Ezekiel
Chapter 11
The Remnants
Then the spirit lifted me up and took me to the eastern gate of the Lord’s house, which faces east. There, at the entrance of the gate, I saw twenty-five men. Among them were Jaazaniah, son of Azzur, and Pelatiah, son of Benaiah, who were leaders of the people.
The Lord said to me: “Son of man, these are the men who plot wickedness and give evil advice in the city.
They say: ‘Now there’s no need for more houses! The city is the pot, and we are the meat!’
Because of that, prophesy against them—prophesy, son of man!”
The spirit of the Lord seized me and said: “Speak! This is the word of the Lord: I know what you have said, Israel! I know what you are thinking.
You have multiplied your victims in the city; you have filled the streets with the slain.
That is why the Lord has spoken. The slain you have left in its midst; they are the meat, this city is the pot; and I will bring you out of it.
The Lord says: Because you are afraid of the sword, I will send it against you.
I will cause you to be driven out and hand you over to foreigners, and I will pass judgment on you.
You will fall by the sword.I will judge you across the borders of Israel, and you will know that I am the Lord.
The city will not be like a pot to keep you safe, nor will you be meat within her.
And you will know that I am the Lord, for until now, you have not walked according to my ordinances; you have not followed my laws, but instead, you have acted according to the laws of the nations around you.
It happened that, while I was prophesying, Pelatiah, son of Beniah, died. I fell on my face and cried out loud, saying: “Ah, Lord God! Are you going to destroy even the remnant of Israel?”
The word of the Lord came to me in these words:
“Son of man, these people have said about your brothers, your relatives, and all the exiled Israelites: ‘They are well, far from the Lord! He gave this land to us as our possession.’
Therefore, give them this message from the Lord: I, myself, have sent them far away, among the nations, and scattered them among the people; but I have been a sanctuary for them in the countries they entered.
Therefore, the Lord says: “I will gather you from the nations; I will bring you together from the countries where you were scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.
Once you return and removeall the horrors and abominations,I will give you a new heart; I will put a new spirit in you.
Yes, I will remove their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh;
that they may walk in my statutes, observe my laws, and practice them; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.
As for those whose hearts follow their horrors and abominations, I will punish them according to their deeds.”
Then the cherubim lifted their wings, and the wheels moved with them.
The glory of the God of Israel was over them. The glory of the Lord lifted up and left the city, resting on the mountain to the east.
At that moment, the spirit lifted me and took me to the exiles in Chaldea—all of this happened in a vision, by the power of God’s spirit—and the vision I saw left me. Then I told the exiles everything the Lord had shown me.
Commentaries
The Remnants.
The prophet addresses the 25 leaders who have deceived the people and are responsible for the slaughter in the city (6). It appears that they have taken over the homes of the exiles and feel secure within the city walls, like meat in a pot (3). However, the Lord will bring them out of the city, where they will die by the sword for not being faithful to His commands and for adopting pagan customs (12). The main question concerns the rest of Israel: who are those favored by God—those who remain in Jerusalem—the flesh—the walled city—the pot—or those who go into exile (the refuse)? God responds that His glory will leave the city and go with the exiles (22-25), and that “the flesh” inside the pot is the corpses of Israelites whom their idolatrous leaders have left there.