The Message Bible MSG
English Standard Version ESV
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.
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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.
2 God said, "Son of man, these are the men who draw up blueprints for sin, who think up new programs for evil in this city.
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And he said to me, "Son of man, these are the men who devise iniquity and who give wicked counsel in this city;
3 They say, 'We can make anything happen here. We're the best. We're the choice pieces of meat in the soup pot.'
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who say, 'The time is not near to build houses. This city is the cauldron, and we are the meat.'
4 "Oppose them, son of man. Preach against them."
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Therefore prophesy against them, prophesy, O son of man."
5 Then the Spirit of God came upon me and told me what to say: "This is what God says: 'That's a fine public speech, Israel, but I know what you are thinking.
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And 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.
6 You've murdered a lot of people in this city. The streets are piled high with corpses.'
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You have multiplied your slain in this city and have filled its streets with the slain.
7 "Therefore this is what God, the Master, says: 'The corpses that you've piled in the streets are the meat and this city is the soup pot, and you're not even in the pot! I'm throwing you out!
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Therefore 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.
8 You fear war, but war is what you're going to get. I'm bringing war against you.
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You have feared the sword, and I will bring the sword upon you, declares the Lord GOD.
9 I'm throwing you out of this city, giving you over to foreigners, and punishing you good.
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And I will bring you out of the midst of it, and give you into the hands of foreigners, and execute judgments upon you.
10 You'll be killed in battle. I'll carry out judgment on you at the borders of Israel. Then you'll realize that I am God.
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You shall fall by the sword. I will judge you at the border of Israel, and you shall know that I am the LORD.
11 This city will not be your soup pot and you won't be the choice pieces of meat in it either. Hardly. I will carry out judgment on you at the borders of Israel
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This 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'll realize that I am God, for you haven't followed my statutes and ordinances. Instead of following my ways, you've sunk to the level of the laws of the nations around you.'"
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and 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."
13 Even while I was preaching, Pelatiah son of Benaiah died. I fell down, face to the ground, and prayed loudly, "O Master, God! Will you completely wipe out what's left of Israel?"
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And 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?"
14 The answer from God came back:
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And the word of the LORD came to me:
15 "Son of man, your brothers - I mean the whole people of Israel who are in exile with you - are the people of whom the citizens of Jerusalem are saying, 'They're in the far country, far from God. This land has been given to us to own.'
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"Son of man, your brothers, even your brothers, your kinsmen, 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.'
16 "Well, tell them this: 'This is your Message from God, the Master. True, I sent you to the far country and scattered you through other lands. All the same, I've provided you a temporary sanctuary in the countries where you've gone.
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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 I have been a sanctuary to them for a while in the countries where they have gone.'
17 I will gather you back from those countries and lands where you've been scattered and give you back the land of Israel.
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Therefore 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.'
18 You'll come back and clean house, throw out all the rotten images and obscene idols.
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And when they come there, they will remove from it all its detestable things and all its abominations.
19 I'll give you a new heart. I'll put a new spirit in you. I'll cut out your stone heart and replace it with a red-blooded, firm-muscled heart.
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And 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,
20 Then you'll obey my statutes and be careful to obey my commands. You'll be my people! I'll be your God!
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that 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.
21 "'But not those who are self-willed and addicted to their rotten images and obscene idols! I'll see that they're paid in full for what they've done.' Decree of God, the Master."
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But as for those whose heart goes after their detestable things and their abominations, I will bring their deeds upon their own heads, declares the Lord GOD."
22 Then the cherubim spread their wings, with the wheels beside them and the Glory of the God of Israel hovering over them.
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Then the cherubim lifted up their wings, with the wheels beside them, and the glory of the God of Israel was over them.
23 The Glory of God ascended from within the city and rested on the mountain to the east of the city.
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And 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.
24 Then, still in the vision given me by the Spirit of God, the Spirit took me and carried me back to the exiles in Babylon. And then the vision left me.
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And 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.
25 I told the exiles everything that God had shown me.
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And I told the exiles all the things that the LORD had shown me.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.