Evil in High Places

1Moreover 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; and I saw in the midst of them Jaazaniah the son of Azzur, and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people. 2And he said unto me, Son of man, these are the men that devise iniquity, and that give wicked counsel in this city. 3which say, The time is not near to build houses: this city is the caldron, and we be the flesh. 4Therefore prophesy against them, prophesy, O son of man.

5And the spirit of the LORD fell upon me, and he said unto me, Speak, Thus saith the LORD: Thus have ye said, O house of Israel; for I know the things that come into your mind. 6Ye have multiplied your slain in this city, and ye have filled the streets thereof with the slain. 7Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD: Your slain whom ye have laid in the midst of it, they are the flesh, and this city is the caldron: but ye shall be brought forth out of the midst of it. 8Ye have feared the sword; and I will bring the sword upon you, saith the Lord GOD. 9And I will bring you forth out of the midst thereof, and deliver you into the hands of strangers, and will execute judgments among you. 10Ye shall fall by the sword; I will judge you in the border of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the LORD. 11This city shall not be your caldron, neither shall ye be the flesh in the midst thereof; I will judge you in the border of Israel; 12and ye shall know that I am the LORD: for ye have not walked in my statutes, neither have ye executed my judgments, but have done after the ordinances of the nations that are round about you.

A Promise of Restoration

13And it came to pass, when I prophesied, that Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died. Then fell I down upon my face, and cried with a loud voice, and said, Ah Lord GOD! wilt thou make a full end of the remnant of Israel?

14And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 15Son of man, thy brethren, even thy brethren, the men of thy kindred, and all the house of Israel, all of them, are they unto whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, Get you far from the LORD; unto us is this land given for a possession: 16Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord GOD: Whereas I have removed them far off among the nations, and whereas I have scattered them among the countries, yet will I be to them a sanctuary for a little while in the countries where they are come. 17Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord GOD: I will gather you from the peoples, and assemble you out of the countries where ye have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel. 18And they shall come thither, and they shall take away all the detestable things thereof and all the abominations thereof from thence. 19And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh: 20that they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. 21But as for them whose heart walketh after the heart of their detestable things and their abominations, I will bring their way upon their own heads, saith the Lord GOD.

God's Glory Leaves Jerusalem

22Then did the cherubim lift up their wings, and the wheels were beside them; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above. 23And the glory of the LORD went up from the midst of the city, and stood upon the mountain which is on the east side of the city. 24And the spirit lifted me up, and brought me in the vision by the spirit of God into Chaldea, to them of the captivity. So the vision that I had seen went up from me. 25Then I spake unto them of the captivity all the things that the LORD had shewed me.