Ezekiel 11:1

God’s Sure Judgment on Jerusalem

1 Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the gate of the house of the LORD that 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.

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Ezekiel 11:1 in Other Translations

KJV

1 Moreover the spirit lifted me up, and brought me unto the east gate of the LORD'S house, which looketh eastward: and behold at the door of the gate five and twenty men; among whom I saw Jaazaniah the son of Azur, and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people.

ESV

1 The 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.

NLT

1 Then the Spirit lifted me and brought me to the east gateway of the LORD ’s Temple, where I saw twenty-five prominent men of the city. Among them were Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah, who were leaders among the people.

MSG

1 Then the Spirit picked me up and took me to the gate of the Temple that faces east. There were twenty-five men standing at the gate. I recognized the leaders, Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah.

CSB

1 The Spirit then lifted me up and brought me to the eastern gate of the Lord's house, which faces east, and at the gate's entrance were 25 men. Among them I saw Jaazaniah son of Azzur, and Pelatiah son of Benaiah, leaders of the people.

Ezekiel 11:1 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 11:1

Moreover, the spirit lifted me up
From the inner court of the temple, where the prophet was, according to the last account of him, ( Ezekiel 8:16 ) ; it was the same Spirit that took him by the lock of his head, and lifted him up, as in ( Ezekiel 8:3 ) ; and perhaps in the same manner: and brought me unto the east gate of the Lord's house, which looketh
eastward;
where were the cherubim, and the wheels, and the glory of God above them, ( Ezekiel 10:19 ) ; and behold at the door of the gate five and twenty men;
not the same as in ( Ezekiel 8:16 ) ; for they were in a different place, between the porch and the altar; and about different service, they were worshipping there; and seem to be men of a different order, priests; whereas these were at the door of the eastern gate, sitting as a court of judicature, and were civil magistrates; though Jarchi and Kimchi take them to be the same. Some say Jerusalem was divided into twenty four parishes, districts, or wards, and everyone had its own head, ruler, and governor; and that there was one who was the president over them all, like the mayor and aldermen of a city; among whom I saw Jaazaniah the son of Azur;
not the same that is mentioned in ( Ezekiel 8:11 ) ; he was the son of Shaphan, this of Azur; he was one of the seventy of the ancients of Israel, this one of the twenty five heads or rulers of the people; he seems to have been a prince; by having a censer in his hand, this was a priest: the Septuagint and Arabic versions call him Jechoniah: and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah;
these two are mentioned by name, as being principal men, and well known by the prophet; and the latter is observed more especially for what befell him, hereafter related: princes of the people;
men who were entrusted with power and authority to exercise the laws of the nation; and who should have been reformers of the people, and ought to have given them good advice, and set them good examples; whereas they were the reverse, as follows:

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Ezekiel 11:1 In-Context

2 The LORD said 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 the LORD came on me, and he told me to say: “This is what the LORD says: That is what you are saying, you leaders in Israel, but I know what is going through your mind.