Ezekiel 11

1 And the spirit raised me [up], and led me within to the east gate of the house of the Lord, that beholdeth the rising of the sun. And lo! in the entering of the gate were five and twenty men; and I saw in the midst of them Jaazaniah, the son of Azur, and Pelatiah, the son of Benaiah, princes of the people. (And the spirit raised me up, and led me within to the east gate of the House of the Lord, that faceth the rising of the sun. And lo! at the entrance of the gate were twenty-five men; and I saw in the midst of them Jaazaniah, the son of Azur, and Pelatiah, the son of Benaiah, the leaders of the people.)

2 And he said to me, Thou, son of man, these be the men that think wickedness, and treat the worst counsel in this city, (And he said to me, Thou, son of man, these be the men who think wickedly, and indulge in the worst counsel, or give the worst advice, in this city,)

3 and say, Whether houses were not builded a while ago? this is the cauldron, forsooth we be fleshes. (and say, Were all the houses built a while ago? this city is the cauldron, and we be the meat in it.)

4 Therefore prophesy thou of them, prophesy thou, son of man. (And so prophesy thou against them, prophesy thou, son of man.)

5 And the Spirit of the Lord fell into me (And the Spirit of the Lord fell upon me), and said to me, Speak thou, The Lord saith these things, Ye house of Israel spake thus, and I knew the thoughts of your heart;

6 ye killed full many men in this city, and ye filled the ways thereof with slain men. (ye killed a great many people in this city, and ye filled its ways with the slain.)

7 Therefore the Lord saith these things, Your slain men, which ye putted in the midst thereof, these be the fleshes, and this is the cauldron; and I shall lead you out of the midst thereof. (And so the Lord saith these things, Your slain, whom ye put in its midst, they be the meat, and this is the cauldron; but I shall lead you out of its midst.)

8 Ye dreaded sword, and I shall bring in a sword on you, saith the Lord God. (Ye feared the sword, and I shall bring in a sword upon you, saith the Lord God.)

9 And I shall cast you out of the midst thereof, and I shall give you into the hand of enemies, and I shall make dooms in you. (And I shall take you out of its midst, and I shall give you into the hands of your enemies, and I shall bring in judgements, or a sentence of death, upon you.)

10 By sword ye shall fall down, I shall deem you in the ends of Israel; and ye shall know, that I am the Lord. (Ye shall fall by the sword, yea, I shall judge you unto the ends of Israel; and ye shall know, that I am the Lord.)

11 This shall not be to you into a cauldron, and ye shall not be into fleshes in the midst thereof; I shall deem you in the ends of Israel, (And so this city shall not be like a cauldron for you, and ye shall not be like the meat in its midst; I shall judge you unto the ends of Israel,)

12 and ye shall know, that I am the Lord. For ye went not in my behests, and ye did not my dooms, but ye wrought by the dooms of heathen men, that be in your compass. (and ye shall know, that I am the Lord. For ye did not follow my commands, and ye did not follow my laws, or my judgements, but ye followed the laws of the heathen, who be all around you.)

13 And it was done, when I prophesied, Pelatiah, the son of Benaiah, was dead (Pelatiah, the son of Benaiah, fell down dead); and I fell down on my face, and I cried with great voice, and said, Alas! alas! alas! Lord God, thou makest [an] ending of the remnants of Israel.

14 And the word of the Lord was made to me, and said,

15 Son of man, thy brethren, thy brethren, thy kinsmen, and all the house of Israel, and all men, to whom the dwellers of Jerusalem said, Go ye away far from the Lord, the land is given to us into possession. (Son of man, thy brothers, thy brothers, yea, thy kinsmen, and all the house of Israel, and all the people, be to whom the present inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, Go ye far away from the Lord, for the land is given to us as our possession.)

16 Therefore the Lord God saith these things, For I made them (to be) far (off) among heathen men, and for I scattered them in lands, I shall be to them into a little hallowing, in the lands to which they came (And so the Lord God saith these things, For I made them to be far away among the heathen, and for I scattered them into many lands, I shall be their sanctuary, in the lands to which they have gone.)

17 Therefore speak thou, The Lord God saith these things, I shall gather you from (the) peoples, and I shall gather you together from (the) lands, in which ye be scattered; and I shall give the earth of Israel to you (and I shall give the soil of Israel to you/and I shall give you the land of Israel).

18 And they shall enter thither, and shall do away all offences, [or grievings,] and all abominations thereof in that day. (And they shall enter there, and shall do away all the offences, and all the abominations there, on that day.)

19 And I shall give to them one heart, and I shall give a new spirit in the entrails of them; and I shall take away a stony heart from the flesh of them, and I shall give to them an heart of flesh; (And I shall give them one heart, and I shall give them a new spirit in their bowels, or in their innards; and I shall take away a heart of stone from their flesh, and I shall give them a heart of flesh;)

20 that they go in my commandments, and keep my dooms, and do those; and that they be into a people to me, and I be into God to them. (so that they walk in my commandments, and obey my laws, and do them; and so that they be my people, and I be their God.)

21 But of which the heart goeth after their offendings and abominations, I shall set the way of them in their head, saith the Lord God. (But of those whom their hearts go after their offences and abominations, I shall bring down their ways upon their own heads, saith the Lord God.)

22 And the cherubims raised [up] their wings, and the wheels went with those, and the glory of God of Israel was on those. (And the cherubim raised up their wings, and the wheels went with them, and the glory of the God of Israel was over, or above, them.)

23 And the glory of the Lord ascended from the midst of the city, and stood on the hill, which is at the east of the city.

24 And the spirit raised me, and brought me into Chaldea, to the passing over, in [a] vision by the spirit of God; and the vision which I had seen, was taken away from me. (And the spirit raised me up, and brought me into Chaldea, to the exiles, or to the captives, in a vision by the Spirit of God; and then the vision which I had seen, was taken away from me.)

25 And I spake to the passing over all the words of the Lord, which he had showed to me. (And I told the exiles, or the captives, all 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.

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.