Ezekiel 12

1The word of the LORD also came unto me, saying,

2Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of a rebellious house, which have eyes to see, and see not; they have ears to hear, and hear not: for they are a rebellious house.

3Therefore, thou son of man, prepare thee stuff for removing, and remove by day in their sight; and thou shalt remove from thy place to another place in their sight: it may be they will consider, though they be a rebellious house.footnote a

4Then shalt thou bring forth thy stuff by day in their sight, as stuff for removing: and thou shalt go forth at even in their sight, as they that go forth into captivity.footnote b

5Dig thou through the wall in their sight, and carry out thereby.footnote c

6In their sight shalt thou bear it upon thy shoulders, and carry it forth in the twilight: thou shalt cover thy face, that thou see not the ground: for I have set thee for a sign unto the house of Israel.

7And I did so as I was commanded: I brought forth my stuff by day, as stuff for captivity, and in the even I digged through the wall with mine hand; I brought it forth in the twilight, and I bare it upon my shoulder in their sight.footnote d

8And in the morning came the word of the LORD unto me, saying,

9Son of man, hath not the house of Israel, the rebellious house, said unto thee, What doest thou?

10Say thou unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; This burden concerneth the prince in Jerusalem, and all the house of Israel that are among them.

11Say, I am your sign: like as I have done, so shall it be done unto them: they shall remove and go into captivity.footnote e

12And the prince that is among them shall bear upon his shoulder in the twilight, and shall go forth: they shall dig through the wall to carry out thereby: he shall cover his face, that he see not the ground with his eyes.

13My net also will I spread upon him, and he shall be taken in my snare: and I will bring him to Babylon to the land of the Chaldeans; yet shall he not see it, though he shall die there.

14And I will scatter toward every wind all that are about him to help him, and all his bands; and I will draw out the sword after them.

15And they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall scatter them among the nations, and disperse them in the countries.

16But I will leave a few men of them from the sword, from the famine, and from the pestilence; that they may declare all their abominations among the heathen whither they come; and they shall know that I am the LORD.footnote f

17Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

18Son of man, eat thy bread with quaking, and drink thy water with trembling and with carefulness;

19And say unto the people of the land, Thus saith the Lord GOD of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and of the land of Israel; They shall eat their bread with carefulness, and drink their water with astonishment, that her land may be desolate from all that is therein, because of the violence of all them that dwell therein.footnote g

20And the cities that are inhabited shall be laid waste, and the land shall be desolate; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.

21And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

22Son of man, what is that proverb that ye have in the land of Israel, saying, The days are prolonged, and every vision faileth?

23Tell them therefore, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will make this proverb to cease, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel; but say unto them, The days are at hand, and the effect of every vision.

24For there shall be no more any vain vision nor flattering divination within the house of Israel.

25For I am the LORD: I will speak, and the word that I shall speak shall come to pass; it shall be no more prolonged: for in your days, O rebellious house, will I say the word, and will perform it, saith the Lord GOD.

26Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

27Son of man, behold, they of the house of Israel say, The vision that he seeth is for many days to come, and he prophesieth of the times that are far off.

28Therefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; There shall none of my words be prolonged any more, but the word which I have spoken shall be done, saith the Lord GOD.

Signs of the Coming Captivity

1Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2“Son of man, you are living in a rebellious house. They have eyes to see but do not see, and ears to hear but do not hear, for they are a rebellious house.

3Therefore, son of man, pack your bags for exile. In broad daylight, set out from your place and go to another as they watch. Perhaps they will understand, though they are a rebellious house. 4Bring out your baggage for exile by day, as they watch. Then in the evening, as they watch, go out like those who go into exile.

5As they watch, dig through the wall and carry your belongings out through it. 6And as they watch, lift your bags to your shoulder and take them out at dusk; cover your face so that you cannot see the land. For I have made you a sign to the house of Israel.”

7So I did as I was commanded. I brought out my bags for exile by day, and in the evening I dug through the wall by hand. I took my belongings out at dusk, carrying them on my shoulder as they watched.

8And in the morning the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 9“Son of man, hasn’t the rebellious house of Israel asked you, ‘What are you doing?’ 10Tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘This burden concerns the prince in Jerusalem and all the house of Israel who are there.’

11You are to say, ‘I am a sign to you.’ Just as it happened here,footnote a so will it be done to them; they will go into exile as captives. 12And at dusk the prince among them will lift his bags to his shoulder and go out. They will dig through the wall to bring him out. He will cover his face so he cannot see the land. 13But I will spread My net over him, and he will be caught in My snare. I will bring him to Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans; yet he will not see it, and there he will die.

14And I will scatter to every wind all the attendants around him and all his troops, and I will draw a sword to chase after them. 15And they will know that I am the LORD, when I disperse them among the nations and scatter them throughout the countries.

16But I will spare a few of them from sword and famine and plague, so that in the nations to which they go, they can recount all their abominations. Then they will know that I am the LORD.”

17Moreover, the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 18“Son of man, eat your bread with trembling, and drink your water with quivering and anxiety. 19Then tell the people of the land that this is what the Lord GOD says about those living in Jerusalem and in the land of Israel: ‘They will eat their bread with anxiety and drink their water in dread, for their land will be stripped of everything in it because of the violence of all who dwell in it. 20The inhabited cities will be laid waste, and the land will become desolate. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’”

The Presumptuous Proverb

21Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 22“Son of man, what is this proverb that you have in the land of Israel:‘The days go by,and every vision fails’?

23Therefore tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘I will put an end to this proverb, and in Israel they will no longer recite it.’
But say to them: ‘The days are at hand when every vision will be fulfilled. 24For there will be no more false visions or flattering divinations within the house of Israel, 25because I, the LORD, will speak whatever word I speak, and it will be fulfilled without delay. For in your days, O rebellious house, I will speak a message and bring it to pass, declares the Lord GOD.’”

26Furthermore, the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 27“Son of man, take note that the house of Israel is saying, ‘The vision that he sees is for many years from now; he prophesies about the distant future.’

28Therefore tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘None of My words will be delayed any longer. The message I speak will be fulfilled, declares the Lord GOD.’”