and give them a heart of flesh,

20 ³⁹that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. ⁴⁰And they shall be my people, and I will be their God.

21 ⁴¹But as for those whose heart goes after their detestable things and their abominations, ⁴²I will^[d] bring their deeds upon their own heads, declares the Lord GOD."

22 ⁴³Then the cherubim lifted up their wings, with the wheels beside them, ⁴⁴and the glory of the God of Israel was over them.

23 And the glory of the LORD went up from the midst of the city and ⁴⁵stood on the mountain that is on the east side of the city.

24 ⁴⁶And the Spirit lifted me up and brought me ⁴⁷in the vision by the Spirit of God ⁴⁸into Chaldea, to the exiles. Then the vision that I had seen went up from me.

25 And I told the exiles all the things that the LORD had shown me.

Ezekiel 11 Commentary

Chapter 11

Divine judgments against the wicked at Jerusalem. (1-13) Divine favour towards those in captivity. (14-21) The Divine presence forsakes the city. (22-25)

Verses 1-13 Where Satan cannot persuade men to look upon the judgment to come as uncertain, he gains his point by persuading them to look upon it as at a distance. These wretched rulers dare to say, We are as safe in this city as flesh in a boiling pot; the walls of the city shall be to us as walls of brass, we shall receive no more damage from the besiegers than the caldron does from the fire. When sinners flatter themselves to their own ruin, it is time to tell them they shall have no peace if they go on. None shall remain in possession of the city but those who are buried in it. Those are least safe who are most secure. God is often pleased to single out some sinners for warning to others. Whether Pelatiah died at that time in Jerusalem, or when the fulfilment of the prophecy drew near, is uncertain. Like Ezekiel, we ought to be much affected with the sudden death of others, and we should still plead with the Lord to have mercy on those who remain.

Verses 14-21 The pious captives in Babylon were insulted by the Jews who continued in Jerusalem; but God made gracious promises to them. It is promised, that God will give them one heart; a heart firmly fixed for God, and not wavering. All who are made holy have a new spirit, a new temper and dispositions; they act from new principles, walk by new rules, and aim at new ends. A new name, or a new face, will not serve without a new spirit. If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. The carnal heart, like a stone, cannot be made to feel. Men live among the dead and dying, and are neither concerned nor humbled. He will make their hearts tender and fit to receive impressions: this is God's work, it is his gift by promise; and a wonderful and happy change is wrought by it, from death to life. Their practices shall be agreeable to those principles. These two must and will go together. When the sinner feels his need of these blessings, let him present the promises as prayers in the name of Christ, they will be performed.

Verses 22-25 Here is the departure of God's presence from the city and temple. It was from the Mount of Olives that the vision went up, typifying the ascension of Christ to heaven from that very mountain. Though the Lord will not forsake his people, yet he may be driven away from any part of his visible church by their sins, and woe will be upon them when He withdraws his presence, glory, and protection.

Cross References

• 1. ver. 24; See Ezekiel 3:12
• 2. Ezekiel 10:19
• 3. Ezekiel 8:16
• 4. Jeremiah 28:1
• 5. ver. 13
• 6. See Ezekiel 2:1
• 7. [Jeremiah 29:28]
• 8. [Ezekiel 12:22, 27]
• 9. Ezekiel 24:3, 6
• 10. See Ezekiel 2:2
• 11. Ezekiel 20:32; Ezekiel 38:10; [Isaiah 29:15]
• 12. [Ezekiel 7:23]
• 13. Ezekiel 24:7
• 14. [See ver. 3 above]
• 15. [See ver. 3 above]
• 16. Jeremiah 42:16
• 17. Ezekiel 7:21
• 18. See Ezekiel 5:8
• 19. Jeremiah 39:6; See 2 Kings 25:18-21
• 20. See Ezekiel 6:7
• 21. [ver. 3, 7]
• 22. [Ezekiel 8:10, 14, 16]
• 23. [Acts 5:5]
• 24. ver. 1
• 25. Ezekiel 9:8
• 26. Ezekiel 9:8
• 27. [Ezekiel 20:17]
• 28. See Ezekiel 2:1
• 29. [1 Samuel 26:19]
• 30. [Ezekiel 37:26, 28; Isaiah 8:14; Revelation 21:22]
• 31. Ezekiel 20:41; Ezekiel 28:25; Ezekiel 34:13; Ezekiel 36:24; Ezekiel 37:21; [Ezekiel 38:8; Ezekiel 39:27; Isaiah 11:12]
• 32. Ezekiel 20:41; Ezekiel 28:25; Ezekiel 34:13; Ezekiel 36:24; Ezekiel 37:21; [Ezekiel 38:8; Ezekiel 39:27; Isaiah 11:12]
• 33. Ezekiel 37:23
• 34. Ezekiel 5:11
• 35. Jeremiah 32:39; [Acts 4:32]
• 36. Ezekiel 36:26; [Ezekiel 18:31; Psalms 51:10; Jeremiah 31:33]
• 37. [Zechariah 7:12]
• 38. [2 Corinthians 3:3]
• 39. Psalms 105:45
• 40. Ezekiel 14:11; Ezekiel 36:28; Leviticus 26:12; See Jeremiah 30:22; Jeremiah 31:33
• 41. See Ezekiel 9:4-6
• 42. See Ezekiel 7:4
• 43. Ezekiel 10:19
• 44. Ezekiel 10:19
• 45. Zechariah 14:4; [Ezekiel 43:2]
• 46. ver. 1; See Ezekiel 3:12
• 47. See Ezekiel 1:1
• 48. [Ezekiel 1:3]

Footnotes

• [a]. Or Is not the time near... ?
• [b]. Hebrew the men of your redemption
• [c]. Or in small measure
• [d]. Hebrew To the heart of their detestable things and their abominations their heart goes; I will

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO EZEKIEL 11

This chapter contains an account of the sins of the princes of Judah; a prophecy of their destruction; some comfortable, promises respecting those of the captivity; and the chapter is closed with the finishing of the vision of the Lord's removing from Jerusalem; and the whole being ended, the prophet related it to the men of the captivity. In Eze 11:1; the prophet, is shown five and twenty men, among whom were two he knew, and are mentioned by name, and were princes of the people; and he is told that these men devised mischief, and gave bad advice to the people, Eze 11:2,3; wherefore he is bid to prophesy against them, Eze 11:4; which he accordingly did, the Spirit of the Lord falling upon him, Eze 11:5; declaring that their secret evils were known, as well as their public ones; and that, seeing they had multiplied their slain, and had feared the sword, the sword should come upon them; some should fall by it, and others should be carried captive; the consequence of which would be, that God would be known, and his justice acknowledged, it being what their sins deserved, Eze 11:6-12; upon this prophecy being delivered out, one of the princes before named died immediately; which filled the prophet with great concern, and put him upon expostulating with God, Eze 11:13; wherefore, for his comfort, he is told, that though the inhabitants of Jerusalem had insulted their brethren that were carried captive, and looked upon the land of Israel as their own possession, that God would be a little sanctuary to them; that he would gather them out of all lands, and give them the land of Israel; that they should come thither, and remove all idolatry from it, and should have regenerating and renewing grace given them, to walk in the statutes and ordinances of the Lord, by which they should appear to be his people, and he to be their God, Eze 11:14-20; but as for such that continued in their abominable idolatries, these should receive a just recompence of reward, Eze 11:21; after which follows an account of the entire removal of the glory of the Lord from the city of Jerusalem, Eze 11:22,23; and the prophet being, in vision, brought again to Chaldea, reports the whole he had seen to them of the captivity, Eze 11:24,25.