A prophecy against the presumptuous assurance of the great ones. A remnant shall be saved, and receive a new spirit, and a new heart.

¹ And the Spirit lifted me up, and he brought me to the east gate of the house of the Lord, which looks toward the rising of the sun. And behold, at the entrance to the gate were twenty-five men. And I saw, in their midst, Jaazaniah, the son of Azzur, and Pelatiah, the son of Benaiah, leaders of the people.

² And he said to me: “Son of man, these are men who devise iniquity. And they offer a wicked counsel in this city,

³ saying: ‘Was it so long ago that houses were being built? This city is a cooking pot, and we are the meat.’¹

1. 11:3Were not houses lately built, etc: These men despised the predictions and threats of the prophets; who declared to them from God, that the city should be destroyed, and the inhabitants carried into captivity: and they made use of this kind of argument against the prophets, that the city, so far from being like to be destroyed, had lately been augmented by the building of new houses; from whence they further inferred, by way of a proverb, using the similitude of a cauldron, out of which the flesh is not taken, till it is thoroughly boiled, and fit to be eaten, that they should not be carried away out of their city, but there end their days in peace.(Challoner)

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

⁵ And the Spirit of the Lord fell upon me, and he said to me: “Speak: Thus says the Lord: So have you spoken, O house of Israel. And I know the thoughts of your heart.

⁶ You have killed very many in this city, and you have filled its streets with the slain.

⁷ Because of this, thus says the Lord God: Your slain, whom you have placed in its midst, these are the meat, and this city is the cooking pot. And I will draw you out of its midst.

⁸ You have dread the sword, and so I will lead the sword over you, says the Lord God.

⁹ And I will cast you out of its midst, and I will give you over to the hand of the enemies, and I will execute judgments among you.

¹⁰ You will fall by the sword. I will judge you within the borders of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord.¹

1. 11:10In the borders of Israel: They pretended that they should die in peace in Jerusalem; God tells them it should not be so; but that they should be judged and condemned, and fall by the sword in the borders of Israel: viz., in Reblatha in the land of Emath, where all their chief men were put to death by Nabuchodonosor. 4 Kings 25., and Jer. 52.10, 27.(Challoner)

¹¹ This city will not be a cooking pot for you, and you will not be like meat in its midst. I will judge you within the borders of Israel.

¹² And you shall know that I am the Lord. For you have not walked in my precepts, and you have not accomplished my judgments. Instead, you have acted in accord with the judgments of the Gentiles, who are all around you.”

¹³ And it happened that, when I prophesied, Pelatiah, the son of Benaiah, died. And I fell upon my face, and I cried out with a loud voice, and I said: “Alas, alas, alas, O Lord God! Will you cause the consummation of the remnant of Israel?”

¹⁴ And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

¹⁵ “Son of man, your brothers, the men among your close relatives, your brothers and the entire house of Israel, are all among those to whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said: ‘Withdraw far from the Lord; the earth has been given to us as a possession.’¹

1. 11:15Thy brethren, etc: He speaks of them that had been carried away captives before; who were despised by them that remained in Jerusalem: but as the prophet here declares to them from God, should be in a more happy condition than they, and after some time return from their captivity.(Challoner)

¹⁶ Because of this, thus says the Lord God: Since I have caused them to be far away, among the Gentiles, and since I have dispersed them among the lands, I will be a little sanctuary for them within the lands to which they have gone.

¹⁷ Because of this, say to them: Thus says the Lord God: I will gather you from among the peoples, and I will unite you, from the lands into which you were dispersed, and I will give the soil of Israel to you.

¹⁸ And they shall go to that place, and they shall remove all the offenses and all its abominations from that place.

¹⁹ And I will give them one heart. And I will distribute a new spirit to their interior. And I will take away the heart of stone from their body. And I will give them a heart of flesh.

²⁰ So may they may walk in my precepts, and observe my judgments, and accomplish them. And so may they be my people, and I will be their God.

²¹ But as for those whose heart walks after their offenses and abominations, I will set their own way upon their head, says the Lord God.”

²² And the cherubim lifted up their wings, and the wheels with them. And the glory of the God of Israel was above them.

²³ And the glory of the Lord ascended from the midst of the city and stood above the mountain, which is to the east of the city.

²⁴ And the Spirit lifted me up, and he brought me into Chaldea, to those of the transmigration, in a vision, in the Spirit of God. And the vision that I had seen was raised up, away from me.

²⁵ And I spoke, to those of the transmigration, all the words of the Lord that he had revealed to me.